The HfP chat thread – Friday 11th June

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Lou says:

11 Jun11 June 19:57

I’m continuing my tour of Hilton properties, now as a newly minted gold. I have to say, I’m loving the Doubletree Greenwich. Cute hotel, amazing customer service. Looking forward to breakfast tomorrow…
- Andrew says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 20:15
  
  Hilton Hyde Park is a great value stay, decent location and the à la carte breakfast is included as a gold member. I called the day before to request a park view room, despite booking a standard room and were happy to oblige, processing it on the phone so I could do the 24hr advance app checkin and select my room number. £204 for 3 nights and £50 back on Amex – can’t go wrong!
  - Lou says:
    
    11 Jun11 June 20:24
    
    I stayed in the Hilton Hyde Park last month. Also an excellent experience. I’ll do another visit when there’s another cheap room. Given I live in London, it has to be a good deal for me to justify an overnight stay, haha. So good to get out of the house though.
    - Andy D says:
      
      11 Jun11 June 23:17
      
      I also like the Hyde park one for friendly staff, good breakfast, tube access/location and always get quite a nice room somehow there. Tend to stay there when down for a meeting with one of my runner mates who likes Hyde Park in the morning. Often a total bargain compared with the newer properties.
- Anna says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 20:36
  
  We’ve got 3 nights there in July, good to hear!
  - Lou says:
    
    11 Jun11 June 21:01
    
    I’m trying to think which other nearish Hilton’s to try. Keeping it under £70 is the goal. Maybe I’ll be lucky and the Metropole will do a good deal
    - Aston100 says:
      
      11 Jun11 June 22:00
      
      Well, the ‘Kensington’ one was really cheap the other day.
      Quite a dated hotel and the rooms could benefit from a refurb.
      But staff were all very friendly; housekeeping came every day; they had a hot buffet (limited options though); got upgraded to a 1 bed suite despite paying for the lowest category room; vouchers for 8 drinks!
      Busses outside take you everywhere and there is a tube station 5 minutes walk.
- Peggerz says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 23:40
  
  Say Hi to Aline at breakfast!
  Stayed at Greenwich two weeks ago, really impressed and will be back next month.
  A Hampton stay next week should get me Diamond for the 1st time.
Laura says:

11 Jun11 June 20:12

Is there an NHS/healthcare workers discount for Marriott? I thought there was but can’t seem to find it now.
- Harry T says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 20:27
  
  Search using the promotional code HJH.
Karen says:

11 Jun11 June 20:25

Sadly I think BA have reached a new low today. We have a holiday booking departing in 2 weeks (so fully paid) to St Lucia. Today received email informing us that return flight has been cancelled but they have booked us on the next available flight 24 hrs later. Initial thoughts were great an extra day in paradise!
However as said email didn’t include any details re extra nights accommodation tried to call without success so resorted to chat via exec club. In a nutshell “ we are having to cancel a massive amount of flights globally and are unable to cover the cost for passengers to have extra nights which is why we offer a full refund on cancelled flights”
So I politely replied where are we going to stay for the extra night to be told “your hotel has no availability so you need to source something yourselves” at which point I got cross, very cross! We have over £50K of holiday bookings ( oh yes if you think Anna is a holiday junkie I’m up with her) with you over the next 12 months, please escalate ( a Lady London phrase which I love) I then left the chat to contact the hotel directly. Within 5 mins hubby had a phone call from BA hols promising to sort something out, but really a holiday booking for over £10K and they were going to leave us room less! It’s almost enough to make me contact the DM….. TBC
- Genghis says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 20:44
  
  If the hotel is full it’s full. “DYKWIA”?
  I can see the headline now, “Wealthy struggle to holiday during pandemic”.
  - Harry T says:
    
    11 Jun11 June 20:51
    
    Clearly they should throw someone out to make space for this very important traveller!
  - Super Secret Stuff says:
    
    11 Jun11 June 21:41
    
    I once watched someone pill that line in a hotel, the receptionist went “no I don’t and it doesn’t matter because I’m not upgrading you”. Ironically i waited and when I got to the front, was chating with them, as ihg gold I got upgraded 🤣
  - Doug M says:
    
    11 Jun11 June 22:41
    
    In fairness she’s complains about the lack of a room, not another night in that same hotel.
    Then again does signing it as Karen suggest trolling?
    - Genghis says:
      
      12 Jun12 June 06:31
      
      That wasn’t my reading but I could be wrong “ “your hotel has no availability so you need to source something yourselves” at which point I got cross, very cross.
      Stuff happens
- Anna says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 20:44
  
  I bow down to you! Can’t believe BA would rather you cancelled a £10k holiday than provide you with a hotel room for one extra night.
  Which travel insurance have you got? I may need to find new cover if FCDO advice doesn’t change beyond the next couple of months.
- Lady London says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 20:53
  
  Karen I am really sorry to hear this. I don’t book holidays as such so I know very little about Holiday rules as compared to flight rules. But I do know this is unacceptable. “Source the extra hotel night yourself after we cancelled your flight from paradise and shunted you onto one an extra night later”. and “Well actually we’re really hoping you’ll just cancel”..which is what that sounded like.
  
  Can the holidays company force a complete refund? I have a nasty feeling that technically they can.
  
  I hope you were just unlucky and got the intern this time. What they’ve proposed about the hotel falls definitely outside the regulations governing holidays.
  
  Make them arrange and pay the hotel directly. It sounds like any promises to reimburse you would not be met readily. Watch out for the quality of what they do book and make it clear this is involuntary in case you have a terrible time that loses you 2 days of upset on your holiday. (I’m sure they owe you transport to / from 2nd hotel (and quite possibly to your normal activities if now much further) though if they really do make you move.
  
  Please let us know how it turns out.
  - Lady London says:
    
    11 Jun11 June 20:59
    
    PS Read your t’s and c’s I’m pretty sure the t’s and c’s very much follow the ATOL regulations. Just so you’re prepared for further turns
- ashish says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 21:17
  
  Hard luck. Enjoy Margate. Sounds like the diversity there will be a good experience for you.
  - Lou says:
    
    11 Jun11 June 21:23
    
    I’m still trying to get my head past the 50k of holiday bookings… In a year…
    - Nick Booker says:
      
      11 Jun11 June 22:27
      
      Me too!
    - Aston100 says:
      
      11 Jun11 June 22:38
      
      Errr… Rob likes to mention from time to time that the vast majority of the readership are London based millionaires.
      So it shouldn’t be a surprise if one pops up every few months.
      - Rob says:
        
        11 Jun11 June 23:24
        
        That’s complete crap and you know it.
        
        What is statistically proven to be true is that the majority of readers are London based professionals earning £70k+.
        
        Given that there are plenty of PA’s earning £50k in professional services firms and that newly qualified law graduates start on £100k at the top City firms this really isn’t a stretch by any means.
        
        £50k on holidays really doesn’t get you that far, relatively speaking. No private jets. Let’s assume you spend 30 nights away each year, which is pretty low when you include short breaks. Let’s assume you need two rooms as you have kids. This is 60 room nights x £250 (5-star average) so you’re at £15k. Let’s assume 2 x long-haul holidays amongst those 30 nights, which means you need 8 x long-haul Business Class flights at an average of £2k each. That’s £16k. Let’s assume Club Europe for 3 x breaks in Europe, at £250 per person. You’re at £33k already and you haven’t even pushed the boat out. In reality some of those £250 hotel nights are going to be £500-£750 because you’re travelling at peak periods, especially if you have kids. And so on …..
        
        We spent 4 nights at Center Parcs last week – in the worst 2-bed villa they had – and it still cost us over £3,000 for 4-nights, and this didn’t involve going further than Wiltshire.
  - Doug M says:
    
    11 Jun11 June 22:48
    
    Lot of jealousy about holiday expenditure. Surely if you do upmarket Caribbean, Maldives, Pacific islands, £50K is easy to spend.
    - Lord Doncaster says:
      
      11 Jun11 June 23:36
      
      Would there really be a lot of demand for indirect flights in business on Lufthansa? The seat is crap
      - Rob says:
        
        11 Jun11 June 23:42
        
        No, but I’m deliberately using cheap examples so I can’t be accused on inflating the numbers.
        
        In reality, 10 days in Dubai over October half-term, taking 2 standard shoe-box sea-view rooms for a family of 4 at a top 5-star resort, with direct business class flights on BA or Emirates would cost around £20,000. That’s kids for you …
        
        That said … The Times today had an Airbnb listing from Cornwall where a guy has put a £500 bell tent in his garden and is letting it for £1,400 per night to people who can’t find anything else for the Summer in the area.
- r* says:
  
  11 Jun11 June 22:16
  
  If they push a flight back as part of a holiday booking does that not still come under duty of care for the airline?
  - Lord Doncaster says:
    
    11 Jun11 June 23:34
    
    Yes.
- A says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 06:43
  
  I’d expect them to come up with a solution – potentially sourcing a room elsewhere, and providing accommodation between them. They’ve changed the flight, their issue to resolve.
ChasP says:

12 Jun12 June 00:27

surely if they have cancelled/pushed back the return flight then presumably there’s no longer an outbound flight on that day ? So some poor B%$£”ds are losing a day and their rooms are free ?? Just BA being lazy

On another note i doubt if i have spent £50k on holidays in my life but then i worked in the NHS !
- MKB says:
  
  12 Jun12 June 01:19
  
  If it’s the same as what BA have been doing with their Cancun flights, they are going out on a Saturday, sitting on the tarmac overnight, coming back Sunday night with the same crew.
  
  Presumably it’s cheaper for BA to park their plane for 24+ hours than pay for crew to be out there for an extended stay.