During peak summer travel times, it’s not uncommon for travelers to become the victims of oversales, when more customers show up than there are seats, cars or rooms.
This can happen when companies overbook, accepting extra reservations to compensate for expected no-shows or through various miscalculations. Whatever the cause, it seems, customers pay. Or do they?
Companies may try to compensate the inconvenienced; in some cases, they are legally required to. As a result, travelers may be able to lessen their pain or even profit from it, but only if they keep their wits about them and understand their options. Here’s a closer look:
Airlines
Carriers are cagey about the rates of no-shows and how much they overbook. But what happens when they run out of seats is no secret.
Last year, 47,774 passengers were bumped from flights, and 588,266 volunteered to give up their seats on the 18 largest U.S. airlines, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported. The average rate of denied boardings, 12 per 10,000 customers, was the lowest in 15 years. But it recently increased.
“I foresee more airline overbooking,” said Alexander Anolik, a travel law attorney in San Francisco, as planes fly fuller and airlines cancel unprofitable routes.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that if you’re denied boarding on an oversold flight, U.S. carriers, by law, must refund your ticket or let you use it for another flight, and they may owe you up to $400. The amount varies by how long you’re delayed. For details, go to aircon sumer.ost.dot.gov/pubs.htm; under “Other Publications,” click on “Fly Rights.”
Before bumping anyone from an oversold flight, gate agents must try to get volunteers to give up their seats. Fliers can profit from the free-for-all. You might be able to get cash or one-night packages to Vegas, for example. If you want the airline to make an offer, they say, be first at the gate, and let the agent know you’re willing.
Rental cars
“Overbooking is a given” in the rental car business, said Neil Abrams, president of Abrams Consulting Group, a New York-based consulting and research firm for auto rental and allied industries.
Companies don’t intend to run out of cars, Abrams said, but “fleet planning is an inexact science.” Typically, he said, renters don’t face penalty fees for canceling or returning a car late, and no-shows may average 15 percent.
Coming up short can work to your advantage. Sometimes you can get an upgrade, say from compact to regular-sized car, for free.
If you don’t want an upgrade, you should insist that the agent obtain a comparable vehicle from a competitor or ask whether one will be available soon, said Charles Pulley, spokesman for Vanguard Car Rental USA Inc., which operates the Alamo and National brands, about the company’s policy. Or get the company to pay for a taxi to your hotel and deliver your car later.
Hotels
If you show up with confirmed reservations and there’s no room at the inn, the solution is straightforward: Expect the hotel to find you a comparable room at another hotel, pay for transportation there and pick up the tab for the night. That’s according to Robert Mandelbaum, director of research information services for PKF Consulting, an international firm of consultants in the hotel and tourism industries. If it does less, he said, the hotel may be breaking a contract.
Your rights aren’t as clear if you’re offered a room that is not the type you reserved. But if you’re inconvenienced, don’t be shy. Ask for a manager. Suggest a room upgrade, a discount, free meals or other compensation. You’re owed for your trouble.
