Members of the trade have reported that some hotels in Cape Town are overbooking rooms, which has resulted in tour groups being bumped from the hotels.
One tour operator, who asked to remain anonymous, recently had a group bumped from a hotel in Cape Town for two out of the three nights as the hotel was overbooked for a conference. The operator, who is taking it up with the hotel, declined to provide further details at this stage.
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The operator said that while tour groups were usually re-accommodated in another equally graded hotel, the operator often suffered a financial loss because in some instances the operators had to re-accommodate guests at their own expense. Furthermore, guests were often re-accommodated in the first available hotel in Cape Town, which could be a distance away from their intended location. Finally, the operator’s reputation also suffered. “The client believes the overbooking error is your fault,” the tour operator explained.
Another operator who has also experienced clients being bumped from hotels said it was very concerning as its clients were unsettled and the company had to re-accommodate guests at its own expense.
The tour operator said this was a growing trend among the hotel groups in Cape Town as the city was a highly visited destination. The operator also suggested that hotels were carrying out this practice to increase profits.
Have you had a similar experience? We would like to follow up this story. Get in touch with Daniella at daniellad@nowmedia.co.za.
