This must be the worst argument ever
for not honoring a room block: The guarantee only means we’ll hold the reservation, not the rooms. Huh? Good thing that an appellate court in New Jersey rejected that argument recently when Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City used it as a rationale for walking people in 26 of the 60 rooms auto-finance firm Onyx Acceptance Corp. had reserved as part of a banquet back in 2001. In fact, the judges called it “Orwellian.” Unbelievably, the hotel is “considering an appeal.”
- The appellate decision, citing testimony from a 24-day trial in 2006, described an often-angry scene in the hotel’s lobby. At one point, it notes, an Onyx employee noted the firm had prepaid almost $30,000 for the rooms.
“However, the front desk clerk was unimpressed with that figure and responded by saying, “Ma’am, we have people who spent $30,000 a hand,’ ” the decision recounted.
Hmm, we may be in need of a little customer service training too. Who knows if this would hold up elsewhere, but I would think the decision would be a warning flag to hotels that routinely overbook that some planners aren’t going to take it anymore.
Thanks to MiForum for the pointer.
Related Topics: Business stuff, Hospitality news
