It sure seems like some hotels forget that they’re in the hospitality industry…
Hotel demands response in 24 hours, or else
Back in March 2025, the Le Meridien Maldives had a mistake rate, with some very good deals ($152 per night, not including taxes, fees, or transfers). The hotel ultimately honored these rates, but now seems to have a sneaky scheme to cancel reservations on guests.
JT Genter took advantage of this deal, and reports how he received an email from the hotel, for a stay that’s roughly three months from now (and the stay is refundable until one month before arrival).
The hotel requests the full names of both guests plus their international arriving flight details. Fair enough. What’s not reasonable, though, is what’s written underneath that:
This information is required to update your seaplane transfer. We require this information within the next 24 hours in order to keep your booking active in our system. Please note that if the booking is canceled, we will not be able to reinstate it at the same rate, as the offer has now closed.
So the hotel sets a completely arbitrary 24 hour deadline (still two months from the cancelation deadline). The hotel isn’t even being secretive about its real motive here, specifically referencing how “the offer has now closed.”
Is this really the way for hotels to do business?
Big picture, the hotel industry has certainly evolved post pandemic, and we’ve seen many hotels increasingly take cues from ultra low cost carriers in terms of fees, service cuts, and inclusions (ironically, many ultra low cost carriers have become more full service during that time, but I digress).
In this case, the hotel is obviously looking for some sort of a “gotcha” to be able to cancel reservations. But this crosses the line by such a big margin that I can’t even wrap my head around it.
There’s simply no reasonable basis on which you can threaten to cancel a reservation if you don’t receive a response within 24 hours for something that’s not time sensitive. Never mind that the hotel sent this message months after booking, so it’s not like the hotel has been putting effort into getting this information.
One certainly has to wonder at what level this decision was made. Like, is the general manager aware of this, did someone in sales request decide to add this language, or what?
Bottom line
Earlier this year, the Le Meridien Maldives had a mistake rate, which it ultimately honored. However, the hotel now seems to be emailing some guests who have stays months from now, demanding to know their flight information immediately. If the guests don’t respond within 24 hours, the hotel claims it’ll cancel reservations, and won’t be able to reinstate the rate.
Sometimes it feels like the hospitality industry has turned into the hostility industry…
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