I don’t want to come across as a conspiracy theorist, but I have a theory about the hotels that American Airlines offers its passengers when they misconnect… I’m curious if anyone has a different take.
In this post:
American’s awful hotel selection after misconnect
There are situations where airlines are on the hook for paying for your hotel, in the event that you have a missed connection that leads to a forced overnight layover. Long story short, this includes situations where a delay is within the carrier’s control, or if you’re flying from a destination where the government mandates that the airline has a duty of care, regardless of the cause.
After a lovely flight in American’s new Boeing 787-9P business class from London (LHR) to Chicago (ORD), I misconnected on my way back to Miami. I’ll talk more about that experience in a separate post (because it was interesting on a few levels), but in this post, I’d like to focus on the hotel aspect of this.
American was on the hook for paying for my hotel because of the misconnect. After I was rebooked on a flight the following morning (departing at 5AM), I eventually got a push notification on the American app, bringing me to a page where I could select my hotel for the night. As a long haul business class passenger, I was given three hotel options. Are you ready for this?!
The first option was the “premium” hotel, which was the Hilton Orrington. The hotel doesn’t have an airport shuttle, and is 13 miles from the airport, and it would’ve been a 45-minute drive to get there (based on mapping out the drive at that time).
Hmmm, okay, well, do you have anything with a shuttle? Yes, there’s the Best Western Schaumburg, which has a 24/7 shuttle. Now, it’s eight miles from the airport (as the crow flies — 14 miles by road), and it would’ve been a 20-minute drive.
Okay, maybe I should do that? How bad could it be? I looked it up on TripAdvisor, and it had a 2.3 star rating, and was ranked #30 of 30 hotels in Schaumburg. Hard pass.
Then there was a third option, which was the Baymont by Wyndham Addison. Great, that has a shuttle from 5AM until 11:30PM, except between 9:30AM and 5PM… lol?
Oh, you thought the Best Western wasn’t great? This property gets a 1.9 star rating on TripAdvisor, and I immediately noticed this picture and this picture.
Suddenly that “premium” Hilton is looking mighty appealing, eh?
This is a deliberate strategy on American’s part, right?
When I misconnect, I’m not expecting that my overnight hotel accommodation is going to be at a Four Seasons or St. Regis.
But I also think it’s not unreasonable to expect that you’re going to be booked at a hotel that’s somewhat close to the airport. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but is something like an Aloft, or Hampton Inn, or Holiday Inn Express, or Hyatt Place, too much to ask for? I’d just like the TripAdvisor review titles to not describe the property as “something out of a bad movie.”
Like, American could never get away with putting its employees up in these hotels, as the types of hotels that are acceptable are clearly defined in union contracts. But the airline is happy to put its premium customers (including business class passengers and elite members) into these hotels?
Of course I acknowledge that airlines presumably have some sort of contracts with specific hotels, so you’re not going to get last room inventory at every hotel. However, I noticed that for the day I was traveling, just about all airport hotels had plenty of availability, and rates were even quite reasonable.
For that matter, one wonders why American would even try to send you to a hotel that’s so many miles away, given that the carrier is also on the hook for ground transportation. An UberX would’ve cost around $50 in each direction, so that’s $100 roundtrip.
Even with a heavily discounted rate, that can’t be cheaper than just booking someone at a hotel closer to the airport.
So that brings me to my thesis, and you guys can let me know if I’m just totally off base. Am I the only one who thinks American is intentionally offering the most unappealing hotels imaginable in order to simply get people to not take the airline up on the offer?
Maybe the airline hopes people will just book their own hotels, claim reimbursement through credit card travel coverage, etc. And hey, in my case it worked out for the airline, because I decided to just book my own hotel.
The thing is, this isn’t the first time that something like this has happened to me when flying American. During my last two forced overnights with the airline, I was also appalled by the hotel options. In this case, I even checked in at the Flagship Lounge to see if they had any better options, and the agent told me that she didn’t even have access to all three of those options that I was seeing through the app.
Bottom line
American really seems to scrape the bottom of the barrel when it comes to the hotels that passengers are offered in the event of irregular operations. Like I said, I’m not expecting anything fancy, but you’d think that just an average limited service property near the airport wouldn’t be an unreasonable request.
Instead, I was given the option of a “premium” Hilton 45 minutes from the airport (with no shuttle), the worst rated hotel in Schaumburg, or a hotel that reportedly has wieners drawn on the ceiling.
Has anyone else noticed American’s awful hotel accommodation options? And do you think this is an intentional way to get passengers to not accept the offers, or…?
Same experience at DFW last summer. Traveling with my family and had a 4 hour delay. of course missed our connection and they brought us to a pretty bad and unsafe hotel near DFW. I was shocked... Your theory might be right, but don't they pay for the room anyways? Why not offer something a little better.
Also it took over an hour to check in as everyone else who missed their flight was at this hotel too...
AA does that all the time. As they give an $8 voucher for food lol. I saw 200 people do the line for it and stay at a motel 6. I went to a Hyatt, ate and charged it all to AA who paid. They do that to deter people without knowledge of what they should expect from claiming more expenses.
I think this is a rookie mistake. The customer service has access to more appropriate options. It is a person you would be talking to. Of course the APP will recommend what is in the airline's best interest or what they are pushing you to take for whatever reason without it making much sense.
I am not sure why they do not make a better deal at the hotel they put up their employees. The hotel would likely be happy for the business and they could get a better rate.
I've had two international "irregularities" in recent memory both were in business and both involved the international flight getting pushed to the next day.
The first was in Buenos Aires with UA after an explosion in the laundry room of a BA hotel where the crew was staying resulted in a crew availability issue. It was in the evening and the flight wasn't abandoned until about 11pm. There are no hotels near the airport...
I've had two international "irregularities" in recent memory both were in business and both involved the international flight getting pushed to the next day.
The first was in Buenos Aires with UA after an explosion in the laundry room of a BA hotel where the crew was staying resulted in a crew availability issue. It was in the evening and the flight wasn't abandoned until about 11pm. There are no hotels near the airport and due to a big event, UA said there were no hotel rooms available in the city. A friend in the hotel business in BA confirmed it actually was the case but put me up in a room that at his hotel were not renting due to its below-standard condition. But it was definitely better than sleeping at the airport as the flight didn't actually go until 9pm the next day. The room was ragged around the edges but everything worked and I was grateful to have it.
The second happened with UA traveling to BA. The evening connection in Houston was delayed until the next morning and I took the hotel they offered. It was a Wyndham and close to the airport how bad could it be? Pretty bad. I figured it must have been a franchise on its way to being demolished. Staff was nice, transportation was fast, and I didn't get bed bugs, so I marked it down as a "W".
In both cases, the ground staff was just overwhelmed by a combination of the hour and the number of people on a full wide body. Never yelled at anybody which I would score as a "W" for them.
I think I got some points as compensation.
Geez. I compare this to what the nice lady at the Admiral's Club got for me in Charlotte last weekend when I had a cascading delay (midnight arrival into MCO cascaded to past 0300) - a perfectly acceptable Marriott property with a shuttle. But she had to dig a little for it.
Thats what they do. Because most people will accept it, move on, get home.
There is a small percentage of us travellers who will call them out on it.
Thats what they expect. As they do hire actuaries to sort the numbers, just like the car companies. Just hope and pray.
For the Hilton with no shuttle did AA offer you Uber, Lyft or Taxi vouchers? I am predominantly UA, and when they offer a hotel without a shuttle, it includes transportation, usually Lyft.
I misconnected in MIA a few weeks ago and the admirals club agent offered me several choices. I picked the hyatt place next to the airport which was fine. If you don't like the app choices I would try to speak to an agent.
I had a similar experience in Philly a month ago. The ONLY hotel they offered had no shuttle and was 45-minutes away. I booked my own that had a shuttle. Interestingly, there was an AA flight attendance in our shuttle going to that hotel so AA does know it exists! :-)
Several passengers just spent the night in the airport. I'm sure that's the strategy.
It took me 4 attempts to get reimbursed but they finally did.
As an Executive Platinum, I think "Intentionally Terrible" is a term that could apply to just about every aspect of American Airlines lately.
My connection through ATL was cancelled last night on DL. Flew from Rome hoping to make it to PIT. I booked my own hotel (which was reasonable but nice) bc the lines were too long & hoped for the best with getting reimbursed.
Delta proactively emailed me this morning asking me to submit receipts for hotels, taxis, & food! Not happy about missing a rehearsal dinner but at least they are trying to make it right…
My connection through ATL was cancelled last night on DL. Flew from Rome hoping to make it to PIT. Delta proactively emailed me this morning asking me to submit receipts for hotels, taxis, & food! Not happy about missing a rehearsal dinner but at least they are trying!
My connection through ATL was cancelled last night on DL. Flew from Rome hoping to make it to PIT. Delta proactively emailed me this morning asking me to submit receipts for hotels, taxis, & food! Not happy about missing a rehearsal dinner but at least they are trying!
Same thing in CLT. Hotel was a dump. Had 2* on tripadvisor. Smelled like cigarettes, there were stains all over the sheets, bathroom reeked. I had to sleep with my clothes on.
Right. And ongoing. YEARS ago I was on a flight on AA, business, out of JFK cancelled after a 6 hours delay . I was put at 1am at La Quinta JFK . Yikes .....They are counting beans.
Turkish puts up business class pax at the Pullman, which is very close to the airport....the old Ataturk airport and nowhere near the new IST! It's main distinguishing feature is that it's nowhere near a subway or rail station so is useless for sightseeing.
As for airport shuttles, this seem to be a feature of many hotels near CDG: they offer an early morning and evening service but nothing during the day and, to add...
Turkish puts up business class pax at the Pullman, which is very close to the airport....the old Ataturk airport and nowhere near the new IST! It's main distinguishing feature is that it's nowhere near a subway or rail station so is useless for sightseeing.
As for airport shuttles, this seem to be a feature of many hotels near CDG: they offer an early morning and evening service but nothing during the day and, to add insult to injury, hotels charge for this 'service'.
I recently had a similar experience in Madrid. I was staying in the new Ibis Styles Valdebebas (very decent it is too), the last morning shuttle was at 09:15 or something and I missed it due to oversleeping (my flight wasn't leaving until 12:30 and I had done twilight check in). Fortunately it's very near to T4, so the Cabify was just €7.
Generally speaking, when I have an overnight connection in Europe I...
I recently had a similar experience in Madrid. I was staying in the new Ibis Styles Valdebebas (very decent it is too), the last morning shuttle was at 09:15 or something and I missed it due to oversleeping (my flight wasn't leaving until 12:30 and I had done twilight check in). Fortunately it's very near to T4, so the Cabify was just €7.
Generally speaking, when I have an overnight connection in Europe I try to stay in a hotel located in the suburbs between the airport and the city centre (e.g. Hounslow/Ealing for LHR, Fira for BCN, Tarnby for CPH) and use the local train/metro instead of relying on hotel shuttles.
Thanks for the heads up! I've never encountered a limited service shuttle at MAD but, like you, I prefer to rely on frequent public transport rather than airport shuttles (hint: next time you need a hotel in MAD, stay in Barajas village!)
Lufthansa tends to one up even AA. They just tell passengers that all hotels are fully booked in the area due to an event. When, in fact, plenty of hotels were available including the Hilton in the MUC terminal.
As to the ceiling art at the hotel? If it was in Bhutan you would call it culturally quaint.
You may be on to something Ben. When I misconnected at LHR last year, I was stranded in London for 3 days due to lack of availability on flights out of LHR (as per BA).
BA gave me a hotel at LGW with a voucher for transportation via van from LHR to LGW. I declined, chose my own hotel and submitted my claim to Amex. This may be exactly the type of behavior airlines...
You may be on to something Ben. When I misconnected at LHR last year, I was stranded in London for 3 days due to lack of availability on flights out of LHR (as per BA).
BA gave me a hotel at LGW with a voucher for transportation via van from LHR to LGW. I declined, chose my own hotel and submitted my claim to Amex. This may be exactly the type of behavior airlines want to drive.
In their defense, BA did pay in full for meals and transportation though and also paid for UK261 in full.
How ridiculous! Last time I had an overnight connection, I stayed in a hotel very close to Hounslow Central, 3 stops from Heathrow Terminals 2 and 3 on the Piccadilly line. There is a Travelodge and a Ramada by Wyndham within 5 minutes' walk of the station.
TraveLodge and Ramada are not known for their quality, at least in the US.
I recently misconnected on AC, long line to get accommodation sorted out and it was getting late, so just booked a hotel on my own and submitted to Amex for reimbursement.
No issue - but it’s only limited to 2x per year and (what’s my main issue) requires that the entire trip (ie all flights) is charged to the Amex card. (At least that’s my understanding).
I do a lot of weird open-jaw trips...
I recently misconnected on AC, long line to get accommodation sorted out and it was getting late, so just booked a hotel on my own and submitted to Amex for reimbursement.
No issue - but it’s only limited to 2x per year and (what’s my main issue) requires that the entire trip (ie all flights) is charged to the Amex card. (At least that’s my understanding).
I do a lot of weird open-jaw trips with some car/train/whatever in the middle or multi-segment trips where there’s some obscure African or Asian airline in the middle that doesn’t take Amex so need to pay for one segment with a Visa/MC.
AA put me in a nice Hilton in Palm Springs. But I was on a business class fare so that’s probably why.
@ORD IS MY SECOND HOME.
Really? Eight billion hotels? Or do you actually mean eight billion hotel rooms?
Dude, their employee parking lots must be HUGE!
@Santos.
Read your comment. I’m in hysterics reading the article & your comment. Good work my friend. You just made my Friday.
Long day. Long week. Just gotta say the image for this post makes up for it all.
I had a rolling delay out of DFW the other night that went well into the early morning hours. I called the EXP line to get rebooked on a flight for the next day and when I asked about a hotel voucher, she said there may not be anymore due to several cancelations that night, but said I could just submit the receipt to AA for reimbursement. The 2 Hyatt DFW hotels were full, so...
I had a rolling delay out of DFW the other night that went well into the early morning hours. I called the EXP line to get rebooked on a flight for the next day and when I asked about a hotel voucher, she said there may not be anymore due to several cancelations that night, but said I could just submit the receipt to AA for reimbursement. The 2 Hyatt DFW hotels were full, so I did the DoubleTree DFW, which does have a shuttle. I filled out the complaint form on aa.com this morning and received a response within a few hours asking to send in my receipts for review. I also received 12,500 points. I was actually very surprised that the agent said to submit my receipts because I've only been familiar with the hotel voucher program.
For some reason Simon Wilson has had better luck at 1-star hotels!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXuxRFoH8Rc&pp=ygUMc2ltb24gd2lsc29u
The past 2 times that they did this to me, I booked my own hotel and sent them the bill. They paid one without question. I am still waiting on reimbursement from the other. You are 100% correct. I wasn’t about to stay at a place called the “airport inn” with a 2 star rating.
Traveling for business, the quality of accommodation must be same as or better than what I am used to at home.
It has been forever (knock on wood) since I’ve had an involuntary overnight courtesy of AA. But in the summer of 2016, when it happened to me four times… when I was in @Ben’s hometown, the folks in the admirals club set me up with their premium option, reserved for elite members and it was, in fact, the crew hotel.
That was before it was all done in the app and I suspect that...
It has been forever (knock on wood) since I’ve had an involuntary overnight courtesy of AA. But in the summer of 2016, when it happened to me four times… when I was in @Ben’s hometown, the folks in the admirals club set me up with their premium option, reserved for elite members and it was, in fact, the crew hotel.
That was before it was all done in the app and I suspect that made a difference.
I was also put up in the grand Hyatt at DFW. But I also remember as a non - elite ending up in a beat western or something, whiich was..Fine…
Last month I misconnected in Philadelphia coming from Bradley and connecting to LA. They closed the Philly LA flight 15 minutes early and it was the last flight of the night. I have been Executive Platinum for 40 years and had purchased a first class ticket. They did not hold the plane and the gate agent smirked when I got to the gate. They put me up in a hotel that was 10 miles away...
Last month I misconnected in Philadelphia coming from Bradley and connecting to LA. They closed the Philly LA flight 15 minutes early and it was the last flight of the night. I have been Executive Platinum for 40 years and had purchased a first class ticket. They did not hold the plane and the gate agent smirked when I got to the gate. They put me up in a hotel that was 10 miles away from the airport. It smelled horrible when I walked in the door. When I finally got up to my room, there were feces in the toilet that had not been flushed. I don’t understand how American can treat Their most valued clients this way.
That's AA in a nutshell. The airline only exists for the personal profit of upper management and their top shareholders. They just happen to fly planes because they have to.
Before writing any letters about the quality of the hotels, you may want to do some additional research. The Best Western has been recently renovated and the Baymont rooms look newer as well. The posted photos and ratings may have been old.
Sort of curious… What credit card did you use to charge the taxes on? I had this problem once, but I had charged my ticket on the Chase Sapphire and was able to book the Grand Hyatt DFW myself, inside the terminal, and had no problem getting reimbursed — why would I even bother with getting a crappy voucher from AA?
It truly continues to baffle me about how bad carriers in the usa are, and these jokers believe they are doing a good job. I just don't understand it.
The location / distance of those hotels alone is absurd. Asking at the service desk for American elites might yield a better result?
(I had to do that at MIA recently when the app didn't offer a hotel stay despite an overnight delay, they ended up putting me in a perfectly acceptable if unexciting Courtyard location very close by)
Also, "weiners drawn on the ceiling" is a bit epic. NOT where I'd want to...
The location / distance of those hotels alone is absurd. Asking at the service desk for American elites might yield a better result?
(I had to do that at MIA recently when the app didn't offer a hotel stay despite an overnight delay, they ended up putting me in a perfectly acceptable if unexciting Courtyard location very close by)
Also, "weiners drawn on the ceiling" is a bit epic. NOT where I'd want to stay by any means, but that's not something I've ever imagined I'd see at a hotel I was considering staying...
With eight billion hotels right by O'Hare, why would they send you all the way to Evanston? Or, for that matter, Schaumburg? I live near Schaumburg and it takes me nearly a half hour to get to the airport. That's utterly ridiculous.
I don't get why you still fly this airline even tho you live in MIA. This is totally unacceptable behavior on AA's part and overall disgusting. Delta flies non stop ORD-MIA and so does United. There is no excuse why AA does this especially to their top tier people. I'm Lifetime Executive Platinum with them and I'm scared to fly them for this and many other reasons. You need a divorce.
I just had United put me up in a hotel after canceling my flight at EWR last night. The options were a Best Western in the middle of nowhere, NJ, and then more interestingly the Yotel or the Paramount Hotel, both in Times Square. I went with the Paramount since it was listed as the premium option and I know what Yotel's business model is i.e. how small it would be. The Paramount hotel room...
I just had United put me up in a hotel after canceling my flight at EWR last night. The options were a Best Western in the middle of nowhere, NJ, and then more interestingly the Yotel or the Paramount Hotel, both in Times Square. I went with the Paramount since it was listed as the premium option and I know what Yotel's business model is i.e. how small it would be. The Paramount hotel room wasn't great, it was rather drab and kind of old but I still imagine it has to be super expensive being basically in Times Square. That and the Lyft ride, which was comped but I looked it up today in the other direction and it was almost $100, plus two $15 food vouchers. I can't imagine this is the most cost efficient way for United to take and I'm sure it all cost more than the $250 basic economy ticket I was flying on.
The Best Western actually has relatively okay Google Reviews (3.9 stars, even the “premium” Hilton has 3.8 stars on Google). However, there isn’t many reviews (only 126, and on TripAdvisor there is only 8 reviews). I dug deeper and found the best western used to be a former Days Inn (which still appears on Google and has a 3.3 star rating) and was originally built as a La Quinta Inn. It seems they renovated it,...
The Best Western actually has relatively okay Google Reviews (3.9 stars, even the “premium” Hilton has 3.8 stars on Google). However, there isn’t many reviews (only 126, and on TripAdvisor there is only 8 reviews). I dug deeper and found the best western used to be a former Days Inn (which still appears on Google and has a 3.3 star rating) and was originally built as a La Quinta Inn. It seems they renovated it, but still… definitely better options that probably cost as much as the best western and Baymont (which was formerly a Howard Johnson).
Interesting. I misconnected in ORD in June and got the Sonesta (which was fine), and was offered an Aloft in DFW. Idk if being EP makes a difference
WTF is a misconnect? Either it was delayed or canceled. Misconnect makes it seem like it was your fault. And they should just give every pax $100. Let me spend it where I want.
smoothest of smooth brains you have
Last Thursday I had a flight from Jackson Hole connecting through ORD in 1st class Platinum Pro status. We had a 30 min mechanical delay and then T-Storms came to ORD and we were delayed another 2 hours. We arrived in ORD with the connecting plane arriving 10 mins after us, but instead we went to the penalty box for no gate for 30 mins, meanwhile the connecting plane went right to the gate. There...
Last Thursday I had a flight from Jackson Hole connecting through ORD in 1st class Platinum Pro status. We had a 30 min mechanical delay and then T-Storms came to ORD and we were delayed another 2 hours. We arrived in ORD with the connecting plane arriving 10 mins after us, but instead we went to the penalty box for no gate for 30 mins, meanwhile the connecting plane went right to the gate. There were five us on the sprint to our connecting gate only to find the door closed and an app alert for my new flight the next day, not the 8:30 AM flight but the 11:30 AM flight and no hotel room. My connecting flight sat at the gate for another 30 mins as I argued with the gate agent that I should get a room due to the mechanical and since the jetway was pulled we cannot get on. They said it was coded as a WX delay. I gave up with the gate agent and went to ticketing. I had a great rep but he had no control to bypass the system and his supervisor, Nurse Ratchett was a solid no. The rep didn't give up....he called Jackson Hole station manager and had her on speaker phone, she was like I coded it WX but should have split coded it as mechanical/WX. I said to the rep, with that mechanical, our name to get in the ATC line was delayed by a 1/2 hour which in turn caused me to miss my connection. He went back to Nurse Ratchett behind closed doors and about 15 mins later he came back with a smile and a hotel voucher to the Marriott Courtyard which had a very good shuttle!
I would be interested in how the coding process works. When I began my career flying predominantly ex-JFK, I decided to go down the DL loyalty pathway. The last straw was a clear blue day in 2006 or so when my flight was continuously delayed and ultimately canceled. The FAA status page for JFK said something like "Due to airline request ***DO NOT CHARGE TO WX*** flights from JFK are experiencing delays in excess of...
I would be interested in how the coding process works. When I began my career flying predominantly ex-JFK, I decided to go down the DL loyalty pathway. The last straw was a clear blue day in 2006 or so when my flight was continuously delayed and ultimately canceled. The FAA status page for JFK said something like "Due to airline request ***DO NOT CHARGE TO WX*** flights from JFK are experiencing delays in excess of 1 hour". I brought this up with DL customer service and they insisted it was WX, not an Ops decision, and they couldn't do anything about refunding my F upgrade because I decided to take a later flight in Y. They were super rude about it, too. So I switched to AA and then I spent 15 years learning what rude really looked like. Back with DL now and they have come a long way in the past two decades.
On my most recent AA misconnect at ORD this year (I don't think I've ever actually "connected" at ORD ...), I was not given vouchers or hotel options, so I submitted the receipts for reimbursement. I stayed at the ORD Hyatt Regency for $154. I was told that their max contracted rate was $114, so that's what I was reimbursed. Quite the low rate for Chicago, though if you accounted for a free shuttle, it more than evens out!
Compare that with SQ which put me up in the Raffles hotel..,
I don’t believe it.
Good luck getting reimbursed for a hotel stay by your premium credit card travel disruption insurance if the airline is at fault - if the justification letter shows it was the airline's fault, the travel disruption insurance will NOT pay out a penny.
This may be an underappreciated point. Chase SR's benefit terms are pasted below. I guess the question is why did Ben misconnect? If the AA flight was delayed due to weather or equipment failure, then it would be covered. But if crews timed out, that presumably would not be covered.
When is the Covered Traveler Covered?
In the event the Trip Departure Date or Trip Completion Date
are delayed or changed by the...
This may be an underappreciated point. Chase SR's benefit terms are pasted below. I guess the question is why did Ben misconnect? If the AA flight was delayed due to weather or equipment failure, then it would be covered. But if crews timed out, that presumably would not be covered.
When is the Covered Traveler Covered?
In the event the Trip Departure Date or Trip Completion Date
are delayed or changed by the Common Carrier because of
circumstances over which the Covered Traveler nor the Common
Carrier have control, the term of coverage shall be automatically
adjusted in accordance with such change.
What’s Covered?
To take advantage of this benefit, the delay must occur due to
equipment failure, inclement weather, strike, or hijacking/skyjacking.
Yes this is AA being cheap because AA sets the parameters for hotels. If you admittance to an AC and an AC is open and available staff there might be able to provide a better quality hotel.
Noted if you have to take an Uber/Taxi you will get reimbursed by AA. A big hassle not to mention the number of airport hotels around ORD with a shuttle.
AA misconnected me from CLT to SRQ. I told them I would fly to TPA if they would Uber me back to SRQ to get my car. Would save both us a night in a scummy hotel and a few useless meal vouchers.
The Uber cost $120 and AA reimbursed me $100. They said $100 was their Uber limit. I appealed and asked them to do the right think. They told me to pound...
AA misconnected me from CLT to SRQ. I told them I would fly to TPA if they would Uber me back to SRQ to get my car. Would save both us a night in a scummy hotel and a few useless meal vouchers.
The Uber cost $120 and AA reimbursed me $100. They said $100 was their Uber limit. I appealed and asked them to do the right think. They told me to pound sand. The $100 Uber limit is final.
We really need some government regulation regarding flights that airlines cannot complete.
I’m sure the Trump administration will be all over this.
Just want to add, my fiance and I had an experience with similar in Denver.. Crew timed out so they had to cancel.. anyway, we were offered the Gaylord Rockies and then a Marriott up the road.. and the cheap options were a Courtyard or a some type of low end Hilton.. maybe a Garden Inn? Anyway.. in my experience.. it’s all about luck of the draw - timing, where you are etc. so all...
Just want to add, my fiance and I had an experience with similar in Denver.. Crew timed out so they had to cancel.. anyway, we were offered the Gaylord Rockies and then a Marriott up the road.. and the cheap options were a Courtyard or a some type of low end Hilton.. maybe a Garden Inn? Anyway.. in my experience.. it’s all about luck of the draw - timing, where you are etc. so all that goes into it.
All this to say - I really appreciate your reviews etc!! My first comment, but have been spraying for awhile. TBH, I don’t get a lot of the hate AA gets.. I mean, I get there’s a lot of industry insiders on here etc.. but I’ll just say, I’ve always had a great experience with AA. I’m planning a wedding now, and group booking has just been amazing. They’re really trying hard and it shows.. should make for a great way to celebrate their Centennial. I also like they don’t overpromise.. American seems to be the one to keep their head down and surprise you.. whereas Delta and United are a bit more gimmicky and project (looking at you Scott lol). In all.. what you get on all three is pretty darn similar - to the point it almost comes down to which color scheme you prefer, hahaha. But that’s just me.
Sometimes you’re gonna get a bad attendant.. doesn’t mean we should hire literal models who make zilch like the Asian and ME airlines do.. I dunno.. I feel like all three really have figured out how to be legacy and profitable, which is saying something. Heather hits the nail on the head with leaning into Premium and it seems Isom is clearly listening based on most recent comments. Nothing is perfect, these things take time, and I am just excited with everything I am seeing.. with all 3 really.. but especially AA.. makes sense tho.. their Standard Fair offering la for buy on board were shit. A nice step up now.
Also - random question: Cabin names.. a little hokey and vanilla.. this is perfect world lol - current/old names first, long haul:
Flagship First, Flagship Business, Premium economy (yuck!) and main cabin.. I’ll stop there. Basic should not be offered.
New names: First Class (very limited planes), Flagship, Premier or Preferred, and Standard. And the term to follow being ‘Fare’.
Current/old Domestic: First, Main Cabin Extra, Main Cabin.. again no basic..
New domestic: can’t use Flagship, for Pods only, and obv first on short haul ain’t First lol.. so I propose: Premier or Preferred and just Standard.
No extra or plus or etc.. just show the price.. and then note you’re charging more for extra space.
All three airlines have somewhat gimmicky names for their standard product lol. Makes for poor marketing.
You should still claim reimbursement of your hotel cost from the airline including the transfer. You may double dip by claiming from your insurance too.
That double dip (2 reimbursements on same receipt) is fraud!
Even if Ben double dips, he isn't going to talk about it here.
That’s the most beautiful docking art I’ve ever seen.
Alaska Airlines put me in a Hampton Inn in South San Francisco, next to the Embassy Suites north of the airport. Decent choice.
Ben, you should replace your banner photo of the runway on Desroches Island with this photo of the room ceiling.
I had a DL connection in ATL, volunteered to give up my seat on the ATL-ICN flight resulting in an overnight stay. DL promised all the volunteers hotel plus compensation. Then as soon as new tickets for the next day were issued, DL agents literally ran away from the gate. It was close to 1am, no other service desks were open. Hotel vouchers were useless - called the hotel, they said there are no available...
I had a DL connection in ATL, volunteered to give up my seat on the ATL-ICN flight resulting in an overnight stay. DL promised all the volunteers hotel plus compensation. Then as soon as new tickets for the next day were issued, DL agents literally ran away from the gate. It was close to 1am, no other service desks were open. Hotel vouchers were useless - called the hotel, they said there are no available rooms. I grabbed something at a different hotel, other people ended up sleeping on the floor in the terminal.
Just to add some details into this conspiracy.
I think, at least all AA DL UA, uses the same vendor. This problem with this vendor is it randomly picks you 3 option from a larger pool.
Is it up to the airline or vendor I don't know but on DL and AA you get similar selections but maybe 2 of the premium instead of 1.
I also believe status and class of service might affect the selection too.
Ben, simply send a letter with photos to both Mr. isom and the chief customer officer. The letter should simply state: "I was an international Flagship passenger who experienced a misconnect. This is the hotel your airline provided to me. And, this is why AA is not and never will be a premium airline."
What would the point be? Any complaint letter should have an ask.
Same thing happened to me with American. Intl biz class misconnect. Lousy hotel choice. Seems like bad policy to me.
Thanks for this. Im flying this route in a few weeks and I have a somewhat tight connection. Now I know what to expect lol
Excluding credit card insurance, I'd surely just go with the hilton and submit the uber receipts
Was offered 3 choices at DFW... a Comfort Inn, Days Inn, and Motel 6 over Memorial Day weekened when I was canceled due to mechanical. The agent at AUS visibly shrieked when I showed her what the options were providing me. AA uses TAConnections to source Distressed Passenger accommodations, who actively searches for the lowest cost hotel available A) near an airport and B) will pay a commission and uses that to market their platform...
Was offered 3 choices at DFW... a Comfort Inn, Days Inn, and Motel 6 over Memorial Day weekened when I was canceled due to mechanical. The agent at AUS visibly shrieked when I showed her what the options were providing me. AA uses TAConnections to source Distressed Passenger accommodations, who actively searches for the lowest cost hotel available A) near an airport and B) will pay a commission and uses that to market their platform to airlines. Delta and now Southwest uses them, as well.
Now it all makes sense.
Yikes. Makes you wonder what the "TA" in "TAConnections" stands for. I know of those places, and they are all skeezy dives.
They used to be called Travelliance. The past couple of years it's had a couple of mergers but they are a one stop shop for Distressed Passengers. They also issue the meager $12 voucher for a meal.
The last airline comp room I took was that Motel 6 near DFW courtesy of AA. Worst night of sleep I've had in a hotel. Rubber sheets and a toiletries vending machine that was empty. I would prefer my backpacking gear.
I always just book my own hotel then submit the receipt for reimbursement from the airline along with transport and food. Unless the room I book is $300+ I usually get the full amount reimbursed, and even if I book something more expensive they usually reimburse most of it (they seem to have caps based on the city)
You should have flown Lufthansa. That would have fixed everything. Oh wait.
AA misconnected me at LAX once. Domestic paid First, Exec Plat.
The closest hotel they could "find" was in Long Beach. I showed them on the Hyatt app that the Regency across the street was available at a fair rate. They wouldn't (couldn't) budge. I booked the room myself and had another night credit towrds next year's Globalist.
UA misconnected me at ORD. Paid (w/miles) domestic First, no status.
I heard the passenger...
AA misconnected me at LAX once. Domestic paid First, Exec Plat.
The closest hotel they could "find" was in Long Beach. I showed them on the Hyatt app that the Regency across the street was available at a fair rate. They wouldn't (couldn't) budge. I booked the room myself and had another night credit towrds next year's Globalist.
UA misconnected me at ORD. Paid (w/miles) domestic First, no status.
I heard the passenger next to me getting the ORD Hilton. I was offered a Wyndham and not familiar with the area so didn't realize it was 20 minutes away. Was ok, though I's rate it lower than most "Amerisuites style" Hyatt Places.
DL twice has delayed my connecting flight overnight for Maint.
At LAX, I was given the Sheraton LAX. Nice property. I no sooner walked into the room when my cell phone rang. It was DL Cust Svc checking in & apologizing with 12K miles & $100 to reimburse expenses. I said I already had room & food vouchers, so my only expense beyond time was another $5 at the TUS long term parking lot. The check for $100 arrived about a week later.
At TUS (my base airport though home is north of the city [and TUS is southside]) I told the agent I really didn't want to drive home only to be back at 7am. She said no problem, select your room & get your vouchers in the app. I could choose betwe Sheraton Four Points (nope) or Doubletree. I was familiar with the DT TUS ... old decor but maintained & clean. It's actually an original design ex-Embassy Suites which I like.
Off topic, but both DL overnite flights departed within 5 minutes of the ETD we were given the day before. For the TUS-ATL, DL did nothing to recater, so breakfast (in First) was the snack basket. I wish I had known that before departure because they had provided breakfast vouchers, but I chose 30 minutes more sleep. I could've still gotten a grab-n-go at the airport.
American Airlines is the worst airline in case of IRROPS. Both in terms of the next flight they will offer you as well as these types of shenanigans. I was a BA Gold for a decade (only stopped flying them after they gutted their frequent flyer program) but avoided flying any segment on AA because it was always crazy what AA would screw up next. At this point in to/within North America I avoid OW.
You'd think with all the practice AA gets during IRROPS, they'd be pretty good at handling them by now. But the way they consistently screw things up in a compounding way, and I've been on the receiving end of it too, makes me wonder if this is actually how they are designed and want to operate.
Isn't this obvious? These hotels clearly cost the least. This isn't some mystery, secret strategy
@ yoloswag420 -- The Hilton cost more than many hotels near the airport, and that says nothing of American being on the hook for $100 in ground transport.
The Hilton was likely the cheapest "premium" (however AA or its vendor defines this) category hotel, and maybe you were offered this "premium" choice since you were in the premium cabin. Also, you don't know how much AA/its vendor paid for the Hilton. It's probably proportional to the publicly available rates you saw, but it they could be paying the same/less than hotels near the airport.
I wouldn’t be surprised if American’s tech can’t differentiate cabin or status and gives everyone the same terrible options.
I had a misconnect at O'Hare and United put me up in the Hilton right across the roadway from Terminal 2 and connected by an underground walkway. Very nice. United Airlines.
Last time I disconnected they put me up in a DoubleTree.
I don't think this is intentional. I think you're writing a shock piece for clicks.
So, based on your one stated experience, you think the author is writing a “shock piece”?
Per the article:
“The thing is, this isn’t the first time that something like this has happened to me when flying American. During my last two forced overnights with the airline, I was also appalled by the hotel options.”
Perhaps your one single experience isn’t the norm?
Nope! I had a situation in Charlotte on a misconnect delay with American where I was given a far away poor quality hotel (might have been a Quality Inn but that place did not have much quality) no drawings on the ceiling but it was lower quality than I would personally have booked myself
Impression was that they try to save money by offering hotels with vacancy and really low costs (I.e. low tier).
...Nope! I had a situation in Charlotte on a misconnect delay with American where I was given a far away poor quality hotel (might have been a Quality Inn but that place did not have much quality) no drawings on the ceiling but it was lower quality than I would personally have booked myself
Impression was that they try to save money by offering hotels with vacancy and really low costs (I.e. low tier).
Great that you got a good one but there’s others out there who noticed this pattern…
I've stayed at that Hilton, and can't beat it for convenience, that's for sure.
Had a recent perpetual delay situation with United at ORD and got offered a hotel, but the choices were pretty poor overall. However, I will say that the inventory was drying up as you were searching for it. Even as a Hilton Diamond, that was showing sold out. Ended up at the Tapestry, a fine enough hotel for what it was.
They would have given you a taxi voucher for the one with no shuttle. Did you ask ?
i think we all know the circumstances under which this would not happen
#premium
Yes, Dim, an AI-powered "superanalyst" working "seven days a week and twenty-four hours a day" would automatically scour hospitality databases for the best value to luxury options, and notify each property to have a fresh fruit basket in the room for the displaced traveler. That is after the traveler experienced the premium private Porsche transfer from the airport to property. This would be so premium that it would be delivered at negative cost through a...
Yes, Dim, an AI-powered "superanalyst" working "seven days a week and twenty-four hours a day" would automatically scour hospitality databases for the best value to luxury options, and notify each property to have a fresh fruit basket in the room for the displaced traveler. That is after the traveler experienced the premium private Porsche transfer from the airport to property. This would be so premium that it would be delivered at negative cost through a partnership with AMEX. Shareholders rejoice! (Amen)
that's exactly correct. Thank you for understanding and knowing!
I wonder if American puts their waste of human CEO in a place like this?
About 3 weeks ago, my flight out of DFW to DCA was cancelled. I was provided with a hotel and food vouchers. I was not given an option on the hotel, however they did have a shuttle. Upon check in I was given a pre-set room for AA, the counter agent looked at my voucher, turned around and grabbed a key room from a pile he had available, the room number was already assigned and...
About 3 weeks ago, my flight out of DFW to DCA was cancelled. I was provided with a hotel and food vouchers. I was not given an option on the hotel, however they did have a shuttle. Upon check in I was given a pre-set room for AA, the counter agent looked at my voucher, turned around and grabbed a key room from a pile he had available, the room number was already assigned and the key was already programmed. Did not think much of it at first and thought it was kind of convenient. However, once I went to my assigned room, it was occupied, there were dirty towels on the sink and the bed was not done. I took a couple of steps in, looked around, and turned back. Not sure if someone was in there or not. Went back and they assigned me a new room. - I clearly asked if this one was cleaned and to make sure my room would not be assigned to anyone else. I would have left if it was for it being late at night, and being extremely tired adfter a long day at the airport.
It’s not their fault. Blame the hotel. People blame airlines for everything. They don’t have inspectors. If lots of people complain they may withdraw an agreement.
If an airline doesn't inspect a hotel they choose to use as a vendor, it's the airline's fault. Putting someone up in lodging is an extension of the travel experience, and if an airline isn't aware that they're putting people up in disgusting conditions, it's the airline's responsibility to know that *before* the airline sends them to such sites.
So American caused a misconnect, and then they insult those who they caused to misconnect. Not...
If an airline doesn't inspect a hotel they choose to use as a vendor, it's the airline's fault. Putting someone up in lodging is an extension of the travel experience, and if an airline isn't aware that they're putting people up in disgusting conditions, it's the airline's responsibility to know that *before* the airline sends them to such sites.
So American caused a misconnect, and then they insult those who they caused to misconnect. Not a good look. Bad look. Very very bad look.
Who needs to send an inspector when a couple minutes on Trip Advisor will tell you if a hotel is an s hole?
Sort of similar to why stores/businesses prefer to offer compensation in credits or vouchers? Many (most of them, maybe) will never actually be used for one reason or another.
Just stayed at the ORD Hyatt Place and wouldn't recommend it either.
You would have been covered under UK Air Passenger Rights (UK261) which replaced EC261 post-Brexit. Under this regulation you can decline the hotel offered by the airline and select a reasonable hotel yourself and then send them receipts for hotel, food and taxis.
Wonderful and insightful suggestion. Thank you
No, you can't decline an offer from the airline.
In fact EU261 does not even have a built-in mechanism for self-booking of hotel/Taxi/meals. This process ist just based on claiming damages (e.g. expenses for the hotel) when the airlines do not fulfill their duties.
@Bjarne
So, then, if a pax declines a dump (which Ben did), there's no protection with EU261? That seems like a pretty big oversight, but that's an important comment you've added here if that's indeed the case.
I cited UK261 since Ben was flying from London. This regulation allows you to decline substandard accommodation. The photos of rodent droppings and the weird artwork on the ceiling would be ample evidence to justify declining the offer.
@rrapynot, this is interesting but can you please cite the section of UK261 that allows a passenger to decline a substandard accommodation? My reading of the regulation is simply that the airline must offer a misconnected passenger on an itinerary originating in the UK overnight accommodation. If they are unable to, the passenger can claim reasonable expenses themselves.
The CAA website uses the phrase "reasonable accommodation" but the regulation itself doesn't state that or...
@rrapynot, this is interesting but can you please cite the section of UK261 that allows a passenger to decline a substandard accommodation? My reading of the regulation is simply that the airline must offer a misconnected passenger on an itinerary originating in the UK overnight accommodation. If they are unable to, the passenger can claim reasonable expenses themselves.
The CAA website uses the phrase "reasonable accommodation" but the regulation itself doesn't state that or use that language.
If I have missed something in my reading here, very interested to know for future reference....
Rat droppings and dick art would be something that would make the airline offer unreasonable.
I was diverted to OKC one night. At least AA provided acceptable options, and I booked the Home2 Suites by Hilton through the link provided by AA. But when I got to the hotel, they had no record of the booking so I ended up having to pay for it myself. Even though I had a written confirmation (via text from AA).
Is it intentional? Of course.
Yeah, just pay for your own hotel, send the receipts to American (they may actually reimburse you directly especially because of an international misconnection) and whatever you don't get you can decide to file a claim with the credit card you used to book assuming they have trip insurance.
The last paragraph could have ended after the word “barrel”.
Recently misconnected at CLT and was offered the Radisson as the best option. It certainly wasn’t great and we had to pass a lot of nicer options on the way but it wasn’t bad. I definitely did think about booking my own hotel with credit card insurance but I was always told that I’d need a letter from the airline saying that they didn’t provide compensation in order to get compensated by the credit card company (Chase Sapphire Reserve in my case). Is that not true?
I believe you need a letter from the airline stating the reason for the delay / cancellation and you need to have not accepted other accommodations. You don't have to take what the airline gives you to receive the credit card trip delay insurance but you can't double dip.
location is terrible but I can confirm that the Orrington is actually pretty nice
Yeah, the Orrington has long been the best hotel in Evanston. Like, for decades.
Which shouldn't really be an option for putting up distressed pax from O'HARE IN SCHAUMBURG. But that's AA for you...
Same- I can remember my parents staying there whenever they visited my sister while she was attending Northwestern.
You know they'd never put their own employees in a dump like this. The union contracts won't allow it.
Consider their DFW options. If you misconnect there, they'll stick you in a Super 8 in Irving and send you a complimentary crackpipe for your trouble. But stews and pilots get to sleep at the Grand Hyatt, connected directly to Terminal D.
Employees with leverage get four-star accommodations. Paying customers get filth, AND they have...
You know they'd never put their own employees in a dump like this. The union contracts won't allow it.
Consider their DFW options. If you misconnect there, they'll stick you in a Super 8 in Irving and send you a complimentary crackpipe for your trouble. But stews and pilots get to sleep at the Grand Hyatt, connected directly to Terminal D.
Employees with leverage get four-star accommodations. Paying customers get filth, AND they have to stand in a long line to beg for that much.
Exact same thing happened to me but in my case it was a Days Inn. This offer was made as AA attempted twice to replace my plane to IND and in each case both replacements went “mechanical” and eventually the crew walked. So at 2:30AM AA finally cancelled the flight and sent everyone to the Days Inn. I wasn’t going to trek to that dump for what would have been a 3-5 hour stay so...
Exact same thing happened to me but in my case it was a Days Inn. This offer was made as AA attempted twice to replace my plane to IND and in each case both replacements went “mechanical” and eventually the crew walked. So at 2:30AM AA finally cancelled the flight and sent everyone to the Days Inn. I wasn’t going to trek to that dump for what would have been a 3-5 hour stay so I just camped out in terminal D. To answer Ben’s question, yes of course AA is doing this on purpose in hope you won’t take them up on it.
You got a crackpipe, too? Was it the one with the "Something Special in the Air" or "We Know Why You Fly" slogans? They are collectors' items.
American crews frequently stay at the Hyatt Regency DFW in terminal C, but I can assure you that the Grand Hyatt DFW is not a layover hotel for AA.