UK: Newspaper investigation shows how British travellers are denied bookings
German travellers are being given access to accommodation rates denied to holidaymakers from the UK, according to a report in the Daily Express.
The newspaper claims that because UK tour operators are block-booking rooms at hotels around the world, those hotels are refusing to take bookings from independent travellers from Britain – even if they are willing to accept bookings from Germans.
An Express reporter called up an “upmarket family hotel” in Tenerife, trying to book a week’s accommodation independently, having been told by tour operators there was plenty of room. However, he was told by reservations agents at the hotel that they were not allowed to sell the rooms to independent travellers until 15 days before arrival.
However, the paper’s Germany correspondent, calling with exactly the same request, was able to book a room at a very good price and found it easy to arrange cheap flights to the holiday island. Further efforts to book accommodation through UK travel agents proved fruitless, says the report, with the hotel’s reservations department repeatedly denying there was any availability.
