Octopus: Pricing error wasn't a stunt

OctopusTravel.com claims to have lost thousands of pounds in operating profit by honouring a series of pricing errors. The online accommodation provider allegedly priced rooms in the wrong currency, which left opportune customers booking luxury hotels at very low rates. According to Octopus, one customer paid £1.50 for a night in The Metorpolitan Bangkok, a four star property where rooms usually start at £55 per night. A spokeswoman for the company said the error happened on the weekend of 21 November, when an operator in the Far East entered the rate in the wrong currency. She denied that it was a PR stunt, but conceded that the incident was likely to generate lots of hits for the website, with people looking for similar mistakes. Octopus provides online accommodation to companies like easyJet, Eurostar, National Express and bmi, as well as sightseeing and excursions.