Fury has erupted over the price travellers caught up in the weekend’s Heathrow fire chaos were forced to pay to find a bed in London’s hotels.
Some properties have been accused of cashing in on the blaze that engulfed a substation leading to the airport’s closure by hiking the cost of a room.
The boss of travel website HotelPlanner.com, which keeps a close tab on price fluctuations during crises, said parts of the hospitality industry had been ‘price gouging’ as demand for overnight stays soared.
Tim Hentschel, chief executive and co-founder of HotelPlanner.com, told the London Standard that hotels near the airport capitalised on a huge spike in demand, resulting in a noticeable increase in room rates.
“For instance, a standard room at a hotel near the airport that typically costs £120 (BD60) per night sold for over £350 (BD175), with some upscale properties increasing their rates by as much as 50 per cent.
“In extreme cases, some hotels are massively inflating their rates with North Avenue Guest House charging £1,000 (BD500) for a standard room for two people, compared to £54 (BD27) next Friday.
“Hotels near major transport hubs like Heathrow often see price fluctuations during such crises, as supply struggles to meet the sudden demand, but there is also an essence of the hospitality industry price gouging to cash in on unfortunate circumstances, which is a real shame,” he added.
One British expatriate family travelling back to Bahrain said: “It was a complete nightmare. We managed to find a hotel and paid well over the odds. I’m not looking forward to receiving the credit card bill next month.”
At the same time, the Civil Aviation Authority confirmed the view of experts that compensation was unlikely to be available from airlines because the disruption would be viewed as having been caused by ‘extraordinary circumstances’ out of their control.
London’s Heathrow Airport resumed full operations yesterday, a full day after a fire knocked out its power supply and shut Europe’s busiest airport, causing global travel chaos.
Worst travel day of my entire life, says Bahrain-based British blogger; Airport resumes operations – Page 19
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