Quote:
Originally Posted by mavjb
This has not been my first time to the Dominican Republic as I do free lance writing for travel magazines and my friend is a travel agent. Together, I think we have accumulated enough miles in third world countries to have an inkling towards the in's and out's of various situations. The airline has a CONTRACT with this hotel so essentially, they ARE responsible for whatever transpires under the caveat of their agreement.
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I'm sure the contract is to provide you with a room with a bed and to accept the meal vouchers the airline gives you but subject to their terms, dress codes, etc. It sucks that given your circumstances the "worm of a manager" couldn't see clear to bend the rules for you, especially since the restaurant was about to close, but you really can't fault the airline for his behaviour.
Last year my friend and I took a voluntary bump out of Maui on US Airways. The flight to Phoenix leaves late at night so by the time we got all of our vouchers processed and were transported to the hotel it was almost 3 AM. The sign at the desk clearly stated "check out time is by 10 AM" but were told by the US Air representative that since the next day's flight left @11 PM and it was so late that we could have the room "for as long as we wanted." Wasn't I surprised as were the 2 others who volunteered that we were each expected to pay a $100 late checkout fee since we kept the rooms past 10 AM and that the hotel couldn't bill the airline.
I wrote a letter to US Air upon my return and included a receipt for the charge but was told "nothing we can do - it's the hotel's policy, not ours." You live and learn!