"Breakfast included" , excluding weekends
I was trying to book a 4-day stay in Lyon, France, in a 3-star hotel belonging to a major chain. Their website advertised a rate with a slight discount, a counterpart to a slightly restrictive cancellation policy.
The rate was listed as "including breakfast". However, upon requesting details, I was in for a surprise, as the breakfast is only included for the first two days, as shown here :
(Screenshot edited for brevity and to remove the hotel name).
Having travelled quite a bit in multiple countries, I never faced having a service offered only part of a stay. Has it become a common occurrence in an attempt to drive rates down ? Do major hotels actually engage in such deceptive practices or is it likely a mistake or bug in the website ?
EDITED Oct 25th : December 26th and 27th are a Saturday and a Sunday. Breakfast is similarly not included on the 19th and 20th if I try to book a week earlier. However the standard rate (with free last-minute cancellation) does include the breakfast even on weekends.
The cost of two days' worth of breakfasts is about 2/3 of the difference between the discounted and the standard rate.
Best Answer
Do major hotels actually engage in such deceptive practices or is it likely a mistake or bug in the website ?
I'm leaning towards mistake/bug, since it is clearly stated breakfast included, and French consumer protection laws are quite good. Since this is happening in France, I'm guessing the reason of this inconsistency is that the breakfast staff is taking some time off due to Christmas.
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Answer 2
Has it become a common occurrence in an attempt to drive rates down ?
Not really. That's the first time I've seen that (and I use hotels a lot)
Do major hotels actually engage in such deceptive practices
They do and it's getting worse and worse. There are lots of hidden fees and taxes that they glob on to advertise an artifically low price. "Resort fee" is good example of that. This has gotten A LOT worse over the last 3-4 years to the point where Internet search sites become almost useless. Extreme examples include Hotwire and AirBnb where the final rate is often more than double the advertised price. But brand name chains like IHG or Marriott do this too.
or is it likely a mistake or bug in the website ?
That's entirely possible too. I would call and ask. "3 days or more with breakfast included" is not compatible with only two days of breakfast.
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