Originally Posted by
Mitch 511
First, it is not CO job to provide you a hotel room b/c of ATC or WX delays. CO has zero control over these 2 issues. I would say that if the agent has time they can give you a list of hotels that would offer a discount rate.
That is assuming they have time to do so. At the end of the day it is the passenger's problem. NOT CO. I'm sure all of the "elite" folks will cry and whine if they were not giving a hotel during an atc/wx delay. Like SFO said, sometimes they just don't have time to get to it.
I hope you are not a CO employee. If you are, I'm guessing you must be EWR based where many things seem to be the "passenger's problem. NOT CO."
Channa's suggestion is a good one. It would not take five seconds for the agent meeting a "seven-hour delayed" flight to announce that though CO is not responsible for hotel accommodations for connecting passengers "distressed passenger" information is available at the desk or ticket counter.
In the really bad-news scenario which I have faced a number of times (extreme weather problems) the agent could also suggest that because area hotels are booked full there would likely be no "distressed passenger" rooms and the best procedure would be to head directly to the hotel phone bank. Frequent travelers will probably have their own preferred ways of dealing with the situation like those mentioned above.