Maybe it was his way of asking if you'd take a voluntary walk for a free room without the rest before they had to walk someone involuntarily--like an airline asking for volunteers from an overbooked flight, and offering some amount of credit before they have to start picking people and paying more. Some people will do it, some won't want to. My first question would have been what other accommodations? I wouldn't want to stay in a dump or a long way from where I wanted to be, but yeah a free night in a comparable or better place could be worth it, all else being equal.