I'm irked by this, especially since I post all over FT in praise of Priceline's hotel deals.

I looked at the Priceline T&C and didn't see anything particularly addressing this.

I don't know what the normal procedure for walking a guest it, but I gather that it involves at a minimum a free room elsewhere, transportation to and from the other hotel, and perhaps sometimes some other accommodation (like extra points)? Isn't it the norm that the walked-to hotel is not comparable to the one you were stayed at (if the Hyatt is full, the Marriott probably is also)?

As a curiosity, it is that hotels overbook because they expect cancellations prior to the cancellation deadline? Or do they actually count on some no-shows after the cancellation deadline whom they will charge anyway, plus to sell the room for cash?

It seems to me that getting the free room at HP, and getting a refund from Priceline, plus transportation to HP, should be adequate. Maybe Hyatt should also do something (not sure what) to grease the skids for the refund from Priceline, rather than putting Our Hero in email/voice menu hell.

If he ends up having been offered free accommodations at HP, I don't think that's so unfair - I think the walking policy is normally "If we can't accommodate you here, your stay elsewhere is free." What did he get that was less than that?