Originally Posted by
simons1
If you could demonstrate (for example via screen shots) that due to supply and demand $500 was the going rate in NY then BA would have to pay. EC261 does not restrict amounts in this area.
BA's guideline is just that, a guide. For a long time they didn't have (or publish) a guideline and going back a few years that caused anxiety for some passengers too, who wanted reassurance that their claim would be paid. I don't think there is a perfect solution here, except perhaps to give passengers a discount code or corporate rate code that can be used on one the large chains such as Hilton/Marriott/IHG. If that was used then BA would keep their costs down and know that genuinely the passenger was on a sensible rate.
That said, I've had a few irrops at JFK and LGA in sticky situations (e.g. bad weather when everyone is looking for a room) and so far the most I've paid in recent years is $240 (currently £185), and as little as $120. Queens and Brooklyn are a fair bit cheaper than Manhattan. But if genuinely the room rates were greatly higher then BA would have no choice but to pay up, and eventually they will do so.