Yesterday I (along with several other travelers) was "walked" (denied a hotel room and sent somewhere far away) by the Doubletree Guest Suites Minneapolis from my confirmed and guaranteed reservation which I had made a month in advance.

OK, someone here please help me with this. I understand why airlines overbook. If people don't show up, the airlines lose the revenue associated with lost ticket sales for other people who would have booked those seats. Even with a non-refundable ticket, a no-show passenger can use the value of the ticket toward future flights.

But what about hotels where I have given them a credit card and they tell me, in writing, that my reservation is "guaranteed for late arrival"?? Do I just not understand English, or does the word "guarantee" not mean, you know, guarantee, as in they guarantee my reservation? If they have told me in writing that it is guaranteed, how are they within their legal rights to tell me when I show up for check-in "Oops, sorry, no rooms left"?

If I don't show up, they still get my money because they are authorized to charge my credit card for the night when I didn't show up. I'm going to pay them regardless, so where do they get off bumping me from my downtown hotel reservation to some place 15 miles away in the countryside that is nowhere near where I need to be?

The other thing that infuriates me is that the compensation they offer for this type of situation (paying the first night's hotel charge and giving taxi vouchers for transport to and from the alternate hotel) demonstrates a total ignorance about the needs of business travelers. I am not paying out of pocket for my stay, so I don't care if they cover the first night. I also don't care that they're paying for transport between the hotels and upgrading my room the second night. The last thing I need in a business trip is the extra hassle involved in switching hotels, checking in, unpacking, re-packing, checking out, checking-in, and unpacking again. This kind of compensation does not compensate me in any way for the inconvenience.

If I complain, can I expect anything such as extra HHonors points or a free night's stay somewhere? It seems to me the airlines offer far better compensation for involuntary denied boarding than the worthless compensation (from the perspective of business travelers) hotels give for overbooking.

And finally, is there any way to prevent the hotel from doing this to you when you know you will arrive late? If I call the hotel early on the day of arrival to let them know I am coming and to ask them not to "walk" me, will they hold my room? If, at the time of reservation, I put a note in the record "Please do not walk me if hotel overbooked," will this help??? Does elite status with the hotel's frequent guest program make any difference?

And finally, what does it say about this so-called "service" industry that I have to expend so much time and energy watching my reservations, contacting them, and trying to plead and cajole them into not canceling the room that they supposedly "guaranteed" me?!?