Bohemiana

I pre-paid (no refund) through Booking.com at a Mercure hotel in Paris for 4 rooms in December and our stay is in 3 weeks. This morning I got an email from Mercure that the hotel is closed and they "can't welcome us." Accor says they sold the property and because we booked through a third party there's nothing they can do. Accor says they don't even know which hotel purchased the old Mercure hotel. Booking.com says they haven't heard the hotel closed but they will check into it. It seems to me that our money went to Mercure so they should re-book us into another Mercure Paris property. I checked around at prices and now they are nearly double what they were 6 months ago. The T&C on Booking.com says our contract is with the hotel. Any suggestions on how to proceed?

mikew99

I have not run into this situation personally, but perhaps you'll get a response from someone with first-hand experience.

Alternatively, I would directly contact the hotel to see whether they will honor the reservation as booked. Of course, you won't get any Accor benefits (if these apply to third-party bookings), but at least you'll have a room. However, with third-party bookings, the travel agent that accepts the booking doesn't always transmit the reservation information to the hotel until just before the stay.

Therefore, I would next check with whoever charged your credit card for the booking. I'm guessing that is booking.com; if so, then they are your agent and should either reconfirm the booking with the new hotel or return your money. You might also ask them to find a suitable replacement for the money you've already paid.

Lastly, due to the third-party booking, I think that Accor would be the least likely to be able to help, but hopefully one of the above approaches will make things right.

Often1

I would wait until tomorrow and see what .com comes up with for you. If you don't hear early in the day, call back. If need be, do a three-way with Accor to force the issue.

I would then call the property directly and see what they can do. Perhaps they will accept the .com booking as a new booking. Perhaps they will give you the old rate and you can cancel with .com for a refund and then pay the property directly.

In the meantime, pull out your travel insurance policy and read it carefully. Perhaps it covers something here? E.g., the extra cost of booking a new place.

Bohemiana

When I spoke to the customer service rep at Accor she told us to reply to the email we got yesterday to see what happens. So we replied to the email from the Mercure Paris Champs Elysees asking what we should do as the stay is pre-paid. We got an email this morning from Dokhan Luxury Hotels (part of Marriott) telling us to give them our bank account information and they will refund the money. It's all very strange as we paid by credit card. It almost seems like an email scam. Booking.com still has no notification the reservation is cancelled or that the property has closed. When Booking.com called the property, there was no answer. However, four other people in our party booked 2 rooms at the Mercure Paris Champs Elysees via Delta Vacations and Delta Vacations did just get notification the hotel closed May 12 and those people will probably be rebooked at Le Dokhan's down the street from the former Mercure. Le Dokhan's is quite a nice hotel. Booking.com said they will try to book us in a comparable property as the Mercure with similar reviews. Of course, we all booked rooms in the same hotel so we could be together and we all paid the same amount for our rooms. It seems to me that Dokhan Luxury Hotels is the new owner and they should relocate us rather than Booking.com. Honestly, I know there's nothing available nearby in central Paris for anywhere near the price we paid so a refund is the last thing I want because it will cost much more to rebook now. I'm going to let it play out and see what happens for a couple of days.

Often1

I would call during the business day in Paris and see if you can't find a manager. Perhaps you can talk him into giving you the rate you paid or something close. I never like email in these situations.

warakorn

Contract with the original hotel is still in force. The hotel (that is to be closed) has to find you alternative accomodation. Just a refund is not enough.

Bohemiana

Here's an update! After we got that email asking for our bank account information, I decided to wait before I replied and see what you guys said and to see what would transpire. This morning we got another email and it was from Tribute Portfolio (a Marriott brand) that they would accommodate us in Le Dokhan's for the 4 nights at no extra cost. I also got an email from Booking.com stating the same thing. So I called Delta and told them where we were moved to so Delta put the others in our party also in Le Dokhan's. Phew!! I'm so happy Marriott came through. I was ready to call Marriott directly although I have no status I've been an SPG member for decades. I'm pretty certain that if these 4 rooms weren't prepaid we would have been out of luck.

freQ