A hotel chain in Manchester has been accused of cancelling a booking after the Oasis reunion was announced – and relisting the room for a higher price.
Sacha Lord, the night-time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, wrote on X last night that he’d been contacted by “several people” who were told their rooms had been cancelled by Maldron Hotels after a “computer error”.
He claimed they were later “back up for three times the price”.
Several users have replied saying they have been affected by the issue.
Oasis fan Mark Slinger, 36, who lives on the Isle of Man, told Sky News he booked a room at the four-star Maldron Hotel in Manchester city centre for 20 July – the final night of Oasis’s run of shows at Heaton Park next year.
He made the £90 reservation through booking.com yesterday morning when the band announced their major reunion tour.
However, he was contacted by the hotel in the evening asking him to cancel the booking.
The email says: “We are writing to inform you of an issue with your booking at Maldron Hotel Manchester City Centre.
“Due to a technical error, you have received a confirmation for a booking that was not successfully made. Unfortunately we are unable to accommodate your booking at this time.”
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The email added a cancellation request had been sent, which Mark was asked to “accept promptly”.
He told Sky News he hasn’t accepted the request and won’t be doing so. He also doesn’t believe the issue was down to a “technical error”.
“They realised they can cancel and re-sell at four times the price due to the Oasis gig,” he said.
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Maldron Hotels told Sky News: “Due to a technical error with our booking system on 26th & 27th August 2024, substantially more rooms were booked than were available for the nights of the Oasis concerts on 11th/12th/19th/20th July 2025 at Maldron Hotel Manchester City and Maldron Hotel Cathedral Quarter.
“As a result, we are unable to honour all bookings made on these dates, and we are actively engaging with customers regarding their bookings.
“The hotels are currently not taking any bookings while we investigate the issue. This is not an attempt to resell rooms at inflated prices, rather an overbooking issue due to a technical error with our booking systems.
“Additionally, due to the same technical error, a small number of customers were able to book the rooms at a higher price later that evening. We will also be unable to accommodate these bookings.
“We will be honouring all bookings made prior to 26th August. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Have you been affected by this issue? Let us know via WhatsApp.
Source : Sky News
