The case of Ms. Nguyen Y Quyen, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City, who was refused a room at 2:00 a.m. on November 9, despite having paid all the costs, still received a lot of attention and fierce controversy from the online community.
A series of posts and discussions on social networking platforms have attracted hundreds of comments surrounding this situation. The story of the unprofessional attitude of receptionists is already clear.
However, the focus of the controversy is on the hotel's policy. Many opinions say that customers have paid for all 3 nights of the hotel room, so they have the right to check-in at the hotel and use the service at any time during those 3 days - the hotel has absolutely no right to decide.
Most controversial opinions say that the hotel was wrong to cancel the room and rent it out to someone else without any notice.
So, is this really true?
In fact, in cases where customers have booked a hotel room but do not come at the right time to check-in at the hotel or airport, the term "full show" is used.
The term "fill in show" is used to refer to customers who have booked a hotel room but do not check in on the scheduled day, without announcing the cancellation or change of booking before. The hotel is only obliged to keep the room until the time specified in the policy.
On the hotel's official website or on online booking applications, room dealers have announcements about the "fill in show" policy.
For example, the Vinpearl and Muong Thanh hotel systems both regulate "full show" which is a case where guests do not come to receive a room until23:59 on the day of receiving a room or at another time during the stay period as notified. The system will return the room to the empty room fund for sale after this deadline without having to notify if the customer is not present and complete the procedures to receive the room.
Some affordable accommodation facilities, small and medium-sized, can commit to keeping rooms until 6:00 p.m. or 10:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. on the same day.
This regulation in Vietnam is rarely mentioned as the term "fill in the show" but is constructed as a customer not coming to receive a room, not completing the room reservation, or checking in at other times of stay via email/notice of booking confirmation; or not calling to cancel within the period allowed for free cancellation.
When guests do not come to receive a room, the "full show" fee can be the rent for a night's accommodation with tax; or the entire cost of booking for the nights. The fee is not fixed, depending on the policy of each accommodation facility.
However, due to not researching carefully, many tourists still think that they have the right to check-in at any time of the day because they have paid for the room in advance.
Ms. Duong Kim Anh - an agent specializing in booking hotel rooms and air tickets in Hanoi - said that the "full show" policy is often applied to both hotel rooms and air tickets. It is common for customers to book rooms but arrive late compared to the standard check-in time.
However, she noted: "Tourism services are not like a fixed item, but if you buy them, it is your business, whether you use them or not is also your business. Customers pay for accommodation services - do not have to buy the whole room, so the tenant must comply with the regulations of the hotel, accommodation facilities and general regulations of the service industry".
According to Ms. Kim Anh, guests who come to the room late often have a certain delay. In the first case, if you arrive late but still come to the hotel within the day (22:00-23), the hotel is often not allowed to cancel the guests' rooms (regardless of whether the guests have announced the arrival date or not). This is included in the regulations on check-in hours of each hotel.
In the second case, if the customer does not arrive after the date of booking, does not report to the hotel or the booking agent, the hotel has the right to cancel the booking in accordance with the prescribed regulations.
In the case of the Royal hostel hotel on Hang Chao street, Ms. Duong said that because the tourists had left their rooms without reporting to the hotel for two or three nights, the hotel did not keep their rooms. If visitors announce to the hotel that they will be late after a day or two, the hotel will keep their room, Ms. Kinh Anh commented.
Regarding communication between the hotel and the customer, Ms. Kim Anh said that the hotel does not have an obligation to call the customer to ask why the customer has not arrived before canceling the room.
She commented that if the hotel is professional and takes good care of customers, the receptionist can directly ask the guests or the booking agent why the guests have not come to receive the room.
This may not be mentioned in the training process or mandatory regulations at affordable accommodation establishments, boarding houses, motels, and hotels in the 1-3 star segment.
For customers booking through OTA (online booking platforms), the hotel sometimes does not have direct contact information so they cannot contact customers.
This could be due to the platform hiding the phone numbers and emails of guests - for security reasons, or preventing hotels from selling rooms directly to guests without going through the platform. In some cases, customers do not leave real phone numbers, or do not leave contact information.
Therefore, guests should proactively report to the hotel/agents/online booking applications if they arrive later than the prescribed time for support and answers to questions.
It is not mandatory for hotels to call to confirm the cancellation of rooms to guests. It is like when a passenger checks in at the airport but forgets to board the plane. At regular times, airport staff can call the phone number on the ticket to ask if the passenger wants to fly, or not call the passenger. Customers themselves need to be proactive in these cases.
As a booking agent, Ms. Kim Anh always advises customers to contact immediately for support when problems arise. She also confirmed to customers the room acceptance and room return times, if she arrived late, she should report to the agent. Therefore, most customers who book rooms or air tickets through agents use the service smoothly, without serious problems.
Ms. Kim Anh added that currently, many hotels in Vietnam and around the world accept deposits to reserve rooms for guests.
Customers who book via OTA also have many forms of payment later, on-site payment or 100% pre-payment. If booking through an agent/OTA has been paid 100%, when the booking department has exceeded the prescribed deadline or does not come to receive the room on time, the customer will be charged 100% of the booking fee even if not used.
"Wherever you book, you should take full notes with important notes and reminders. Therefore, customers need to read carefully and understand the problem of not being willing to bear losses on their side, said Ms. Kim Anh.
