What To Do If Your Hotel Is Over Booked

Nothing is more maddening than checking in to your hotel after a long trip to find someone has made a mistake and the hotel is over booked. With tired kids, and tired parents, keeping your cool is difficult, but doing so will go a long way to helping you get through.

Be polite. Yes, a mistake was made, but it's likely that the person you are talking to is not the person who made the mistake. If you are calm and polite, the desk clerk is less likely to refund your deposit and send you out to find another hotel.

If possible, have your spouse or adult travel partner take the kids for a bite to eat in the hotel restaurant or to the parking lot to run off steam. Working out a solution will be easier if your children are not next to you reminding you how tired they are.

Ask to speak to the hotel manager. He or she may be able to send you to a neighboring hotel. Remember that the hotel you have reservations with is under no obligation to keep your reservation under emergency circumstances.

Understand that in very small towns, there may not be another hotel. In that case, the hotel manager may ask you to share a room with another guest. Obviously, not an ideal situation, but if the next town is seventy- five miles away and you are exhausted, you may not have any other option. In that case, approach it as an adventure, a chance to meet someone you would not have met otherwise. Be gracious and understanding toward your roommates. They are in the same situation that you are.

Check the local business directory for a nearby bed and breakfast.

If you leave the hotel, don't forget to get a full refund. Sometimes in the heat of the moment, refunds are forgotten.

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