Hotel Hikes Room Rates On Olympic Tourists

Vancouver Sun:

The former Quality Inn Vancouver Airport Hotel has been stripped of its Quality Inn franchise, leaving hundreds of customers who made guaranteed bookings for the 2010 Olympic Games facing stiff price increases to retain their rooms.

The hotel is honouring reservations guaranteed by the booking agents for its former franchise, but not the room rates made prior to the split. Rooms booked months ago for as little as $79 a night for the period of the Olympic Games now cost $350 a night and up.

John Graff reserved a room at the hotel for four nights through Choice Hotels International, Quality Inn’s parent company, six months ago. He learned this week from Choice Cares, the company’s customer service division, that his reservation has been cancelled. He was offered the chance to rebook at the renamed Airport Inn for $500 a night, a 525-per-cent increase.