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Hi
Asking for a friend. He is stuck in Paris and he was with his wife for a weekend surprise at the ritz. They due to the uk air traffic issue they had to stay in Paris 1 more night can he put through his 1 night stay at the ritz as this was the hotel they stayed at?
Guidance in multiple other posts on this site suggests £200 is likely to be reimbursed
The test as to whether an expense is reimbursable under UK261 is exactly the same subjective test whether it is for a Holiday Inn or the Ritz. The expense must be “necessary, appropriate and reasonable”. In principle, it should be totally acceptable (and meet the three tests) to remain in one’s existing hotel whereas to move from a two star to a five star would not wash (unless there were genuinely no alternative options), nor should the passenger be expected to downgrade.
There is no certainty BA will pay the full sum, but if they don’t pay or only pay a reduced sum, your friend can check with his insurers to see if they will cover the difference, and many will. The alternative is to challenge BA at CEDR or MCOL.
They key is to be able to demonstrate that one is spending BA’s money as if it were one’s own, rather than trying to benefit from the disruption.
Guidance in multiple other posts on this site suggests £200 is likely to be reimbursed
The £200 is just a BA invented guideline and should be on a per person basis; you can’t necessarily be expected to share with others on your booking and parents shouldn’t necessarily have to share a room with their children. £200 is also a wholly inadequate sum in many places. Ultimately, each case needs to be considered on its merits, but the £200 sum is a sort of safety net where you should be OK.
Ha, this is brilliant. Keep us posted if it does get reimbursed.
Ha, this is brilliant. Keep us posted if it does get reimbursed.
BA does pay! I have this month received £400 for one extra night at a Park Hyatt which is twice the sum I asked for! I never planned to claim at all, but since they were being arsey about another claim for just over £300 which is currently at MCOL, I claimed anyway. I had one free night at the hotel but following a cancellation needed to stay a second night, so I only claimed for ½ night (plus lunch and dinner) but said this was on the basis they paid without making me go to CEDR/MCOL. Rejected in full on the basis cancellation notified over 14 days in advance. I wrote them a nice email saying I think xxx has made a mistake, please look again and reminding them of the generosity of my offer. They wrote back two days later, saying they would pay the night in full plus the two meals in full despite there being rather a lot alcohol clearly itemised on both bills. They got a great deal as the BAR for the room is US$1,200 without breakfast. I’m only silver, so have no leverage, but there is something in how one addresses a claim and there’s no one size fits all method.
You’re absolutely right @JDB, they’ve been very generous with reimbursements although it definitely works in airlines’ favour that most think the limit is £200 or “a 3 star hotel max”. I hope you enjoyed what must have been your first decent glass of champagne on BA 😉
They paid £500 for my night in Porto. Since there were two of us we split the claim, each claiming £250.
It’s £200 per person.
They paid £500 for my night in Porto. Since there were two of us we split the claim, each claiming £250.
It’s £200 per person.
How does this logic work?
The BA cap is £200 per person. So if there are 2 pax and you book a room that costs £400, BA will cover it. If you just ask £400 on one claim, BA Customer Service that glances 30 seconds at your email will just copy and paste the rejection.
It also helps later if you need to go to court. I also always split the MCOL claims as that is 2x fees for BA (or any other airline for that matter) especially given most deny perfectly valid claims.
The BA cap is £200 per person. So if there are 2 pax and you book a room that costs £400, BA will cover it. If you just ask £400 on one claim, BA Customer Service that glances 30 seconds at your email will just copy and paste the rejection.
It also helps later if you need to go to court. I also always split the MCOL claims as that is 2x fees for BA (or any other airline for that matter) especially given most deny perfectly valid claims.
BA’s guidelines simply say “reasonable” expenses and despite their public proclamations of £200 I really didn’t think they could deny claims above this arbitrary threshold (considering £200 is not a lot in today’s hotel climate for last min bookings)
It really depends on the person who checks. There are a few good agents out there…
Many decades ago, I gave my father mumps while we were in Gibraltar. We were staying in the Rock Hotel – after very cheap stays in Morocco and Spain – and so had to extend by a week or so until my father was fit to fly.
Insurance company questioned the stay in Gib’s most expensive hotel. My mother sent them receipts from previous years – their cheque was then popped straight in the post.
As said, it is not an excuse to try somewhere you wouldn’t normally stay. But if that’s where you normally stay – tough titty for the airline!
Or when I went for a flying scholarship interview at RAF Biggin Hill many decades ago.
My pal and I came off the overnight train from Scotland and had breakfast at Fortum and Mason. We presented the receipt to the corporal at Biggin.
“Fortum and Mason, the Queen’s bloomin’ grocers! What were you thinking off?” he exclaimed.
“But we always eat there when we are in London,” I replied.
“Bloomin’ officer cadets,” he replied. And OK’d the bill!
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