Fairfield Toronto Airport Rebooking Scam: This Is Low

A Marriott affiliated property near Toronto Airport is engaging in a practice that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before, at least not to this extent. I can’t believe for how long this has seemingly been going on.

Fairfield Toronto Airport sends people to Crowne Plaza

An OMAAT reader booked a stay at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Toronto Airport directly through Marriott’s website. Three hours after booking, he received an email telling him that his reservation can’t be honored due to “unforeseen circumstances,” but that he’d be accommodated at the Crowne Plaza. Here’s what the email states:

We were looking forward to your stay with us at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Toronto Airport on [date] but unfortunately need to provide you with an alternative accommodation due to unforeseen circumstances. We are pleased to inform you that we have made arrangements for you at the full-service Crowne Plaza Toronto Airport by IHG, located at 33 Carlson Ct, Toronto, ON M9W 6H5, just 3 kilometers away from the Fairfield for the duration of your stay. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience but trust that you will have a wonderful stay at the Crowne Plaza. Rest assured that all the same services and more are available to you and your party including complimentary full buffet breakfast, complimentary Pearson Airport shuttle service and an on-site restaurant.

The Crowne Plaza has been informed of all your reservation details and will be expecting your arrival, please feel free to travel straight there.

Okay, sometimes things do happen at hotels, that cause guests to need to be rebooked elsewhere. However, he became a little suspicious given how quickly after booking he received this email. Furthermore, he noticed that the hotel was still selling rooms for the same date even after being told the reservation couldn’t be honored.

The hotel apparently isn’t actually operating right now

If you look at the TripAdvisor reviews for this property, every single review over the past year has the same theme — the reservation couldn’t be honored due to “unforeseen circumstances,” and guests were moved elsewhere, typically to the Crowne Plaza.

So, what’s going on here? According to the most recent review, it seems the hotel may have a government contract for housing people, and isn’t actually accepting any guests:

This hotel is housing homeless people and is not capable of taking any guests at this time. Take a look at the reviews, for months they have been taking reservations and switching people to other hotels. I unfortunately went to this hotel this week and the entire lobby looks like a scene out of the last of us show. Totally fraudulent activity and dishonourable business practice. DO NOT BOOK HERE and please complain to Marriott. What a shameful business.

So, what’s the hotel’s motivation for selling rooms, then? I imagine there are two things at play:

• The Fairfield is typically priced higher than the Crowne Plaza, so guests are stuck paying a higher rate for a hotel they didn’t actually want to stay at
• I imagine the Fairfield and Crowne Plaza have some sort of a revenue split, as this is a way for the Crowne Plaza to fill a lot more rooms with those who may not otherwise consider staying at the brand (due to loyalty, or whatever else)

I think this practice as such is deceiving and dishonest. But what really takes it to the next level is the claim that this is due to “unforeseen circumstances,” which is a blatant lie. The hotel knows exactly what it’s doing.

So, is there any way to handle this situation to come out ahead? The reader brings up the Ultimate Reservation Guarantee, whereby Marriott has published compensation amounts when your reservation can’t be honored. If you have high tier elite status, you could be looking at $100 plus 90,000 Bonvoy points in compensation, in addition to having your night covered elsewhere.

There’s a catch, though, as this restriction is in the terms & conditions:

A Participating Property must be open and operational for the Ultimate Reservation Guarantee benefit/compensation to apply.

I imagine the hotel would claim it isn’t open or operational, and therefore, would be able to reject that claim. Clearly the hotel wants it both ways — it wants to accept bookings as if it’s open, but wants to be allowed to make cancelations as if it’s closed.

Bottom line

The Fairfield Inn & Suites Toronto Airport is running quite the hustle. For a long time now, the hotel appears to be closed for some sort of a government housing contract. The hotel continues to accept reservations, though, and then simply rebooks guests at the Crowne Plaza, claiming it’s due to “unforeseen circumstances.”

This is really low, both because the hotel is deceiving guests, and also because the Crowne Plaza is typically priced lower than the Fairfield Inn & Suites.

What do you make of this Fairfield YYZ’s rebooking practice?