Dominique Oldham, 38, travelled from East Lothian to Glasgow for a Barry Manilow concert at the Hydro. She had booked a room at the Premier Inn at Pacific Quay in October. After enjoying the gig with her cousin Cara, she returned to the hotel around 11pm on June 9 to find her key card no longer worked.
When she got to her room, a 'do not disturb' sign hung on the door that she had not put there. She went back to reception, where staff said the hotel was fully booked. She explained she was not trying to book but could not access her room after checking in earlier that day.
Staff admitted room had been reassigned
Oldham told Glasgow Live: "I told them the room number and they said 'you can't get into that room'. They then told me that my stuff wasn't in the room. They had gone into my room while I was out, taken the belongings and put them behind reception – and given the room to someone else."
No manager was on shift to handle the issue. She was eventually given a different room in another part of the hotel, which angered her because she had been told no rooms were available.
Guest felt 'violated'
Oldham said: "So it wasn't fully booked – they could've put the person [who my room was given to] in an empty room. I got given a different room which was ages away from my cousin, and was worse than the room I was in before."
She described feeling "violated" and unsafe. She checked her belongings and found nothing missing, but could not sleep that night. She sent a formal complaint to the hotel on June 14 but received no response until after Glasgow Live contacted Premier Inn for comment.
Premier Inn apologises
A spokesperson for the company apologised and offered a full refund. They said: "We’re really sorry for this issue which was unfortunately caused by an isolated case of team member error during the check in process. We’ve contacted the guest directly to refund the room in full and offer a complimentary stay at a hotel of her choice. We do hope to welcome the guest back soon."
