The OYO rooms booking failure in Kerala recently led the Ernakulam District Consumer Commission to impose a fine of Rs 1.10 lakh on the firm. This happened in the case of customer Arun Das. He had booked a room through OYO at a Kollam hotel, named Mangalath Hotel. The worst OYO Rooms booking failure occurred when the owner of the hotel asked for Rs 2,500 more per room.
The complainant, who was on a tour with his family, was left stranded in the wee hours of the night. He had to search for another place to put up. The Consumer Commission passed the order in favour of Arun Das citing financial and emotional distress caused due to the entire incident. The court ordered OYO to pay an award of Rs 1 lakh as compensation and Rs 10,000 as the cost of the court for OYO Rooms booking failure.
OYO rooms booking failure: Court holds company liable for unethical business practices
It is to be paid within 30 days. The court rejected the contention of the hotel owner that he has no agreement with OYO and observed liability on the firm for maintaining unethical business practices. The present case of OYO rooms booking failure acts as a lesson for both OYO and its partnered hotels to live up to service commitments.
The judgment brought into light the need to treat customers with respect. Also, it discusses the responsibility of the online booking platform to make sure its partners do the talking. The fact that the family was not able to stay in any OYO rooms really marred the travel experience. It brought into question the viability of third-party hotel booking sites.
How OYO Rooms addresses these issues will be key to preventing these incidents from affecting its brand reputation. It is because the business is expanding internationally. The accommodation services have expanded their business across 35+ countries. It accommodates customers across 174,000+ hotels and rooms. How this mishap will be solved remains to be seen.
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