Expedia says a technical glitch made a BC hotel appear open for bookings even though it was burned in a devastating fire in 2023.
Guest Andrea Hudson booked a stay at the Salmo Hotel ahead of Shambhala Music Festival, and only found out it was closed when she tried contacting the property to ask if it had air conditioning.
“I’m glad I checked before we pulled up to a burned-out shell of a building,” she told Daily Hive in July.
Expedia now tells Daily Hive it was in contact with the hotel after the 2023 fire at which point the hotel wanted to restrict bookings on Expedia.
“Due to a technical issue that request did not go through,” the travel company told Daily Hive Tuesday. “The technical issue has since been resolved and the property is not available to book on Expedia until 2025.”
The Salmo Hotel is pictured in April 2023, less than six months before it caught on fire. (Kirk Fisher/Shutterstock)
The Salmo Hotel told Daily Hive back in July it cancelled all bookings or moved guests to other area motels. It confirmed it has no outstanding bookings on its end.
Hudson booked the hotel stay nearly a year in advance of her arrival, before the fire broke out. She and her friends attend Shambhala every year, and usually book accommodation once they know the dates of the festival.
It wasn’t until a few weeks before Shambhala that Hudson tried reaching out to the Salmo Hotel directly. When nobody picked up the phone she Googled the property and came across news articles about the fire.
At the time her Expedia was showing her reservation as valid, and prompted her to check in soon.
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She had to rush to find alternate accommodation for her group of six in time for the festival.
“For a little while, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to find anything else,” she said. “The festival draws so many people I was amazed that there was anything anywhere in the area.”
Luckily she found another hotel, but it was more expensive and 50 kilometres further away.
Expedia apologized to Hudson for the confusion over the status of her booking. It offered her relocation services at the time, but said she cancelled them.
“We will be offering Ms. Hudson additional loyalty compensation as a gesture of goodwill and hope that she has a better experience next time she chooses to travel with Expedia.”