During the pandemic, airlines started cutting back on expenses including when they were sticking it to customers. For instance,

• Big airlines other than Delta cut way back on compensation they’d offer when they oversold a flight.
  
• Airlines increased the length of a schedule change required for fee-free rebooking or refund (while most airlines reverted to pre-pandemic policies, American Airlines has not).
  
• And American even cut back on its obligations during delays and cancellations.

One American Airlines rules change was that they would no longer reimburse a hotel when a customer got stranded due to a mechanical or crew cancellation or delay. You’d have to wait for a hotel voucher, even if it meant an hour in line, and if they didn’t have a hotel to offer you were simply out of luck.

Cranky Flier defended this change but American’s systems were so poor they were denying customers hotel nights even when they were entitled to them.

In summer 2022, the Department of Transportation strong-armed airlines into covering hotels and meals during delays that are their fault. American already did, but as airlines updated their contracts of carriage to include this the particulars changed. American was on the hook for a room, even if the provider they were using for hotel inventory couldn’t deliver. So they started reimbursing passengers in that scenario.

While American will now reimburse hotel nights under specific circumstances, their conditions for doing so are totally unreasonable. Here’s a message to an Executive Platinum customer:

Since we occasionally need to provide our customers with hotel rooms, we do have approved rates with local hotels in each city. Therefore, when we provide reimbursement for hotel expenses, we do so at that rate. Since you overnighted in Charlotte, we will be able to reimburse for your hotel expense at a maximum rate of $100.00 for your family.

Adding to this, please include your full mailing address in your response as reimbursement checks are sent via the postal service. Also, kindly note that the total reimbursement cost will exclude all taxes and VAT.

As a bulk buyer of rooms they negotiate some fantastic discounts for themselves. They don’t want to reimburse more. But in this case they do not have any negotiated rates available. Indeed, it may be that they don’t have any rooms to offer because they’re willing to spend so little, which is why a customer can get a room while the American Airlines hotel provider can’t – there just aren’t rooms available for a discounted price.

And regardless, American says they won’t pay for taxes on the room. What the..? They must have an in-house lawyer who believes their commitment to cover the room is distinguishable from a commitment to cover room taxes, though you cannot buy one without the other.

I suppose a willingness to reimburse passengers for rooms during controllable overnight delays when they cannot provide one directly is an improvement over the previous policy, but the room cost and tax exclusion in this case are clearly unreasonable and tantamount to not covering the cost of a room as their contract of carriage and customer service commitment require. I’d file a complaint with DOT.

This also underscores, of course, that you do not want to spend the night in the sort of hotel that American Airlines will provide for you when they cancel a flight or delay it overnight and you’re unexpectedly forced to stay in a city away from home. They promise accommodations, but do not make promises about the quality of those accommodations.

@AmericanAir i was mistreated last week on your flight from Atlanta to Dallas and then from Dallas to Phoenix. Here are the videos of my room disgusting hair and stains on the bed in two different rooms pic.twitter.com/MCPyYSFBEw

— Bald William Dent act right heffias (@bougiegentleman) July 5, 2024

The elevators were non functional so we had to use the stairs. The hallway stunk and as you can see there was a big open hole in the ceiling tile. @WyndhamHotels pic.twitter.com/7nr761N2Aw

— Nellz (@Nursenellz) December 19, 2023

@AmericanAir repeatedly delayed our flight until they finally pushed us to the next day. Then, THIS is the hotel they gave us a voucher to stay in. Do you honestly think this is okay? #americanairlines #airlines #Flights pic.twitter.com/PKws6RvwCa

— Laura Mzhickteno (@SimpliLaura) September 27, 2023

If you are in a position to do so, consider taking matters into your own hands even at your potential expense (though there are ways of minimizing the expense). If you rely on the airline for accommodation, you’re likely to wind up somewhere that you really do not want to stay. And it may take a significant amount of time to get even that – taking away from the limited time you may have for rest before returning to the airport for an early flight the next day. So what do you do instead?

1. Rely on your credit card coverage. Pay for your ticket with a credit card that offers trip delay coverage, book your own room and save receipts for it, along with ground transportation and meals. IYou’re assured the property you are comfortable staying in. You won’t wait. And you can look farther afield if need be. Sure, airport hotels might well all be booked. But if you aren’t spending an hour in line to get the room is a 20 minute drive away from the airport (also billed to trip delay coverage) so bad?

   Some readers might say that ‘you’re obligated to minimize the insurer’s loss, and foregoing a room offered by the airline fails to do that and obviates coverage’. I do not believe you are obligated to take any room, of any quality offered. And I have never seen coverage denied for this when claimed properly.

2. Request a distressed passenger rate. If you don’t have credit card trip delay coverage, and you can’t find a good rate on your own that you’re willing to pay, one alternative to the long line may be the baggage office. Ask there about distressed passenger rates for hotels. If the line is long at your airline’s baggage office, or it isn’t staffed, be friendly and ask at another airline’s baggage office.

3. Use points. Airline hotels often are great deals on points, with reward costs based on a hotel’s average daily rate which tends to be brought down by large airline contracts for housing crew. A few thousand points from your stash can get you a far better night’s sleep, more quickly, than relying on the airline.

Airlines may give you a free room when you’re faced with a controllable overnight delay. But you get what you pay for – you probably don’t want to sleep in the room they’re going to give you. There are exceptions, but it can be very much worth venturing off on your own rather than rolling the dice on free.