American Airlines Shows Off Its “Free Hotel” Feature—Here’s Why You Should Book Your Own Instead

American Airlines is touting a new app-and-website feature that can automatically book you a “free” hotel when an overnight delay strands you. The example hotel in the promo is the perfect reminder why you usually shouldn’t take what the airline assigns: the “free” room is often just the cheapest bed they can buy.

If you can front the cost, booking your own place—then seeking reimbursement via trip-delay coverage, distressed rates, or points—can save you time and buy you a night you actually want to sleep through.

American has updated its app and website to better communicate with customers during delays and cancellations. That’s great – they’ll give you hotel reservations through the app and also the website when they get you stuck somewhere overnight.

The airline sent out a press release that includes a demo video. And the video of how this works is a great illustration of why you almost never want the hotel a U.S. airline will provide for you.

Here’s a screenshot of a customer getting booked into the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Charlotte I-85 Airport through the app.

Let’s have a look at some of the reviews for this place. In fairness, some reviewers like it!

“Black mold…no toilet paper”
“Roaches”
“Poster child for a crack house..carpets were beyond filthy…We were scared of the people we saw emerging out of some of thee rooms…had to step over somebody laying down in the halway on our way to our room.”

It’s great that American will provide you a room automatically through their app, but they may not have any rooms available (at their discount rate) to provide you. And the room you get may not be the kind of place you want to sleep.

What clearer illustration that you don’t actually want the hotel room from an airline than that this hotel is featured in the press release about how easy American is making for them to give you a hotel room?

Most U.S. airlines legally committed to provide complimentary hotel accommodations for passengers affected by overnight delays. That was done under pressure from the Biden administration. But they forgot to specify standards for the room and airlines do not commit to anything about quality of the accommodations they provide (in this case, through third party TA Connections).

If you rely on the airline for accommodation, you’re likely to wind up somewhere that you really do not want to stay. If you’re in a position to come out of pocket, take matters into your own hands even at your own expense (though there are ways of minimizing the expense):

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.