Many airlines, hotels, and rental car companies all ‘overbook’ meaning they sell more seats, rooms, and cars than they have. That usually works out just fine. They know some people will cancel or no show, and they want to use up all of their inventory.

Sometimes it doesn’t work out, and too many people show up. They have to turn away some people who have reservations. Jerry Seinfeld famously parodied this with rental cars. Hertz once told me they ‘cannot guarantee any reservation’ though I pushed and they eventually refunded the difference between my reserved price with them and what I paid Avis.

Here’s what to expect if your hotel is overbooked, and how to avoid getting ‘walked’ in the first place.

Hotels Overbook – And You Could Get Caught With No Place To Sleep

Hotels ‘walking’ guests – not honoring a reservation, and moving the guest to another hotel – is the subject of a TikTok video where a woman received a call from the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square asking whether she’d be showing up for her booking. If she didn’t answer, she feared her booking would have been cancelled. What if she’d been on a flight, and couldn’t call?

“They called me not even an hour after check-in (4 pm) to see if I was still coming or they’d give my room away. Excuse me. Like, gimme a sec, bro,” the TikToker continued. “This has literally never happened to me before, and I’ve checked in some places at midnight without letting them know ahead. Since when is this the norm?”

@raegoesglobal i’m gonna be nervous ab hotels forever now #traveltok #traveltiktok #solofemaletraveler #solofemaletravel #travellife #travelersoftiktok #travelquestions #marriott #marriotthotel #hotelroom ♬ Confusion or something else – Ron

The hotel was clearly overbooked and looking for guests who hadn’t checked in yet, to identify any that might not be coming, in order to know how many guests they’d need to walk (if any).

In this case the guest showed up and was given their room. Perhaps the hotel didn’t wind up with more guests than rooms after all. But it does happen, all the time. Usually you can get moved somewhere, though it’s a hassle to waste time going to a hotel you can’t stay at and then going somewhere else. This is especially onerous late at night when you only have a few hours to sleep.

What Happens When You Get Walked

Generally when you’re ‘walked’ by a hotel (declined a room despite a reservation) you’ll be entitled to be put up at another comparable hotel. The hotel you’ve booked won’t charge for the room you did not get, and should cover the cost of the room night they arrange for you somewhere else, plus cover the cost of transportation to that other hotel.

That’s true at most chain hotels. Independent hotels may not handle it the same way, unless they’re luxury properties. And at best Airbnb might give you a $100 credit towards another property for the night.

Once your hotel has rooms available, they’ll expect you to return. If you have a 3 night stay and they’re only overbooked the first night, you get one free night somewhere else not three.

Elite members of a hotel loyalty program who get walked can usually expect points for an additional free night.

Sometimes there simply won’t be any rooms available nearby, or the hotel won’t bother to book you somewhere else (for franchise properties they might just be avoiding the expense) you’re on your own, and will need to complain to the hotel chain after the fact seeking reimbursement.

How To Avoid Being Walked

Whenever I review contracts for events, I always insist on a ‘no walk’ clause in the agreement. We’ll be paying the hotel enough money that – as long as you know to ask – they’ll generally agree to refuse reservations to other guests, and not event guests.

The next best thing to a contract that forbids the hotel to walk you is having elite status with the chain. The hotel then has a contract with the chain itself. They’re usually supposed to avoid walking you, bouncing reservations of non-status guests first (and probably guests booking through third party websites like Expedia). This is backed up by higher costs to the hotel for walking an elite guest, like offering not just a free night elsewhere but also enough points for a free night back at the hotel as well.

You can reduce the likelihood of being walked by checking in online or via the chain’s app. A checked in guest may be less likely to be walked, especially if you get a room assigned and can use mobile key!

Checking in earlier in the day helps avoid being walked. The hotel might plan in advance for being overbooked, and walk non-status guests earlier in the day. But often they don’t know yet just how overbooked they’ll be, and those who check in later when the hotel has given away its rooms face the greatest risk. Earlier in the day the hotel may still have rooms and discretion about whom to walk, so if the front desk clerk is denying you a room, escalate.