Ireland’s largest hotel operator has denied deliberately cancelling room bookings and then reselling the rooms at a higher price for the nights Oasis are due to play in Manchester next summer.
Maldron Hotels Group, owned by listed Irish hotel operator Dalata, said on Wednesday that a “technical error” with its booking system on Monday and Tuesday had meant that “substantially more rooms were booked than were available for the nights of the Oasis concerts” in Manchester next July.
The group said the two hotels – Maldron Manchester City and Maldron Cathedral Quarter – are not currently taking bookings while the issue is being resolved. A spokeswoman for Maldron Hotels said the group will not be able to honour “all bookings” made at these properties on Monday and Tuesday.
Dalata also operates two Clayton hotels in Manchester, which were unaffected by the technical issue.
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The error also meant that “a small number of customers were able to book the rooms at a higher price later that evening”, the group said in a statement. “We will also be unable to accommodate these bookings,” the spokeswoman said.
For customers who booked July 2025 rooms at the two Maldron properties before August 26th, the hotel operator confirmed it will be honouring those bookings.
It is understood, however, that some customers who had booked rooms before Monday may have received a message in error telling them their booking has been cancelled. Dalata is “actively engaging” with all affected customers, the spokeswoman said.
“This is not an attempt to resell rooms at inflated prices, rather an overbooking issue due to a technical error with our booking systems,” the spokeswoman said.
The hotel was responding to a series of social media posts from people who had received notice of “incomplete booking” from the hotel group after booking rooms at the hotels.
In a post on the X social media platform, Sacha Lord, a businessman who serves as “nightlife adviser” to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, said he had been contacted by “several people” who had booked rooms at the two Maldron Manchester hotels who were later told “their rooms have just been cancelled and are now back up for three times the price”.
The cause of the problem has not yet been identified. Dalata was unable to explain why the technical glitch affected bookings only at two Maldron hotels and only on those two dates, given it takes bookings to all the Maldron hotels through the same booking platform on its website.
Dalata noted it also takes bookings for its hotels through other sites.
“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused,” the Dalata spokeswoman said.
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