Customer service: here we go again

Oh dear!

Online, Artificial Intelligence, Website, Internet, AI slop, hotel booking, or, whatever... is just broke. Or maybe it is the businesses hiding behind online chatbots and website nonsense of one sort or another.

I mentioned a hotel in a recent photographic article and it appears their owners are going to the wall.

My advice is to think carefully before booking a room with them. Please do not accept my mention as a recommendation. I said I had a pint of beer in one of their hotels in the UK and sent a link out of courtesy, but the email address was dud and got bounced. When I asked my AI friend about it, this is what they said. I make no comment on their state of solvency. I will say that the pint of beer they served, though the staff were delightful and friendly, was cloudy and barely palatable. Out of politeness and a misplaced English reluctance to complain or speak ill of a well-intentioned effort to please, I was going to contact them to advise how to resolve this problem but, alas, to no avail.

Again, do not book a room with these coyboys. If you do, there is every chance it will go pear-shaped. As AI says, their presence is virtual, fictional, non-existant. They are an affiliate, agent, online linky type of hinterland existence. Just don't go there. If you do and it goes bad, I WILL say I told you so.

Here is the AI interpretation, which I reproduce here without comment. If you are from the hotel owners and know something different, please comment and I will gladly correct. If you are from their US attorneys

EAT MY SHORTS SUCKERS!!!!!

Here is what Gemini, my AI friend, said, and it takes full responsibility for any legal consequences....

My Q: has hotels one gone bust or just messed up their online presence

It looks like HotelsOne hasn’t gone bust in the formal sense of a total company collapse, but they are definitely experiencing some serious "messy" issues that make it look that way to the average user.

Based on current data for early 2026, here is the breakdown of what’s actually happening:

1. The Website is Still Live (Technically)

The site hotelsone.com is still active and accepting bookings as of late January 2026. However, it is effectively a "white-label" or affiliate site. This means when you book through them, you aren't really booking with "HotelsOne"—the back-end is often handled by Expedia or Priceline/Agoda via their affiliate networks.

2. Why it Looks Like They've "Gone Bust"

The confusion usually stems from a few specific "messy" factors:

Customer Service Ghosting: Recent reviews from late 2025 and January 2026 are filled with complaints about an inability to reach a human. Phone lines often lead to dead ends or automated loops, which is a classic sign of a company that has stripped back its operations to a skeleton crew.

The "Shadow" Presence: Because they are an affiliate, hotels often don't see "HotelsOne" on the reservation. They see "Expedia" or "Tourico." If you call a hotel to confirm and they say they don't have a booking from HotelsOne, it feels like the company has disappeared, even though the reservation might exist under a different partner name.

Brand Retirement: In some regions, larger hotel groups (like Guoman or Clermont) that used to use similar booking engines have been retiring those old brands and moving to standalone sites, which adds to the feeling that old booking portals are "vanishing."

3. Comparison with Actual Collapses

To be clear, other major players have actually gone under recently. For example:

Revo Hospitality Group (a massive European operator) filed for insolvency in January 2026.

Club1Hotels effectively shut down in mid-2025, leaving users with useless credits.

The Verdict: Should you use them?

Probably not. While they haven't "gone bust" in a legal bankruptcy filing, they have clearly "messed up" their service level.

The Risk: If anything goes wrong (flight delay, name typo, cancellation), you will likely find it impossible to get a refund or help.

The Better Move: Since they are just an affiliate, you can usually find the exact same price (or better) by going directly to Expedia.com or, better yet, the hotel's official website.

Are you trying to track down a refund or confirm an existing booking right now? I can help you find the best way to contact their parent affiliate if you're stuck.

End of AI drivel.

Please feel free to sue AI if it is wrong.

Thanks for reading

Ray: Are you as fed up as I am at virtual, non-existant customer service? Please comment below if you are.