We were on a flight from Gran Canaria to Bournemouth recently, which was due to land at about 11pm. As we live in Bolton, we had arranged to stay at the Bournemouth Travelodge. Due to fog, we were diverted to Luton and didn’t land until after midnight. We had to wait until about 2am for a coach to Bournemouth, where we collected the car and drove to the Travelodge. We arrived at about 4am, to be told that, because we did not ring before midnight to say that we would be late, we had lost our booking. The only way we could stay was to pay a walk-in rate.

Reluctantly, we did this, but asked if we could have a refund of the initial booking, due to the circumstances and the difficulty of ringing a hotel from a circling charter flight. We were told to write to head office, which helpfully pointed out the terms and conditions, stating you must ring if you are going to be late. Beware. Brent Marshall, Bolton

Travelodge replies: “We are sorry for the unfortunate experience the Marshalls had to go through. Staff should have been more sympathetic. We would like to offer either a refund or a complimentary stay to the couple, and we are also reviewing our policy regarding late-shows.”

Times recommends

• The world's 10 weirdest things to eat
• Correspondents: hoteliers revenge for Tripadvisor
• A slow, ponderous journey up the Mekong