Gatwick Hotel Accommodation Bureau : Shame on you.
I have passed through LGW 5 times in the last 10 days. Yesterday afternoon I arrived on a delayed inbound and having missed my onward flight (I took a calculated risk on this) I wanted to rebook for this morning. The easyJet ticket desk was closed and the queue for the 'cancelled flights' counters which were dealing with rebookings was horrendous, so I did it online, expensive but effective.
My mates were I normally stay in Surrey were snowed in and there was no guarantee that if I got there I'd be able to get back to the airport for my early morning departure, so I thought I'd find a hotel at the airport. The Yotel was full, with queues of people lying on the floor who were 'waitlisted' according to the rather haughty receptionist.
I went to the hotel bureau in the S. Terminal and was told that the only thing they could offer was the Sofitel at almost £200, which for a few hours I thought was a bit extravagant, so I looked for a convenient piece of floor and then thought really at my stage in life I don't feel like sleeping on airport floors unless there is no alternative. So I rang a few hotels in the area and they nearly ALL had rooms, anywhere from £30 to £120. I also found that laterooms.com was showing some availability.
So what exactly is the point of this 'service'? Just to get commission from preferred providers? I will, of course, be writing to them to complain but the purpose of this posting is just to say do not trust what people in these places tell you. I just thought they might offer an easy alternative to the DIY approach but clearly they are as much use as a wooden fireguard.