Thanks for the corrections. As I noted it was based on hear-say from people who happened to be at the airport at the time, not official sources.
And it had the desired effect: someone stepped-forward to give us the facts.
I don't think the availability or otherwise of hotels makes much difference to United. Three occasions in the past two weeks they have deposited passengers without making any attempt at accommodation ( even for elderly or children ).
A more grave oversight, in my mind, is the airline's failure to provide any catering beyond vouchers. Vouchers aren't any use to passengers trapped in a terminal when the last shop closed at 01:00... and that only because it stayed open until it was out of stock.