Cancellation and reallocation of hotel bookings, Bangalore District Commission holds Yatra Online responsible

Quick Facts:

The complainant booked two separate hotels through Yatra Online for his travel. One booking was for Cloudnine Inside Hotel from 15th to 16th December 2023 for Rs. 5,33,736 and another was for Green Garden Ayurveda Resort from 16th to 17th December 2023 for Rs. 5,96,210. On 13th December 2023, Yatra informed the complainant via email and telephone that Cloudnine Inside Resort would not honour the booking and suggested an alternative, Unwind Hotels and Resorts, located 50 kilometres away. Dissatisfied with the change, the complainant requested to change to Black Beach Resort. Yatra confirmed via email its arrangement for Black Beach Resort as an alternative for the stay. However, upon arrival at Black Beach Resort, the manager declined the booking. After extensive discussions with Yatra, the complainant was accommodated at Rachna’s Resort at 1.30 pm, one and a half hours after the scheduled check-in time of 12 noon.

On 16th December 2023, as per the check-in schedule at Green Garden Ayurveda Resort at 12:00 noon, the complainant received a call from Yatra stating their inability to facilitate the check-in and offered an alternative location, Thiruvambadi Beach Resort. On reaching Thiruvambadi Beach Resort, the complainant found that no booking had been made by Yatra. Yatra suggested another alternative, Akil Beach Resort, and confirmed the same through a call. However, a few minutes later, Yatra informed the complainant that Akil Beach Resort did not accommodate singles. Subsequently, Yatra offered another alternative, Raja Park Beach Resort, and confirmed the booking. The complainant finally received confirmation of accommodation at Raja Park Beach Resort which deviated significantly from the scheduled itinerary. This situation required the complainant to make considerable efforts to rectify the situation, including continuous communication with Yatra. Despite repeated assurances, no satisfactory solution was provided by the company. Feeling aggrieved, the complainant filed a complaint with the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Bangalore, Karnataka (“District Commission”) against Yatra.

After receiving the notice, Yatra argued that the complainant was bound by the terms and conditions of the master user agreement, which includes a jurisdictional clause specifying that disputes shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Gurgaon, Haryana. It contended that Yatra, acting as an intermediary, is exempt from any liability under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, which states that intermediaries are not liable for any third-party information or data made available or hosted by them. Yatra stated that it is only a mere facilitator of services, and not a service provider, and hence cannot be held liable for any deficiency or dispute related to the services provided by third-party service providers.

Observations of the District Commission:

The District Commission noted that the bookings were cancelled and re-allocated by Yatra. It found that the complainant faced significant difficulties during his journey, which had been meticulously planned in advance through Yatra. Despite advance bookings, the accommodations were not provided promptly, causing the complainant mental stress, inconvenience and the need to spend considerable time and energy in arranging alternative accommodation. The District Commission noted that the alternative accommodations offered by Yatra were not to the satisfaction of the complainant and he had no choice but to accept them in the circumstances. Therefore, the District Commission held Yatra liable for deficiency in service and unfair trade practices.

As a reputed and recognised travel booking platform, the District Commission held that Yatra had a responsibility to ensure that its customers were well taken care of and provided with satisfactory services. It held that Yatra’s customers rely on the platform for a comfortable and safe stay while travelling to unfamiliar destinations and any service failure can have a serious impact on their travel experience.

Accordingly, the District Commission directed Yatra to pay compensation of Rs. 20,000/- and litigation costs of Rs. 5,000/- to the complainant.

File title: Nakul Munjal vs Yatra Online Private Limited

File number: CC/522/2023

Date of pronunciation: June 25, 2024