Hotel accused of ‘greed’ over cancelled bookings made for Oasis gigs

Chain says mistake was ‘computer error’ and cancellations at Manchester location not due to wanting to resell rooms at inflated prices

A Manchester hotel has been accused of cancelling guests’ bookings on nights Oasis is performing in the city and relisting rooms for higher prices.
Sacha Lord, night-time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, wrote on X on Tuesday that he had been contacted by “several people” who were told their reservations had been cancelled by Maldron Hotels after a “computer error”.
He said the customers claimed the rooms were later relisted on the website for triple the price they had paid.
Maldron Hotels said that some rooms had been cancelled, but the mistake was down to a computer glitch.
Several people on social media claimed they had been affected by the alleged IT error.
Mr Lord wrote to Maldron Hotels on the platform and said: “I’m being contacted by several people who booked your hotel for the Oasis concert, to say their rooms have just been cancelled and are now back up for three times the price. I’m sure this is a ‘computer error’… easy to correct. Do the right thing.”
Euros Rees was among those impacted by the alleged glitch.
He booked rooms at the Maldron Hotel Manchester City Centre shortly after the Oasis dates were announced at 8am on Tuesday but said the hotel has since claimed his booking “wasn’t successfully made” owing to a “technical issue”.
The 42-year-old app developer from Leeds said that he initially paid £171 for his two-room booking, but now claims he faces paying upwards of £900 for a single room after hotel prices in the city surged.
Mr Rees called it a “greed grab” and said that regular working class people are being priced out of experiencing the return of the Gallagher brothers.
He told The Telegraph: “It would mean the world to me and my friends to see Oasis live again.
“We thought the first hurdle of having a place to stay was sorted, but now we are faced with paying upwards of £900 for a room in a cost of living crisis where people are struggling. This is a real insult.
“An Oasis concert is a once in a lifetime opportunity and a chance for people to get together and enjoy, but it’s in danger of becoming a greed grab for hotels and ticket touts making it out of reach for the working class people the Gallaghers have always claimed to support.”
He added: “Having been a lifelong Oasis fan who saw them live twice before they split, I was tremendously excited by the rumoured announcement yesterday morning.
“As the announcement was at 8am I made sure I was logged into Booking.com early on, as it was clear that there would be a huge rush for hotel rooms on the nights they’d be playing.
“I was beyond disappointed to receive the cancellation email which explained how ‘technical issues’ had resulted in me receiving a confirmation email for a ‘booking that wasn’t successfully made’, especially after looking on social media and seeing that this has happened to others too.”
Lily Stroud, 26, from Newcastle, booked at the Maldron Hotel and later received an email to say that her booking had been unsuccessful. 
Ms Stroud wrote on Twitter: 
Booked The Maldron Hotel Manchester yesterday for 11-13th & 18-20th before gigs were announced. Conveniently they have cancelled our bookings”due to a technical error”. Obviously done it so they can resell for ridiculous prices. TERRIBLE @oasis @bookingcom @MaldronHotels
A spokesman for Maldron Hotels Manchester said: “Due to a technical error with our booking system on 26th & 27th August 2024, substantially more rooms were booked than were available for the nights of the Oasis concerts on 11th/12th/19th/20th July 2025 at Maldron Hotel Manchester City and Maldron Hotel Cathedral Quarter.
“As a result, we are unable to honour all bookings made on these dates, and we are actively engaging with customers regarding their bookings.
“The hotels are currently not taking any bookings while we investigate the issue. This is not an attempt to resell rooms at inflated prices, rather an overbooking issue due to a technical error with our booking systems.
“Additionally, due to the same technical error, a small number of customers were able to book the rooms at a higher price later that evening. We will also be unable to accommodate these bookings.
“We will be honouring all bookings made prior to 26th August.
“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.”