Hundreds of holiday makers struck it lucky this week when they chanced upon a very special offer - a mistake in a hotel booking system which offered a romantic four-star weekend in Venice for a single cent.
Not surprisingly, the Crowne Plaza in Quarto D'Altino, 25 kilometres from Venice, received bookings for the equivalent of 1,400 room nights on the night the rate was posted on its Web site, the hotel chain acknowledged. And it seems those bookings may be valid.
The hotel first thought the offer was posted by a hacker, sales manager Fulvio Danesin said but it turned out to be human error at the Atlanta, Georgia, offices of Intercontinental Hotels Group, the hotel's mother company, he added.
The offer was supposed to be for a two-night stay at half price. A night at the 151-room hotel normally costs between €90 €150.
The 1-cent rate was up only Sunday night, but that was long enough for travelers to book dates running from October right up until 2010, Mr Danesin said. The hotel stands to lose €90,000 ($129,000) as a result of the error.
Monica Smith, media relations manager for the hotel group in the US said some 228 guests made reservations for the equivalent of 1,400 room nights while the error was on the Web site and that the reservations would be honoured.
"Although a pricing error, IHG is committed to honoring the 1-cent rate for guests who have a valid confirmation," Smith said. She added that rooms booked at the low rate "are non-transferable.'