Luxury weekend for just 1 cent

ROME: Hundreds of holiday makers struck lucky when they chanced upon a very special offer, a mistake in a hotel booking system which offered a romantic four-star weekend in Italy���s lagoon city of Venice for 1 cent.

The offer, a tiny fraction of the Crowne Plaza Quarto D���Altino���s normal rate of up to $214 a night, was quickly withdrawn when staff realized the mistake, Italian state TV reported.

In just a few hours, some 1,400 nights had been booked under the tariff, costing an estimated 90,000 euros for the hotel, part of the Intercontinental Hotels Group, the world���s largest chain, media reported.

The hotel first thought the offer was posted by a hacker. However, it turned out to be human error at the Atlanta, Georgia, offices of Intercontinental Hotels Group, the hotel���s mother company.

���Although a pricing error, IHG is committed to honoring the 1-cent rate for guests who have a valid confirmation���, a hotel representative explained.