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I’m in holiday hell is it even worth complaining to TUI?

272 replies

Thisisnotaholiday · 29/07/2023 18:15

We are currently on holiday at a H10 hotel in Spain booked via TUI. It has been the holiday from hell and we are counting down the days until we can go home. We paid 5.5k for a weeks all inclusive at a 4 star hotel for me, DH, and DC who are 14 and 16. We saved up
for this holiday, read all the trip advisor reviews (rated 4.5 out of 5) and were looking forward to it after an incredibly stressful few months but it’s been the worst holiday ever.

We booked it as a family of 4 under one booking but when we arrived were told we’d be in 2 separate rooms, both on opposite sides of the hotel. We explained at reception we needed adjoining rooms or rooms at least near each other. We were told no. We did consider one adult sharing with 1 of the DC but both rooms only had double beds and what teenager wants to sleep with their parent. And why should they? Eventually reception said if we paid 200 euros we could have 2 rooms on the same corridor which we felt forced to do. I was not comfortable leaving my 14 and 16 year old in a foreign hotel room miles away from me.

DH and I were given a room overlooking the service entrance which means we are woken at 5am every morning by delivery trucks. At 7 am the sewage truck arrives and they spend hours pumping shit into the truck. The noise is horrendous and obviously from 5am we get no sleep. Can’t sit on balcony as view is of delivery trucks all day. Complained at reception and told TUIs contract with the hotel is for the worst located rooms and people booking through TUI are put in the non refurbished rooms. A reminder this is meant to be a 4 star beach hotel and we paid thousands to stay there.

The hotel is about 50% German and 50% Italian. We are the only Brits here it seems who booked via TUI. As a result there is no TUI rep here and we were told the rep is at another hotel about 30 minutes away. We walked there to find the German rep who was horrified and said she’d talk to the hotel. The outcome was that they could move our DC next to us but we said no as their room is on the opposite side of the hotel away from the service entrance we face and I didn’t want them being woke up from 5am too.

I could go on with the other horrendous things that have happened but would be here all day. Is it even worth complaining to TUI, will they even care? It seems like TUI have a shit contract with this hotel where the very few guests they send there way have the worst rooms but still paying expensive prices.

OP posts:
LegendsBeyond · 29/07/2023 19:37

Personally I wouldn’t waste my holiday constantly complaining. You’ll just wind yourselves up. Can’t you accept it & get on with the holiday. There must be lots of things to enjoy about it. A 14 & 16 year old should be fine away from you. What do you think will happen to them?

Scandipandi · 29/07/2023 19:38

CoffeeBeansGalore · 29/07/2023 19:11

Take video of sewage lorry & rubbish view. Include watch/clock shot showing early morning time. Email to CEO above saying we saved & paid £5.5K for this.

Create some social media just to post the same video & message.

Hope it improves for you.

Good advice!

SquirrelSoShiny · 29/07/2023 19:38

You're getting really good advice here OP. Sorry it's so shit (literally).

Escalate everything and consider getting onto BBC or similar.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

morbidd · 29/07/2023 19:40

Get that video on Tik Tok and also do a sort of video diary of your experience so far.

Then share it on social media and on here so we can help blow it up.

Social media is the best way to get complaints noticed. I know from personally working in that team for a company.

You will get a response pronto.

SugarPlumRoar · 29/07/2023 19:40

You need to complain directly to the rep whilst in resort, use the app chat function but take screenshot. Also take photos and videos of everything.

We had a horrific experience with TUI last summer in Mexico and the rep didn't give a crap and refused to move us unless we paid extra despite the hotel being nothing like was sold and the food hygiene and facilities being downright dangerous. Do everything in writing and when you get home submit a SAR for your chat records with them.

Their complaints process is non-existent, we went through ABTA after no response from TUI and they were also shit and eventually we ended up submitting court papers. I submitted a SAR for all my records and despite having received the court papers they deleted all of my records. Luckily I had so much video and photo evidence in addition to witness statements. We eventually settled in mediation.

You need to have asked for the rep to resolve the situation, set out what you want them to do, I.e move you rooms or move you hotels. If the hotel has been mis-sold they should move you at no additional cost but you will have to push for it with the rep.

Scandipandi · 29/07/2023 19:41

Wherehaveallthepopchipsgone · 29/07/2023 19:06

I used to work for a tour operator and if anyone emailed the CEO directly it was always replied to asap. Details below:

Also good advice. Maybe attach a link to this, and filming the shit trucks at 5 am. The trucks obviously has to be there but they shouldn’t have rooms facing it especially if there is a smell..

WiseUpJanetWeiss · 29/07/2023 19:44

Definitely upload to Twitter & share on here. Loads of us would retweet it.

You can also leave a Google review as well as TA and TP.

Mumsanetta · 29/07/2023 19:45

Oh OP, I’m so sorry, it’s gutting when you work hard for your holiday and it’s crap. Absolutely post videos of the 5am shit pumping trucks on twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Create new social media accounts if you have to. Tag TUI and, if you don’t get a response and can bear it, tag BBC News, The Sun and Daily Fail. Absolutely no way they should get away with taking your hard earned money for a shit holiday.

Scandipandi · 29/07/2023 19:47

Do this and then make a joint decision to let it go for the rest of the day and enjoy yourself with your children! It is up to you to make this a decent holiday, as much as you can. Your children are also old enough to do things on their own, certainly old enough not to stay next room to you even if it is in a ’foreign’ hotel as you say. To me England would be ’foreign’ btw, I think YABU for that sentence.

newfloorplease · 29/07/2023 19:49

Name and shame the hotel too.
I am booking a holiday soon and shall avoid TUI if they are so disinterested in their customers' experiences.

Scandipandi · 29/07/2023 19:51

What was his email adress again? I don’t mind emailing him with a link to this. We go on holiday often, and things like this puts me off. The lack of them resolving things there and then. No thanks.

Axelotl · 29/07/2023 19:52

Sorry to hear you've had this shit experience.

We have recently returned from a hotel based holiday booked through another travel company. There were guests at the hotel who were with Tui.

I overheard the hotel manager saying that they were planning to drop Tui next season as those guests arrived with higher expectations of the rooms than what had been actually booked.

So Tui were not being honest about the rooms they've booked for their customers. ..

Tulips2507 · 29/07/2023 19:52

I had similar last year with TUI. When we arrived our room was the tiniest room I had ever seen with a tiny window and no balcony. This was the only room like this in the hotel, all other rooms had big balconies. Our room looked nothing like the one on the booking. This was our first holiday since covid and I was so disappointed. I went straight down to reception and asked for another room. We got one that was three times the size with a huge balcony! Also, no rep available, don't think I ever met or saw the rep the whole holiday.

Scandipandi · 29/07/2023 19:54

Scandipandi · 29/07/2023 19:51

What was his email adress again? I don’t mind emailing him with a link to this. We go on holiday often, and things like this puts me off. The lack of them resolving things there and then. No thanks.

[email protected]

Dagnabit · 29/07/2023 19:54

Sounds awful, OP. Would you mind sharing the name of the hotel as we’re going to a H10 hotel in Spain next week 😬

Stoic123 · 29/07/2023 19:55

Sounds awful Op. Good luck with getting this resolved.

Tui now struck off my list for any future holidays.

PinkiOcelot · 29/07/2023 19:58

Was in Cyprus a few weeks ago and TUI couldn’t have been less interested in our problem. Luckily the air con was broken so we were moved rooms. No thanks to TUI though!

whynotwhatknot · 29/07/2023 19:58

yes try sm they dont like being shamed

sorry t so9unds like carry on abroad

Catspyjamas17 · 29/07/2023 19:59

Why would anyone design a hotel that has rooms over a noisy/smelly delivery bay that wakes you every morning at 5am? It's sheer greed. No customers are ever going to be happy with that.

Catspyjamas17 · 29/07/2023 20:01

Axelotl · 29/07/2023 19:52

Sorry to hear you've had this shit experience.

We have recently returned from a hotel based holiday booked through another travel company. There were guests at the hotel who were with Tui.

I overheard the hotel manager saying that they were planning to drop Tui next season as those guests arrived with higher expectations of the rooms than what had been actually booked.

So Tui were not being honest about the rooms they've booked for their customers. ..

It sounds to me that Tui are making profit by charging the customer for a 4 experience and only paying the hotel for a 2 room.

GrumpyPanda · 29/07/2023 20:02

Written complaint (make your rep give you an email as well/screenshot the messages.) Make concrete demands - either different rooms at that hotel or they move you to another hotel. Agree with social media as well.

Justcas TUI I am based in Germany and getting reimbursements for deficient holidays is the national sport - German courts have incredibly detailed guidelines on what to expect. No personal experience but based on press reports I'd certainly be expecting 20 percent rebate minimum for this. But no recourse unless you can demonstrate you gave them an opportunity to fix this.

poppettypop · 29/07/2023 20:02

We went to Cuba with TUI and it was the worst possible holiday imaginable.
Some of the other holiday makers went to the Daily Mail and they did a full page spread about the crap hotel. ( I think the guy on holiday knew someone in the Daily Mail).

Anyhoo after loads and loads and loads of complaining and logging every single complaint with the response TUI gave US a free 10 days in Rhodes for the hassle.

Get someone to video your interactions whilst at reception for evidence.

FredaFox · 29/07/2023 20:03

I was a tui rep 20 years ago, things are so different now, thanks to brexit in Europe reps are local, very few her visas. In my day once you were experienced you got to work in mexico etc so they would have had reps in every hotel. Travellers no longer need the hand hold they did so there's less opportunities to sell trips which is how I made money to live.

Now it's all local reps or emergency numbers only. In my day you always fared better complaining in resort, there would be more opportunities to change room, hotel etc
Serious complaints were dealt with in resort and we had a team of service managers who would come to the hotel

You need to check if they have contractually given you what's been booked, I suspect they have
Special requests are not guaranteed so rooms together can't be assumed just because you booked together/ have kids/ it's a special occasion, it's all dependent on what rooms are being vacated on your arrival day (rooms are allocated by reception but I'd always try and get people moved where I could)
Take videos of the sewage thing, it's not nice but if a hotel is full someone has to stay there. Document it all. I'm not sure if they still do complaint forms in resort but I used to write them for people regardless of their complaint (some were ridiculously silly like no free crisps)
Contact them on social media, twitter would be best
Good luck

Doopydoor · 29/07/2023 20:03

Why do companies do this?! Don't they realise people read threads like this and take note? I've considered booking with TUI before - I've never done a package holiday as an adult but I've been considering it for the October half term - and this has made me scratch them off my list.
Hope you get a resolution op, it sounds a nightmare.

AuntMarysPinny · 29/07/2023 20:03

@Thisisnotaholiday I feel so sorry for you, that sounds like an awful holiday and you paid thousands for the privilege. Definitely complain, name and shame them here for a start and share the photos. This has put me off booking with Tui in future!