Holiday room mess up!

[MummyChocolateMonster]

On holiday in Greece with DH and our teens DD18 and DS17. When we booked we specifically searched for a place with 2 separate bedrooms. We found a self catering hotel apartment - 2 bedrooms (1 x twin, 1 x double) with a separate living room/kitchenette.
On arrival we were told we’d been “upgraded” only to be dropped at the room and find it’s 1 bedroom with 2 single sofa beds in the living room/kitchenette.
We went back to reception to be told the new room is superior and newer. We specifically wanted 2 bedrooms with the separate living room/kitchenette so we asked to have what we booked. Apparently there is not one available.
It seems they overbook the 2 bedrooms then try to “upgrade” you to a 1 bedroom with put you ups.
The head receptionist isn’t here until 9pm but we’ve been told there’s not a 2 bedroom to move us to. It’s a small hotel.
We booked with a reputable well known tour operator. They’re investigating but have also been told by hotel no one available to speak until 9pm.
I don’t want to overreact but we have no separate living areas. The teens and their luggage are in the living room. DD has ADHD and doesn’t sleep great so we won’t be able to get a cup of tea/breakfast etc until they’re awake each day.
I don’t even know what option we have but to put up with it! Had a horrible few months and I know there’s worse things and that this is minor for 14 days.
Realistically what can the tour operator do when in reality we have enough beds to sleep on and the hotel is saying they don’t have a spare 2 bedroom for us? I just feel what we have is not what we paid for. I’m not after money.
I think I just needed to vent a bit. I’m probably tired, up since 2.30am. I’m irritated too that they tried to tell us it was an upgrade!

If you book a package holiday you ahve an operator who has an obligation to sort you out. Not so if you book direct!

In noone's book is a kitchenette in a larger room a "bedroom".

And the hotel isn't claiming that either.

That’s not an upgrade, it’s a downgrade. I work in the industry and they have moved you from a room that accommodates 6 to one that accommodates 4. Even if the room is twice as nice I’d be furious, space is everything on these holidays

On the Tui website you can quite clearly see that two bedrooms means just that, because they’ve taken a photograph from one bedroom which shows the other bedroom too.

I’ve booked 2 bedroom apartments, with Tui in the past, and have always been given an apartment with 2 bedrooms and lounge/kitchenette with sofa beds. We’ve, also, done one bedroom apartments where we’ve had the same minus a bedroom obviously. If I stick a sofa bed in my living room, my house doesn’t become a 5 bedroom it stays a 4.

I hope you get this sorted @MummyChocolateMonster . The hotel looks lovely so I’d be reluctant to move, but would if necessary. I’m sorry it’s put a damper on the start of your holiday, but I hope you can put it behind you and enjoy yourselves.

I hope you get it sorted. Persist.
Start writing notes in front of the receptionist. Dates times brief note.

No they haven’t . The confirmation says 4 singles and one couch bed. The fact that they have the room available means that they have what the OP booked.

Why are posters defending a business that is so clearly in the wrong

Double post

Hope you get the room you booked this morning @MummyChocolateMonster 😊🤞🏼 give us in update when you get a chance.

It’s definitely a downgrade and you do not have what you paid for. I hate when hotels do this. A simple “upgrade” is fair enough - maybe garden view room to sea view room, or normal room to a superior room - IF the same accommodation structure is kept. They can’t change the room configuration etc 😡

We had a lovely upgrade a few years ago in Mallorca. We arrived at reception to check in and they offered us an upgrade. It wasn’t done automatically. And the lovely receptionist asked if we’d like to leave our bags and she’d have someone take us to look at both the room we had booked and the upgraded room so that we could make a decision 🤷🏻‍♀️😊 She specifically said that she never liked to do these things without checking as she knows people book certain rooms for various reasons and she would hate for someone’s holiday to start off on a negative.
As it turns out, the upgrade was most definitely an upgrade and we jumped at the new room 😂🙌🏻
We have been upgraded in a UK hotel too, from a family room to a family suite, which again definitely was better and kept the same room configuration, just gave us an extra room.

If it’s what op booked then why did they “upgrade “ I think we know the answer .

It might be an upgrade in terms of newly decorated/furnished but how is one bedroom less an upgrade?

Confusion on whose part??

I'm not sure why anyone is confused. OP booked a two bedroom apartment and has been put into a one bedroom apartment. Sorry, 'upgraded' to a one bedroom.

I would not rest until I got what I booked (or better). The hotel are massive CFs!!

Hope you get it sorted today @MummyChocolateMonster.

You’re quite right to stand your ground. Best to do this with the company you booked with and paid. It’s their problem to sort out with the hotel. Also inform them of the poor service from reception, having been made to wait hours.

Always remain calm, respectful and polite, even in the face of rudeness or poor service. Simply say you paid for a two-bedroom apartment for four (effectively) adults. Beds in a kitchen/living room aren’t a ‘bedroom’ in any country. You expect what you paid for, even if they have to move you to an equivalent hotel, flat or house. It’s their problem if it costs them more to honour the booking.

Focus on moving forward rather than going over what’s already happened (e.g. being insulted by being told it’s an upgrade). It may help to use emotionless ‘business’ language, e.g. “How will you rectify this?”, “How will you honour my booking”, “What are you able to offer me?”, “What’s your solution?”, “How do I use your complaints procedure”. Summarise everything they tell you by email, so they can’t so easily fob you off, can’t later claim they told you otherwise, or it was a ‘misunderstanding’. Shows you’re serious and have a good case for a refund.

You could research other places nearby that are available and ask them to book you in there.

Also worth remembering the risks of sleeping in a room with any gas appliance. Does the kitchen have a cooker with a gas canister or gas boiler?

It’s frustrating to have to deal with all this after travelling and on the first days of a trip, wasting time to relax and explore. But I’ve done it a couple of times (even back in pre-mobile days when I had to use a pay phone to call UK) and ended up with wonderful accommodation and enjoyed the rest of my stay much more than if I’d stayed in the unacceptable crap they’d initially offered.

If you really have to stay there for another night or two, try to focus on the positives. Arrange the beds and baggage as best you can to be comfortable. Maybe even move the furniture around? Put the double bed in the living space and the singles in the bedroom, so the kids can sleep in? Go out enjoying yourselves and just use the accommodation to sleep.

Good luck 🍀

Was just about to start my own thread about this! Arrived late last night. Was supposed to have a 2 bedroom family apartment. Instead was told I had two separate twin rooms. Not ideal as I am one adult travelling with three children. After a 3hr wait in reception they put a third bed in one of the rooms and we made do. Hotel manager this morning could not have given less of a shit. My oldest is 13 and apparently not a problem for her to have a room by herself.

Tui 24/7 helpline said all the right things about how awful it was but ultimately could do nothing. Paid a lot for the holiday to not even have a bed for the night. At least they have now moved us to the correct room today.

Excellent reply

I just HATE this thing of sofa beds in the living area somehow being classed as another bedroom and it happens all too often, but good luck in getting it sorted OP

Furious on your behalf op. I spent ages looking and trying to find 2 bedrooms for exactly same reasons you stated.
Myself and dh want to let the teens sleep if they want and visa versa. While other people can eat or have a cuppa

Checking is good practise - I know IL got upgraded once and it was a better accomodation but there were riduclous number of stairs and no lift - they mananged but if that happened now - they wouldn't and they do book with that in mind.

We've booked this year in UK - and given up a sitting room and TV to get a seperate 4th bedroom - as the seperate bedroom is more important - ND and kids need downtime not a sofa bed in living room.

We got automatic upgrade once and it was worse they were unhelpful luckily not this bad but we've never booked with them again nor have family or friends.

I hope you get it sorted MummyChocolateMonster - it sounds like TUI done their job here - but it's not a great start to the hoilday - but really hope you enjoy the rest of it.

You are being too reasonable.

They have treated you very badly. I would asked to be moved to a better hotel.

But you have missed the OP's info that the bed in the bedroom is a double - not two single beds - as specified in the two bed apartment info.

It is NOT 'precisely' what the OP booked.

The hotel website is in the picture, just click on it and you can see the URL at the top.

We had similar OP.

First blended holiday with my DP (not the DCs dad) and my two mid teens. We purposely booked a two bed apartment with a separate lounge so we weren't on top of one another but on arrival we had been 'upgraded' to a newly refurbished apartment. It was indeed very stylish and new but was an open plan L shape with a double bedroom at one end of the L, totally open plan, a twin bedroom at the other end of the L, totally open plan, and the lounge in the middle. The absolute kicker was that the bathroom was just off the double bedroom so if the DCs needed the loo in the night they had to come within a couple of feet of our bed. It also meant no-one could use the lounge when anyone else was in bed as it was all open plan and noise travelled. Absolutely not the space we had booked.

The hotel were very uncooperative, insisting this apartment was much nicer than the one we had booked and that it was a 2 bed, just a different layout to what we had booked. We had to be very firm with them in the end to get the two bed with bedrooms with doors that we had booked and it took two nights for one to come free. This was also TUI and the rep, whilst making all the right noises, was really ineffectual.

Hope you manage to get it sorted OP.

Yeah isnt good just accept no sex for 2 weeks

Thank you everyone. It is SORTED! We have just moved and the 2 bed apartment is exactly what we wanted and had booked.
It’s perfect for us. The TUI rep came and she said she was talking to the hotel about what they can offer for the night we spent in wrong accommodation - she said this before I asked.
Hugely relieved and can get properly in the holiday spirit now.
Have added pics of what we have now. 2 bedroom. Excuse the mess.

Ahh fab update op!

I hope that you get a bit of compo too!

@LovelessRuttingso sorry you had this too. Hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday.