Massive holiday cock up !

[TheDogsMother]

We’re on a ferry on our way to a small Greek Island and I was checking the accommodation arrangements. I have just noticed I booked from 23-30 October not September 😮. The booking is for a week and not refundable. This is so unlike me but what a bloody idiot !

Ahh ok. Not everyone’s thing I do understand

Team stay in Paxos here! Ask to bring the other booking forward a little and just keep holidaying😎

I booked a place in Northern Spain a month earlier than we were going there. Only realised when I got an email notification saying they were looking forward to welcoming us the following week. Luckily I read that email as soon as it arrived, as that was my final chance to cancel without being charged. Unluckily it was a real struggle to find a place for the actual dates ...

🤣 I know you are right but it just feels so irresponsible. Why ???

What a nice thread, looks like you've booked yourself a month in Greece OP oops!

Oof both lucky and unlucky. I love Northern Spain

We once turned up at the airport to fly home to discover I’d booked flights for the following month! Not my finest holiday planning moment!
I think you and your husband have handled it brilliantly.

Just to make you feel better, a few years ago I booked a trip to India. In the information it said visas were essential for non nationals. I read this as non UK nationals and did not look into getting visas. Believe it or not I am fairly intelligent and have travelled widely. Of course we were turned away at Heathrow .I did get about £1000 back from the holiday company as they conceded that the information was not clear enough.

Well done for navigating that that but wow it sounded v stressful.

I booked for the wrong year once as weirdly booking.com doesn't always show the year on its booking confirmations. It was over 1k and non refundable, however if you read the small print they often let you change a booking once if the accommodation provider agrees. Luckily I got it changed

I once booked a week off work, forgot I'd booked the week off work and went in 3 of the 5 days I had booked off.

I hadn't booked it off for any particular reason other than I could, but my manager didn't even question it, it took my mum ringing me, missing her call, ringing back saying sorry I was at work and her saying oh I thought you booked the week off for me to realise I had booked the week off and been working. I bet I looked like a workaholic but I couldn't stand the place or the work so it was definitely not the case. Gave mixed messages to my boss.

It’s more responsible to stay on in Paxos (or maybe island hop for the middle 9 days) than to fly home and then fly back again.

That's a bit mean of the hotel not to give any refund for a booking made in error a whole year in advance.

I think I'd have gone back to celebrate the anniversary of getting engaged.

Keep us posted on Paxos, OP.
It’s on our list for next summer, seems like everyone I know went there this past summer and all are raving about it.

Presume you took the ferry from Corfu; was it straightforward?

Incidentally, if they won’t refund you and you don’t want to go back this coming October, you could always ask if they’ll consider moving the booking to next year and go back again next year, especially if Paxos is as lovely as everyone says it is.

Have a fab time. I look forward to the days when I can go on holiday in term time!

Not much then🤣😬

The OP’s cockup has sent me down a delightful trip down Memory Lane recalling a sailing holiday many years ago on Paxos.

I'm really glad that it all got sorted out OP. If the hotel says they can't offer you a full refund, then I'd definitely ask if they can bring the original dates forward, so that you can stay on, as at least that way it won't have been a complete waste of money.

I have a real fear of making a mistake like this, so ALWAYS get my DH to check what I'm booking before I press the final button to commit. He always tells me it's not necessary, but there's method in my madness, as at least that way, I know that if I have made a mistake, he's made it too, and can't blame me, lol.

Very glad you found some alternative accomodation and you're making light of the situation (losing £760 is ouchie!). You sound lovely.

When we've lost chunks of money, I've divided the amount by how many days I've been alive and told myself the mistake only actually cost me £0.01 per day (or whatever it worked out as). Helps soften the blow!

As to you not being the only one... We go to Spain roughly the same time each year. Flights and transfers booked independently, accommodation owned by our family. Always try to keep costs down as much as possible (we're not flush!). Anywaaay... Three years ago, the flight options weren't great but I pieced together a journey that involved flying out to an airport further from our accommodation then hiring a car. It was a late flight so I first checked car hire was available for the time we'd land. I went through the process five times (right up to enter card details) before booking the flights. Only then was I content it would work. Booked the flights. Great. Went immediately back to book the car hire - no car hire available at that time of night. Couldn't figure out a suitable way around it (travelling with an 18-month old) that wouldn't cost a bomb, make the travel time ridiculous or just be an enormous faff. Then decided to bury it... Right up until it was time to leave for the airport. Decided, at that point, it was better to just book a flight for two days later. What a waste!

The following year, flew into our usual airport and booked the shuttle bus (amazing service).

Last year, flew into our usual airport, went to the shuttle bus - they couldn't find us on the list. Phone wouldn't work. Driver didn't speak English. My Spanish isn't very good (try as I might!). Tiny airport, no taxis, no nearby hotels, no means of getting out of there, airport closed so no one around inside to help. Eventually found the reservation... It was for the same date but a year earlier 🤦🏼‍♀️ I hadn't actually booked the shuttle. Thankfully, we were able to tack on because there was room for us on the coach (though we had to pay a small additional fee each for the out of hours and late booking).

So, no, it's definitely not just you.

Have a great holiday, see if the original accommodation will allow you to bring the reservation forward and have an extended stay in Greece! Surely, that's just fate? And who wants to piss off the Greek Gods?

Yeah, it was a non-refundable booking but he just didn't press the issue with them. He said he was too stressed and embarrassed at the time to get into it, I think he just mentally wrote it off. When we were talking about it after they got home he shrugged and called it his stupidity tax - and going back was a hard no, we mentioned that to him (we're work colleagues and we were all agog to hear the story) and he said never again!

Then I'd save on the extra flights & hassle & just book the extra accommodation to cover the gap

(changing your return flight date if you can)

Yes I should be doing this too in future. I thought had it all worked out on a calendar but obviously not ! DH is being very chilled about it considering and was the one who came up with the idea about keeping the original booking. I did try and explain that this wouldn’t really save that money 🤣

If they can’t refund I’d ask to move the dates to next year?

I like your calculation and it works well for me esp at my age 🤣 Your travel situations sounded super stressful particularly travelling with a little one. I’m pleased you made it work in the end but this has been a lesson in double, triple checking everything.

We live in the South East quite far south and I was telling a friend how great it was travelling from Southampton rather than the hell that is Gatwick. Small airport, easy to get through, parking not a ridiculous price etc. Her husband came to book holiday accommodation, flights and booked it from Southend with a flight at 6.30am! He claimed it was an error but I’m not sure as he’d do any thing to save a tenner 🤣 Seems I would too come to think of it!

Would you @TheDogsMother ?

I like the dividing it by how many years calculation too.

if it helps I managed to spend nearly 800 on a hot air balloon and tour that should have cost us half that. Through a series of cock Jo’s ended up double booking and can’t get the money back….