Apartment owner cancelled booking and sold property

[chocolatesaltyballs22]

So our July holiday appears to be completely jinxed and I don't know what to do. We are meant to be travelling to Spain on the 11th, private apartment booked via Spanish agent. Completely understand FCO advice is still not to travel however am equally aware that this may change, and that the Spanish government are welcoming tourists from early July.

I found out from the Spanish agent at the weekend that the apartment owner has decided to cancel our booking as they have sold the property. No regard whatsoever given to existing bookings and the fact that we have a contract with them (and have paid a hefty deposit). They have said that they will refund our deposit but AIBU to expect more in the way of compensation? I have flights which we have paid out for and if they are not cancelled we will not be able to get them refunded. I've looked around for other accommodation but it looks like everywhere suitable is booked, or hugely more expensive (ie massive villas). We are going to a very popular part of Spain where accommodation gets booked up for the summer a year in advance. Just don't know what to do.

@chocolatesaltyballs22 honestly, I have thought about this and I think you should cut your losses.

I'm not too sure the holiday would go ahead anyway. I would discourage anyone right now, but I understand your holiday was definitely different and responsible. I would not have discouraged you.

I mourn the loss of 'owners direct' that was such a great website for holiday rentals.

Could you look at booking.com? Write the threatening email (I would not say this unless I knew the owners were intending to sell at the get go and I believe OP was mislead, badly) and hope for the best?

Yes I used to love Owners Direct, used it a lot.

My plan is to wait a few weeks to see if FCO advice changes and whether our flights are running. If they are, I need to find somewhere at fairly short notice. I guess I just wanted some options lined up. But I'm not handing over another deposit til I know for definite that we can travel.

I've emailed the agent and am waiting on their response. They say they are 'negotiating with the owner' but honestly I think they are under some kind of obligation to help me find somewhere new. I'm a repeat visitor, you'd think they wouldn't want to lose me as a client.

I agree they are, as they KNEW the owner was trying to sell. It sheds a different light on this.

Owner should not have rented in the first place. You invested in flights. This is not to do with COVID at all.

Good luck @chocolatesaltyballs22

I owned a couple of holiday flats in the UK let through a good agency.

The landscape changed a lot after the advent of AirBnB and other platforms. There was a five fold increase in available properties as second home owners would list theirs when they were not using them. The agency eventually had to list their portfolio on the same platforms
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The final straw was the ‘no cancellation fee’ policies of people like Booking.com. I would get the flat ready, turn down other potential bookings, and people would cancel the day before simply because they had changed their minds or perhaps found something better at a last minute price.

I am selling my flats. A decision made before Covid. I assume your owner had also been similarly hit, has a buyer and wants out.

Yes, @needmoresleep, I no longer rent out my property in Spain for this very reason.

Homeaway bought ownersdirect and they are complete scammers.

Such a shame.

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet but could you see if you can reschedule your flights to a date when you can get accommodation?

NB there is some v dubious legal advice on here so be careful! Particularly regarding most consumer law being EU derived. That is incorrect. Some is, some isn't.

It is shit.
I don't agree that you need to go for package deals or through travel agents. Package deals are a rip off anyway. I always book things separately and myself. This does mean an element of risk but having said that it doesn't mean everyone is simply entitled to breach the contract. As pp mentioned under UK law the owners would be liable for consequential losses. Of course it is a Spanish contract so I don't know the terms or the law there. But it is a shirty thing to do. It's not even an 'event beyond their control' - they chose to sell surely.

Sorry but I don’t buy the reply that this is last holiday. My kids are 34, 24 and 20. Last year we were all in Portugal. First time all together in a holiday in years. Then again this year in February. If you plan it, it can happen.

Rearrange the flights with another accommodation

You don’t know the finances of the owner. They may have needed to sell because they needed the money. Your booking may have been the only one due to the virus. Why should they be out of pocket for your rental if they have a buyer?

They rented and took payment knowing they were selling/trying to sell!

Actually, I think once there was a mix up with a booking I had, it was years ago now, but we refunded their flights. Two sets of people confirmed the same dates at the same time and had both booked flights (they said)

It was just a suggestion as you’ve already said you can’t be flexible on date or price.

You’re just going to have to cross your fingers that someone cancels closer to the time.

@adorethebeach I said last holiday with my mum included. You don't know my circumstances.

We booked somewhere pretty special because of this so it's even more annoying when you search for the perfect property and they cancel on you.

Hi @chocolatesaltyballs22 I'll send you a pm in the morning, we have an rental apartment in Malaga. I'll send you all the details over in the morning. Hopefully we can help you out.

I've sent you a pm

Update for anyone who is interested: we are getting a refund of our deposit plus 25% of the full rental charge which I think is fair.

What does it say in your actual contract with the agency/owner?

All sorted now @loutypips, was just posting an update.

Excellent @chocolatesaltyballs22 a good outcome and fair. Pleased for you and thanks for updating.

Thanks - yes I'm happy with that. The exchange rate has gone against us so we would have been very out of pocket without the extra. The agents came good in the end!