To be fuming at holiday home owner?

[namechange0178]

We booked a week away (in England) for August ages ago. In autumn last year. We're a large family group so limited options. Last week I get a cancellation note, with a big story from the owner that her family member has long covid and they are closing their business so that he and his carers can live there. Lo and behold, as I'm browsing every day in the hope that something else becomes available so that we don't lose our holiday completely, the house has popped up again for our dates at a much inflated rate.

Why lie? If you're going to be a greedy snake, at least give us the option to pay more to keep our holiday. As it is, there is literally nothing else available for us.

@Tuckedinbelly

What's the cancellation policy on the place? If it's a couple of days before (as with plenty of Airbnb places) I'd be tempted to book it on DPs credit card in another name and then cancel last minute. Arseholes

You evil genius. I love it!

That’s disgusting. Where did you book this? I’d definitely report and name and shame them on TripAdvisor, etc.

@stackemhigh

That’s disgusting. Where did you book this? I’d definitely report and name and shame them on TripAdvisor, etc.

Yip... it's disgusting the shameless greed of these people. 🌸

Everyone's at it...even restaurants are doubling their prices.

Even in my 60's I am obviously very naive about some things. I thought that a contract was a contract, and that if broken there should be penalties? Had you paid a deposit OP that you would have lost if you cancelled at this close to your holiday booking? If you had (which has obviously been returned to you if so), then the very least that should happen is that they now pay you compensation at the same amount as the deposit you would have lost if you had been the one to cancel.
If your contract did not include a deposit and/or you could both withdraw from it without penalty at this stage in the proceedings (6 to 7 weeks before the start date of the holiday?), then I would do as others have advised above; leave reviews explaining how they lied to you about the reason they were cancelling your contract (and using the very emotive issue of a Covid illness - which I think is utterly dispicable when not true), and that you have now seen that they are readvertising the holiday home at a higher rental for the same dates! Of course, again as others have said, make sure first that no-one else has bought the place from them - very unlikely in such a short timeframe, and the person you had a contract with could have told you that when they cancelled your holiday.

@earthyfire

Everyone's at it...even restaurants are doubling their prices.

To be fair, this is more likely due to the limited numbers they are allowed due to social distancing. Fewer covers means you need higher prices to turn a similar profit. Plus loads of them are on the brink of losing their business so I have far more sympathy.

We had paid a 30% deposit which has been refunded to us. To be honest, it's not so much the revisiting of the price which has annoyed me - I get it, it's been a tough 18 months and they want to get as much as they can. It's the lying about having a very poorly relative which I find inexcusable. Had they messaged and said prices everywhere have gone up a lot and would we consider splitting the difference, I would have been annoyed at the cheek, but we would at least have the choice of still having our holiday.

So, if anyone knows of a 6 bedroom place suitable for young children somewhere around the south downs for the second week of August, please let me know!

@CornishTiger

I’d call them out on it. Tell them you have seen the revised availability and you’d like then to honour your previous booking.

If they remain not decent on this then I agree review everywhere.

Yes, do this.

Review everywhere, tell everyone what greedy that's they are

Please do put a review exactly how it is. I don't get the reasoning for wanting to increase pricing at all. It's part of the business and you honour what's been agreed. Reputation is critical.

If I read in a review that a holiday let had done this, I wouldn't go with them however desperate I was for the company. After all, they might do it again, or might try to argue everything about the deposit, and I just wouldn't want to reward dishonesty and greed. Many would feel the same. It could come to bite them. You are never assure to let a place, however high the demand.

If it were me I'd have to contact them and ask how come the dates are suddenly available. I could not let this go and if their answer is a rubbish one, I'd go on trip advisor and leave a review.

The same happened to us.

They came back grovelling when I reminded them that we’ve hired three of their four properties twice a year, every year, for the last five years. By then we’d found somewhere else - its more expensive, but I’ll never return to the original place after that greedy stunt and have cancelled our winter/low season booking as well, as have the others.

The lying is inexcusable, more so than the wanting/needing to put the price up. Is it through any kind of agency? If so then tell them.
Otherwise, I'd send the CFs a link to their property at these new prices and just ask 'what happened to the long Covid plans?'

Contact the Daily Mail so they can write an article about the greedy business.

@IntermittentParps

The lying is inexcusable, more so than the wanting/needing to put the price up. Is it through any kind of agency? If so then tell them. Otherwise, I'd send the CFs a link to their property at these new prices and just ask 'what happened to the long Covid plans?'

Great idea re the link and asking about the long Covid situation.

Did you have a written contract with them? If so I'd check the reasons they can cancel (they should be in there) and if their cancellation doesn't fit their own contract I'd put them into small claims court.

We had a booking that got cancelled and the owner came out and said 'I've decided it's worth more than that - you can either pay more, or pay the original price and we stay in your house, whilst you stay in ours' (We live in a very popular holiday destination overseas. His place was just in a regular commuter town that happens to be close to where our family live)

Wtf. No thanks.

You need to call them out on this and embarrass them into honouring your booking. Threaten reviews/complaining to the website you booked through etc. Don't take this lying down :)

Very shitty behaviour, I'd definitely leave a bad review.

I would contact them as a PP said above and say that you have seen it is available, so will they please honour your booking as originally agreed.

It is very greedy behaviour but they are all at it. I had a beachside apartment booked Easter 2020 , cost £369. I had to rearrange it to Oct, then again to Easter 2021, couldn't stay in the same place as the cost was now £699. I got my money back rather than rearrange for a 4th time.

As PP said, all these places need to remember that once people can go abroad again, they won't be booking in the UK, and will need the custom of those who have done UK holidays for years.

I have been looking online, and caravans that would have been £1200 (in August) a few years ago are now £3K. Totally ridiculous. I never booked them before, so certainly can't now.

Please name the cottage, the website where you booked it and the location. Mumsnet gets a lot of traffic, particularly from people who might be looking to book large family holidays.

Same thing has happened to us. Booked last year for July this year in Cornwall. Always stay at the same cottage as our youngest is autistic and this place has similar layout to our hone, plus very quiet and she loves it there. Got a call from Hoseasons to say sorry they are selling the property. Refunded our money. So I started looking for something similar in the same area and low and behold there's the cottage for rent that week at more than double original price on another holiday site. I know Covid will have meant they've lost a lot of money from being unable to rent it out through lockdown but it's the bare faced lies that's pissed me off.

@CornishTiger

And holiday accommodation owners would be wise to remember that the foreign holiday restrictions that has create this boom won’t last forever.

We booked a holiday last November for August which cost £1000. If we booked now it would be over £2000 for the exactly same accommodation.

Luckily we booked through a big company , so hopefully more scrupulous than some of these private owners currently cancelling bookings.

And holiday accommodation owners would be wise to remember that the foreign holiday restrictions that has create this boom won’t last forever.

And when it stops, they go back to the prices they had before and reset their business model again. Supply and demand is the most basic economic premise. I'm surprised people are constantly shocked at how business works.

Leave your reviews and do your worst, come next holiday season when holiday cottages are in demand, most people won't be bothered by an iffy business transaction a year ago.

I know Covid will have meant they've lost a lot of money from being unable to rent it out through lockdown but it's the bare faced lies that's pissed me off.

Is it really, though? If they had said "look, we've lost a shit ton of money in the last year and need to cancel your holiday because someone else will pay double what you are and that means our business might survive", you wouldn't be pissed off?

YANBU - it's happening everywhere.

There was a thread recently from a poster whose holiday cottage had had its price increased by a substantial sum about a week before they were due to go away.

It became a Mexican stand-of between her and the owner, who was obviously trying to force her to cancel so she could keep deposits IIRC. In the end the owner broke the contract, but it was heartbreaking for the poster's children who had been so looking forward to it.

There was a big rallying on here to find her somewhere else.