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.

Absolutely review. Awful behaviour to dishonour a booking then to lie about it!!

Name and shame them. Leave negative feedback. Make them regret their greedy underhanded behaviour

@JustLyra

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.

Well done, good for you

If it is Airbnb then I would report them

For a start can’t you name and shame them on here? Despicable thing to do to you and your family. I’d be tempted to get the local paper involved - if there is one - all their friends and neighbours should know how greedy they’re being and how badly you’ve been treated.

That is absolutely awful.. I am at a loss....

Maybe message and explain you have found the dates available again and ask for a ‘reconsideration’ as you ‘realise it could be a mistake on their part.’

Kindly give them 24 hours to rectify their mistake...

Then go online to shame if not rectified.

Shocking beyond words...

If you go through Small Claims for a refund (with your evidence) you would likely win. I know that doesn’t help much :(

Please let us know what happens and please ask people for any accommodation available.. there are lovely people and Mumsnet members out there who will help I’m sure xx

Look at the booking terms. They may be in breach which may be why they gave you a sob story about long covid. If you paid a deposit they may be committed to the terms and couldnt increase the price. They might have some sort of get-out clause about non-availability of the acommation which they are trying to invoke but if they have readvertised you msy have caught them out.

*accommodation not acommation!

Ps if they have breached the booking terms you may get compensation through the courts that is more than the price paid - ie whatever inflated amount you have to pay to get the equivalent elsewhere at short notice.

Disgusting. And to use long Covid as an excuse? immoral x1000. I’m a holiday home owner in an extremely popular village in S Devon. I have not put our prices up at all this year. I’ve had friends surprised that I haven’t, but no, just couldn’t. Really need the money too. I wouldn’t sleep at night. Some of us have high morals.

@MrsPumpkinPie

Disgusting. And to use long Covid as an excuse? immoral x1000. I’m a holiday home owner in an extremely popular village in S Devon. I have not put our prices up at all this year. I’ve had friends surprised that I haven’t, but no, just couldn’t. Really need the money too. I wouldn’t sleep at night. Some of us have high morals.

How refreshing! I love south Devon too! 😍

This is awful of them! I would be tempted to send them the link and question it: and then review badly

@MrsPumpkinPie

Disgusting. And to use long Covid as an excuse? immoral x1000. I’m a holiday home owner in an extremely popular village in S Devon. I have not put our prices up at all this year. I’ve had friends surprised that I haven’t, but no, just couldn’t. Really need the money too. I wouldn’t sleep at night. Some of us have high morals.

I hope you are rewarded with karma with good holidaymakers this year who appreciate you, your holiday home and your lovely area. V. jealous and would love a clue as to where your place is for future reference... (don't tell everyone, it's already too busy)

What a bloody disgrace! Heard so many stories like this and it makes my blood boil!! These greedy fuckers forget that next year (hopefully) normality will resume and people will have their choices of where to go again- I hope nobody goes near their rotten business then!
As others have said, leave reviews, with evidence of their horrible behaviour and let others know the sort of people their giving their money to!

It's disgusting and immoral behaviour. We can't go on holiday because of the inflated prices. Normally we would have two separate weeks away but we can't afford one at the prices this year. We'll be stuck in the leafy shares all summer long again.

I hope you find something, or that your original holiday is reinstated because the owners have come to their senses.

@Crazycatlady83

Very few people seem to have failed to understand that there would be consequences to closing the economy for 1+ year. Domestic holiday prices will rise this year, foreign holiday next year. Restaurant prices and taxes. I feel sorry for business owners - people screaming for their businesses to close (and in some cases they still remain closed), not making a penny for a year and then people calling them "disgusting" and "greedy" for trying to claw back some of their losses.

It's a inconvenience for you, but we don't know the holiday owners circumstances. They might be on the edge financially and need to make more money to keep their heads above water.

We should have a little sympathy for other people's circumstances

I have no sympathy whatever for people who lie about their circumstances and drop honest customers in the crapper just to make a fast buck. They ARE disgusting and greedy, plus worse things than either. Behaviour like that should be a criminal offence.

Clearly that’s low and sneaky but isn’t putting prices up when there is increased demand basically capitalism? It’s like people outraged at holiday prices going up in school holidays. They are businesses if there’s scarcity and demand you up your prices. Not saying it’s right but understood that’s how the system works.

Call them out for being a lying twat

Thats disgusting<img loading="lazy" class="inline-flex mumsnet-emoji" alt="Angry" src="https://www.mumsnet.com/build/assets/angry-BLHnmhGV.png"><img loading="lazy" class="inline-flex mumsnet-emoji" alt="Angry" src="https://www.mumsnet.com/build/assets/angry-BLHnmhGV.png"><img loading="lazy" class="inline-flex mumsnet-emoji" alt="Angry" src="https://www.mumsnet.com/build/assets/angry-BLHnmhGV.png"> Try looking at the VRBO website, I highly recommend them, Ive booked 5 or 6 holidays with them over the last 2-3 years

@Tuckedinbelly you the sort of evil girl that doesn't get angry gets even. I remember a previous post on an overpriced Yurt with the same issue as here. Sadly the place was named and shamed and folk piled in on them and got the whole thread deleted.

Grrrrr, not good for the industry, if you haven't found anywhere yet, give these chaps a go?
www.groupaccommodation.com
Good Luck x

Small claims court I reckon.

Unfortunately a lot of platforms will take down any review on the grounds the person didn't stay there.

In 2019, we booked a self catering place in Wales for Mar 2020. Obviously, this didn’t go ahead and was postponed to Oct, then postponed again to May 2021.

The owner accidentally double-booked our initial booking and gave us £100 off by way of compensating moving dates. I was fully expecting to lose the money altogether after the first lockdown or be cancelled but the owner rebooked us twice at the discounted rate. She could probably have cancelled us and rebooked at more than twice the cost, but chose not to.

Assuming the holiday home was registered for business rates (as they should have been as it's a business), they'll have received upto £28k in govt grants so far (with more to come). It started with the £10k grant last April and there have been local council grants ever since payable to property based businesses which have been forced to close due to covid. Now there's the reopening grant payable to businesses previously forced to close. I'm an accountant with various holiday home owning clients. Those who were correctly/properly registered as business premises have had plenty of grants, even though they could still trade for a few months over the year outside the lockdowns. All my clients have had more in grants than they lost in lost customers over the lockdowns, so are quids in. If a holiday home owner wasn't properly registered with their local council as a business, and therefore missed out on the grants, it's their own hard luck!

This. We are all paying to keep as much business afloat as possible.

They also would have been open at the start of the normal season in April and obviously demand is sky high this year.
They are stupid. Surely they suffer next year when people say no thanks to rip off Britain. People will always remember the stupid prices.
A shame as this would have been chance for the U.K. to show the benefits of holidaying at home.

You won't be able to neg them if the booking is cancelled.