Page 5 | Email from property owner - room cancelled for refugees

DuvetHugger · 2022-04-04T15:03:03+00:00

I booked holiday accommodation last year for this coming June in Scotland. They allow pets so this was the main pull for us. We have booked tickets for a big gig taking place there and are travelling from south of the UK. I just received this email from them: "We have applied to use the barn for Ukranian refugees. if it's not a problem for you can you please cancel free of charge" I replied saying we have booked some activities etc and is she sure the place wont be available at that time, we booked 8 months ago and her response was: "No you need to book something else sorry". AIBU in thinking this is rude?? Obviously, I have nothing against them housing refugees but I am a bit taken aback. AIBU to be pissed off or AIBU for my first world problems when there are families to house? Surely she would see a diary of full bookings and think "I am not yet in a position to use the barn to house others, but will stop taking bookings now to enable myself to do so at a later date"?

Makeitsoso · 04/04/2022 17:24

@Sapphirejane

The good side of me is saying that your holiday is definitely trumped by the needs of people fleeing a war zone who need accommodation now not after the summer.

The cynical side of me is wondering how the £350 a month government scheme is worked out and whether they would make more money this way. I hope someone is able to put that thought to rest however.

Highly unlikely.

Original poster

DuvetHugger · 04/04/2022 17:25

I think some posters are jumping to conclusions. I am not saying she shouldn't rent out to refugees, I just think it is poor form to not give you an option, and also make you cancel the booking. Suspicious.

To be honest, I don't believe for one second she is going to be housing refugees. She is still taking bookings (I just checked), and why would she cancel everyone before it has even been confirmed that she can house refugees?

She is saying she has just applied.

OP posts:

Birchtree1 · 04/04/2022 17:25

all bagsforlife20 The owner is getting financially fucked too only getting £350 a month! Most holiday places allow you to cancel legally too. As i said I decided I didn’t want to cancel my existing bookings but everyone is different!

gettingolderandgrumpy · 04/04/2022 17:28

It’s strange though that she wants to do something so kind to let refugees stay in her holiday accommodation but at a cost to suggest people cancel their holiday . Because who would be so cruel to be annoyed with Ukraine refugees taking your place ?. Or like someone suggested found someone else to pay more and this is a excuse , or maybe I’m just cynical in my old age .

godmum56 · 04/04/2022 17:29

@Birchtree1

all bagsforlife20 The owner is getting financially fucked too only getting £350 a month! Most holiday places allow you to cancel legally too. As i said I decided I didn’t want to cancel my existing bookings but everyone is different!

she's not because I bet she isn't doing it.

WeirdlyKind · 04/04/2022 17:30

The UK has a housing and accommodation shortage

Does it though? There's loads of houses standing empty! I can think of ten or twelve second homes that are empty most of the year in my small town alone.

BourbonVanilla · 04/04/2022 17:31

She was rude, and also - if her story is true - she's trying to be good at someone else's expense.

Twentypast · 04/04/2022 17:32

@DuvetHugger

I think some posters are jumping to conclusions. I am not saying she shouldn't rent out to refugees, I just think it is poor form to not give you an option, and also make you cancel the booking. Suspicious.

To be honest, I don't believe for one second she is going to be housing refugees. She is still taking bookings (I just checked), and why would she cancel everyone before it has even been confirmed that she can house refugees?

She is saying she has just applied.

If she's still taking bookings anytime for the next 6 months she's not housing refugees. There's a minimum commitment of 6 months.

crocus776 · 04/04/2022 17:32

Of course she's lying. Don't cancel, she's just greedy. Just go back and ask why she's still advertising..

carefullycourageous · 04/04/2022 17:32

@WeirdlyKind

The UK has a housing and accommodation shortage

Does it though? There's loads of houses standing empty! I can think of ten or twelve second homes that are empty most of the year in my small town alone.

Yes, it does. It has an overall lack of stock, and in addition it has empty properties in the wrong places.

MargaretThursday · 04/04/2022 17:32

@Blossom64265

Not too long ago there was a thread on here asking about holiday accommodations being converted to house refugees and people mentioned that the outcome would be posts about cancelled holiday bookings.

If the host is indeed hosting refugees, the booking site must have a way for the host to cancel the booking and give you a refund. Ideally this should be without penalty for all parties. It’s an awful situation and I would be upset if it was my holiday and I had paid for activities and possibly transportation already, but it is an extreme situation. We lost a bit of money on holidays when Covid hit. I wasn’t happy about it, but It was an extraordinary circumstance and I got over it.

I thought exactly that.

Immediately people are assuming she's doing it for the money, lying, trying to get more money and renting it out again, hoping she never manages to rent out again...

They may need to show that the place is available before they can be accepted to host, which is why they're asking to cancel before they have the people arriving.

We've got a local hotel being used to house refugees. (not from Ukraine). It's not luxury accommodation. Nor is it luxury food.
Sample lunch: Two potatoes.
Yes, that's it. Not butter or cheese or anything else to go with it. Simply two plain potatoes. They have nowhere they can cook for themselves and the amount of money they have a week would go on a packet of sanitary towels and a couple of other necessities.
We held an event some of them came to and you have never seen plain loaves of bread seized on with such enthusiasm. There's children there. Small children who have seen things they shouldn't have ever had to witness.
The government should be ashamed.

Doggirl · 04/04/2022 17:33

if it's not a problem for you can you please cancel free of charge"

It's this wording that gets me.
I tend to take things literally, so my immediate reaction would be "Well it IS a problem for me so I'm not cancelling." But actually it's not a question or even a request but an order--of the kind a boss would give to their minion, not a provider to a customer!

If she believes she's doing the right thing by throwing off existing bookings to host refugees (and note, she says they've "applied", not that the accommodation will definitely be used for such that week or even that they've been accepted for the scheme at all), then she needs to own it.

Candleabra · 04/04/2022 17:33

She isn’t taking in refugees.
She wants to resell and get more money for your week.
She wants you to cancel so she doesn’t pay any penalties.

WonderfulYou · 04/04/2022 17:36

YANBU

It’s fine for her to ask if you’d mind cancelling free of charge but she cannot make you feel guilty for not doing so.

You need to house the refugees for a minimum of 6 months and I’d be shocked if she wants all her bookings cancelled.

Lots of people are using the refugees as an excuse - fake go fund me pages, asking for donations etc.
She could be using this as an excuse to book someone else for more money.

I would look elsewhere and cancel if you can. I wouldn’t want to stay somewhere like this.

LegMeChicken · 04/04/2022 17:38

@HobnobsChoice
I'm not surprised. If this easy, abundant family sized housing already existed surely there wouldn't be council waiting lists?

Of course it varies by area, in South Ribble (Preston) for example someone was furnishing 12 houses for refugees just weeks after they arrived. In Trafford (where I live) you'd be hard pressed to find even 3.

The push for 'ordinary' citizens to take in Ukranians is also probably because they'll be expected to go home. The majority of other refugees however are looking for permanent resettlement...

Viviennemary · 04/04/2022 17:38

Give her a poor review. This is a bad show and not acceptable.

DameHelena · 04/04/2022 17:39

@DuvetHugger

The terms and conditions that I have read so far state that she should find me suitable alternative accommodation.

I will email DFC tonight and see what they say

That's why she's asking you to cancel.

If she is still taking bookings then she's definitely pulling a fast one.
I'd contact the cottage company and act innocent: 'I do understand she's taking in refugees, but it leaves me in the lurch and I'm not sure why she's not offered me suitable alternative accommodation as in the t's and c's...'
They'll probably contact her and she'll be forced to admit she's not taking in refugees at all.

thinking123 · 04/04/2022 17:40

You said you have booked for three nights. I bet someone wants the full week and is willing to pay way more

LegMeChicken · 04/04/2022 17:40

@MargaretThursday RTFT. She's still taking bookings!
The issue isn't holiday being cancelled, but asking the customer to cancel. Owner can go ahead and cancel everything if they want. No need to even ask.

Doggirl · 04/04/2022 17:40

Yes, it does. It has an overall lack of stock, and in addition it has empty properties in the wrong places.

Indeed. I don't want to derail the thread, but the fact is there's no 'pot of gold' in terms of legions of good-quality housing in places people want to live that the owners have inexplicably left empty while the local authority whistles. It's usually a case of: unemployment blackspot, poor condition (not cost-effective to repair), expensive to heat

DameHelena · 04/04/2022 17:40

They may need to show that the place is available before they can be accepted to host, which is why they're asking to cancel before they have the people arriving.
Fine, but SHE needs to cancel it, not the OP, as per the t's and c's.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 04/04/2022 17:41

In your situation I wouldn't mind, other than being out of pocket

And why should the OP be out of pocket? I would expect the CF to honour the terms of the contract, i.e. find me somewhere else to stay and pay the difference. If she couldn't do that I would expect her to refund me for anything I'd booked that I could cancel. I'd also be keeping a very close eye on whether she carried on letting the accommodation and, if she did, would leave a shitty review.

MurmuratingStarling · 04/04/2022 17:41

@Elphame

It seems odd to me too. Most of us can't afford to "rent" our holiday lets for £350 a month. That's less than my weekly rate in winter (and I'm not expensive)

I suspect too she's had a much better offer from someone also attending that gig!

Have a look at the rest of the booking calendar. If she's advertising weeks available over the summer then I'd be suspicious.

Defo a possibility that she got a better offer. As I said, I hope she never gets any bookings again after this. Spread the word @DuvetHugger on trip advisor or something. Let them know what she has done. nasty NASTY trick.

Silverclocks · 04/04/2022 17:42

I'd be very surprised if this is a kindness thing. She will have worked out refugees are more lucrative. I wonder how many she can fit the barn?

Let her cancel if that's what she wants.

MurmuratingStarling · 04/04/2022 17:42

@Elphame

It seems odd to me too. Most of us can't afford to "rent" our holiday lets for £350 a month. That's less than my weekly rate in winter (and I'm not expensive)

I suspect too she's had a much better offer from someone also attending that gig!

Have a look at the rest of the booking calendar. If she's advertising weeks available over the summer then I'd be suspicious.

Defo a possibility that she got a better offer. As I said, I hope she never gets any bookings again after this. Spread the word @DuvetHugger on trip advisor or something. Let them know what she has done. nasty NASTY trick.