To report this travel company to trading standards! Absolutely FUMING!!!

[Supamum3]

Posting here for traffic.

My husband and I booked an exotic longhaul 5* holiday for 2 weeks over 12 months ago. We are due to fly in September and have received multiple emails in the past few weeks informing us of refurbishment in the hotel but repeatedly reassured us that our stay would still
be what we have paid for.

I received a message a few days ago informing me the hotel we have booked needs serious maintenance and as a result is now closed for the foreseeable future. We have been booked at another hotel approx 3 hours away. This increases travel to and from the airport so increase the cost of excursions and family visits as they are based around the original hotel. When I spoke the travel agent they were apologetic and understanding but could not offer any compensation for the inconvenience.

I was advised to enjoy the holiday and submit receipts of any additional costs upon return with the possibility of some refund.- but no guarantee.

Aibu to make a formal complaint to the holiday company and demand that they offer more than just an apology??

Have you spoken to your insurance company? I really don't know what the legalities are on this? Is there another hotel in the same area, of the same standard or is the closest one really 3hrs away? Is it part of their chain, and they don't have another one closer?

Sorry I can't help, but a hopeful bump.

The first thing I'd do is make them put in writing that they'll compensate you for your financial losses. Then I'd go about negotiating compensation. It might be worth doing this after the holiday so you know exactly how much it has inconvenienced you. I'd recommend contacting the CEO on twitter or just keep insisting on escalating it with their customer service department. I don't know how likely it is they'll provide compensation, but it's more likely if you make a polite nuisance.

There will be an ombudsman for the industry so if you want to report it to someone, they'll be able to regulate the company. They'll likely expect you to have tried to resolve it with the company and have evidence of an unsatisfactory resolution to investigate, so it's not going to be instant.

The tour operator rather than the travel agent should be looking to rebook you to a suitable hotel. Have you told them the new one isn't suitable and asked for an alternative? Unfortunately they may have limited options if the hotel has failed to keep them updated but if it isn't like for like they are responsible for dealing with it.

Also, if it was booked as a package the package travel regulations kick in so look into what they are responsible for under that. Who's the tour operator?

Was it Mexico? Similar thing happened to my friend today.

Trading standards?

On what basis? Is it the travel companies fault the hotel is closed?

No.

What do their t & c s say. I presume you have read them in full.

Take them to court; let them decide.

I would have thought that they are supposed to provide you with like for like accommodation, in as close as possible location to the original hotel. I also think you would probably be entitled to a refund if you wanted one, as the holiday has suffered a 'significant' change. However, I would make sure you have read the full 'Terms & Conditions' which you were issued with when you booked before you do anything else, as you may find they have covered themselves against this sort of claim.

I've just found this while looking for some advice for you, I hope it helps:

If your chosen hotel is no longer available, the Package Travel Regulations are supposed to ensure you don’t end up with a lesser holiday as a result.
The regulations clearly state that the package holiday organiser is responsible for putting things right, regardless of who’s at fault. First and foremost, it must find you an alternative of equal or higher value at no extra cost to you. If successful, this is classed as a ‘minor change’ to your booking – meaning you can’t usually cancel for a full refund . If the replacement accommodation is of lesser quality (for example, a lower star rating) or in a different resort, this qualifies as a ‘significant change’ to your booking. In this case, you should be given the option to either accept the change (with a price adjustment if you're downgraded) or cancel the booking for a full refund.

Thanks all for the response.

Not Mexico, but very similar.

I won’t name them as I don’t want to shame them. I’ll try the ceo route and shout about it as much as possible.

I will get in touch with our travel insurers.

t&c do not indicate compensation for inconvenience, neither does the documentation that was sent when the new hotel was announced.

Compensation isn't typically covered in this type of contract. They'll be obliged to put you back in the position you were in as if this hadn't have happened i.e. covering financial losses. However much your inconvenience is worth isn't something they'll agree to pay automatically.

But do insist and see where it gets you. They'll want to keep good customer relations.

We had this happen to us where we'd booked and were due to travel on the Saturday - on the Monday before we were informed the hotel was closed and we would be moved elsewhere.

We had booked that specific hotel for a number of reasons so we declined and got a full refund.

Is it Dominican Republic? I know of a hotel here that has just shut down. If they are sending you to another part of the island let me know and let me know the hotel chain and I will do some on the ground research for you

What a kind offer!

This is helpful, thank you

It wouldn't bother me if the hotel and location were of the same standard.
I'm not sure what you mean by family visits being more expensive. And excursions, as wouldn't you base these around the area you're staying in?
It's a bugger, but I would just try to have the best holiday you can.

Why don’t you want to “shame” then? This is a company that has taken your money and isn’t provided holiday. This isn’t an individual person who will feel embarrassed, it’s a company run for profit.

Warning others as well as contacting the on social media, for all to see, is one thing sometimes gets a response from companies you would otherwise happily ignore you.

Hi OP - I know you booked with a travel agent to take all the stress out of the process, but every now and then we have tried to go with a agent/package and had this happen quite a few times recently. One thing I now do is contact the hotels directly (you can find the General Managers/Area Managers details from Rocket Reach), explain what's happened and how you were really looking forward to that hotel and what alternatives they are doing or recommending for guests who booked directly or via other agencies. When we were going to DR and also Barbados, same thing happened and I knew the hotel was closed but BA/Virgin Holidays, TUI were happily taking bookings. Our agency was was still telling us it was open and going ahead! The lovely hotel manager explained their alternative arrangements which was very different to the resort the agency was going to plop is in when they finally got their act into gear and confirmed it was closed! The GM contacted the agency and we could transfer to that one which was better. What I basically do is co-ordinate things with the hotel or sister hotels in group, get a plan and then propose that option to the agency who can facilitate it. If not, I find we get dumped in a resort in a location which doesn't work or a hotel grade which isn't of the same class, even though on paper it's the same. Had this in Cancun and learnt my lesson! Even if I book direct I always send a nice email to the GM of the hotel before our stay to start a dialog about how excited we are and in most cases there's always a little something extra or a room upgrade :)

Can you not just decline the offer of a change and get a refund?

Many people heading off on this kind of holiday will choose based on the facilities and reputation of the hotel/resort and the part of the world it's in rather than the exact location. On that basis it's understandable that the travel company might move you a reasonable distance if that is where the best alternative location is found.

But it sounds like you are more than usually focused on tourism and "family visits" (?). If you speak to the travel agents, it's possible they may be able to offer you something closer to the original location if that is your priority. But it could come at the cost of needing to downgrade the star rating or switch you to somewhere that's missing some feature of the original hotel which they initially assumed you wouldn't want to lose.

I’ve had this happen, they need to put you in a same grade or better property. Including room type. In your shoes I would look online and see what other hotels are offered by the operator, don’t just accept the alternative.

excursions etc shouldn’t cost more, if already booked by operator

I’m assuming by ‘family visits’ the OP has family living locally to the original hotel booking which is one of the reasons they originally booked that specific hotel.

I think if you get no joy in a few days then you should name the tour operator. Good luck hope you get a satisfactory alternative hotel or a refund.

Tbh it’s because things happen with hotels and flights get cancelled that I now book expensive long-distance travel through an agent. It’s not within the agent’s control that plans have had to change, but they do need to do the legwork to find a suitable alternative or else refund you.

If you aren’t happy with what they have proposed, do push to see if they can come up with anything else. On our first holiday post-lockdown a flight was cancelled and the agent offered an alternative that would involve spending about 14 hours at Paris Cdg. With us having to take tests at the various hotels we were going to, I wasn’t happy to risk our holiday for the sake of hanging about in an airport. We asked them to look again and were booked onto a different, much better flight.