Have you ever complained about a holiday and got a refund?

Bygone_Tones

What grounds is enough reason to get some money back? Is poor property maintenance and poor cleanliness enough of a reason?

Im half way through writing my compliant letter to hoseasons about a cottage I stayed in last week, but am now having second thoughts about going through with it. Nobody got injured or died but we were disappointed with the place because it fell below what I would consider acceptable cleanliness and upkeep of the property.

Now I think maybe just leaving a shitty review online would suffice?

boogieman

I would certainly complain if I thought it was below par for what I'd paid. Don't expect any major compensation though, they'll probably just give you a discount off your next holiday. Leave them a shitty review as well... it'll get it off your chest if nothing else. 

chrispy108

I'd complain, but you're much more likely to get a discount voucher than actual cash back.
I've had a mix of both when complaining about holidays though. Worth doing.

Bygone_Tones

Yeah I think I might put the complaint in and see what happens. It was over £800 for one week stay, but had been reduced from over £1000 because it was a last minute booking.

I think the worst thing was the bathroom. I had to pick out 3 or 4 millipedes from the shower unit everyday. After doing a bit of googling I learned they like to eat wet flooboards and carpets, and this fits with the state of the floor, which was very squishy underfoot near the shower unit. On the last day I noticed one crawling out from under the base of the toilet, which I think was how they were getting into the room. 

Sporky

I once got two nights in a 4 star for free, including dinners. Still felt robbed.

The other side of it is that if you post a shitty online review they'll likely just get defensive. If you get in touch first you're affording them an opportunity to solve it and leave you happy.

richh

Yes, I got over £2k back on a package holiday about 15 years ago.  Another time we got a free night in a hotel due to a very serious mistake on the part of the hotel.

xSkarloey

It's worth making a complaint about that bathroom. Sounds like it needs sorting asap. 

BenSirAmos

I complained to Hoseasons once. In their brochure it said the resort had a swimming pool but it was never open during the time we were there.  In reply, I got back such a slimy letter from them denying any responsibility that I swore I would never do business with them again ever. And I tell everyone what a shit company they are at every possible opportunity.

Thank you for giving me another opportunity to say what a shit company Hoseasons is. 

Bygone_Tones

Well, I dont really hold hoseasons to blame, but it was booked through them. Its really down to the guy that owns the apartments who should be doing the regular cleaning, gardening and general maintenance of them.

Ive put the complaint in via email, so I will let you know if anything happens.

axisus

I complained about a holiday. It was 1970, I was seven and we came home two days in as a relative died. My parents didn't give me any money back.

thumpingrug

I was in stratford upon avon a couple of weeks ago to see a play at the RSC.  Hotel's air con was not working for the three nights we were there.  mentioned it to the staff several times but nothing done.  Emailed the manager when I got home, had a phone call an hour later and full refund in the bank an hour after that.  Email was polite and respectful but stated the facts and that I was unhappy that the staff had not dealt with it in a manner I thought they should. 

Garthy

I complained to Woolacombe Bay Holiday Park a few years ago. It was just dreadful in every respect and we felt thoroughly ripped off despite it being one of those Sun/Mirror coupon holidays. Our first caravan had a hole the size of a Gretch in the roof and our second van was in an appalling state with broken plumbing, shower tray & fridge. The club house had a sticky film on every surface, like someone had been using a pritt stick on every table, chair & hand rail. The pool was shocking, the changing room was far too small, there were hardly any lockers and no life guards- now I agree that everyone should be responsible and look out for their own kids, but what about the parents themselves? What if two dads clashed heads and were incapacitated? While finding somewhere to change I found a father barely keeping his emotions in check, he'd spent £1600 on this holiday for his family of five for a week.

WBHP replied to my complaint informing me that the weather was beyond their control- a point I hadn't raised, and did not address other matters. It was supposed to be a four day holiday but we left as soon as their office opened on the third day.

boogieman

£1600!!!??  For a week in Woolacombe? Bloody Nora! It's piss taking prices that made us start going abroad with the kids when they were little. We'd spent a thoroughly miserable fortnight in August on the Gower coast where it'd tipped down every single day. Cost us a small fortune going somewhere dry to entertain the kids. To be fair we'd been to the same place for the previous few years and it'd been great, but that particular year was hell on earth. Next year we went to Majorca. Cost us half the price and the kids loved the sun and the beach... never looked back after that, holidays abroad every year. 

gubble

Slightly off track here:

Mrs Gubble works for a hotel. Whilst I'm sure it's perfect and nobody has anything to complain about, I've certainly never heard anyone complain (big shout out to my lawyers there just in case)............

They do get some really bizarre complaints from guests. Some of which are just plain untrue and really very strange. In fact some of the guests are just plain odd. The stories I'm told are unbelievable.

axisus

gubble said:

Slightly off track here:

Mrs Gubble works for a hotel. Whilst I'm sure it's perfect and nobody has anything to complain about, I've certainly never heard anyone complain (big shout out to my lawyers there just in case)............

They do get some really bizarre complaints from guests. Some of which are just plain untrue and really very strange. In fact some of the guests are just plain odd. The stories I'm told are unbelievable.

Could you be a bit more unspecific?

littlegreenman

I love to read those tripadvisor reviews about places I've stayed. Never once felt the need to complain personally, but everywhere has had reviews ranging from "pretty much the perfect place for a trip away" to "we were in fear of our lives the whole time!".

That Hoseasons gaffe does sound pretty rank though, millipedes in the shower? Now that I would complain about.

UnclePsychosis

I once heard a woman in a hotel complain to the receptionist that there weren't enough mirrors in the room. Not that there weren't *any* (a valid complaint), but that there weren't enough.

RobDavies

I moaned to Villa Plus about a property we'd rented from them back in 2011.  It was a villa we'd previously rented in 1999 and it'd had nothing done to it in twelve years.  

We got £500 back on a holiday that cost about £4K, so not too bad but I was told afterwards that if we'd moaned at the time, rather than after we'd flown home, we'd probably have got a fair bit more refunded to us.  

HAL9000

I'll just leave this here...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/galleries/20-ridiculous-complaints-made-by-holidaymakers/

gubble

The not enough mirrors complaint is one that happens a lot. Not a full length mirror in both the bedroom and the bathroom is the usual complaint.

No pillow menu was a complaint I heard recently.

Wanting a refund due to not having a swimming pool (doesn't advertise having a pool)

There's a surprising number of people who book rooms for the night, arrive as a couple then leave two hours later (!) This often goes hand in hand with other guests complaining about noise from another room (!)

Guests can often make a mess of some sort in the room then try to claim it was like that when they arrived and want to switch room.

A surprising number of people also rearrange the furniture in the rooms - which I find a bit odd.

LoFi

Sporky said:

The other side of it is that if you post a shitty online review they'll likely just get defensive. If you get in touch first you're affording them an opportunity to solve it and leave you happy.

Pretty much this - posting a bad review online without giving them a chance to put it right is a dick move. I've got a lot of friends who work in catering/hospitality, and they're baffled by some of the bad reviews online; quite often they can remember the reviewer responding to repeated check-ups with "Yes, everything's lovely, thanks" before going home and slagging the place off on TA.