Hotel closing for refurbishment! Can i get a refund?

statusquo1

Hi all, bit complicated this. We booked and paid for a package holiday last July to Dominican Republic travelling this may. Yesterday whilst looking on Tripadvisor i noticed a thread which said our hotel was closing down in 2 weeks time for 6-7 months for a refurb. I contacted Thomas Cook who said they are aware of it and have passed it on top there "operations" dept, whatever that is. We booked this specific hotel as it was the only one on the island that was mainly for adults and not really suited for families. I don't want to be offered a different hotel, so where do i stand? Am i able to demand a full refund? We've seen a different holiday which we'd like to book with another operator so really would like a refund. Any suggestions, help would be appriciated,
Thanks Colin.

onetomany

this happened to us a few years ago and thomas cook let us choose somewhere else me choose mexico and thomas cook payed the difrence , we got a bargin good luck hope you get it sorted , just dont agree to anything your not happy with

littlereddevil

Yes you are entitled to a refund.

redmalc

Hi We had this happen to us with My Travel which is part of Thomas Cook,and we managed to get a 5 star hotel in lieu after some negotiations,stick your heels in !!!!.

HXDave

littlereddevil wrote: »

Yes you are entitled to a refund.

How can you say this without knowing the full facts, and therefore giving the OP false hope. It will all depend on who TC's have booked the holiday through (probably their own tour operations, but not gauranteed), and what they offer in replacement. If they offer a hotel of the same * rating in the same area, they could be covered, with the option if they want to choose an alternative holiday with the same tour operator then this would be allowed but with paying the difference in holiday cost (either more or less). Alternatively, Thomas Cook might just turn round and offer a full refund straight away, but that is highly unlikely these days without a fight, as it will result in loosing a booking.

To the OP - the 'Operations Dept' are the people at the tour operator that handle these things - essentially the 'operations' of the program. THey do all the logistical work regarding flights & accommodation, and are the people who sort things out when things like this happen. wait to see what they offer you, and take it from there.

Regards

HXDave

Mark_Hewitt

If you've booked a specific hotel and that hotel is part of a package, then them moving you to another hotel would likely count as a significant change in your contract so you would be able to cancel and get a full refund. Of course, they'd rather you didn't and will push you to rebook somewhere else.

HXDave

Mark_Hewitt wrote: »

If you've booked a specific hotel and that hotel is part of a package, then them moving you to another hotel would likely count as a significant change in your contract so you would be able to cancel and get a full refund. Of course, they'd rather you didn't and will push you to rebook somewhere else.

Mark, not quite true, In the T & C's of most bookings (which the OP will have accepted) it will state what agreement is available if the tour operator makes a change, and in most cases changes to a hotel of similar or higher * rating is not classed as a significant change, and therefore no automatic entitlement to a free cancellation & refund.

HXDave

littlereddevil

Well in the past I've always had a refund when this has happened,although they always start off by offering alternatives. Why should you have to stay in a hotel you don't want ?

HXDave

littlereddevil wrote: »

Well in the past I've always had a refund when this has happened,although they always start off by offering alternatives. Why should you have to stay in a hotel you don't want ?

True, that by pushing they may fold, and offer a full FOC cancellation & refund, however under the terms & conditions of the package holiday booked, offering a hotel of similar standard or higher in the same resort as previously booked does not constitute a major change, and therefore are under no obligation to offer the free cancellation.

Now if the hotel had been booked as a hotel booking on it's own, things may be different.

HXDave