HELP Booked Holiday via travel agent, but found out hotel will be shut!!!

jaspal

Not sure if I am in trouble or this is a chance to get something out of a company. I have booked a "self made holiday" - ie: own flight, own transfers, own hotel. etc.

I leave in less than 1 months time and I booked my hotel for 10 nights with Half Board via Travelrepublic.co.uk at an amazing unbeatable price.

Yesterday I rang the hotel direct to get a quotatioan - just to make sure that I got a good deal. The hotel said - "You can have the first 7 days, but the hotel closes for 6 months after that". In shock I hung up. I then rang up a couple other different travel agents, and after checking with the hotel I got the same response from them.

So this morning, I rang Travel Republic, I had a very rude person on the other end who just seemed to want to get rid of me. So I gave her my booking details and said I was just checking to see if my hotel booking was all confirmed. So after a RUDE - "YES IT IS ALL BOOKED AND CONFIRMED" I politely said thanks and hung up.

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Ok, my dilema

Should I ring Travel Republic again and tell them - "LOOK I HAVE SPOKEN TO THE HOTEL AND THEY ARE GOING TO BE CLOSED FOR THE LAST 3 DAYS OF MY HOLIDAY" - What are you going to do now ? Sort it out - Danger, they may just cancel the whole booking and then I am in trouble.

Or shall I just wait until I arrive at the hotel, and let the hotel notice the issue and calmly ring up travel republic and ask them to sort it out - EQUAL OR BETTER FACILITIES for the last 3 days...

I have found out, there are other hotels in the vicinity and being low season, I wont be left stranded, I doubt very much this will happen - but if travel republic do leave me stranded, im sure I can arrange my own accomodation and seek compensation or refund...

HELP HELP HELP ?
Is this an opportunity or a big danger....

dmg24

Don't be so silly.

Call Travel Republic and tell them of their mistake.

Leaving it until you get there, in the hope of compensation, is just leaving yourself open to all sorts of problems.

jaspal

Thanks for your reply - but what worries me is if they simply cancel my hotel and refund my monies to me. I have had a look online and it will cost me double to book another hotel.

Im not really after any compensation, as long as the last 3 days is in a reasonable hotel, I will be happy - but as you can see, I did try to ring them.

dmg24

Im not really after any compensation

EQUAL OR BETTER FACILITIES AND COMPENSATION

of course I will be looking for compensation...

Your posts do seem to contradict each other!

You will not know what they propose to do until you ask the question. Ring back, if you do not get any help from the initial point of contact, then escalate your query.

jaspal

DMG - thanks for your input - would like some advice from anyone else.

Has anyone else had this kind of experience before. My main concern is that if I tell travel republic - can they simply cancel my booking and refund me my money - which is what I do not want - as an alternative hotel will cost me double.

Sam_Bee

I think you'd be crazy to travel without sorting it out first, you would waste most of a day getting it sorted out, and you wouldn't get compensation as you knew in advance of the hotel closing.

You should call back Travel Republic and speak to someone helpful. If you don't get someone helpful, do what you did before, say a polite goodbye and try again. It's the same advice for any call centre. Why would an alternate hotel cost you double? I don't know where you are going, but, if it's low season will there not be similar hotels available at similar prices?

dmg24

Good to see that you have actually bothered to read the Booking Conditions:

In the unlikely event that your accommodation provider has to make a major change or alteration to your booking, we will offer you the option of accepting the change or cancelling the booking and receiving a full refund of all monies paid to us. We do not accept responsibility for any expenses or costs incurred by you as a result of the change and we do not accept responsibility for changes or cancellations that are due to unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control.

jaspal

Sam, DMG - thanks for your comments.

I will call them and let you know of the outcome.

thanks

jaspal

TravelRepublic - said they would look into it and come back to me

Has anyone else had this kind of experience ?

Risky

HI thanks for posting this to the OP - i have just looked into my booking with same company and they have done the same to us ! the hotel closes 2 days before we are leaving - PLEASE ADVISE ON WHAT IS LIKLEY TO HAPPEN - bearing in mind i would not have know this if i had not read this forum
thanks in advance

jaspal

HI OLF - have had no response from TR - will try them again - i appreciate your post - and at least feel that it wont be too bad - apparatntely the hotel has a sister hotel next door so should not be too bad.

i will let you know as soon as i do