Travel Republic - kids in separate room and overcharged - holiday ruined

bradders1983

tacpot12 wrote: »

If your contract was for two adjacent rooms then you might have a claim for the upset, but if adjacent rooms weren't specified or guaranteed, then you won't

You have now learned why it is wise to look for negative feedback before you make a purchase and why it makes sense for families with younger children to book package holidays.

I get the feeling that the OP was only expecting ONE room, and that the extra money was because they got the price wrong, and not because a 2nd room was needed.

System

tacpot12 wrote: »

If your contract was for two adjacent rooms then you might have a claim for the upset, but if adjacent rooms weren't specified or guaranteed, then you won't

You have now learned why it is wise to look for negative feedback before you make a purchase and why it makes sense for families with younger children to book package holidays.

Sharing a room with you daughter would also have been an option.

We booked a family apartment and looked extensively at reviews with Lagotels being more than satisfactory. We don't have the luxury of booking package hotels and my stepdaughter sleeping in a double bed with her dad or me really wasn't an appropriate option.

spadoosh

mrs-mel wrote: »

We booked a family apartment and looked extensively at reviews with Lagotels being more than satisfactory. We don't have the luxury of booking package hotels and my stepdaughter sleeping in a double bed with her dad or me really wasn't an appropriate option.

It does sound like you needed the other room so dont think theres much to complain about having to pay for it. Maybe it couldve been looked at differently prior by offering two twin rooms. But i dont think TR could possibly know your family dynamics and that your children would argue.

Did you compare a package equivalent? £480 for a self catering apartment in majorca seems pretty in line with what youd pay for it as part of a package.

It sounds like people where getting away with breaking the law, started to clamp down and as a consequence you where asked to pay what you shouldve been asked to in the first place. They offered you a refund so you didnt have to pay it but as a consequence of you not booking as a package youd be a bit stuck with the flights. How you get there has nothing to do with TR because you chose something different.

I just dont see how you was forced to do anything. There was problems, i agree with that fully, i just dont think you can pin liability to anyone when ultimately your choices and desires led you down this path.

You chose to book independently.
You chose to go ahead with it after being offered a refund.
You chose the sleeping arrangements you did.

Id implore you to air your grievances so TR have the information and can use it in trying to avoid similar frustrations in future. I just wouldnt be expecting much in the way of accepting any liability for it.

System

We booked a large apartment with 2 bedrooms, 1 for 2 teenagers, we were told upon arrival that the dynamics had changed. The apartment didn't cost us £480 and I never said it did? How could I ask in the first in the first place about a law I didn't know about? My choice was a family holiday.

sheramber

So you intended the two girls to share a room. Would they not have had the same arguments?

spadoosh

mrs-mel wrote: »

We booked a large apartment with 2 bedrooms, 1 for 2 teenagers, we were told upon arrival that the dynamics had changed. The apartment didn't cost us £480 and I never said it did? How could I ask in the first in the first place about a law I didn't know about? My choice was a family holiday.

So you booked a large apartment with two bedrooms. And paid.

TR 3 weeks later say they made a mistake and you need to pay £480 extra. Im assuming they gave you a good reason for that mistake otherwise most people wouldnt pay, what was the reason? And what where you paying £480 for?

You go to the hotel expecting exactly what you originally paid for even though there had been mistakes and you had to pay more?

They then told you you cant have the large apartment due to laws and gave you two apartments?


Forgive me if im wrong but i was working on the assumption that it was something like you booked a 'family room' that was ultimately only suitable for less than 4 people. TR realised that mistake and contacted you offering a refund or wondering if you would pay an extra £480 to be given two separate rooms instead suitable to accommodate your party. And presumably you was agreeable due to the fact that you paid the extra? Due to a law you didnt know about you couldnt share a bed with your child hence the room splits as they where. Bad holiday ensued.

System

The reason given for having to pay the extra £480 was “we’ve made an error with your price”

tacpot12

mrs-mel wrote: »

... my stepdaughter sleeping in a double bed with her dad or me really wasn't an appropriate option.

Yes, I can see that it wouldn't have been appropraite, but two teenage girls sharing is appropriate, so you can see that the hotel would have assumed that the girls being in one room would have been ok. I don't think the hotel can be held responsible for them not getting on.

However, if you booked a "family apartment" and their website showed photos showing these family apartments as having four beds and the information available did not say they were restricted to children of 12 or under, then the hotel should have provided you with this family appartment. If the hotel has family apartments properly equipped for four adults then this law doesn't apply. The hotel have effectively told you that they dupped you into booking a double room when you thought you were getting a family room. I think you do have a basis of a complaint; that they didn't provide you with what you purchased and that the difference had a material effect on the quality of your holiday. The problem is in quantifying this "loss". The hotel will say they can't be responsible for two teenage girs who don't or didn't get along on the holiday. They provided rooms, beds, cleaning services, a pool, etc, so what have you actually lost? You need to figure out what sort of refund the hotel would consider as reasonable, and whether you would accept any sort of credit note.

As with any problem, it is how the organsiation deals with it that makes you want to deal with them in future, or not. If your view of the hotel can be resurrected, I would explain this to them - tell them you had a bad experience, explain in the few sentences you provided in your initial post how bad it was, but that you want to give them a chance to restore your faith in them. If you suggest they refund 150 Euros in cash as a gift to the girls and give you a 250/350 Euro credit note to spend at the hotel next year, you might find they agree to this.

System

Thanks for you reply Tapcot12, I think the fact that we weren't in close proximity to parent things so to speak had a bearing, the girls normally only bicker occasionally and we call upstairs for them to stop. I think you have some very good points and I will include them in the letter that I write to TR.

Caz3121

I suspect the issue is because the hotel classes over 12's as adults but TR 'children' can be older
Looking at the hotels website they have

FAMILY ROOM
We have family rooms with a maximum capacity of 2 adults, 3 children and 1 baby. These rooms consist of a master bedroom with two beds plus two sofa beds, a small room for a child with a sofa bed

which I suspect you may have booked however the 'children' are only up to age 12 which is how the issue has occurred
your booking would have been for 4 adults and the only option given on the hotel website would be

TWO BEDROOM APARTMENT
These 2 bedroom apartments are located on the 6th floor of the main building and can sleep up to 6 people. have two single beds in each room and two sofa bed in the living room

If you had the ages of the children in correct in the search the TR results should have excluded any results that would over-occupy so you should only have been shown the 2 bedroom apartments (assuming they were available) It sounds like they then realised their error (possibly when confirming bookings with the hotel) and instead of rebooking to the 2 bedroom apartment (maybe it wasn't available) they have booked a second room for the 2 "over 12's"
I would agree that a complaint is in order. They should have been very clear on what you were being changed to and what the "pay the difference" would mean - you would have assumed this was to get you suitable accommodation(?) and not separate accommodation - you would have made an alternative decision (alternative hotel or refund to book own) if you had been made aware of all the information.
...and if they had been 12 there would have been no issues all being in one room