A cautionary tale about dogs and UK holidays

richstack

I'm writing to vent my frustration as I have no other options. Made a silly mistake and only myself to blame but would rather not see anyone else go through this.
As with most of us, this year has been really hard and have missed the opportunity to get away. My Dad died in May (lung cancer) and in the following week I developed a detached retina and needed surgery which had a long recovery time. All of this on top of lockdown made me long for a holiday more than ever. Unfortunately by the time I was in a position to look, all dog friendly cottages were mostly gone. We ended up finding one in Faversham but we were only able to book this for a long weekend. Still it was something.
Unfortunately when we turned up yesterday the owners turned us away because our dog is too big. They just flat out refused to let us stay and said that their accommodation was too small. I looked back on the website I booked the holiday on, whilst on hold to see if a refund was possible. The main part of the text that leaps out is "Pets go free", but today I found this line buried in the text "Outside: small patio, rear parking, one small well behaved dog accepted". So the company have said that because the size of the dog was specified in the listing, I don't have any right to complain. Our dog is a lurcher (well-behaved of course) but obviously not small.
Anyway - that's almost 400 pounds gone down the drain, not to mention transport costs.
Hope that all dog owners out there make sure to check the small print. I am still a little upset as when we arrived the owners said they had no idea we were bringing a dog (they had not had guests who'd brought a dog before) although this was made clear on our booking through the third party site.
Oh well.

martindow

I think I would pursue this if the advert for this cottage prominently displayed dogs go free and then qualified this in the small print that most people don't plough through.  Can you still take a screen grab of their listing?

I would send a letter before action claiming the booking and travel costs to the owners pointing out that this is a business to customer transaction and that the onus was on them to set out restrictions clearly, either in their page on the site or in the confirmation you received on booking. B2C  cases often go in favour of the customer if there is ambiguity.

It is up to you whether you would want to actually open a claim, but the threat of it could well provoke the owner of the cottage to offer you something to avoid court action.  Well worth a stamp.

suejb2

Can you ‘argue’ their subjective criteria. Small dog covers many. Is a beagle a small dog ? You could have taken a small Rottweiler puppy!

molerat

A long weekend in Faversham - is that no akin to self flagellation with birch twigs whilst walking over hot coals ?

macman

OP needs to establish first who the contract is with: the booking site or the owners? I don't understand how the booking site can ask for confirmation as to whether a dog is being booked, but the owners said they had no idea?

twopenny

As a cautionary tale its a good point. I've seen this happen with hotels that have dog friendly but they've changed the rules/not updated the website and people have arrived with a dog and been turned away.

Always ring direct first and check is the advice given is still current so this is a second point. Measure your dog.

Seems a bit nit picky if they've taken the money and then turned you away on arrival. It;s not as though you turned up with a Great Dane or Old English Sheepdog which could be extra work.

A Lurcher, even a bigish one, curls up small and is slim and skinny and usually quiet in the house. It may not have been what they had in mind but It could have passed for just a long weekend. Perhaps if they were more experienced it would have done.

I think you have a case for writing a polite but firm letter saying that the details were not clearly upfront and you would like a proportionate refund because you booked in good faith and weren't trying to cause any problems. I've seen that stated on websites 'small dogs welcome' where it can be seen.

I'm guessing the problem is two fold, you were understandably distracted when booking and there probably isn't the room for definitation on the booking sites standard format. So sorry to hear you had yet another thing to add to your problems. Hope things are looking better now.

Be_Happy

Even if you do the right thing, it can still go wrong.  Several years ago we chose a weekend break from a special book of 'pet friendly hotels'.  Took our dog a labrador, retired guide dog, very quiet.  

First problem, owners dog was very unfriendly, dived at our dog snarling every time they passed.  Secondly, we would usually put dog's food and water dishes in bathroom where the floor could be cleaned but this bathroom had a cream coloured carpet!  Thirdly, it was middle of winter, snow outside but dogs could not be left in bedroom alone or allowed anywhere else in hotel.  OK coping with 'not in lounge', we could stay out,  but when dining, we had to take the dog out and leave it in our car.

sheramber

W stayed in hotels regularly with our dogs and have always put  them in the car when dining. I do not expect to leave them unattended in the room.

elsien

I don’t generally take Gitdog on holiday other than camping, but I do now scrutinise the small print after discovering they sometimes have breed specific exemptions, more often bull breeds, tucked away in the small print.
 Was the small dog information was the third party website? And what is the definition of a small dog? 

Aranyani

Be_Happy said:

Even if you do the right thing, it can still go wrong.  Several years ago we chose a weekend break from a special book of 'pet friendly hotels'.  Took our dog a labrador, retired guide dog, very quiet.  

First problem, owners dog was very unfriendly, dived at our dog snarling every time they passed.  Secondly, we would usually put dog's food and water dishes in bathroom where the floor could be cleaned but this bathroom had a cream coloured carpet!  Thirdly, it was middle of winter, snow outside but dogs could not be left in bedroom alone or allowed anywhere else in hotel.  OK coping with 'not in lounge', we could stay out,  but when dining, we had to take the dog out and leave it in our car.

You're never allowed to leave dogs in accommodation unattended, even at campsites.  I only take mine in the self sufficient camper van or to places like self catering cabins or cottages where the point is to be either in the cabin/cottage or out on a walk, not at restaurants/shops/attractions etc. 

It can be a pain at campsites if you want a proper shower, most say don't leave the dog alone in the van and also that they aren't allowed in the toilet/shower blocks, so tricky for a single person with a dog!