Hotel voucher

AngeHow

I bought a £250 voucher directly from a hotel in December 2019 for my son and future daughter-in-law as a Christmas present. They attempted to use it last year but due to COVID restrictions the booking was cancelled and rebooked twice. Having spoken to the owner in November the booking was moved to February but he stated this would be the last chance to use the voucher. For obvious reasons this booking has also been cancelled. I emailed the hotel to confirm the voucher would still be valid for use in 2021, this is their reply

“It will be my intention to try and offer an alternative date but at a time suitable for the business to support this. Let's keep in touch and see what we can agree once lockdown for my industry has been eased”

Is this right, should the hotel dictate when the voucher can be used. Am I within my rights to ask for a refund? 

Thanks 

eskbanker

It'll depend on the terms of the voucher - it's not unreasonable to expect some flexibility in terms of extending its validity beyond the initial period (12 months?) but it's not a legal right.

mattyprice4004

Strictly speaking they're under no obligation to extend at all - did the voucher itself have an expiry date? 

AngeHow

It did expire on 5/12/20 but due to the closure of the hotel for most of the year, thought they might have been a bit more understanding. Thanks anyway. 

eskbanker

AngeHow said:

It did expire on 5/12/20 but due to the closure of the hotel for most of the year, thought they might have been a bit more understanding. Thanks anyway. 

Perhaps it doesn't feel like it but they are being understanding, given that they'd be within their rights to say that the voucher has expired, end of.  You'd obviously prefer the flexibility to rebook at your convenience, but the response they sent seems a reasonable compromise in the circumstances, and the reference to 'see what we can agree' suggests at least some sort of discussion about dates rather than a unilateral imposition....

DW190

AngeHow said:

“It will be my intention to try and offer an alternative date but at a time suitable for the business to support this. Let's keep in touch and see what we can agree once lockdown for my industry has been eased”

Is this right, should the hotel dictate when the voucher can be used. Am I within my rights to ask for a refund? 

Thanks 

Is it not because the industry is in lockdown and it can only be supported once they are up and running again.  I think its just being interpreted wrong.
 Any refund would only be in the form of a voucher.

sheramber

that is the problem with buying vouchers. 
Much better to give the cash.

Thrugelmir

AngeHow said:

Is this right, should the hotel dictate when the voucher can be used. Am I within my rights to ask for a refund? 

Presumably there was a window of opportunity when the voucher could have been used during 2020? 

WelshBristolian

I read their response as that they're willing to extend the voucher but as they're unsure of when they'll be able to reopen then it's better to leave it open ended than extend for a couple of months just to need to do exactly the same. It makes sense to leave the decision until when they're more aware of the future situation.