Help with TUI

sheramber

BB2021 said:

sheramber said:

 On-arrival PCR tests i. No on-arrival PCR test for “Fully Vaccinated” travellers. ii. Not-vaccinated Children: • No on-arrival PCR test for Not-vaccinated children up to 12 years and they will be allowed to travel with their parents. • Not-vaccinated children of 12 -18 years need to undergo on-arrival PCR testing at the Ministry of Health approved laboratory at BIA or at any other MOH approved laboratory and inform the result to the area MOH. If the Day 1 PCR report is negative, they will be allowed to travel with their parents. iii. No 2nd PCR for fully vaccinated travellers.

Before the 04th October the TUI hotel had booked was a Level 1 secure hotel. This meant PCR tests and quarantine could be carried out at the hotel until the tests came back. As of the 04th October TUI removed themselves from the Level 1 list.

This means our children would have to quarantine at a hotel in Colombo on their own and until the PCR tests came back. 

Where  are you getting that information as it is not what is said in  the link given above.

New rules were brought in form 29 September which may be why  Tui have changed  their arrangements.

All tourist have to stay in a level 1 hotel so if the hotel booked is no longer in the scheme then you will have to change to another hotel which is.

onashoestring

https://www.srilanka.travel/helloagain/

For vaccinated parents travelling with unvaccinated child over 12 , you all need to have a PCR test at the airport ( which you book and pay for )and provided your results are negative you can travel together onto accommodation of your choice.

BB2021

sheramber said:

BB2021 said:

sheramber said:

 On-arrival PCR tests i. No on-arrival PCR test for “Fully Vaccinated” travellers. ii. Not-vaccinated Children: • No on-arrival PCR test for Not-vaccinated children up to 12 years and they will be allowed to travel with their parents. • Not-vaccinated children of 12 -18 years need to undergo on-arrival PCR testing at the Ministry of Health approved laboratory at BIA or at any other MOH approved laboratory and inform the result to the area MOH. If the Day 1 PCR report is negative, they will be allowed to travel with their parents. iii. No 2nd PCR for fully vaccinated travellers.

Before the 04th October the TUI hotel had booked was a Level 1 secure hotel. This meant PCR tests and quarantine could be carried out at the hotel until the tests came back. As of the 04th October TUI removed themselves from the Level 1 list.

This means our children would have to quarantine at a hotel in Colombo on their own and until the PCR tests came back. 

Where  are you getting that information as it is not what is said in  the link given above.

New rules were brought in form 29 September which may be why  Tui have changed  their arrangements.

All tourist have to stay in a level 1 hotel so if the hotel booked is no longer in the scheme then you will have to change to another hotel which is.

I got my information from the Brigadier Coordinating National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID - 19 Outbreak - Sri Lanka. 

If the hotel was in the level 1 bio bubble at the time of booking, which is was, and have since removed themselves, which they have, then I'm afraid that isn't my doing. 

BB2021

onashoestring said:

For vaccinated parents travelling with unvaccinated child over 12 , you all need to have a PCR test at the airport ( which you book and pay for )and provided your results are negative you can travel together onto accommodation of your choice.

You have to allow 48 hours for the PCR tests to come back. In that time our children can only stay in a Level 1 secure hotel - for 48hrs and over Christmas, not travel to the 'not level 1 secure', hotel that we booked. So whilst my husband and I could travel to our booked hotel (4 hours away from Colombo), our children would have to stay in quarantine close to the airport. 

This is something we'd do. 

Hope this explains it. 

BB2021

Westin said:

BB2021 said:

Hello, I'm looking for any advice whatsoever please.

My family and I booked a holiday to Sri Lanka in December with TUI at one of their hotels. We have booked and paid for the holiday in full. 

When the holiday was booked in June 2021 the TUI hotel we booked to stay in was a Level 1 Secure COVID Hotel. What this means is our children - who aren't vaccinated - were able to take a PCR test at the hotel, and then quarantine in the hotel for 1 or 2 days until the results came back.

On October 4th TUI removed themselves from the Level 1 Secure COVID bio bubble scheme. 

What this means now is that when we land our 14 and 17yr old children would have to move to a separate hotel in the capital Colombo whilst my husband and I, along with out younger child, travelled 4 hours across the country to the the TUI hotel. It would also mean, due to the dates, that our children would be in a quarantine hotel on their own on Christmas Day. 

Obviously this isn't something we would have booked had we known that TUI would remove themselves from the 'Level 1 secure' scheme. 

We have since spoken to TUI - after10 hours on hold on the telephone - and they have told us they do not have to refund us as it isn't in their terms and conditions. This is despite there being a big written passage on their website which says if a country requires any kind of quarantine, they simply won't go there. 

Any advice on what to do next will be greatly welcome. 

Thank you.

Could you explain a little more about this and name the hotel?

To my knowledge TUI don’t have any owned or managed hotels in Sri Lanka so I don’t quite understand your comment about TUI removing themselves from the arrangements.

I guess quite possibly things will change between now and December anyway but if there another hotel that TUI feature that would fit this criteria?  I can’t see TUI expecting your teens to isolate in another hotel.  Perhaps rule changes will simply mean a quick lateral flow test at the airport upon arrival and they stay in their room (at the same hotel) until the results come back. They might even have them before they board the transfer bus.

RIU bought TUI.

Hotel RIU Sri Lanka/Ahungalla.

BB2021

eskbanker said:

BB2021 said:

eskbanker said:

BB2021 said:

On October 4th TUI removed themselves from the Level 1 Secure COVID bio bubble scheme. 

What this means now is that when we land our 14 and 17yr old children would have to move to a separate hotel in the capital Colombo whilst my husband and I, along with out younger child, travelled 4 hours across the country to the the TUI hotel. It would also mean, due to the dates, that our children would be in a quarantine hotel on their own on Christmas Day. 

Obviously this isn't something we would have booked had we known that TUI would remove themselves from the 'Level 1 secure' scheme.

Have TUI confirmed this to you yet, or have you read it somewhere else?  If it's an action that they've taken unilaterally then I'd have thought that there's a case that they've caused a significant change to your holiday, thereby triggering their cancellation/refund obligations under the Package Travel Regulations....

Yes, the hotel in Sri Lanka have confirmed this. They were originally on the Level 1 list but have since removed themselves from it. I have the email directly from them.

And this was definitely an email from TUI themselves, with a TUI email address?  I'd have thought that any comms would come from the UK tour operator with whom you have a contract, but it's a large organisation and it may take time for the left hand and the right hand to align....

Yes, it's from an official TUI email address. Directly from the hotel.

"Thank you for your email.

Please find attached the updated Health Protocol published on the 04th Oct by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.

This is available on the link which I have shared with you earlier.

You may also find the updated list of Safe & Secure Level 1, Level 2 and Other Certified hotels under the same link. 

Riu Sri Lanka was listed initially as a Safe & Secure Level 1 and later moved to Safe & Secure Other certified category as we are not accepting unvaccinated travellers."

onashoestring

BB2021 said:

onashoestring said:

For vaccinated parents travelling with unvaccinated child over 12 , you all need to have a PCR test at the airport ( which you book and pay for )and provided your results are negative you can travel together onto accommodation of your choice.

You have to allow 48 hours for the PCR tests to come back. In that time our children can only stay in a Level 1 secure hotel - for 48hrs and over Christmas, not travel to the 'not level 1 secure', hotel that we booked. So whilst my husband and I could travel to our booked hotel (4 hours away from Colombo), our children would have to stay in quarantine close to the airport. 

This is something we'd do. 

Hope this explains it. 

According to the Health Protocol in the link https://www.srilanka.travel/helloagain/ from Oct 7th for vaccinated travellers travelling with unvaccinated Childress under 12 - the on arrival PCR test is done at the airport .( doesn’t have to be L1 hotel ) You can book it in advance costs $40 
results come back within 3 hours. No mention of quarantine- so you all stay at the airport until the negative result comes back . Then you can travel on together. 

It’s only been a few days since these new rules came into effect. Is your transfer to the hotel arranged through TUI ? That would seem to be the only part of the trip that needs adjusting to allow up to 3 hours at the airport . 

http://www.uniindia.com/sri-lanka-unveils-pcr-testing-laboratory-at-main-international-airport/world/news/2514282.html

It might be worth checking on trip advisor to see the experience of recent travellers to see how the airport testing actually works in practice.

Sri Lanka is a great place to visit , I hope you have a fabulous holiday.

sheramber

Your information doesn't  agree with information given out in the above links. which are the recent updaters.

If the hotel is no longer suitable then ask TUI to transfer you to another, which is in the bio bubble.  

eskbanker

BB2021 said:
RIU bought TUI.

Not actually true - they're two separate companies, TUI being by far the larger, but they use a 50/50 joint venture to operate the hotel chain.

BB2021 said:

Yes, it's from an official TUI email address. Directly from the hotel.

"Thank you for your email.

Please find attached the updated Health Protocol published on the 04th Oct by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.

This is available on the link which I have shared with you earlier.

You may also find the updated list of Safe & Secure Level 1, Level 2 and Other Certified hotels under the same link. 

Riu Sri Lanka was listed initially as a Safe & Secure Level 1 and later moved to Safe & Secure Other certified category as we are not accepting unvaccinated travellers."

You've maybe had other emails but that one doesn't actually say that "TUI removed themselves from the Level 1 Secure COVID bio bubble scheme", but simply that this hotel is now in a lower level of the overall scheme, which could be someone else's decision and could perhaps be reversed in future?

Anyway, I'd suggest contacting the UK tour operator arm of the group (preferably not by phone) and ask them what options are open to you in the event that this situation hasn't changed by the time you travel and you're forced to follow the protocol you're fearing, as it would be a significant change to your trip.  If you have evidence that this was a unilateral decision made by TUI/RIU then that might strengthen your case....

Westin

^^ agree.

RUI however bought TUI’s investment in the RUI hotels back earlier this year -
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tui-m-a-rui-idUSKCN2D82EL

December is a long time off. Rules will change. Call TUI to discuss options.