last minute cancellation UK holiday

gwynlas

Presumably it is for one of the bank holidays in May so the company are unlikely to be able to relet accommodation unless there is a history of last minute deals at large discounts. It would be best if you could offer it to someone as otherwise it will sit vacant. The owner will need to be paid as another renter could have wanted to book same dates as yourselves. Are you sure that you have not got insurance cover with your bank account or whatever? It is an unforeseen circumstance that is preventing you going ahead

sheramber

Early Spring Bank Holiday is next Monday, 1 st May.

The OP states the accommodation is paid for but they are not occupying it, which would indicate  the holiday is for the current week  up to and including the Bank Holiday  on Monday.

lisyloo

tightauldgit said:

lisyloo said:

sheramber said:

It's currently standing empty and paid for.

but it's probably weekend only minus their costs 

Do you mean the chalet is booked for the current week and you have not occupied it, and want to cancel the days left?

It's booked and paid for.
We aren't occupying it.
Not yet formally cancelled.

It's unlikely to get booked during the week, but it's possible someone might want it for the bank holiday weekend at short notice.
I was just asking where we stand as the call centre people weren't overly helpful (which is exactly what I'd expect).

Hang on... do you mean you should be there now but you haven't gone and you haven't informed them that you aren't going? 

That's not a cancellation, that's a no show. I suspect not only have you lost all your money but you may not even be able to transfer it to someone else now even if you found someone. 

Apologies for wrong terminology.
i did call them and yes it is a total loss (as expected).
They have confirmed that anyone else can go in our place which I would also expect given that we’ve paid. 

lisyloo

gwynlas said:

Presumably it is for one of the bank holidays in May so the company are unlikely to be able to relet accommodation unless there is a history of last minute deals at large discounts. It would be best if you could offer it to someone as otherwise it will sit vacant. The owner will need to be paid as another renter could have wanted to book same dates as yourselves. Are you sure that you have not got insurance cover with your bank account or whatever? It is an unforeseen circumstance that is preventing you going ahead

It’s for 9 nights in total but I’m accepting no one will want the weekdays at short notice.
as it’s a long weekend next weekend then I think a last minute booking is possible especially for people with dogs as that type of accommodation is limited.
yes I’m still trying to offer it to someone.
yes of course the owner will want paying.
yes I’m sure I don’t have insurance.
ive checked my pet insurance and I didn’t take the extension. I am new pet owner and I didn’t realise elective surgery happened at the drop of a hat. You’d never get that as a human as the theatre, scanners etc. Would all need to be booked. A learning experience for me.

lisyloo

sheramber said:

Early Spring Bank Holiday is next Monday, 1 st May.

The OP states the accommodation is paid for but they are not occupying it, which would indicate  the holiday is for the current week  up to and including the Bank Holiday  on Monday.

Correct. So a weekend booking is not impossible although it’s short notice.

Singlemummy_2

When is the surgery? Can you not still use part of it?

I’d say if you cancel you lose all money as per the contract (assume it doesn’t say they will refund if they resell?)

if you sold to strangers could you do a change of name on the booking so that any damages they would be liable for not you 

lisyloo

the surgery has happened and was last Friday.
no we cannot use any part of it at all.
there is no way the steps can be managed with the surgery.
It’s just not a runner and we wouldn’t be able to go anywhere anyway (you cannot leave a dog unattended) so we’d be stuck inside not to mention the accidents due to being confined and on lots of drugs.

any sale would be re-advertising by the holiday company so I’d expect a new booking and to be charged admin fees.
I am not set up to advertise to sell to anyone.

the questions were

1) do they have to readvertise
2) is there a link I can quote

otherwise it’s down to their goodwill.

martindow

It's a bit late now, but as you describe it as elective surgery for your pet, could it not have been postponed for a week or two? 

tightauldgit

lisyloo said:

the surgery has happened and was last Friday.
no we cannot use any part of it at all.
there is no way the steps can be managed with the surgery.
It’s just not a runner and we wouldn’t be able to go anywhere anyway (you cannot leave a dog unattended) so we’d be stuck inside not to mention the accidents due to being confined and on lots of drugs.

any sale would be re-advertising by the holiday company so I’d expect a new booking and to be charged admin fees.
I am not set up to advertise to sell to anyone.

the questions were

1) do they have to readvertise
2) is there a link I can quote

otherwise it’s down to their goodwill.

And to answer your question, if you cancel then they should attempt to re-sell it - which I guess is simply them making the dates available on the website again - to minimise their loss. But you didn't actually cancel it as far as I can see, they can't readvertise it until you actually formally cancel the booking. 

If you cancel at very late notice or after the booking was due to commence then I imagine they would have a good argument that it was too late to re-sell the holiday by the time they had processed the cancellation and re-advertised it. There's no obligation to go out of their way to help you, to prioritise your booking over others or otherwise expedite your issue just because it's at short notice. 

lisyloo

martindow said:

It's a bit late now, but as you describe it as elective surgery for your pet, could it not have been postponed for a week or two? 

Not without leaving the animal in pain and distress (going back into the hospital).
Perhaps elective was too strong a word.
Im not doing too well with my clarity but I meant it wasn’t an emergency.
it would have been more distress for the dog to take him out of the hospital and take him back in rather than leave him there sedated.
plus knowing he as suffering it would have been difficult for us to enjoy walks etc.
I’m learning all the time but dogs hide their pain very well indeed so he was in more pain than we realised.

I didn’t appreciate how things work in veterinary medicine.
if you were a human you’d have to wait for scanners, theatre slot, anaesthetists etc.
i assumed it would be the same and we’d have time to plan as you say.
In veterinary medicine it appears this is all readily available at the drop of a hat if you have the means.

so no, I don’t believe any genuine animal lover would put their convenience or holiday first if they learnt their animal was in pain and relief was available.