Tui Compensation Advice

collo77

Hi
we have recently returned from an all inclusive hotel for a week with TUI.  

There was a party of 6 including an 89 year old disabled person.  Upon checking into the hotel we were advised there was an electrical fault in the kitchen in the main restaurant.  It transpired that two days earlier environmental health has closed down all kitchens over the resort.  They served food outside that was made off site and transported in.  The queues were 30 mins long for the food ans it was cold, not labelled and basically inedible.  The following day we managed to get a transfer to a different hotel.  We had to pay the taxi transfer fee.  Tui called yesterday to offer compensation before I even contacted them on my return.  

Do you think I should be entitled to the full cost of the holiday back? 

Thanks 

Wonka_2

Simple answer (at least from me) is no - or at least if you think you should be then you're going to have to beef up (no pun intended given the catering issue) your argument

Was the new accommodation/food worse than the level previously booked ? Would it have been significantly cheaper or did it have none of the expected facilities for the original booking ?

How much did they offer ?

TELLIT01

Absolutely not.  You suffered one day of disruption and were then moved to another hotel.  I would start from a refund of taxi costs plus 15% of the holiday cost.  I doubt you will get that as flights are obviously a major element of the holiday cost and they went ahead as normal.  Work on the basis of if you don't ask you don't get.  Has TUI mentioned a compensation figure?

NoodleDoodleMan

As suggested above, more detail is appropriate. Which hotel was the source of the problem ?

When you say "all over the resort" do you mean the specific complex which you originally booked ?

The traditionally accepted definition of resort means the whole location - for example Benidorm or Torremolinos etc.

That obviously did not happen.

Was the alternative hotel up to standard ?

If so, bottom line is it comes down to one (?) day in an unacceptable establishment with sub standard meals, followed by the remainder of the holiday in an acceptable hotel, with the added expense of a transfer from one to the other.

Obviously you are entitled to compensation - what have TUI offered ?

No disrespect - but how would you justify an expectation of a total refund ?

collo77

Thanks 
they have offered a cash figure and £300 more for vouchers.  The vouchers work out the same as 2 days holiday loss
the issue I have is that we booked the first hotel with all the amenities on offer for the kids.  It has several restaurants included as part of the all inclusive, archery, tennis, football and the kids were looking forward to the silent disco and foam party.  I was up and down to reception to try and sort the issues and my grandfather only ate toast.  The new hotel was the same standard but would have to pay extra for any of the restaurant and the sports.  Basically we paid for something we didn’t get so I feel they broke that contract 

eskbanker

collo77 said:

the issue I have is that we booked the first hotel with all the amenities on offer for the kids.  It has several restaurants included as part of the all inclusive, archery, tennis, football and the kids were looking forward to the silent disco and foam party.  [...] The new hotel was the same standard but would have to pay extra for any of the restaurant and the sports.

Sounds like you should be able to quantify the additional cost then?

collo77 said:
Basically we paid for something we didn’t get so I feel they broke that contract 

Sounds like a reasonable position but a full refund isn't in any way regarded as an appropriate remedy for any and every breach of contract!

DullGreyGuy

collo77 said:

Thanks 
they have offered a cash figure and £300 more for vouchers.  The vouchers work out the same as 2 days holiday loss
the issue I have is that we booked the first hotel with all the amenities on offer for the kids.  It has several restaurants included as part of the all inclusive, archery, tennis, football and the kids were looking forward to the silent disco and foam party.  I was up and down to reception to try and sort the issues and my grandfather only ate toast.  The new hotel was the same standard but would have to pay extra for any of the restaurant and the sports.  Basically we paid for something we didn’t get so I feel they broke that contract 

But you still had a holiday and so clearly are not entitled to a full refund

It sounds that in a certain light you were lucky, had you been there a fortnight earlier you'd have been eating all the food from a kitchen that was unsanitary and who knows what illness you could have picked up. Foam parties arent fun when people are puking in them.

Without knowing what the cash element is, how much per adult the original holiday cost you and the duration plus the name of the two places its hard for anyone else to judge if their total offer is reasonable or not.  

collo77

Sorry when I say resort I mean the hotel complex which was the Tui Magiclife in Fuerteventura 
the kitchen was shutdown on the Thursday prior to us arriving on the Saturday.  They should never have sent us there in the first place.  The main kitchen reopened the following Tuesday and subsequent restaurants on the Thursday 

I can’t post links at the moment but if you search canarian weekly and tui magiclife fuerteventura it gives you some more detail.  Reviews are also on tripadvisor and Facebook groups 

collo77

DullGreyGuy said:

collo77 said:

Thanks 
they have offered a cash figure and £300 more for vouchers.  The vouchers work out the same as 2 days holiday loss
the issue I have is that we booked the first hotel with all the amenities on offer for the kids.  It has several restaurants included as part of the all inclusive, archery, tennis, football and the kids were looking forward to the silent disco and foam party.  I was up and down to reception to try and sort the issues and my grandfather only ate toast.  The new hotel was the same standard but would have to pay extra for any of the restaurant and the sports.  Basically we paid for something we didn’t get so I feel they broke that contract 

But you still had a holiday and so clearly are not entitled to a full refund

It sounds that in a certain light you were lucky, had you been there a fortnight earlier you'd have been eating all the food from a kitchen that was unsanitary and who knows what illness you could have picked up. Foam parties arent fun when people are puking in them.

Without knowing what the cash element is, how much per adult the original holiday cost you and the duration plus the name of the two places its hard for anyone else to judge if their total offer is reasonable or not.  

I don’t think it’s lucky to spend thousands on a family holiday to not get the holiday you pay for.  The foam party is for the kids in the day in the pool not what you’re thinking.  It was also very stressful and trying for my grandfather 

NoodleDoodleMan

Just to be clear - was the catering closed due to an electrical fault, or food hygiene issues ?

I can understand why the hotel and TUI would indicate the former.

Also - what was the cash refund offered ? That is a key point.

Can I suggest you calculate what you didn't get overall as against what you did ?

Compensation for the negative difference would be appropriate in my opinion - other views may differ.

A full refund is not reasonable.

bagand96

Here's the story the OP was referring to Health and Safety close the kitchens at a TUI hotel for hygiene issues - (canarianweekly.com)  As the OP says the kitchens were closed due to "deficiencies in the conditions of cleanliness and hygiene".  Story also states that an outside catering company continued to provide catering whilst rest of the hotel remained operational as the OP says.

What was the hotel you were moved to?  Is it of a similar standard/class to the TUI Magiclife?

If taxis and sports activities cost you extra at your new hotel then these should be provable expenses that you should ask for in addition to the compensation offered by TUI.

As with all these things TUIs offer will be an initial one and there may well be some room for movement on it.  Go back and ask for more expressing your disappointment, along with the additional expenses.

When say the current compensation offer equates to 2 days loss of holiday, do you mean it's 2/7th the total cost?  That's 28% which at least shows TUI are taking this seriously and is a reasonable offer.  If you end up escalating the complaint by ABTA or court then you would need to justify the amount you're asking for.