Holiday to a 'new hotel' that wasn't open

richrich101

I bought a package holiday to a 'new hotel' in the Dominican republic and on arrival found the new hotel had not been competed and was not open (nor were the advertised facilities) so we were housed in the tired/original part of the hotel not the seaview suite we had bought.
Only one bar and 2 restaurants were open (on rotation) of the 9 advertised, pools were shut, spa was shut and they clearly just had a skeleton staff for the total of 11 guests that were there
We complained and were moved to another hotel halfway through which was far inferior to what we had booked and the whole thing was very stress full.
As a refund they have offered under a third of the cost (which they say is the full cost of the accommodation ) which I am loathed to accept but don't know if I would get a better result going through ABTA

Grumpy_chap

richrich101 said:

I bought a package holiday to a 'new hotel' in the Dominican republic and on arrival found the new hotel had not been competed and was not open (nor were the advertised facilities) so we were housed in the tired/original part of the hotel not the seaview suite we had bought.
Only one bar and 2 restaurants were open (on rotation) of the 9 advertised, pools were shut, spa was shut and they clearly just had a skeleton staff for the total of 11 guests that were there
We complained and were moved to another hotel halfway through which was far inferior to what we had booked and the whole thing was very stress full.
As a refund they have offered under a third of the cost (which they say is the full cost of the accommodation ) which I am loathed to accept but don't know if I would get a better result going through ABTA

You have been offered a third of the package holiday cost.
You think you should have more than a third.
What proportion do you think you should have?

Ultimately, you still received the flights, accommodation for the whole duration of the stay, meal-plan for the whole duration of the stay.
How much was the accommodation (room only) as a proportion of the total package price?  I realise the components may never have been split out, but you could make an estimate by looking at stand alone flight and hotel costs (with and without meal plans) and make a reasonable estimation.

In what way was the alternative hotel to which you relocated part-way through the holiday inferior to the original hotel expected?

If the amount of the refund is a reasonable estimation of the accommodation only cost, then that is possibly a fair offer.

sheramber

How much do you want?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

You need to put a figure on what the difference was between what was paid for vs what you got, which is tricky and ask for this as a price reduction (remedy for services not conforming under the Consumer Rights Act).

You can also claim loss of enjoyment, this link sets out the case law in digestible detail:

https://www.dekachambers.com/2020/06/09/general-damages-in-holiday-claims-a-recap/

with a main note on:

Couples whose plans to marry abroad were wrecked had received between £4,406 and £4,360;

Disappointed honeymooners had received between £321 to £1,890;

Holiday goers on other ‘special holidays’ that were ruined had received between £264 to £1161; and

Holiday-goers on ruined “run of the mill holidays” attracted between £83 and £876.

This assume the booking company with which you booked are based in the UK, the T&Cs on their website should detail the governing law. 

They are probably going to push back and offer you as little as possible, if you can't reach an agreement it's letter before action followed by small claims.

Small claims is a headache for you but expensive for them, especially if you have a good case, so they will likely fold at some point, it's just a question of going through the motions  

Aylesbury_Duck

How much are you after, and how have you arrived at that amount?