Changed hotel classification

wee.cloudy · 18 October 2019 at 5:48PM

Hi all

Hoping for a bit of advice here. We booked a holiday for summer 2020 a couple of months ago with Jet2 through Barrhead Travel. We'd booked a Family Luxe hotel so the kids would have a disco at night etc and it would be a nice place to stay.
We got an email from Jet2 saying that the hotel will no longer be a Family Luxe. Having seen this we jumped onto Trip Advisor and the reviews from this summer mostly start with the word 'disappointing'.
Phoned Barrhead Travel who contacted Jet2 and apparently all the other Family Luxe hotels have made improvements that ours hasn't so ours doesn't belong in that portfolio anymore. I'm not an expert by any means but it doesn't ring true that our hotel is effectively being downgraded because every other hotel in that category has got better. More likely that the hotel has gone downhill since we booked? Jet2 are saying that the facilities are the same as when we booked so we've got no grounds for changing our booking.
Given that the status of the hotel has evidently changed do we have any rights as far as changing the booking or asking for a discount goes? The holiday cost us a lot and we don't want to be left feeling like we didn't get value for money.
Hope someone can help.
Thanks

leylandsunaddict · 18 October 2019 at 6:20PM

The hotel is as you booked it. All the facilities are available it's just Jet2 have taken it out of their Family Luxe portfolio. Has the star rating been downgraded? Deteriorating reviews aren't grounds for discount. You're going in Summer 2020 and the winter season hasn't even started yet. An awful lot can happen between now and then. You can of course change your hotel subject to the normal terms.

Failing that go and if you're not happy then lodge a complaint with the local rep, fill in a complaints form, make sure the rep signs it and you get a copy. If it can't be resolved while in resort then follow it up in writing when you return.

bagand96 · 18 October 2019 at 6:35PM

This has been covered on here before. The thing is, tour operator ratings and branding are just that, its a marketing ploy by the tour operator. At the end of the day it's a logo on the website and printed on the brochure page.

If the hotel and its facilities haven't changed then the T&Cs probably do not allow for a change or cancellation. You say the Trip Advisor reviews aren't great - I presume you looked at TA before booking? As the poster above says, there's a lot of time for the hotel to make improvements before next summer.

What did the email from Jet2 say? You could get in touch with Jet2 and see if they will let you transfer your booking if you really wanted to. But have an alternative to suggest if you really want that - and if it's more expensive then you'll be expected to pay that.

The danger you have now is that you begin to obsess about the change of branding to the point that it does ruin the holiday as you read every single TA review between now and then, and when you get there focus on every small problem.

wee.cloudy · 20 October 2019 at 7:24PM

Hiya

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply :-)
I know it's just a branding thing but I'd have thought taking a property out of a portfolio is an indication that Jet2 don't think it's as good as it was even if the facilities haven't changed. Anyway, looks like we don't really have grounds to get anything changed so fingers crossed the hotel can make a few improvements before we go.
Thanks again for the help
Chris

TELLIT01 · 20 October 2019 at 7:40PM

As it would seem that Jet2 have upped the requirements for a hotel to be classed as Family Luxe I don't think you will have any basis to claim on. The hotel you have booked will still have all the facilities you were told it would have at the time of booking.

Kim_kim · 20 October 2019 at 10:05PM

It’s usually about £50 pp to change a holiday - change it.
You want to enjoy it.

Changed hotel classification

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