Sunny side up after booking row
A HONEYMOON holiday turned out to be even more special than a couple hoped for after their dream trip had been marred by disputes with their tour operator during the booking stage.
Higher charges and room changes caused the dissatisfaction, while Covid lockdowns were the trigger for Christine and Jake Hall having to change their plans for a luxury £3,260 stay on the Greek island of Kos that they had first reserved through Tui for May 2020.
Ikos hotel resort was the destination for their package and included a roomy suite with a sea view for themselves and their toddler and flights with extra leg space and a bigger luggage allowance.
“Ikos offered everything we wanted so we kept with the holiday and rolled over the date to June this year,” Christine told Crusader.
However they learned they would lose discounts originally offered, and Christine slipped up on the second date she put in – by a day – that led to a further £150 charge.
“We ended up paying over £800 more,” says Christine. “We appreciate that we’re going a month later and we’re staying an extra night, but having looked generally online it would have been cheaper for us to have booked again from scratch.
“Also we thought we were protected from price rises and switching penalties, after all our rebooking shows we are loyal customers.”
The Halls’ disquiet increased this year as departure time drew closer.
When they checked their booking they were convinced their accommodation had been downgraded with just a limited sea view.
Tui disagreed both with this and the Halls’ understanding there had been a price promise attached to their switch because of Covid.
While fee-free amendments were possible because of the restrictions, “if the new holiday was cheaper, they would be refunded the difference but if the new holiday was more expensive, the difference would need to be paid”, a Tui spokesperson told Crusader.
However the operator did offer Christine and Jake a £200 goodwill gesture, which they have now accepted.
But before that there were some lovely surprises when they arrived in Kos, they told Crusader.
“We had been upgraded to a room with an amazing view and following this they upgraded us again to a premium room and arranged a special boat trip with free champagne. Ikos was everything we wished for.”
● Christine and Jake’s names have been changed