Love Holidays told me to deal directly with my hotel – the hotel sent me back to Love Holidays
Dear Gill,
Over Christmas, we booked a five-day break in New York for next December online through Love Holidays, for two adults and our 15-year-old son. I chose a flight and accommodation package based on a king room at the Ramada Wyndham North Bergen, which cost £3,076 for the three of us. To spread the cost, I opted to pay in 11 installments.
When the confirmation invoice came through it said we had booked a “1 king bed” room. I tried to amend the booking to a room with two beds, but not only would this cost an extra £300, I would also lose the option to pay in installments.
I phoned Love Holidays and the agent suggested I contact the hotel directly to ask about putting an extra bed in the room, but the hotel said it wouldn’t deal with me directly as I’d booked through an agent.
Can you help resolve this issue?
- Jane McEvoy
Dear Jane,
Love Holidays’ terms and conditions offer “flexible hotel changes” which cost £25 plus any third-party fees (the hotel was booked through consolidator HotelBeds). On its website, it quotes just £60 for upgrading this accommodation to a room with two queen beds.
I asked Love Holidays why Jane was being asked to pay £300 for this change and why making it would negate her installment payment plan.
Love Holidays says that the room options and costings that customers are shown when making a booking are loaded by the hotel itself. In this case, the hotel listed a king room as being suitable for two adults and a child under 16. Jane admits she didn’t scroll down to check other options but assumed there would be two beds in a king room as is often the case at US hotels.
Love Holidays says amendment fees are based on live pricing which fluctuates depending on demand, often from day to day. Unfortunately the room type Jane selected was non-refundable. Love Holiday’s payment plans are only available on refundable bookings, which make up 95 per cent of its offering. This is why Jane no longer had the option of paying in installments if she made the change.
Love Holidays says it appreciates this was not made clear during the booking process, only being mentioned on the final price page. It says it will be reviewing the messaging customers are provided to make this more clear. It is also investigating the issue of offering a room for a party of three containing only a king-size bed with the hotel supplier.
Given the lack of clarity over the terms of the booking, Love Holidays has agreed to amend Jane’s booking to a room with two queen-size beds free of charge as a gesture of goodwill.
Your travel problems solved
Gill takes on a different case each week – so please send your problems to her for consideration at asktheexperts@telegraph.co.uk. Please give your full name and, if your dispute is with a travel company, your address, telephone number and any booking reference. Gill can’t answer every question, but she will help where she can and all emails are acknowledged.
