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Problem with Tignes réservation

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I'm just writing to tell my experience when trying to book an apartment with Tignes réservation, the official booking service of Tignes. I found a suitable apartment and I booked it three weeks before arrival. I paid the full amount as well as ski passes, insurance and parking. I received the contract and, even, instructions for late arrival including the code for collecting the keys. Six days before the arrival, I received a phone call from them saying that it was a mistake and that the apartment had been already booked so I had no apartment. You can imagine my shock. I had flight tickets for this trip and my dates were fixed and I only had 5 days to solve everything.

Tignes réservation offered a "supposedly" better apartment and an additional free day. But I said that due to my flight dates, I was not able to enjoy this free day. Additionally, the new apartment was objectively worse (2-pillow category instead of 3-pillow). I refused it. From then, they seemed to forget that it was their fault. They sent to me (24 hours later) a list of apartments with prices. It seemed the ordinary catalogue for "normal clients": some of the apartments were much more expensive, others were 500 meters away from slopes (the original one was ski-in, ski-out),...

I complained and they said that they would consult the manager. Two days later I had not received any answer. Therefore, my (almost) only option was to look for another apartment in a different domain (Evasion Mont Blanc). I asked for the money refund and they agreed but it took them 2 weeks to send the money.

In summary, I do not recommend this booking central to anybody. As they are the official agency, I do not recommend Tignes to any skier. It is a pity, as I had looking forward to my first trip to Tignes. Probably, I will never go there.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
fragoral wrote:
I'm just writing to tell my experience when trying to book an apartment with Tignes réservation, the official booking service of Tignes. I found a suitable apartment and I booked it three weeks before arrival. I paid the full amount as well as ski passes, insurance and parking. I received the contract and, even, instructions for late arrival including the code for collecting the keys. Six days before the arrival, I received a phone call from them saying that it was a mistake and that the apartment had been already booked so I had no apartment. You can imagine my shock. I had flight tickets for this trip and my dates were fixed and I only had 5 days to solve everything.

Tignes réservation offered a "supposedly" better apartment and an additional free day. But I said that due to my flight dates, I was not able to enjoy this free day. Additionally, the new apartment was objectively worse (2-pillow category instead of 3-pillow). I refused it. From then, they seemed to forget that it was their fault. They sent to me (24 hours later) a list of apartments with prices. It seemed the ordinary catalogue for "normal clients": some of the apartments were much more expensive, others were 500 meters away from slopes (the original one was ski-in, ski-out),...

I complained and they said that they would consult the manager. Two days later I had not received any answer. Therefore, my (almost) only option was to look for another apartment in a different domain (Evasion Mont Blanc). I asked for the money refund and they agreed but it took them 2 weeks to send the money.

In summary, I do not recommend this booking central to anybody. As they are the official agency, I do not recommend Tignes to any skier. It is a pity, as I had looking forward to my first trip to Tignes. Probably, I will never go there.


I feel sorry for you that your holiday plans were messed up but I think you are being unduly harsh on the resort by not recommending Tignes, I understand you not recommending the Reservations section though. A ski resort runs thanks to many parties, one small part has let you down, it is unfair to damn the rest. Central Reservations are fraught with difficult as owners often let privately, through agencies and through central reservations. It only takes one email to go astray and the Central Reservations team are stuffed.

Hopefully on reflection you will find you have been unduly harsh, but I suppose that is one of the problems with internet reviews, they do tend to lead to over reaction.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I think it's a good warning away from the central reservations system, particularly as it's not the first time I've read of such a story on here:
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=2891023&highlight=tignes+apartment#2891023

They shouldn't be confirming bookings if they aren't sure of availability - if they need to contact the owner/agency first to confirm they should do so before confirming bookings and sending out arrival instructions. The OP had a contract! If it were a peak week the customer would be left with a real chance of not being able to find any alternative accommodation.
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chocksaway wrote:


I feel sorry for you that your holiday plans were messed up but I think you are being unduly harsh on the resort by not recommending Tignes, I understand you not recommending the Reservations section though. A ski resort runs thanks to many parties, one small part has let you down, it is unfair to damn the rest. Central Reservations are fraught with difficult as owners often let privately, through agencies and through central reservations. It only takes one email to go astray and the Central Reservations team are stuffed.

Hopefully on reflection you will find you have been unduly harsh, but I suppose that is one of the problems with internet reviews, they do tend to lead to over reaction.


I agree with you that one should not over react when complaining, but the reservation was done through the site www.tignes.net the official site for Tignes domain. There, you can consult the snow report or the webcams, buy ski passes, rent an apartment, and so on. It seems that the company that manage the ski domain is the same than the one that commited the mistake with the apartment. I hope they run the rest of the resort better than the apartment rentals.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Gämsbock wrote:
I think it's a good warning away from the central reservations system, particularly as it's not the first time I've read of such a story on here:
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=2891023&highlight=tignes+apartment#2891023

They shouldn't be confirming bookings if they aren't sure of availability - if they need to contact the owner/agency first to confirm they should do so before confirming bookings and sending out arrival instructions. The OP had a contract! If it were a peak week the customer would be left with a real chance of not being able to find any alternative accommodation.


Thanks for this reference. "By coincidence" my apartment was also in the "Bec Rouge" building. During this process, I have had several times the feeling of being scammed. I don't want to think that they have a bait apartment in order to obtain new customers to whom they can rent the apartments nobody wants.
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Quote:
my apartment was also in the "Bec Rouge" building. During this process, I have had several times the feeling of being scammed. I don't want to think that they have a bait apartment in order to obtain new customers to whom they can rent the apartments nobody wants.
Have I missed a previous reference to the Bec Rouge? Or reference to somebody else falling victim to the same alleged scam? I don't understand what point is being made.

Overall though, it surely beggars belief that any main tourist website would be running any form of accommodation scam... rolling eyes
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
mountainaddict wrote:
Quote:
my apartment was also in the "Bec Rouge" building. During this process, I have had several times the feeling of being scammed. I don't want to think that they have a bait apartment in order to obtain new customers to whom they can rent the apartments nobody wants.
Have I missed a previous reference to the Bec Rouge? Or reference to somebody else falling victim to the same alleged scam? I don't understand what point is being made.


The Bec Rouge is cited in the link provided by Gämsbock where a similar story is reported.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
The Central Reservations is part of Tignes Development, itself an enterprise which markets the resort on behalf of the Town Hall. They act as brokers between all sorts of companies and organise deals with owners, the lift company etc. The lifts are operated by a completely separate company, STGM, which is part of the publically listed Compagnie des Alpes. The pistes are looked after by Regie des Pistes, again a separate enterprise.

One clerk has made a mistake, that shouldn't happen, but then show me a company that has never made a mistake and it will be from a work of fiction.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
I have used the central reservation system once and it worked fine. Stayed in the Bec Rouge too but I think I booked that direct with the agency.
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
chocksaway wrote:
The Central Reservations is part of Tignes Development, itself an enterprise which markets the resort on behalf of the Town Hall. They act as brokers between all sorts of companies and organise deals with owners, the lift company etc. The lifts are operated by a completely separate company, STGM, which is part of the publically listed Compagnie des Alpes. The pistes are looked after by Regie des Pistes, again a separate enterprise.

One clerk has made a mistake, that shouldn't happen, but then show me a company that has never made a mistake and it will be from a work of fiction.


Not only the clerk made a mistake, but they (reservation central and Tignes development) didn't give a satisfactory solution to the problem they had created. I think the custormer deserves a better treatment after such a mistake. If the company management doesn't care about this, I think it is fair not to recommend this company. Of course, clients with good experience can recommend Tignes. But I think it is good to hear (read) both kind of opinions.

Of course, my opinion is partial since I've never been in Tignes and I only have this experience. You have to put my opinion in this context. I'm sure there are more valuable opinions about Tignes in Snowheads. But I think I have the right to publish what I feel.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
chocksaway wrote:
One clerk has made a mistake, that shouldn't happen, but then show me a company that has never made a mistake and it will be from a work of fiction.


Its not that a mistake happened, they do, they make them we make them. Its how you handle it when you are the cause , you do your best to fix them. In this case its sounds like it was handled very poorly on the face of it. OP has a right to be aggrieved.

I would feel more comfortable in using them to book if I heard that they did handle it well, for me this tale engenders quite the opposite feeling.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
@ster, exactly. Tignes central reservations sold the accommodation, if they cannot provide it then they should provide an alternative of equivalent or better quality. If the only alternative is more expensive, then they should cover that. Not shrug their shoulders and tell the customer to sort it out, whilst holding onto said customer's money for a further 2 weeks!
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
fragoral wrote:
I'm just writing to tell my experience when trying to book an apartment with Tignes réservation, the official booking service of Tignes. I found a suitable apartment and I booked it three weeks before arrival. I paid the full amount as well as ski passes, insurance and parking. I received the contract and, even, instructions for late arrival including the code for collecting the keys. Six days before the arrival, I received a phone call from them saying that it was a mistake and that the apartment had been already booked so I had no apartment. You can imagine my shock. I had flight tickets for this trip and my dates were fixed and I only had 5 days to solve everything.

Tignes réservation offered a "supposedly" better apartment and an additional free day. But I said that due to my flight dates, I was not able to enjoy this free day. Additionally, the new apartment was objectively worse (2-pillow category instead of 3-pillow). I refused it. From then, they seemed to forget that it was their fault. They sent to me (24 hours later) a list of apartments with prices. It seemed the ordinary catalogue for "normal clients": some of the apartments were much more expensive, others were 500 meters away from slopes (the original one was ski-in, ski-out),...

I complained and they said that they would consult the manager. Two days later I had not received any answer. Therefore, my (almost) only option was to look for another apartment in a different domain (Evasion Mont Blanc). I asked for the money refund and they agreed but it took them 2 weeks to send the money.

In summary, I do not recommend this booking central to anybody. As they are the official agency, I do not recommend Tignes to any skier. It is a pity, as I had looking forward to my first trip to Tignes. Probably, I will never go there.


I can understand your disappointment and frustration - in all likelihood, I would feel the same too ... and I'm not going to go into the ins and outs of who's to blame etc. But don't use this as a reason to never visit one of the best winter (and summer) playgrounds in the world.

PS - I've only used the central reservation facility to obtain an official list of hotels / apartment owners in various resorts - but I always follow that up with a separate email to each hotel to make sure I'm dealing with the relevant / specific party in question.
ski holidays
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Quote:

I can understand your disappointment and frustration - in all likelihood, I would feel the same too ... and I'm not going to go into the ins and outs of who's to blame etc. But don't use this as a reason to never visit one of the best winter (and summer) playgrounds in the world.


This. I'd be mightily annoyed in these circumstances but it'd be a shame to write Tignes off forever because of this. I love it and can't wait to get back there in April.

Pretty shoddy behaviour from central reservations though. The only time we've had any problem with accommodation booked through one of these was in Les Menuires when the EDF cut off our electricity mid week because the apartment owner hadn't been paying their bills. We had to move to another (better as it happens) apartment which was a pain in the backside but they refunded the entire cost so it worked out great in the end as we used the refund to pay for another apartment for a week in April snowHead
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@swiftoid, interesting that EDF cut off the electricity, because it is meant to be illegal to do that in the winter months in France, as it is also illegal to evict a tenant.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@Hells Bells, really? That is interesting. The lady who cleaned the reception area informed us that the EDF had been around in the morning and when we reported this to the immobiliere (immovac) they made some inquiries and confirmed that is what had happened.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@Hells Bells, You are quite right but I think it is a little more complicated in that EDF can restrict the supply so that you only have the absolute minimum for heating and lighting, 3kw / hr is the figure I heard. In an alpine apartment that is probably not going to be pleasant. Not saying that's what happened here but you know how it is with the french and rules........ I think landlords can go through all the eviction process except the actual chucking out, which they do en masse on April 1st. Bailiff in the summer, ski instructor in the winter, I always wondered why some of them ESF blokes were so aggressive Toofy Grin
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
@skitow, we had no lighting or heating. We didn't discover what had happened until we returned home in the evening (by which time the immobiliere was closed) so we had to go to the sherpa and buy candles for light. We went out to eat because we couldn't cook (the cost of this was also refunded). Then we sat out in the corridor playing cards and drinking genepi until bedtime. In the morning we went to the boulangerie for our croissants and took the mini four out into the corridor where we could plug it in to heat them up while we waited for the immobiliere to open.
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@swiftoid, I suppose the mildest description of that would be " an interesting experience" Laughing and no coffee in the morning ? now we are into human rights territory with that, for me anyway Laughing
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@skitow, to be honest, it was a hugely funny evening in the corridor and we met some lovely people. Irritating to have to move mid trip but getting the accommodation money back meant we booked a bonus trip in April. Full marks to Les Menuires centrale reservation for how they dealt with our complaint.
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@swiftoid, annoying as it might have been it seems you made the best of it and it has given you some wonderful memories and stories , it is quite often that in the face of adversity that memories are made ..............and would you be regaling the stories of the time your electricity supply was not cut of and you had a cup of ten and watched some TV in a warm appartment in the light.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I'm the OP. I have received a message from Tignes réservation apologizing and offering me a "5% discount on accommodation price for the winter season 17/18 (booking with Tignes Réservation)".

Not much (it would be around 30€=25 £), but at least they finally show a bit of empathy. I thought I should post it.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I'd go back to them and refuse the offer fragoral. Rather derogatory under the circumstances. Suggest to them that 50% might be more like it given your time, trouble & inconvenience.

Could be worth a try Puzzled
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