 Poster: A snowHead
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My youngest girl is doing a season this year. It's her first Christmas away from home so myself, wife and middle daughter decided to go out Christmas Eve and come home New Years eve. Hotel and flights booked ok months ago. Now we've just got an email from booking.com (the agent) saying that booking cancelled. Not sure from the email whether it's overbooked or closed as it's very ambiguous.
Apart from being very angry, I'm trying to book an alternative. Unfortunately she's in Claviere which is tiny so nothing there and also we because of the dates, nothing much anywhere else near (only really Montgenevre that's quite close). So I now have 3 flights that are pretty much useless (at least for the purpose we planned them for).
So beware - many people swear by DIY but it can go badly wrong.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Wise words - I always try and book direct and avoid "agents", although that in itself can have pitfalls I suppose.
Don't worry about your daughter - she will have a fab time!
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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?
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What always puts me off (other than the cost) is if one aspect of the journey fails, i.e. flights or transfers late or cancelled. You could be stuck somewhere with no help. During the volcanic ash cloud scenario, the TOs got everyone to and from their destinations without additional cost to the consumer. It's that sort of peace of mind I want.
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queen bodecia, I'm pretty sure airline's have to look after you in that instance too, although I guess it wouldn't extend as far as ongoing transfers.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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dsoutar, perhaps you could try the Claviere tourist office?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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So the downside of DIY is that things can go wrong.
That's the downside of LIFE, isn't it?
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queen bodecia, you have a travel insurance policy which will cover many of those scenarios too
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It's a shame but in a lifetime of travel you're going to get the odd one that goes t*ts up for a whole heap of possible reasons and that can happen just as easily with a TO.
dsoutar, I would go direct to the property and just check out the story from their end. If booking.com are responsible for the screw up then they should help put it right.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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dsoutar, you could also look in Briancon. Further to travel of course.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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So in a scenario where you have booked and paid for all elements separately, what happens if:
• Outgoing flight is cancelled. I'm sure the airline offer refunds, but do they also refund you for unused prebooked hotel rooms and transfers? Or do you have to claim on your travel insurance? I assume in this instance the holiday is lost unless you can find replacement flights which would potentially be more expensive than the original flights. Would the airline and/or travel insurance cover you for the difference in cost? And the cost for booking replacement transfers?
• Inbound flight is late and/or cancelled and you lose paid work as a result. Can you claim for lost income from travel insurance?
• In the OP's case where he/she may have to cancel flights due to accommodation cancellation. Will the travel insurance cover any lost costs?
Just interested to know this. I have got a little DIY trip of my own going off next season...
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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.
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Just got an update from Booking.com. Apparently it's because they are owed money from the hotel so next plan is to contact hotel directly. However if hotel is in trouble then a litle concerned if they close before Christmas - at least now there may be a chance to get an alternative but as the weeks go on that will diminish.
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If you don't mind back to basics hotel rooms, give Hotel Roma a try. It's at the bottom end of the village street. Tour companies like Crystal used to use it but not any more. It's 2 star at best, but at least you'd be there. May also be full, but it's not as well known as the other hotels in the village so may not be fully booked.
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You know it makes sense.
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I'm not entirely sure why booking through a TO would help if the hotel goes bust?
Decent travel insurance should take care of issues.
Last time we used a TO it cost us GBP500 to sort a mess they'd made of our flights. Idiots.
I travel 1-2 times a week all DIY with no particular problems...
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| queen bodecia wrote: |
| • Inbound flight is late and/or cancelled and you lose paid work as a result. Can you claim for lost income from travel insurance? |
I'm sure you can get business continuity insurance (or whatever) if you want.
And I'm sure that if a TO inbound flight is late/cancelled they won't be paying you for lost work either.
Life is a risk. If you don't like it/cannot cope with it then have a staycation.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| queen bodecia wrote: |
• Inbound flight is late and/or cancelled and you lose paid work as a result. Can you claim for lost income from travel insurance? |
Does TO pay for the lost income?
That would be great for doctors and bankers to use them! 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Both my flights last year to ski holidays were cancelled. First time we rebooked on another airline the day before and dealt with the other airline when we got home.
Second time was a 3 day cheeky end of season trip - two of us drove out to Tignes and had a great time.
Depends how much you like skiing over staying at home and moaning really.
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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?
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| dsoutar wrote: |
| It's her first Christmas away from home so myself, wife and middle daughter decided to go out Christmas Eve and come home New Years eve. |
Why?
Part of the "doing a season experience" is being away from home. If you bring home (or bits of it) to the resort you defeat the whole object (or one of the objects anyway)
You can Thow A Pandora
(http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1539336)
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Mon 26-09-11 17:00; edited 1 time in total
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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To be fair there are examples of TOs going bust causing travellers no end of hassle.
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cran
cran
Guest
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| Quote: |
| So beware - many people swear by DIY but it can go badly wrong. |
booking.com is not really DIY...
you should book the flights with the airline, and hotel rooms direct with the hotel...
maybe use expedia/booking.com etc. to check out options if you want, but google is just as good, and book direct...
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Booking.com take a commission for every booking they generate. As there is no upfront payment and the customer pays the hotel directly, I assume that the hotel has an overdue invoice for commission.
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| Quote: |
Part of the "doing a season experience" is being away from home. If you bring home (or bits of it) to the resort you defeat the whole object (or one of the objects anyway)
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I don't think I've ever encountered a season worker that hasn't had a visit from friends and / or family and in fact I've met quite a few who seem to have a string of visitors throughout the season . Due to other commitments Christmas was the only date available.
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How is this different to the TO contacting you at short notice and saying "We've a problem with the property in Claviere but we've moved you to the nearest equivalent in Bardonecchia"?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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James the Last, abc, I was under the impression that TOs pay compensation for late flights, if the delay is over a certain length of time. Might not cover loss of earnings but it's better than nothing. Is the same true of airlines if booked directly?
P.S. My questions are purely for information purposes. There's no staying at home and/or moaning involved, but when one plans for things in life, one also has to plan for various potential outcomes.
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| Quote: |
| I was under the impression that TOs pay compensation for late flights, if the delay is over a certain length of time. |
we got about £20 when our flight was delayed last Christmas, and that came from our travel insurance not from the tour op. we were "only" dlayed by 17 hours, it would have gone up to a whole £30 if the clock had ticked over to 18 hours. We lost a full day on the slopes 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| queen bodecia wrote: |
| James the Last, abc, I was under the impression that TOs pay compensation for late flights, if the delay is over a certain length of time. Might not cover loss of earnings but it's better than nothing. Is the same true of airlines if booked directly? |
I don't think they pay compensation - they might pay what they are required to pay by way of meals or overnight accommodation if you are delayed longer than a certain time, but scheduled airlines are required to do the same. We've had a couple of lengthy delays (2 and 3 days, due to snow and hurricane respectively) and claimed on our travel insurance. Got back about £200 in one case, £350 per person in another although that was with an expensive travel policy that offered good levels of cover. Any payments we could have got from the airline (one was a tour operator, and other was a scheduled operator) would have been very much smaller.
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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.
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rob@rar, nbt, interesting thanks. I shall check the small print on my travel insurance and upgrade if necessary.
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You know it makes sense.
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In Claviere, there are a handful of hotels, the local tourist office might be able to help you out with bookings. Montgenevre is really close, only a mile or so up the road, so it really wouldnt be a problem to stay there. It is linked by piste and valley buses (irregular but better than nothing). In Montgeneve, there is a wider choice of hotels and also apartments, so hopefully some should fit your dates? I would have thought Sat to Sat timing not too difficult to find? Definitely use the tourist office or approach hotels direct. It also might be worth looking at brokers/TOs that offer accommodation only, such as skihorizon, igluski, skibed. Best of luck!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Quote: |
I always try and book direct and avoid "agents"
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good advice - surely it's best to actually speak to the hotel where you intend to stay? All those "agents" are just looking to get a cut, for doing not a lot, as far as I can see and almost all hotels, anywhere, will have some kind of presence on the internet to find phone numbers etc. Most will have someone who speaks english, and if they don't, and you can't find anyone to help with the language, it's not hard to sort out enough Italian to send an email booking a hotel (I did exactly that, a few years ago, booked into a hotel near cortina where it turned out we were the first Brits to have stayed there!). Any basic phrase book will give you what you need (just don't use googly tronslute, which can propuce comploute gooberish)
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Poster: A snowHead
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Cesana Torinese is very close by as an option for finding accomodation.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Just had a similar experience with a friends wedding only a week before I flew. 14 hours and £15 of phonecalls they told me I could have exactly what I'd paid for!
In the OP's situation I'd have your money back on the hotel and get your daughter to ask around a couple of weeks before you go. She find the best hotel, it's pretty obvious once in resort, at a much cheaper rate!
Why not book with the company your daughter is working for, you usually get massive discounts? Again if it's direct with the hotel manger it's usually very cheap (get your daughter to ask in resort)!
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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?
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manicpb, You don't pay in advance with Booking.com anyway so there's no hassle with getting money back
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Just had a similar experience with a friends wedding only a week before I flew. 14 hours and £15 of phonecalls they told me I could have exactly what I'd paid for!
In the OP's situation I'd have your money back on the hotel and get your daughter to ask around a couple of weeks before you go. She find the best hotel, it's pretty obvious once in resort, at a much cheaper rate!
Why not book with the company your daughter is working for, you usually get massive discounts? Again if it's direct with the hotel manger it's usually very cheap (get your daughter to ask in resort)!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| clarky999 wrote: |
| queen bodecia, I'm pretty sure airline's have to look after you in that instance too, although I guess it wouldn't extend as far as ongoing transfers. |
Not so; my brother and his wife got caught out by it on a trip to Italy. Their flight just got cancelled, they had to make their way back by train with no help at all from the airline (I know this because I booked their ferry crossing for them online).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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dsoutar, sorry to hear your holiday has gone a bit tits up, must be a little worrying. Hope you manage to get something sorted, I dont have any advice to offer that hasn't already been offered, so i offer sypmathy instead!!
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| Quote: |
Their flight just got cancelled, they had to make their way back by train with no help at all from the airline
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I guess it depends which airline. My brother in law was offered hotel in geneva by easyJet, though they managed to book him on a later flight to a different UK airport, which was his choice. geneva was closed by snow. When that happens on a busy day there just aren't enough hotel rooms to go round, no matter who you're travelling with. The girl who cuts my hair had a package holiday booked to one of the Middle Eastern places which went off limits some months ago. Long after the news was suggesting that it would be "no go" the holiday was still, in theory, still on. Then it was cancelled at the last minute because of the political situation but it took her weeks to get her money refunded, and she was so tight for money there was no way she could book another holiday till she got the money back. I once booked a big group on a ski holiday with Inghams, in a catered chalet in Austria. Without any warning, when we arrived we were told there was no adequate kitchen to cook evening meals (which they'd known for months and I'd have switched bookings if I'd known) so we would be eating in the hotel next door. We were shoved in a little corner, like 3rd class citizens, and fed rubbish. The worst hotel food I've had anywhere and I've travelled four continents. I complained (whilst being careful to compliment the young chalet host, who was charming and hard working and made a different cake from his grandma's recipe book every afternoon) but got nowhere, of course.
Things can go wrong with any kind of trip.
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When an airline within europe delays your flight, the EU has some nice rules: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_261/2004
That should easily pay for a days work for most of us.
| Dav wrote: |
| clarky999 wrote: |
| queen bodecia, I'm pretty sure airline's have to look after you in that instance too, although I guess it wouldn't extend as far as ongoing transfers. |
Not so; my brother and his wife got caught out by it on a trip to Italy. Their flight just got cancelled, they had to make their way back by train with no help at all from the airline (I know this because I booked their ferry crossing for them online). |
Then the airline was wrong, see article above. Claim compensation and expenses from the airline using the eu ruling. If they don't oblige, ask for a judgement by the department of transport. Or use euclaim or similar for a no-cure-no-pay solution.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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May I reccomend being pramatic. At least by doing the bookings yourself you still have part of your bookings in place the flights. Go to the Montgenevre or Claviere web site and book a new hotel or comfortable apartment (large enougth so that your daughter can stay over at night if she wishes). Montgenevre is only a couple of km from Claviere so walking between them would not be a hassle. Enjoy Christmas in the Alps - it is so much better than at home.
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| Hells Bells wrote: |
| dsoutar, perhaps you could try the Claviere tourist office? |
+1
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