"Melissa Handley knew she was in real trouble when she discovered the lock on her hotel room had been changed – with all her belongings inside...
-
When Handley, who booked her vacation in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, with Conquest Vacations, approached staff at the Hotel Grand Oasis, she was told to pay $1,000 (U.S.) or she wouldn't be able to leave the country."
When Handley, who booked her vacation in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, with Conquest Vacations, approached staff at the Hotel Grand Oasis, she was told to pay $1,000 (U.S.) or she wouldn't be able to leave the country."
-
"Handley is just one of hundreds of former Conquest Vacations customers arriving home from popular vacation destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean armed with stories of hotel staff no longer able to speak English, threats of jail time if thousands of dollars of extra charges went unpaid, and abandonment by Canadian consulate officials." Toronto Star, April 18, 2009
-
Oasis Hotels & Resorts issued a statement ""Conquest never paid us. .." Oasis blamed Conquest with some reason. However, this whole thing is a black eye for all tour operators everywhere. Not that I would, I mostly book travel directly with the supplier (hotel, airline, etc), but this may hurt all other tour operators. How can the consumer trust any tour operator in Canada or elsewhere when something like this can happen? I am furious with the hotels in Mexico, the Domincan Republic and any other destination that has threatened Canadian travelers in anyway. It is not the traveler's fault if the hotel has not been paid. There are processes and business practices that the traveler does not even need to know about. It is up to the industry to make sure that these problems are dealt with in an appropriate manner. Yes, Conquest deserves all the criticism going their way. They left people stranded without notice. But the hotels in Mexico and Dominican Republic - I've mostly read about Oasis Hotels & Resorts but there may be others - have behaved in a very unprofessional, unethical and unimaginative manner. The fact is that any hotel or resort that has done this to a guest has damaged their brand immensely.
-
I will not forget this brand myself and will never consider it as a possible place to stay. Instead of treating guests like criminals (understanding that in the world of business, organizations go bankrupt and you must consider this when doing business), they should have explained the situation and told guests that they understood Conquest had gone out of business; that they hadn't been and probably would not get paid, but that they understood it wasn't the guests' fault (as they had already paid for their Holiday), and thus they would absorb the cost of the trip. They could have created a PR campaign on the spot - get some video testimonials from happy guests, asked them to write letters or blog posts for them, etc. you get the point. They would have had enormous publicity and would have increased the equity of their brand (as would the destination). They (and local tourism authorities) missed a big opportunity here. What they are getting now is a big stain on their brands and a black eye to their reputation. And the destinations have also suffered in the eyes of many travelers who will now think twice about traveling to destinations where they could be treated in such a manner.
-
Jaime Horwitz MBA
No comments:
Post a Comment