View Full Version : Late cancellation by owner ?
Hi,
Is it usual for an owner to cancel a customers villa booking at short notice? We booked via a major travel agent in UK in January and had a specific villa confirmed. We paid the full balance in April, but 8 days before our holiday, we were told that the owner had decided to use the villa, so we were cancelled. The agent tried to get an alternative villa, but at this late stage, there is not much choice - all the best ones seem to be booked. I am sure that if we had decided not to use the villa at short notice, the owner would keep the money, but there seems to be no protection for the customer.
I thought there should be some contract with the agents to prevent this problem.
I am sorry to hear that you have been let down with you villa.
To answer your question, it would be very unusual for a private owner ( such as those who advertise on this site) to cancel like this , as we pride ourselves in our customer service and would not want to let customers down.
However, bookng through an agent is more difficult as regards specific villa as often they are bad at letting owners know about bookings, (and ofen only pay the owners a very small part of the fee you pay to rent.). Many owners don't take agents bookings as they can be very hard to manage.
With regard to your point about the villa owner keeping the money if you cancelled, it is most likely that the agent would keep the money and the villa owner would get none if their villa wasn't used.
As regards finding a new villa, do you have the option to switch to a fly drive and find your own villa? I am sure that if you put an enquiry out on the above three sites you would find somewhere very nice to stay where the owner would take good care of you.
mfairhurst
15-06-2008, 02:35
You have no way to find out if the owner has truly canceled ,Seem a bit late to do this from the owner unless he may have other reasons for not being able to rent to you .
Can you not cancel your booking and go else were and do your own thing it is worth asking as they the agent have canceled the arrangement not you .
MAUREEN
www.onlinefloridavillas.com/villas/1683.aspx
Peppermint
15-06-2008, 02:37
Jo, just to clarify for others I think you mean unusual in line 2.
Doug, first and foremost can I wish you the very best for finding a replacement villa. If it's any consolation you are in the right place, and I would be hugely surprised if you didn't find anything.
Your question has many angles. I will try to give you the best knowledge and advice I can. Hopefully it will all make sense.
First to answer your question; no, it is very unusual for an owner to cancel a booking. At least if you book via a reputable site such as the ones linked to these forums. Our own method of booking out the villa is probably the same, in principle at least, to most if not all private rentals. Once we've confirmed your booking the villa is yours for those dates. We don't cancel. We don't try to replace you with a different booking. If friends want the villa for those days it's tough - it's booked to you. If family want the villa for thhose days that's tough too - it's booked to you. If we want to be in Florida we'll find somewhere else - the villa is booked to you. You know exactly which villa you are getting, and you should not need to worry about it.
As you booked through a travel agent things become a whole bunch more murky.
The first observation I can offer is that it is unlikely, although not impossible, for a travel agent to confirm a specific villa. The larger the agents the less likely this is. Travel agents tend to deal via tour operators, who deal with consolidators, who deal with management companies in Florida who manage the villas themselves. The travel agent cannot usually guarantee a specific villa as the management companies at the end of the chain do not have this level of control. They can usually give you a range, and in some cases they can give you a type of villa and a location. But a specific villa is not usual.
That said, there may be individual travel agents who have a direct relationship with someone who owns a villa, which they (the travel agents) might re-sell on a commission basis. In this case it would be possible to confirm a specific villa; but that confirmation is only as good as the contracts between the travel agent and villa owner. If this is a casual and unwritten agreement between the travel agent and villa owner it is a problem waiting to happen.
This is why all the owners here will insist on a signed booking confirmation. This defines the rental contract between you and the owner and is as much for your protection and benefit as it is for the villa owner.
Please do follow-up with any comments, questions or observations and we'll do our best to try to help.
All that said, if you want to find a replacement villa try the three sites linked above (and here). If you send out an enquiry via each one you should find something that suits.
www.orlandovillas.com
www.villasflorida.com
www.onlinefloridavillas.com
Doug, I am sorry that you have had this experience. As Steve has so rightly said, if you book directly with a villa owner then it would be most unusual for your booking to be cancelled. Like Steve, if we book out our home to guests then it is theirs, no matter what happens.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case with a tour operator villa. Tour operators pay villa owners absolute peanuts, and often don't pay them until weeks after the villa has been occupied. Because owners are paid such a small amount it may be that some will accept such a booking, but look for a better booking and then cancel the one offered to them by the tour operator, should they be able to rent out their home for more. Now I do not condone this sort of behaviour, but because tour operators squeeze owners so much it may be the only way such owners can survive.
I think that sometimes people believe that Tour Operators actually own the villas they offer, and that they are 'hand picked' by them for their guests. The reality is far from that, as a tour operator will take a booking before they know if they will have a villa available. They must acquire villas from many sources, and have no way of guaranteeing what will be available. A villa that rents out well privately will not be offered to a tour operator. They must take what they can get. The tour operator may not even know what is available until days before the rental begins.
Hopefully, if they have broken your contract to provide a specific villa then you will be able to cancel if you wish, and that would give you the chance to look for a villa from one of the three sites above.
Good luck, and hope you have a great holiday.
Hi,
Thanks for the responses. Just to clarify, the travel agent offered a list of specific villa to choose from. We chose the most suitable for us, in a preferred location. We booked flights and car hire through the same agent. After the agent confirmed our booking, the villa website indicated that our dates were booked. This was in January. Yesterday, we were informed by the agent that the owner was using the villa on our dates, and the website showed "not booked" for our dates (another customer was also cancelled). Today, the website shows our dates are unavailable. The travel agent uses a provider in the US, who rents out the villas for the owners. We were offered two alternative villas, but they did not match the specification of the original choice. We are still in negotiation with the agent, but we have been told that if we wish to cancel and find a villa ourselves, they will not impose a cancellation fee - that is good of them !
We have been to Orlando many times and never had this type of situation. We have booked via agents and also direct from owners in the past. Unfortunately, time is against us, but we will see what happens.
LiesaAnna
15-06-2008, 03:50
sorry to hear Doug, sorry cant offer any helpful advice but am sure next time you will use a brill site like this [grouphug]
Thanks again,
I will use this site next time - I only found it today. I will also recommend it to friends.
I am hoping that the agents will find a suitable villa (on Monday), because I don't know how much refund I will be able to claim if I need to find one myself.
ShirleyD
15-06-2008, 05:10
Hi Doug, sorry to hear about your situation. Maybe it would be wise to put a general enquiry out to the sites above with your requirements to see how we compare to what the agent can get you and you will know what sort of costs you are talking about. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the choice and quality :D
When we first bought our home, we used a management company who took bookings from travel agents, but quickly moved on because they took bookings away from us with no notice or deposit and paid us at least a month after the guest had stayed. We now deal with our guests direct because we can give a great service this way. We like it and so do our guests.
If your agent has messed you about and they can't blame their supplier, they were the ones who offered you that villa, your contract is with them after all, they should be able to change your deal to fly drive only or do a quick search for flights and get you car hire from the above site too!
steph_goodrum
15-06-2008, 13:55
Scorpio
Sorry you find yourself in this position at such short notice when all you should really have to worry about is packing the toothbrush and sunscreen.
It is really impossible to decide if the owner is really to blame as when a middleman is involved there is no knowing whether it was a convenient excuse that the owner was using the villa themselves, thereby retaining your trust in them as the "good guys " who will help you sort out another place or whether they booked your place as a specific to get your money but didnt put in place the guarantees that it would be available. There is also the US agent who may also be at fault.
Most owners who handle their bookings for their homes privately would never dream of cancelling to use it themselves as it is so unprofessional and we all need to rely on word of mouth and repeat business if we want to keep our homes, indeed the number of owners who seek accoommodation because their own is booked is very high, and those who are in rental programmes with agents have clauses in their contracts with those agents not to do so or (nor to use their homes at specified times).
However regardless of who is to blame you now just have a couple of days to find alternative suitable accommodation so if we can all be of any assistance we wwill.
The best way to find out if one is avaiable is to put out an enquiry on the sites listed and maybe list in the comments the features that made you choose the specific villa you were going for. The only thing ~I can then suggest is to go back to the travel agent with the details of any you have that may be suitable and see if they will pay the difference for it.
Unfortunately I suspect the answer will be no and if you ask to change it to a fly-drive you will be told the accommodation aspect of your package is around £200 per week leaving you to find the shortfall. Again I suspect that in the small print of your booking will be the usual get out clause used by airlines and travel agents universally that "special requests" are not guaranteeed and they have the right to offer alternative if what you have chosen isntavailable due to "cirucmstances beyond their control and by giving you the reason that the home is beign used by the owner that then gives them the right to enforce that clause.
Good luck with your search and I'm sure whenever you go you'll have a great time when you get there.
Hi Scorpio
As already mentioned sorry to hear about the situation that you now find yourself in. Do try and put out an enquiry here stating the areas that you are interested in - we will all do our utmost to help you find a replacement villa.
Now that you have found us hopefully we will be able to help if not now but in the future.
Hope you get your accommodation sorted and have a great time.
gail and david roberts
16-06-2008, 21:10
Hi Scorpio
Welcome to the forum ,
so sorry to hear of your Situation , I guess the owners above me have said it all
we hope you get it sorted out fast with the Agent and have a lovely holiday in Florida
Hi again,
I would like to thank you all for the advice. I have searched via the links, but not yet found a villa to match our original choice for the dates we require. The agent is reserving one for us just in case a better match is not found.
Does anyone have information about the Legacy Park/Highgate Boulevard area?
I think it may be financially difficult to change my package to a flydrive and book a villa independantly, so I am in the agents hands.
Hi Scorpio
Sorry to hear about the problems you are having. Highgate Park Boulevard is within the gated community of Highgate park it is one of six communities on Legacy Park and is kept to a high standard as are most of the communitis. It is within easy reach of shops, restaurants and the attraction parks. Legacy Park is on Highway 27. I hope tis helps
Hope you get something sorted out, it's a real shame that this has happened and certainly not a great start to your holiday plans.
I am familiar with Legacy Park as it is on Highway 27 not too far from Silver Creek where we have our villa. Legacy Park is an excellent area and has a great location being on that area of Highway 27 which is generating quite a buzz just now with lots of new shops and restaurants opening up - there is a new Super Wal Mart just north of the junction with the 192. And don't forget the Champions Gate area further south. Being near to the 192 junction you are also very close to Disney.
There is some info here on Legacy Park itself http://www.onlinefloridavillas.com/vacation-rentals/Legacy-Park.aspx and there is a link on that page to search villas on that particular community.
Hope that helps. Good luck with sorting things out.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Scorpio
I think it may be financially difficult to change my package to a flydrive and book a villa independantly, so I am in the agents hands.[/quote]
Maybe try making this the agent's problem, not yours.
The agent is the one who has cancelled part of your holiday plans so why not try giving the agent a bit of direction (tell them you are looking at a private rental and so need to switch to a fly-drive or flight only) and let them worry about it all. Tell them also that you aren't prepared to accept any additional cost as it is them making the changes, not you.
You are paying your travel agent quite a large amount of money in commissions, arrangement fees, booking fees, etc. (even though this might not be explicitely listed on your bill) so make them work for their money.
Just an idea. Good luck with the search.
Hi,
Just to let you all know that the agents have arranged a villa for us. I am sure it will be fine. We will find out when we arrive. Thanks again for the advice and information.
Good to hear that all the problems have been sorted out. Hope you and your family have a great time in Floirda.:)
LiesaAnna
20-06-2008, 15:42
let us know how your holiday goes.... hopefully almost perfect but for this hiccup........ :D
I was jsut thinking the same Liesa it would be nice to find out if everything was OK
Have a GREAT Time!!!!!!!!![clap]
munster redarmy
20-06-2008, 20:11
really hope yoh have great time dont forget to tell us how you got on[msncool]
Could I ask two more questions?
The villa looks very good (described as Executive, 4bed/3bath with pool, spa and games room) but we don't know which way the pool faces. We may decide to have the pool heating on (electric) but wondered if anyone could give me a rough idea of the cost for 2 weeks. Our original planned villa had a directly South facing pool.
Thanks,
Scorpio, with regards to the pool, it should not make too much difference which way the pool faces this time of the year as the sun is much higher in the sky. I normally advise my own guests to wait and see when they arrive if they want the pool heating on in the summer. Most will find it fine. For those who do like it a bit warmer we have a summer pool heating charge of £50 per week.
If you can find out the address you can use Google Earth to see where the villa sits in relation to the sun etc. It's not always accurate thought, depending on the age of the community.
Let us know how it all works out in the end. Have a great holiday.
We have a north facing pool (our choice) and I do not like swimming in cold water however, we arrived 10 May checked the pool temp and it was 84 which is what the pool heating is set at so I would think you will find the water plenty warm enough.
Hutchy you mention looking at Google earth which is what we did last night for our UK home and it gave us a good laugh. Our back garden faces due north and the picture shows our garden with quite a lot of sun on it. The garden directly behind us faces due south and we were expecting it to be completely sunny. It was completely in the shade from their tall trees which drive us nuts as they do not like them cut back which we thought was pay back for the inconvenience we suffer.
thornton
21-06-2008, 13:14
Alan, if you google many of the newer developments in the Orlando area they do not show the houses as built. Ours has been built for over three years but still does not show and I know that many other owners say the same.
Hi everyone,
We are back and we had a great time.
Flights (Virgin) were good and when we arrived at Orlando International, we encountered the most friendly immigration staff ever.
The minivan from Dollar was excellent, it was a Chrysler Town & Country, 7-seater and it comfortably accommodated 5 adults, 7 large cases and 5 small bags – and there was room to spare. Fuel consumption was frightening, but it was a small price to pay for such a comfortable vehicle.
The villa was a bit of a disappointment as it was in a different category to the one we originally selected. Three of the bedrooms and two of the bathrooms were tiny. The pool faced North and was quite cold – unfortunately the pool heater was broken so the water could not be heated. The Management Company seemed oblivious to the fault, even though pool heating had been pre-arranged.
We found the back road to Disney, via Sherberth Road, very useful and saved time during busy traffic periods on the 192. Thanks to everyone who recommended it.
We would not go in Summer again, it was too hot and stormy. We usually visit Orlando in Winter when there is less rain and more moderate temperatures. When we plan our next trip, we will use this site to book our accommodation. I am sure we will be able to find a fantastic villa.
Sorry to hear that the villa allocated was not as you expected, will you be paid any compensation for this? It just goes to show that it is much better booking direct with an owner, you can ask the owners directly any question you may have and know exactly what you will be getting for your money and exactly where the villa is located. Good luck for next time, at least you have now found the best site to book everything Florida[msnwink]
Fourdents
20-07-2008, 12:17
I am pleased to read that you had a good time.
Having good accommodation is a very important part of a holiday.
Booking direct with a villa owner is a good idea as you have the opportunity to see what you are getting. Most villa owners are usually in regular contact with their management company and any "issues" are usually sorted out immediately.
Quote :-
<span style="color:blue">The pool faced North and was quite cold – unfortunately the pool heater was broken so the water could not be heated. The Management Company seemed oblivious to the fault, even though pool heating had been pre-arranged.</span id="blue">
Why not contact the holiday company / agent you booked the villa with and ask about the pool heating you paid for - and did not get.
The helpful hints and tips given by villa owners also help to make a visit to Florida really enjoyable - some of the information you would never get other than from homeowners who know their villa , the area and have first hand experience of where to visit, how to get there etc.
I hope you continue to visit the forum and profit from the good advice and support as you plan for your next visit to Florida.