Worried !!

[smblair]

Hi, we have a holiday booked with Travel City Direct (flights, car hire and a villa) for May 2003. There's 4 adults, 1 child and 1 infant in our party.

I've just read some recent (negative) postings on TCD relating to the flights and the villas ! I now have some questions which I would be so grateful to receive feedback on :

Has anyone any positive experiences of TCD and their villas ?
Where are the villas that they use (they can't give us details)?

At the moment, I am tempted to cancel the villa booking and look at some of the villas available on this site !

Thanks in advance

[blott]

Hi Shona, welcome.

I don't know that you'll find any owners on here which actually rent their homes via TCD but the reason TCD probably can't give you details is because your villa will be allocated on arrival by a management company they work with. Presumably the home you'll be allocated will meet the basic standard you've probably been given, ie private pool, so many bedrooms, so much distance from Disney, etc but if you book a home with an agent, you don't have a personal choice (as you've discovered) and you may pay extra for the home as agents charge a commission on bookings for home owners.

If you book direct from a private owner, you know exactly which home you're going to stay in and you can ask them any questions you wish to make sure that the home you choose is right for your holiday.

I think you need to look into the situation very carefully if you're considering cancelling your booking as there may well be financial penalties for doing this, particularly if you're travelling soon.

If you still want to change your booking after you've looked into the above, then yes, please feel free to make an enquiry on this site for another home and you'll get replies from those owners who have your specific dates available. I would advise that you do this after looking into any penalties but before actually cancelling your booking with TCD.

[smblair]

Thanks for your response Julie. Yes, we are taking their own charter flights but I don't even think we're getting a 747. You're right, the villa will be allocated on arrival and we were aware that it would be pot luck in terms of which villa we are allocated, I just don't think we appreciated how much this could affect the holiday, ie location, local amenities etc.

I tried to access the top-forums.com but it looks like you need to own a villa to register ?

quote:Originally posted by esprit

Are you taking their own charter flights which is the non stop 747 to Sanford or have you just booked someone elses ( eg Air 2000 etc) flights through them? They purchased 5 old 747s from BA, AA etc last year to start to run their own service and they have not had very good reports. Far too much to post here, but go to another forum - www.top-forums.com and register yourself as a member, then search on Travel City Direct. There is loads and loads on it on there including a very amusing report from someone who took one of the flights.

As to the villas, they will have a tie up with a management company but I dont know which one ( anyone know?) You will be allocated a villa on arrival which may mean that even they may not know at the moment which one you are going in. The villas will vary in standard. Some will be nicer and more conveniently situated than others so it is the luck of the draw. My management co has a tie up to Thomas Cook and Unijet so someone booking through them might get mine which are 6 years old but well located and well looked after. Or they may get something brand new and very close to Disney. Or something older and not well cared for and 30 minutes from Disney. It is a total gamble.

The good thing about booking direct from an owner is that you know exactly what you are getting as you see it before you go and you also communicate direct with the owner so have some control. Whether you cancel and rebook or not depends on what you stand to lose and whether you could get other flights?????

[chris]

You definitely don't need to own a villa to register with top-forums. There is a private villa owners section which you do need to prove ownership to join but for the general topics section where all the details you want can be found this is not necessary. You can even browse without registering (I think) but need to register to post.

[florida4sun]

Hello,
we were once dealing wholesale with travel city. They used us once they ran out of the lower rate companies. I always found them to be very unorganised and not very good and helping the guests when there is a problem.
To be honest we did used to end up with the unhappy guests. Such as when they double booked or a house was not suitable. There must have been many more who were satsified.

quote:Originally posted by smblair

Thanks for your response Julie. Yes, we are taking their own charter flights but I don't even think we're getting a 747. You're right, the villa will be allocated on arrival and we were aware that it would be pot luck in terms of which villa we are allocated, I just don't think we appreciated how much this could affect the holiday, ie location, local amenities etc.

I tried to access the top-forums.com but it looks like you need to own a villa to register ?

quote:Originally posted by esprit

Are you taking their own charter flights which is the non stop 747 to Sanford or have you just booked someone elses ( eg Air 2000 etc) flights through them? They purchased 5 old 747s from BA, AA etc last year to start to run their own service and they have not had very good reports. Far too much to post here, but go to another forum - www.top-forums.com and register yourself as a member, then search on Travel City Direct. There is loads and loads on it on there including a very amusing report from someone who took one of the flights.

As to the villas, they will have a tie up with a management company but I dont know which one ( anyone know?) You will be allocated a villa on arrival which may mean that even they may not know at the moment which one you are going in. The villas will vary in standard. Some will be nicer and more conveniently situated than others so it is the luck of the draw. My management co has a tie up to Thomas Cook and Unijet so someone booking through them might get mine which are 6 years old but well located and well looked after. Or they may get something brand new and very close to Disney. Or something older and not well cared for and 30 minutes from Disney. It is a total gamble.

The good thing about booking direct from an owner is that you know exactly what you are getting as you see it before you go and you also communicate direct with the owner so have some control. Whether you cancel and rebook or not depends on what you stand to lose and whether you could get other flights?????

[smblair]

Hi again,

Just wanted to thank everyone for their postings. Got onto the top-forums site and read the reviews on there. There are undoubtedly some bad reports relating to the flights although, in our case, we have been guaranteed a direct flight to Sanford, on Airtours aircraft leaving from Glasgow International. So I'm hoping that will be ok.

As for the villa, well, I'm pretty annoyed that we didn't research this area in more detail. I'd be far happier knowing exactly what we were going to, peace of mind we could have had by booking a villa direct. That said, we can alter our TCD booking (without completely cancelling it) for a small fee (keep flights and car hire but cancel the villa).

If all in our party agree to cancelling the TCD villa, I will certainly be back on this site to look for a suitable alternative !

Thanks again

[steph_goodrum]

To be fair to TCD Shona, we have friends who have flown with Virgin and TCD (last September) and they said they were quite happy with the service for the saving in flight price, they went expecting a basic service and that is what they got but as there only 2 adults flying they could cope with this.

[esprit]

You will be fine if it is an Airtours flight just booked through Travel City. As I said, it is just their own charter flights where there is a problem. I have flown many times with other airlines booked through Travel City ( Airtours, Britannia, Air 2000) with absolutely no problem. They only act as a booking agent for these just as though you booked in a high street travel agent.

[steph_goodrum]

Julie
Our friends flight was on one of the TCD planes not a charter, as always though when things go smoothly there is no problem but it is often how they deal with unforeseen events that makes the difference with the airlines.

[janny]

TCD used to have a tie-in with Resort Quest and probably still do which means your home can be absolutely anywhere in the ares as they have about 1000 on their books from Southern Dunes -northwards.