and now, this morning, this...

[barbersdrove]

I've started a new thread re our non show guests as the other one has become more about what we do to cover emergencies.

Anyway, turned on computer this morning, what would have been the last but one day of the said guests booking to find this

Dear Julie,
I am sorry, I have not paid it in. I hope to pay in 130 pounds by tommrow morning. I will confirm it with another email. It was clearly an oversight. By the way do you still have accomodation for one adult and child.
 
Regards,

I have responded as below and would like you opinions even though, due to her saying she was going to put more funds in the account today. I would still like some feedback or ideas for the future.


Please do not pay anymore money into the account as your booking has had to be cancelled as you did not arrive for the dates you were booked in.

I'm also afraid, your deposit funds cannot be refunded. this is because I would not have had time to relet the dates you booked so could not recoup the loss of the £260 balance which was unpaid.

Here is the extract of the terms and Conditions of booking as set ou ton our website and which apply in this instance.

7. Cancellation

By you - If you have to cancel your booking you must let us know in writing as soon as possible. In the event of cancellation the following charges become payable:

4 - 6 weeks - 50% 2 - 4 weeks - 75% less than 2 weeks- 100%

By us - We reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your booking. You will be offered compensation if and as appropriate. A minimum compensation of £20 per booking will usually be paid. If due to events beyond our control the property becomes unavailable, we will offer you an alternative date. If a change of date is not acceptable we will refund your monies in full.

8. Complaints - If you have any cause for complaint you should in the first instance bring it to our attention. We will do our best to resolve it.

9. Insurance - Insurance is not included in the price of your booking; therefore we recommend that you take out holiday / cancellation insurance to protect you against any losses




If you still want to come to fen-acre we would be happy to see you but I would have to treat it as a separate booking and we would need payment in full for the dates booked on the same basis as previously, i.e. 25% deposit and the balance in full 6 weeks prior to your arrival or payment in full if the dates are within 6 weeks.

i appreciate this may sound a bit harsh but from our business point of view we have been left with an empty week during the peak season for which we have only had £130 payment when this week should have given us an income of £410.

Regards
Julie

[e-richard]

I'm very confused.

According to your previous topic, guest paid 130 as a deposit but did not show.
Now guest is offering to pay 130 as a ?????

You wrote back to guest saying do not pay 130.
Then in the explanation you talk abut the balance due being 260, which would make a total holiday cost of 390

And then you talk about losing 410

Are you really sure the guest has got it wrong ?

[barbersdrove]

No you are right to be confused as she had actually booked for 6 nights (390) not a full week (my mistake) I won't confuse her more by sending another e-mail though but will respond if she gets back to me.

To make matters more confusing I asked for a 25% discount and she insisted on paying £130 so she has lost more than the usual deposit amount. I'm not sure if that means I should repay her the difference or not but at the moment I'm thinking not.

[Nemo]

I'm confused! I'm sure you understand more about the booking than you've put here, but are the dates definitely clear? Did your guest think they had booked another date than the one you have them down for? Why otherwise would she be offering to pay more?

Maybe it's possible there's been a bit of a mix up, so on what you've told us so far, I'd be seeking clarification.

[barbersdrove]

No there is no confusion about the dates, that is why i was so surprised that she still wanted to send me another £130.! I have on file the e-mail I sent to her which is a receipt and welcome letter. the text of the receipt is


To confirm the dates reserved in The Lodge
1 or 2 adults 2 Children

From 2.30pm Thursday June 28th 2012 to
10.30am Wednesday July 4th 2012



6 nights @ £65 per night £390

Less deposit paid £130

Balance Due £260

The balance is required 6 weeks prior to the arrival date
( May 17th 2012)

When i e-mail these out I always ask for confirmation that they have been received and I have her confirmation on file that she has had them so no, no date confusion.

[Nemo]

Hmmm - you may be clear but it's possible she isn't! What is she offering to pay the £130 for then?

I think you should assume that there is a muddle (guests can be like that with their holidays I know ) and try to clarify what she thinks is happening and what she wants, as isn't she asking for accommodation still? She states one adult one child this time, which appears to be different to her original booking? Changing family circumstances....? Would explain the confusion anyway!

You obviously have to decide whether you want to pursue her for the balance owing and if you want to rebook her or not another time. I would try and keep it as simple as possible though.

[barbersdrove]

I have e-mailed her on the day she was supposed to be arriving. I also left a telephone answerphone message and heard nothing until today 5 days after she was supposed to be here.

On top of that I have spoken to her on the phone a couple of times during the booking process and found her to be a very confusing person as even then she kept changing her mind about how many people there would be during the same conversation. At one time wanting to bring a few more than the unit sleeps and i had a job clarifying that this would not be possible with her so......i don't think I will be pursuing her any further for clarification.

If she does put money in the bank I will just refund. I think I've done all i can.

[Nemo]

Yes, in that case I suspect it would be better to let the booking die a quiet death then.

[barbersdrove]

The merry go round is still going round! Tonight I got a call to say the dates she actually wanted were July 28th to Aug 4th. I've now spoken to her and she has confirmed that she had booked the wrong dates and not picked that up when she had my booking confirmation only noticing the dates, not the month!

She has paid the additional £130 into our account today. I feel some sympathy for her as I once turned up for an operation on the wrong day after travelling over 100 miles and staying on a hotel overnight!!

Anyway, the dates she wants are still free so I've made an emotional response, rather than a business one and said she can have those dates provided she pays the full amount for a weeks booking, minus the £130 tomorrow. I know I did not have to do that but as I said it is an emotional response. If she can't do that I will refund the £130. in the end we have lost £260 and she has lost the £130 deposit she paid for the original booking, which she understands. I'm waiting on her response

[Normandie]

Anyway, the dates she wants are still free so I've made an emotional response, rather than a business one and said she can have those dates provided she pays the full amount for a weeks booking, minus the £130 tomorrow. I know I did not have to do that but as I said it is an emotional response.

I know I always tend to post suggesting businesslike reponses to issues but that's usually when I sense that members want to be firm and businesslike but feel bad about being so. There's no sin in applying reasonable Ts&Cs. Imo.

But. One of the good things about having our own businesses and being in control of our destinies is that we can chuck the 'being businesslike in business' book out of the window when we choose.

If you can afford to do what you're proposing, it's very accommodating of you and I hope she'll appreciate your flexibility.

[greenbarn]

What Normandie said.

And being fair, reasonable and accommodating is good for business anyway.

[Nemo]

I think you should assume that there is a muddle (guests can be like that with their holidays I know )

Now I don't want to say I told you so, but hey there we go!

I understand completely where you are coming from and I'm sure many of us would do the same thing.

So ditto what Normandie & GB said. You are being more than fair, very reasonable and accommodating.

Because it's your business you can.

[barbersdrove]

Well, that will teach me not to react emotionally! The saga goes on

The agreement we made was that she would pay me £70 last Monday with the remaining balance to be paid on Wed. I said I was only prepared to honour the booking if she agreed to this and she promised she would. The £70 was paid 2 days late with no explanation then nothing so this morning I've cancelled the booking. I e-mailed to let her know and then posted a letter recorded delivery to the same effect. I've siad she is not entitlerd to a refund as for the money paid to date as per our T & C which she has seen and agreed and bearing in mind we are already considerably out of pocket following her original booking mistake!

She has just phoned, begging me to let her explain and wanting to put all the money in the account today but I;m afraid i have had enough. I told her it was the end of the road as far as I was concerned, the booking is cancelled and the dates have been put back on the calandar. She kept on and on and it ended with me saying I am not prepared to discuss any further so I'm ending the conversation and switching the phone off.

I feel bad but I have bent over backwards and been out of pocket and just was not prepared to let it go on any longer.

She has since e-mailed and phoned and got a friend to call, begging to be permitted to stay but I have held my position. I feel bad but in the end I think I have done the right thing. You may think otherwise.

[holidayloverxx]

you've been more than reasonable, I'd say.

[barbersdrove]

I came doen this morning, and after specifically telling her not to deposit anymore funds in our account she put £100 cash into the account yesterday, after our conversation. So, still not the full payment. I've e-mailed her to tell her it is coming back to her via a cheque. I could have hung onto it as we are not quite out of pocket over these shenanigans!