Hotel in Mayo

WobyTide

Howdy, I got married in a hotel in mayo the week before last. We provided our own wine and were charged €4 corkage per bottle. We used up our full allocation of white (according to their invoice). We happened to be at another wedding there last Thursday and at around 3 in the morning a friend of ours asked to buy a bottle of wine and was given a bottle of wine from our wedding the previous week. My wife insisted on being shown the cold storage room and discovered a full crate of our wine there. We had specially sourced the wine, there's simply no way the hotel could have bought the same wine (they've admitted as much) and there's also no way the experienced staff wouldn't have known it wasn't one of the hotels regular white wines. We feel the same way everyone feels when they've been conned - embarrassed, let down and foolish. Currently we're awaiting their "investigation" - 2 days later we've heard nothing back from them. Any suggestions as to what we should do would be welcome.

MRG77

This might be a bit drastic but I would suggest going to a soliciter and getting them to sent a strongly worded letter requesting an explaination and saying that you are thinking of contacting a local/national radio phone in show. To me, their silence is an admission of guilt. At the end of the day you paid a lot of money to have your wedding there and this hotel decided they wanted more by stealing of you. They need to be taught a good lesson and punished.

geuro

which hotel?

WobyTide

I'd rather not say. It's a major hotel between newport and achill.

Avns1s

WobyTide wrote: »

I'd rather not say. It's a major hotel between newport and achill.

That narrows it down!!!

I wouldn't bother engaging a solicitor over a case of wine, at least at this stage. I think you can make your own approaches to the hotel, as you have already done. Make sure you get full satisfaction. The Solicitors fees will cost more than the case of wine!

There is no doubt that this behaviour from the hotel is most shocking and disappointing. Perhaps the lesson to be learnt is that anyone providing their own wine at a wedding like this should get their own cases back with the empty bottles as well as any remaining full ones. Its a PITA but at least you're sure of what you have got.

WobyTide

That's very good advice.

There's no question of me getting a solicitor.

They've come back and explained the "mistake" and their response makes, quite literally, no sense whatsoever. If they're (or at least a staff member) not running a scam and as they say, it's just a mistake, then I'd love to know where they got the price for the bottle of wine on the night. They sell wine for up to €60 a bottle so there's no way the guy just made the price up if he didn't know what it was.

They've offered a refund on all the corkage (about €300) and also a free stay for the family for a weekend. None of which makes up for anything really. We're probably going to get them (or ask them at least) to make a donation to charity for €1000 in lieu of giving us anything. I'm reliably informed putting this information on trip advisor would be absolutely devastating to their wedding business. Relatively speaking of course.

coylemj

I would advise you to take them to court, there is no way it will get to a hearing as they will settle just to avoid the publicity. There isn't a newspaper or radio station in the country that wouldn't report such a case if it came to a hearing and the damage to the hotel's reputation would be incalculable, they would be forever known as the hotel that stole wine from a wedding party.

A nephew of mine worked in an Irish hotel as part of management training and saw the exact same carry-on a few years ago but it wasn't in the west so couldn't have been the same hotel. The owner of the hotel told him to tell the bride and groom the next day that the wine had all been served at the wedding meal. Several weeks later they were planning to use the excess wine at a small wedding when all of a sudden the owner spotted the original bride and groom standing in the lobby as guests at the second wedding, there was major panic and the wine had to be switched as like the OP, the wine was specially shipped in and couldn't have been bought from an Irish supplier.

I'd say it's a standard practice in the trade. Bar you have someone at each table counting the reds and whites there isn't much you can do to detect it except by accident.

Avns1s

WobyTide wrote: »

That's very good advice.

There's no question of me getting a solicitor.

They've come back and explained the "mistake" and their response makes, quite literally, no sense whatsoever. If they're (or at least a staff member) not running a scam and as they say, it's just a mistake, then I'd love to know where they got the price for the bottle of wine on the night. They sell wine for up to €60 a bottle so there's no way the guy just made the price up if he didn't know what it was.

They've offered a refund on all the corkage (about €300) and also a free stay for the family for a weekend. None of which makes up for anything really. We're probably going to get them (or ask them at least) to make a donation to charity for €1000 in lieu of giving us anything. I'm reliably informed putting this information on trip advisor would be absolutely devastating to their wedding business. Relatively speaking of course.

I think they got caught out. Its a digraceful act for them to have perpetrated. Still, it might be down to an oversight or a mistake (I kinda doubt it but still) and you wouldn't want to ruin anyones business I am sure. (I have absolutely no connection with this or any other hotel - just putting this up as it appears like I ma taking their side a little!)

The offer of the refund and a free weekend stay will be worth in the region of €1000 to you if yoou wish to take it up. Obviously, it will cost the hotel a bit less. It's up to you on the charity but I'd be inclined to go with the offer of the refund plus accommodation and presumably dinners etc.

Things are very tight in the hotel industry mainly due to the level of borrowings which most hotels have. This one I am sure is no exception. I think this behaviour wont be happening in this hotel for a long time and perhaps others might take note also.

I also think not engaging a Solicitor is a sensible and mature way forward, particularly when the hotel has made what would seem to me to be a reasonable gesture.

WobyTide

Youdon't sound like you're taking their side at all. Sensible comment. I just don't believe a word they're telling me as what they're saying just doesn't add up at all.

They'd want to call round to my house and take my car, kids and telly before I'd get engage with a solicitor (nothing against them I just don't like taking legal recourse about small stuff).

I think we'll go down the route of the charity donation, not sure we could stomach staying there for a weekend.

dharma200

To me it is theft.. blatant theft and I would expect a damn sight more than a weekend stay and the corckage back. To me the hotel has actually dipped into your pockets and stolen money.

I would be more than a little raging and definately would never ever consider staying near the place.

coylemj

WobyTide wrote: »

I'm reliably informed putting this information on trip advisor would be absolutely devastating to their wedding business. Relatively speaking of course.

Whoever 'reliably' informed you of this fact doesn't know the law of defamation nor how TripAdvisor works.

An account of a stay in a hotel involving poor service is one thing, however negative it might be to the hotel/restaurant because legally there is always the defence of fair comment.

An accusation of outright theft is a whole different ball game because if it was found to be untrue, TripAdvisor would be seriously exposed with no defence (of fair comment or that it was true) so there is no way they would allow it on their website. It wouldn't make it on to the hotel's entry as the mods on TripAdvisor wouldn't accept it.

WobyTide

coylemj wrote: »

Whoever 'reliably' informed you of this fact doesn't know the law of defamation nor how TripAdvisor works.

An account of a stay in a hotel involving poor service is one thing, however negative it might be to the hotel/restaurant because legally there is always the defence of fair comment.

An accusation of outright theft is a whole different ball game because if it was found to be untrue, TripAdvisor would be seriously exposed with no defence (of fair comment or that it was true) so there is no way they would allow it on their website. It wouldn't make it on to the hotel's entry as the mods on TripAdvisor wouldn't accept it.

There would of course be no accusation of theft, merely an outlining of what had occured. In fact, just copying and pasting the email that they sent admitting to every item I've pointed out here would probably suffice as a tripadvisor comment.

coylemj

WobyTide wrote: »

There would of course be no accusation of theft, merely an outlining of what had occured. In fact, just copying and pasting the email that they sent admitting to every item I've pointed out here would probably suffice as a tripadvisor comment.

Given the nature of the incident, it's very hard for you to prove dishonesty on their part. They are claiming it was a mistake and it's pretty reasonable (however improbable it may be in your mind) for them to claim that one of the staff put some of your cases with the hotel stock in error and that's why the mixup occurred.

If you go down the route of trying to cause them embarrassment via TripAdvisor then I'd see them withdrawing any offer of compensation or making a donation to charity because in an adversarial situation that would be construed as an admission of guilt.

Either take them to court or settle for some kind of 'out of court' and 'out of TripAdvisor' settlement.

RubyGirl

Did you speak to the management of the hotel?

WobyTide

I spoke to the wedding co-ordinator, who was pretty reasonable and the hotel manager who struck me as being pretty disingenuous. There's obviously more stuff here than I've posted up but their whole story just isn't believable. Anyway thanks for the advice and comments all, I think I'll leave it at getting them to make a donation to charity.

Daisy M

The worst part of this is it has probably tainted the memory of your wedding day and that is just not on. Personally I would request the charity donation and that they lower their corkage rates for future bookings they need to feel substantial pain for their actions so that they dont try the same thing in the future.