wedding venue up for sale

annoyedgal

Hey guys, got a call during week to say hotel venue is up for sale. Have deposit paid and date set for five months. They are not in receivership, hotel being sold as a going concern.
It's been sold as a hotel and staff have been promised they'll do their best to keep their jobs.
Am pretty unsettled though as there are no guarantees at this moment that booking and package will be honored. Anyone have any experience of this?

RQ2013

I'd be very surprised if it wasn't honoured... No point in buying a Company as a going concern if you're going to cancel existing booking etc. Only thing that might slightly concern me is if they can't find a buyer... Will they have enough cash flow to keep operating. Alarm bells would go off if they come looking for any additional 'deposits'

clint_silver

annoyedgal wrote: »

Hey guys, got a call during week to say hotel venue is up for sale. Have deposit paid and date set for five months. They are not in receivership, hotel being sold as a going concern.
It's been sold as a hotel and staff have been promised they'll do their best to keep their jobs.
Am pretty unsettled though as there are no guarantees at this moment that booking and package will be honored. Anyone have any experience of this?

Is it village at Lyons? Thought all couples had been contacted?

It's being sold as a business so the contracts have to be honoured as such. Management have already said this.

Annasopra

Maybe you should ask for deposiy back and look for another venue!!

annoyedgal

nope, it's Markree Castle in Sligo. would hate to change venue as it's perfect for us location wise as well as being a pretty unique venue. The worry would be more that they don't sell to be honest. Wouldn't worry too much bout new owners. All bookings are money in the bank after all!

alocin85

Hi annoyedgal,

We are in exactly the same situation as we have booked Markree Castle for our wedding reception. Like you, we love the venue and we don't really want to have our reception elsewhere! I really have my heart set on it now! We intend to hold out for another few weeks and see whether there are any prospective buyers and then hopefully we can make a more informed decision. I'm being optimistic as it really is a unique venue with a lot of potential so I would hope that some hotel operator will snap it up! We don't mind if the hotel has new owners as our contracts should transfer over as it is being sold as a going concern. Our only concern is if no one decides to buy it and then it isn't open when we want to have our wedding reception. I imagine the current owners are going to keep it open for as long as they can to get a buyer as it would be much less attractive to potential buyers if the hotel is closed (a building that isn't being used and heated will go down in value) and doesn't have a book of business to transfer over. Keep me updated on what you guys decide to do!

I'd also be interested to hear from anyone else who is in the same position with Markree or who has been in a similar position with another hotel and what they did?

Thanks!

annoyedgal

Good to hear from someone in the same boat! We heard same things as you about trying to keep it open for as long as possible so won't be devalued in price by being closed.
my concern is same as yours, that it will close before my date or only open for weddings. that would surely have a knock on effect on standard of food and heating.
I'll let you know what we decide. We're going to give it a few weeks and then make a decision. The lady I spoke to couldn't rule out it being sold as a residential property which is also worrying. Hopefully will find a buyer soon who will honour rates we have agreed on. I wonder where we stand on deposits?

mikejmccar

annoyedgal wrote: »

...I wonder where we stand on deposits?

I don't know how they are dealing with those with pre-existing bookings, but they are waiving the deposit requirement when taking bookings now.

Does anyone have any additional information to add here? We are also considering this venue but are concerned about the sale and its impact on weddings next year. We haven't booked yet, so the conventional wisdom may be to simply go elsewhere, even if we like Markree.

annoyedgal

I've no more information yet but I'll be calling this week for an update so ill pass on any info.
Out of curiosity, if you are talks with them now as regards booking next year, are they offering any type of verbal guarantee that wedding will go ahead?
I'm going to need some kind of a guarantee or i'll have to start looking for deposit back. Don't want to be looking for a new venue with a few weeks to go before date!

Senna

annoyedgal wrote: »

I've no more information yet but I'll be calling this week for an update so ill pass on any info.
Out of curiosity, if you are talks with them now as regards booking next year, are they offering any type of verbal guarantee that wedding will go ahead?
I'm going to need some kind of a guarantee or i'll have to start looking for deposit back. Don't want to be looking for a new venue with a few weeks to go before date!

I'm not familiar with this hotel but from experience, a hotel in trouble with give all the guarantees you ask for, they will write anything and say anything, if the hotel goes into receivership or worse just shuts, the company that made those guarantees is gone too, making them not worth the paper they are wrote on.
As said I'm not familiar with Markree Castle and the above post is not about this hotel.

mikejmccar

annoyedgal wrote: »

I've no more information yet but I'll be calling this week for an update so ill pass on any info.
Out of curiosity, if you are talks with them now as regards booking next year, are they offering any type of verbal guarantee that wedding will go ahead?
I'm going to need some kind of a guarantee or i'll have to start looking for deposit back. Don't want to be looking for a new venue with a few weeks to go before date!

They are taking the booking but are not providing any guarantees. They say they will try to convince the buyer to honor the bookings--and that they expect a buyer to do so, since it is guaranteed income--but they are not making promises on behalf of the new buyer.

Incidentally, Adare Manor has also just been listed for sale, so I don't know if people with bookings there are feeling the same way.

annoyedgal

I wouldn't be overly concerned with new owners, more what will happen if it doesn't sell or is sold as a private estate rather than a hotel.
If you haven't booked yet could you wait it out a while to see?

nearzero

Oh I know how you feel - my wedding is there this month, I have to say I felt really lucky my wedding was soon when they rang & told me. I booked it a year ago & couldnt imagine living with the uncertainty for that length of time. So I can imagine how you must feel.

The only positive thing is they are really busy with bookings for weddings so if they dont sell, I think they should be able to can keep going as they are - I got the impression it was more about upgrading of facilities and the hotel itself that the money was needed for & they cant put that into it so they are looking to sell it. The hotel needs more care that most other modern hotels & I think thats whats hurting them. Well that was the impression I got anyway.

I would hope it would be sold as a going concern aswell but again I feel lucky that I get to have my wedding it in as it currently stands - its full of unique character and atmosphere and I would fear that new owners would change too much about it or add a big glass extension or something!

niamhccc

Good to see this thread. I didn't know Markree was up for sale and I just emailed them this week to see if we could arrange an appointment for a viewing of the venue, and they replied to say that as the hotel is up for sale and they are closing for the winter (with exception of weddings), they cannot have any wedding meetings as the packages etc will change with the new owner, and that if they get a new owner they asked me to contact them again at the beginning of 2015. So they are hoping to have a new owner by then. Really disappointed though as it looks amazing and I kinda had my heart set on it, but don't think I'm willing to wait around 3 months and they may not even have a new buyer by then...

Leitrimgirl101

Anybody have any update on the situation with Markree? We have our wedding booked there for April 2015 and have been out of the country since we booked until last week. We are having awful trouble trying to speak to anyone at the hotel. They will respond to emails with minimal information, but we were promised a call this weekend and did not receive one even after we called a couple of times ourselves.

We have heard that they have returned deposits to some couples but don’t know how true this is. Does anyone have any information on that?

We thought back in February when we booked that we were all organised but now are more stressed than ever!

Any thoughts or information would be appreciated.

nearzero

Leitrimgirl101 wrote: »

Anybody have any update on the situation with Markree? We have our wedding booked there for April 2015 and have been out of the country since we booked until last week. We are having awful trouble trying to speak to anyone at the hotel. They will respond to emails with minimal information, but we were promised a call this weekend and did not receive one even after we called a couple of times ourselves.

We have heard that they have returned deposits to some couples but don’t know how true this is. Does anyone have any information on that?

We thought back in February when we booked that we were all organised but now are more stressed than ever!

Any thoughts or information would be appreciated.

Hi! I posted about my wedding here: http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057319508/1/#post92872409

Hope it helps!

steviebrazil86

Hi guys I'm in the same situation with another venue. We're too afraid our wedding will be affected so we've decided to change venue but the old venue are refusing to give us back our deposit. I don't feel it's fair really as we played no part in thr decision for the venue to be put up for sale. They won't respond to my emails now what should I do?

Senna

When is your wedding?
How long are you waiting for a response from the hotel?

Hotels get bought and sold all the time. Are you worried that the business is in trouble?
If its just up for sale, there might be nothing to worry about, whoever buys the hotel is unlikely to effect your wedding at all.

fits

Which hotel is it?

steviebrazil86

I don't really want to say I don't want to potentially cause more cancellations for them. I get that but they can't guarantee anything for us and in fairness it's the biggest investment we've ever made so I don't really want anything left to chance. What if it's bought and they decide to renovate it and the place is in ****e through our wedding date or what if standards drop? They keep referring to the contract but I don't think the contract bears any value anymore given the whole circumstances/terms and conditions have changed. I've had to get onto a solictor but it's gonna cost us money now to try and get the money back which is bollox

Sapphire

steviebrazil86 wrote: »

Hi guys I'm in the same situation with another venue. We're too afraid our wedding will be affected so we've decided to change venue but the old venue are refusing to give us back our deposit. I don't feel it's fair really as we played no part in thr decision for the venue to be put up for sale. They won't respond to my emails now what should I do?

Why do you feel you should have had a say in the sale of a hotel? Do you part-own it?

steviebrazil86

Haha what? Obviously not what's your point? I stood to invest a lot of money for one of the most important days of our lives into a property that may or may not be able to accommodate us. My point was that it's their decision that caused us to change the venue so therefore we should be entitled to our refund. The venue is Leixlip Manor and Gardens by the way I changed my mind.

Sapphire

My point is that hotels and other businesses get bought and sold all the time and the day to day business remains unchanged. They weren't obliged to consult you, unless as a result of the sale they were unable to fulfil the terms of the contract with you. Best bet is to consult a solicitor to review the contract but at this stage, they haven't broken any contract with you or stated their intention to.

clint_silver

steviebrazil86 wrote: »

My point was that it's their decision that caused us to change the venue so therefore we should be entitled to our refund. .

Is it in your contract that you're entitled to a refund if you change the venue if the hotel is put up for sale, if not, what part of the contract can you cite that will make your entitlement to a refund be valid? Genuinely curious.

If you hire a new venue, have you guarantees written into the contract that they wont be renovating during your wedding if that's what you're worried about?

Tomw86

Renovations don't only happen when hotels change ownership. Leixlip Manor and House is really good and unless there was going to be a change of management on the ground then I'd stick with it.

It might be worth sounding out other venues for availability, but I certainly wouldn't commit by way of a second deposit.

If you do switch, make sure you have terms and conditions regarding change of ownership and renovations written in so that you do not have to worry again.

FYI: We had certain promises made to us about upgrading that was due to be done in our hotel, and we had them put it the contract, sure enough it was done and more when we went out to visit the place 4 weeks beforehand.

steviebrazil86

@Sapphire "They weren't obliged to consult you, unless as a result of the sale they were unable to fulfil the terms of the contract with you"

As a result of the sale they're not able to 100% guarantee that our booking will be obtained and that's what we're paying for. Is that not fulfilling our contractual rights? Maybe that's the way we should be looking at it is our own contractual rights rather than getting it torn up. This occasion is not like a restaurant reservation changing because a place has been bought over so I don't think that's a fair comparison given the investment from the customer.

@clint_silver "Is it in your contract that you're entitled to a refund if you change the venue"

I spoke to our solicitor and he said he thinks the contract should be declared void due to the circumstances surrounding the sale. Sure you're right about renovations they can happen at any hotel but what if it affects our experience and our guests experience? You can't tell me you would like to hold your wedding in a venue that couldn't assure you and your partner that they would be able to facilitate you, can you? If we were told the day we were booking that they were going to put the place up for sale we wouldn't have booked simple as that. Do you not see my point of view at all?

steviebrazil86

@Tomw86 thanks Tom that's a helpful comment I'll consider that for sure. We have no problem wit =h the place it was a dream venue honestly but I can't believe the way they've behaved it's amazing

clint_silver

steviebrazil86 wrote: »

@clint_silver "Is it in your contract that you're entitled to a refund if you change the venue"

I spoke to our solicitor and he said he thinks the contract should be declared void due to the circumstances surrounding the sale. Sure you're right about renovations they can happen at any hotel but what if it affects our experience and our guests experience? You can't tell me you would like to hold your wedding in a venue that couldn't assure you and your partner that they would be able to facilitate you, can you? If we were told the day we were booking that they were going to put the place up for sale we wouldn't have booked simple as that. Do you not see my point of view at all?

I see that you're worried about something that may happen and you want to alleviate that worry by moving venue in the hope that the new venue wont have renovations happening at the time of your wedding.
I can understand you're stressed. Its a lot of money. Its possibly biggest day of your lives.

I and others do get that.

What we dont see is how you can ask for money back based on something that may happen based on a pending sale. I don't get that unless you have something written in to contract.

steviebrazil86

@clint_silver forget the renovations it's the failure to guarantee our wedding that concerns me. The renovation and standards are secondary problems. Their failure to guarantee our wedding booking is a breach of contract on their end otherwise what are we paying for?

clint_silver

steviebrazil86 wrote: »

@clint_silver forget the renovations it's the failure to guarantee our wedding that concerns me. The renovation and standards are secondary problems. Their failure to guarantee our wedding booking is a breach of contract on their end otherwise what are we paying for?

Theres a couple of examples of hotels closing and cancelling wedding but Is there any history of any hotel in ireland being put up for sale and weddings being cancelled becsuse new owners came in and didnt want to run the hotel as a going concern?
I really do understand the stress ye must be under, I just dont see a breach of contract that would entitle you to deposit back. Unless theyve advertised different theyre still honouring all business.
Could you try selling it on if you dont get it back? Someone else might want the venue for that night in which case hotels refund some or all of deposit.

Senna

steviebrazil86 wrote: »

@clint_silver forget the renovations it's the failure to guarantee our wedding that concerns me. The renovation and standards are secondary problems. Their failure to guarantee our wedding booking is a breach of contract on their end otherwise what are we paying for?

But of course they can't guarantee you anything, how could they if they are no longer the owner at the time of your wedding.
It's like booking a holiday and expecting the travel agents to guarantee the destination country will still be there, of course they can't, but it's a fair assumption it will be.

I could understand your concern if there was other factors, like the hotel being close to bankruptcy and the sale being essential for the hotel to have a chance at remaining open.
Hotels are sold all the time, most of the time a person walking through the door has no clue who owns it and if ownership changes while a guest was staying there, they would notice no difference.

steviebrazil86

Senna wrote: »

But of course they can't guarantee you anything, how could they if they are no longer the owner at the time of your wedding.
It's like booking a holiday and expecting the travel agents to guarantee the destination country will still be there, of course they can't, but it's a fair assumption it will be.

I could understand your concern if there was other factors, like the hotel being close to bankruptcy and the sale being essential for the hotel to have a chance at remaining open.
Hotels are sold all the time, most of the time a person walking through the door has no clue who owns it and if ownership changes while a guest was staying there, they would notice no difference.

But Senna that's the agreement. The contract stands for nothing for us if that's the case. You book your wedding and expect it to happen and if they say that it may not now I don't want to put us in that possible position. Of course ye could say well maybe it won't happen because the "the destination may no longer be there..." but that's like saying the world might stop I mean come on outta that

steviebrazil86

clint_silver wrote: »

Theres a couple of examples of hotels closing and cancelling wedding but Is there any history of any hotel in ireland being put up for sale and weddings being cancelled becsuse new owners came in and didnt want to run the hotel as a going concern?
I really do understand the stress ye must be under, I just dont see a breach of contract that would entitle you to deposit back. Unless theyve advertised different theyre still honouring all business.
Could you try selling it on if you dont get it back? Someone else might want the venue for that night in which case hotels refund some or all of deposit.

Do you know if someone's buying it? We've been told feck all. The solicitors seems to think it is a breach of contract as they're no longer able to assure us it will go ahead as booked. Sure we'll see what happens I don't care how we get it back as long as we do so fingers crossed. Thanks for your input and your opinion it means a lot

Tomw86

It is good you've consulted a solicitor anyway, and if they are refusing to confirm it, in writing, then personally I would be on your side and would pursue them for a full refund of the deposit.

The other factor to conside though is how far off your wedding is, and how quickly a sale can take to be finalised. My guess would be they'd want something finalised this side of Xmas, but if your wedding is early next year that doesn't leave much time!

Best of luck with it anyway, if I was in your shoes I wouldn't be letting it lie.