1800hotels.ie - what's happening?

aidanodr · 14-07-2010 1:43am

And so it hits the NEWSPAPERS:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2010/0714/1224274659171.html

"A last-minute deal to find a buyer for the company fell through on Monday night, the source said.

It is understood the company suffered a significant loss of earnings from the disruption to travel in April caused by Iceland’s volcanic ash cloud. The company was understood to be taking up to 150 bookings a day from Irish customers in recent weeks.

Two of the company’s suppliers of hotel accommodation, known in the trade as bed banks – companies that purchase bed nights from hotels and sell them on to sites like 1800Hotels – are understood to have cancelled the agency’s bookings after it ran into financial difficulties."

"Simon Nugent of the Irish Travel Agents Association said the likely upshot of the company’s closure “is that a lot of people’s bookings are going to be cancelled and they’ll have to pay more to rebook them, especially as they get closer to the departure date”.

He said some consumers may be reimbursed for cancelled bookings via their credit card companies."

Aidan

ohanloj3 · 14-07-2010 3:33am

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any advice for me. I booked for Portugal with 1800 2 weeks ago over the phone and was supposed to receive a invoice by post to confirm booking and payment (by credit card) but I haven't received it. I emailed 1800 on Monday to query this and all the email said was 'your query will be dealt with in due course'. I can see from alot of the posts that in order for credit card company to deal with payment that I'll need proof of my booking, what should I do?

Victor McDade · 14-07-2010 7:59am

Call the hotel this morning

newtoboards · 14-07-2010 8:06am

gandalf wrote: »

Don't think you have any come back with Laser. Ring the bank anyway to check.

When habitat closed I had stuff on order paid with laser card. I was able to get the money back but it took a little time so if you have paid that why then contact your bank or consumer advice.

cyberspider · 14-07-2010 9:07am

I have just discovers that I have also been shafted bu this shower of A**holes.

I made a booking last SEPTEMBER, yes 10 months ago for a stay this October. All was paid in September of last year. When I contacted the hotel they have now told me that there is no reservation and they are totally booked out.

I was traveling to Portugal for a U2 concert and there is no accommodation to be found anywhere near by so I am totally in the **** :-(

Elaine08 · 14-07-2010 9:16am

Hi my booking with 1800 hotels is payable with Hotelbeds in Spain. I've tried to email them this morning but it doesn't seem to send. Has anyone else got a contact address for them?

lensman · 14-07-2010 9:29am

for those of you who can't access the 1800hotel sites due to being based in ireland try the proxy route in the link below, mid way down the page type 1800hotels.com & click browse now.
http://www.thetune.net

Blogschief · 14-07-2010 9:34am

For future reference, book with you bonded travel agent, believe me the prices are as good as the web and you can see and feel them! I understand accommodation only stuff may not be covered so book a package, after all you will be flying overseas anyway....I really can't understand why people can put their faith in UNREGULATED web based services, I feel really sorry for those that have lost out but think about it....a Florida based company taking bookings for hotels on the web that they book through someone else who in turn books 'distressed' rates with the hotels....and ypu can't get hold of them....no liquidator, no phones being answered, no regulatory body, no bond....

dids6457 · 14-07-2010 9:35am

Just called You Travel there.....the 3rd party...to be told by a foreign person that they have no official information from the company and are waiting and that we will be notified next week!
When I asked them could they ensure my hotel would not be cancelled I was out onto another foreign person who I could barely understand and who could barely understand me and thought I was saying I wanted to cancel the booking so kept telling me I had to contact 1800 hotels!
This is ridiculous at this stage I just want to be sure the hotel won't be cancelled on us! The funny thing is You Travel have the same hotel on their site for cheaper!!!

XxcloudxX · 14-07-2010 9:38am

Booked hotel last week with this crowd, rang hotel last night and they said they've no booking, rang mark international they said they have the reservation but cant confirm whether its paid for they can only discuss that with 1800hotels????? Have rang cc company and they say theres nothing they can do until its publicly announced/in the papers that they have gone into liquidation but when that happens they should be able to get the money back. fingers crossed.

hotelconnect · 14-07-2010 9:42am

1800hotels have, in many cases, bought accommodation from HotelConnect.

If your voucher shows "payable by HotelConnect" (or similar) we would urge you to contact us on +44 20 8731 7000.

Unfortunately it is likely you'll have to pay for your stay again as we probably have not been paid ourselves. We can however secure your booking for you.

You should then speak to your credit card company or travel insurer to see if you are covered for your original payment.

We'll make every effort to make this process as hassle-free for you as possible.

Thanks
HotelConnect

lensman · 14-07-2010 9:43am

Blogschief wrote: »

For future reference, book with you bonded travel agent, believe me the prices are as good as the web and you can see and feel them! I understand accommodation only stuff may not be covered so book a package, after all you will be flying overseas anyway....I really can't understand why people can put their faith in UNREGULATED web based services, I feel really sorry for those that have lost out but think about it....a Florida based company taking bookings for hotels on the web that they book through someone else who in turn books 'distressed' rates with the hotels....and ypu can't get hold of them....no liquidator, no phones being answered, no regulatory body, no bond....

another family member booked our hotel through 1800hotels not me, I always book direct with hotel & airlines,..never booked a package deal. however lots of hotels will tell you room NOT available on the dates you need because they have been pre booked by outfits like 1800hotels.

dids6457 · 14-07-2010 9:59am

dids6457 wrote: »

Just called You Travel there.....the 3rd party...to be told by a foreign person that they have no official information from the company and are waiting and that we will be notified next week!
When I asked them could they ensure my hotel would not be cancelled I was out onto another foreign person who I could barely understand and who could barely understand me and thought I was saying I wanted to cancel the booking so kept telling me I had to contact 1800 hotels!
This is ridiculous at this stage I just want to be sure the hotel won't be cancelled on us! The funny thing is You Travel have the same hotel on their site for cheaper!!!

I called them again there and didn't say anything about 1800 just gave the booking reference, he pulled up then that we had booked through 1800 hotels and that the hotel have not been paid by them.
I asked could we pay You Travel directly and he said yes but to hold out as he isn't sure what will happen with 1800 hotels, they are waiting to hear from them and that he's not sure about getting the money we have paid back.
I think he is being very optimistic and that we will be paying you travel before we go next week!
We are going to have to take the bank route to get the original money back

!

ruthmor · 14-07-2010 10:05am

Our booking voucher attachment doesn't mention any company like GTA or Youtravel....it doesn't say "payable by" anywhere. This is the only voucher we received, the one they sent as an attachment after we paid in full...? So i don't know who to ring.

I rang the hotel in Portugal yesterday and the girl kept saying our "reservation has been confirmed" on her computer. I kept asking her if they had received the money and she just kept repeating "reservation has been confirmed". In the end I asked if we would have to pay "no more money" when leaving and she said "no more money"...but I'm not convinced. We're travelling with twin toddlers and don't have much money so I'm afraid to go just in case...holiday is in mid August and we paid about 5 weeks ago. Anyone know who I should ring???

lensman · 14-07-2010 10:13am

I just tried to see if the dates we booked through 1800hotels in the hotel penn in new york would be available to book direct with the hotel,....they are but the sting is that it will cost €3000 as opposed to €1900 with 1800hotels,..we booked with CC (visa) so we are safe but lookes like we will be ripped off anyway.:mad: waiting on email reply from hotel & if booking has been cancled we will offer to pay the original €1900 quoted,....worth a try anyway.

xraylady · 14-07-2010 10:14am

Anyone who has supplier named as youtravel, if you go to youtravel.com today, there is a small link on lower lt hand side of page referencing 1800 which brings you to a form which you need to fill out in order to "confirm" your hotel!.

1800Hotels ceases trading.

14/07/2010 1800Hotels has unfortunately ceased trading. If you have made a booking with them using Youtravel.com as the supplier then it is essential that you contact our Customer Services department in order for your booking to be reconfirmed with the hotel.

Click here to fill in the required form

please note we are dealing with a high number of enquiries so your patience is appreciated

homerdog · 14-07-2010 10:14am

chris85 wrote: »

Its the good things about credit cards. Covers for companies that have ceased trading. Can take some time to resolve though by looks of it.

There was an incident last year when the airline Fly Globespan went bust.
One of the alleged causes was that the Credit Card Company was holding onto customers payments and hadn't passed them on to the airline. They very obviously concerned at the airlines viability.

Maybe 1800's CC company were equally diligent and still have some customer payments .

lensman · 14-07-2010 10:18am

might be more on jooooooooooe duffyyyyyyyyyyy today

RoadKillTs · 14-07-2010 10:22am

From their site

Link

1800Hotels has been forced by two suppliers into bankruptcy proceedings to restructure its debt. Some customers may experience room cancellations. All customers should contact their hotel directly to make sure that their reservation is not affected.

1800Hotels is pursuing a legal injunction to prevent any further disruption of customer travel. We will work diligently to resolve this matter as soon as possible and will provide more information as it becomes available.

- 1800Hotels

xraylady · 14-07-2010 10:27am

ruthmor wrote: »

Our booking voucher attachment doesn't mention any company like GTA or Youtravel....it doesn't say "payable by" anywhere. This is the only voucher we received, the one they sent as an attachment after we paid in full...? So i don't know who to ring.

I rang the hotel in Portugal yesterday and the girl kept saying our "reservation has been confirmed" on her computer. I kept asking her if they had received the money and she just kept repeating "reservation has been confirmed". In the end I asked if we would have to pay "no more money" when leaving and she said "no more money"...but I'm not convinced. We're travelling with twin toddlers and don't have much money so I'm afraid to go just in case...holiday is in mid August and we paid about 5 weeks ago. Anyone know who I should ring???

Are you sure no supplier mentioned. Its under payment details. This is what it looks like on mine:
Payment Details

Total price including handling fee if applicable
EUR XXX.00
For hotel use only: This booking is payable by You Travel

gandalf · 14-07-2010 10:34am

Blogschief wrote: »

For future reference, book with you bonded travel agent, believe me the prices are as good as the web and you can see and feel them! I understand accommodation only stuff may not be covered so book a package, after all you will be flying overseas anyway....I really can't understand why people can put their faith in UNREGULATED web based services, I feel really sorry for those that have lost out but think about it....a Florida based company taking bookings for hotels on the web that they book through someone else who in turn books 'distressed' rates with the hotels....and ypu can't get hold of them....no liquidator, no phones being answered, no regulatory body, no bond....

TBH Blogschief if this was a company that was only running a year or so with no history of providing people with a service you could preach to people. But these guys have been running years with alot of us using them multiple times. I booked with them twice this year for a hotel in New York in Jan and a Hotel in Oslo in Feb. I have also used them multiple times over the last few years along with Hotels.com, Lastminute.com as well.

I am however surprised that people did book using debit cards as that is the equivalent of paying cash. I would never pay for anything on the internet using a debit card.

dids6457 · 14-07-2010 10:51am

I called You Travel having read the link about 1800 hotels on their site. I called the number on the website and was given another number and an extension number.
Was speaking to an English lady who knew about the saga and confirmed they had not been paid.
She reconfirmed the booking and for the same price as we had paid previously (but double now when you thin we have paid twice)!
I am waiting to receive their confirmation email now.
I also called Bank of Ireland who said they were aware of the situation and were waiting for official confirmation about 1800 going bust and that they should have that today and they will refund the money to the card...phew!
She said people who paid with laser have no comeback..sorry to those guys

!

WALSH PAUL · 14-07-2010 10:53am

JUST BEEN ON TO YOU TRAVEL,WHO SUPPLY 1800 WITH HOTEL ROOMS.UNFOURTUNATELY 1800 HAVE ALREADY TAKE THE MONEY FROM MY CREDIT CARD BUT HAVE NOT PAID YOU TRAVEL FOR MY ROOMS.HAVE TO RE-BOOK DIRECTLY WITH YOU TRAVEL TO SECURE MY ACCOMODATION WHICH WILL COST MORE THAN THE ORIGNAL PRICE I GOT FROM 18000 +2.5% CREDIT CHARGE HANDLING FEE.HAVE TO THEN RING MY CREDIT CARD COMPANY AND DEAL WITH IT IN THE DISPUTES DEPARTMENT TO TRY GET MY MONEY BACK!WHAT A BUMMER

ruthmor · 14-07-2010 10:56am

Just got onto the portuguese company (like youtravel) who told me that they're in the middle of cancelling all the holidays 1800hotel had booked because they weren't paid a penny.

Rang our credit card company and they are refunding our money if we send a print out from the website showing that they are bankrupt, or even a newspaper clipping and a letter stating the amount we paid and the date etc. It tales about 30 days to be refunded.

If you have a booking get straight onto the "payable by" company and then onto your bank!

dids6457 · 14-07-2010 11:34am

WALSH PAUL wrote: »

JUST BEEN ON TO YOU TRAVEL,WHO SUPPLY 1800 WITH HOTEL ROOMS.UNFOURTUNATELY 1800 HAVE ALREADY TAKE THE MONEY FROM MY CREDIT CARD BUT HAVE NOT PAID YOU TRAVEL FOR MY ROOMS.HAVE TO RE-BOOK DIRECTLY WITH YOU TRAVEL TO SECURE MY ACCOMODATION WHICH WILL COST MORE THAN THE ORIGNAL PRICE I GOT FROM 18000 +2.5% CREDIT CHARGE HANDLING FEE.HAVE TO THEN RING MY CREDIT CARD COMPANY AND DEAL WITH IT IN THE DISPUTES DEPARTMENT TO TRY GET MY MONEY BACK!WHAT A BUMMER

Have you received the confirmation email from You Travel yet?

WALSH PAUL · 14-07-2010 11:58am

NOT YET.UNFORTUNATELY I BOOKED FOR 11 PEOPLE ON MY CREDIT CARD SO I HAVE TO SPEAK TO THEM AND LET THEM DECIDE WANT THEY WANT TO DO!

BuffyBot · 14-07-2010 12:05pm

I am however surprised that people did book using debit cards as that is the equivalent of paying cash. I would never pay for anything on the internet using a debit card.

True with Laser. Not so much with Visa Debit, which has a similar protection scheme to Visa credit cards.

Tippex · 14-07-2010 12:10pm

homerdog wrote: »

The demise of 1800 Hotels is another example of the 'double standards' in the Irish Travel Trade.

Dozens of these hotel brokers sprung up during the boom years without any regulation, bonding or licencing. Many of them have gone the way of 1800 Hotels leaving many disgruntled customers many of whom have paid in full only to find the bookings were cancelled because that money never reached the hotel.

Whats the answer ?. Book through a travel agent. They have to be licenced and are bonded, so any money paid is protected, And because TA's are impartial, they source hotels from many different suppliers .

Don't always believe that internet bookings are always cheaper. Whats the good of that if your money is gone up the Swanee ?

Homerdog

While yes the package holidays (e.g. flight plus hotel) are covered by the bond, hotel only bookings are NOT covered by the bond. So in this situation it would make 0 difference if 1800hotels were fully bonded as the bond does not apply. So the information about booking hotels with a licensed and bonded agent you have given is inaccurate.

So my advice would be:

Realistically for hotel only bookings the only way to be secure is to book with a big player or a company that has a large company behind it.

established hotel only sites hotels.com, expedia.com, bookings.com
Other companies would be the likes of falcon, americanholidays.com (American Holidays), (Owned by Tui travel PLC) panorama (Owned by the Thomas Cook group) TUI Travel and Thomas cook are two of the largest travel organisations globally.

Regards,
Tip

LauraMcGonigle · 14-07-2010 12:57pm

Hi - by any chance do you have contact details for Hotelbeds - the contact section on their website is not working. Phone number would be great.

noonespecial wrote: »

look for one of the following company names one your voucher

Tourico
Hotelbeds
GTA
Hotelconnect
Youtravel
Travco
Mark International

anyone who has a booking phone up the supplier directly and check the booking

Newbee09 · 14-07-2010 1:02pm

ruthmor wrote: »

Just got onto the portuguese company (like youtravel) who told me that they're in the middle of cancelling all the holidays 1800hotel had booked because they weren't paid a penny.

Rang our credit card company and they are refunding our money if we send a print out from the website showing that they are bankrupt, or even a newspaper clipping and a letter stating the amount we paid and the date etc. It tales about 30 days to be refunded.

If you have a booking get straight onto the "payable by" company and then onto your bank!

Wass this TRANSFAR AGENCIA DE VIAGENS E TURISMO by any chance? Ive got my parents booked into a hotel in portugal in august. The hotel have resplied to say that reservation is still on their system. But say nothin about money!? This complany could still ring up and cancel.

1800hotels.ie - what's happening?

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