Avoid Travel-Italy
 

We had rented a villa through Travel-Italy, which is a Columbia, MO agent for Cuendet, the large Swiss-Italian agency, scheduled for September 29 through October 6. We have paid them in full - over $600. We decided yesterday that we would postpone the trip until April, 2002, so I called them today to reschedule - not to ask for my money back, but to apply what we've paid. Unfortunately, both Travel-Italy and Cuendet are taking full advantage of the current situation, and are only returning 10%, yes 10%, of the fee! In fairness, I will say that their cancellation policy indeed states that changes made within 29 days will incur 90% of the fee. However, numerous other hotels, tour groups and members of the travel industry the world over are showing their compassion by bending their cancellation/rescheduling rules - I guess neither Travel-Italy nor Cuendet need or care for repeat business. <BR> <BR>Can anyone recommend an ethical villa rental agent with whom we can book our trip in April? <BR>

thanks for the warning. they are one of the companies my husband and i were looking at to rent through in Tuscany next fall. i'm sorry you had problems with them.

can't give you any advice. <BR>But, one would think giving the unique situation this is, the companies would make an exception! <BR> <BR>I will contact them and let them know I will not be using their services when I book for my big 50 B-day trip. <BR>Not that they will really care, but it will make a statement, that will satisfy me. <BR> <BR>I used www.italianitineraries.com when we booked our rome apt. <BR>and a friend , who rented the same apt. used <BR>www.belvedere-italia.com <BR>I can not vouch they are "ethical" but , they are another source. <BR>Goodluck!

Rene, <BR>I am very sorry this happened to you. This is really the height of unscrupulous business dealings, if ever I've heard of it. <BR> <BR>Rex, one of the regulars on this board, is due to leave soon for Italy with some other Fodorites and said the company from whom they've rented their Italian villa, rentvillas.com, has been helpful, sympathetic & trustworthy during this time of global travel crisis. They were willing to refund, from what I understand, the deposit placed on the villa if the group did not feel comfortable traveling or was unable to due to any governmental edicts. <BR>Best Wishes, <BR>BC

DON"T AVOID TRAVEL-ITALY.COM <BR> <BR>I am a travel agent and have worked with Travel-Italy.com for years. They are a great company to work with. I have NEVER had any problems with them and this situation is no different. <BR> <BR>They refunded my clients in full for hotels and tours that were within the cancellation period. They also waived all cancel fees without question. <BR> <BR>I have always been impressed with the quality of hotels and their great customer service. <BR> <BR>You would be a fool not to book with them.

I'm surprised at how many people think that they deserve to get out of previously agreed upon travel arangements. This is the livlihood of many people.There is nothing unethical about a business enforcing written cancellation policy.I have seen on the street and heard of money being donated to victims families of the WTC. Well, the airlines and the travel industry are as much victims as anyone else.Have you heard about the lay-offs going on in the airline industry right now?Be reasonable, as everyone likes to point out with their whiney poor-me attitude "this terrorist attack is going to affect everyone in the country." "Life will never be the same again"

Rene, <BR> <BR>I am so sorry this has occurred. I was reading today's Frommer's newsletter, and it seems that that hotels, tour groups and car rental companies are following the lead of the airlines. In general the airlines seem to be most flexible up to the date of September 25th for full refunds, full credits and change of dates. But, outside the 25th of September, it seems that it is business as usual. <BR> <BR>My only suggestion is to contest the charge with your credit card company. <BR> <BR>Good-luck, <BR> <BR>Leslie

I am sorry that this has happened to you also. People often forget that the NYC terrorist attack really does affect everyone in the country--actually everyone in the world--including travel agents and airlines. I will be surprised if there are many travel agencies left in business after all of this. <BR> <BR>I do have to say that I booked a trip with Travel-Italy.com last year and they were an absolute joy to work with. I hope that everyone does not take heed in "avoid travel-italy". I think every company has bad experiences. Terrorism attacks just adds to it. We need to remember that everyone is suffering and maybe this travel agency is too. <BR>

Thank you for all comments, kind and unkind. I wish to point out that I did not ask for a refund, but only made a reasonable request to change the reservations to a future, specific date. At no point was I loud or angry with Travel-Italy. And to the second Amy, the $600 is now donated to the travel industry. <BR> <BR>I'm looking at rentvillas.com for next year's trip.

To leslie: <BR>What a difference some thinking does. <BR>You have no credibility.

FYI <BR> <BR>Rentvillas.com is a Cuendet representative too. Good luck getting any better response from them, they will have the same agreement.

Sorry but in my opinion companies that have heartless and unbending policies do not deserve to stay in business. I cannot control many things in this world but I can to some extent decide who to give my money. Companies that offend me will just have to survive without my help.

Rene, <BR>I am sorry you are so unhappy. I'm glad you will be going to Italy in April and have not sworn off travel all together. <BR>I have used travel italy in 1999 and also this January. In 1999 I rented a villa in Tuscany from them. I experienced no problems and they were very helpful. I will be going to Italy next spring and I will be using them again.

I am the Customer Service Manager for Travel-Italy.com. I would like to say upfront, we have already waived tens of thousands of dollars of cancellation fees, hotel expenses and villa rentals to many clients that were forced to cancel the trips they have been planning for months. <BR> <BR>The airlines have been extremely cooperative with clients who want to cancel, but that cannot last forever. They will soon be charging the normal penalties as many smaller companies are forced to do now. We don’t have support from our federal government as the airlines do. We are small and have been greatly damaged by this, but are trying to do our best to keep all of our clients happy. <BR> <BR>We have been in constant correspondence with Cuendet since the beginning of this tragedy and we are fighting for our clients. We pay Cuendet prior to the clients’ arrival, therefore the bills have been paid and the money is not ours to refund. <BR> <BR>We are also re-evaluating whether we want to continue to work with a company that is so un-bending in the wake of an event that has touched so many people all over the world. <BR> <BR>I would invite anyone who is interested to send an email to me directly and I would be happy to provide a list of references including clients and agents who have booked and cancelled with Travel-Italy.com. <BR>

Wow...I would never EXPECT to get out of an agreement such as this. Point well made that even the airlines are not extending their offers past Sept 25 and for full refunds the period ends 9/18. <BR> <BR>I believe Rex said his reps were waiving their 20% commission because the primary villa renatl company was unable to offer any breaks. Not 100% refund. (And he found this laudable!) If I too am mis-quoting you Rex, I apologize. <BR> <BR>I can't believe your airline has allowed you to re-book for April 2002 without a change fee...which airline is that? <BR> <BR>There are plenty of travel service providers to warn people about for GOOD reasons. Rene's posting strikes me as childish and petty.

hey Think, are you one of those stalkers that likes to follow posters into other threads and continue to harrass them over old threads?

To Kerri Rae Bruns: <BR>Bravo/a!!!!! <BR> <BR>I, as a paying customer am impressed to see that the interested has responded to the above complaint. <BR>I, being a lurker here, may have been pursuaded to not use your company after having read the complaint. <BR>However, upon seeing that you have not ignored this complaint and are brave enough to try to explain your side here on the forum, it makes me believe you are honest and try to do your best. <BR>Kudos to you!

Few hotels require more than a 24 hours notice to cancel a reservation without penalty. The better model are the cruise ships. I doubt that any of them will give you a full refund merely because you decide not to go.

Dar Renee: I don't see why you are blaming this travel agency for not refunding your money; it is YOUR fault. Why should the travel company take a loss because you don't want to travel?? It would be different if you coulnd't travel because all planes were grounded. You are CHOOSING not to go on holiday. Put yourself in the other party's shoes. What if your boss said, "Im not paying you next week. But, instead, I'll pay you in April."? You have to remember that travel agencies are businesses, not soup kitchens. They exist to make a profit. Also, remember that the travel business employs millions of people. Because you are jittery about traveling, you are endangering people's livlihoods. I am ready to book a trip to Poland in November, which I think will aid in our economy staying strong. This is just my perspective on things. Good Luck, JG

John G <BR> <BR>THANK YOU!!!! I work in the travel business and it is nice to know that there are still rational, caring people out there. I am glad to hear that this crisis is not stopping you from living your everyday life. While it is a tragedy, it is something that we must overcome. <BR>I think we all find it a little too easy to put the blame on someone else. Especially when we know we were in the wrong. <BR>D

Extaordinary events require an extraordinary respose. What if I told my boss I wasn't going to New York to search for my missing brother? Should he fire me? I fear you are correct, some in the travel industry are only interested in the money and show little regard for the human equation. Do you think they are the only ones who are losing money? I've lost 10% of my life's savings just in the last 2 days due to stock losses from this disaster. But please I am not whinning "poor me" like I am hearing from some hotel owners and others and I'm not trying to get other victims to pay for my loss. Rather we are here trying to raise money to help the victims in New York. I'm sure there are some starving hotel owners who are not able to do this or even change a persons lodging dates at their now empty hotel.

Oh, Im sorry, I didn't know that the $20,000.00 a year secretary who works at the travel agency owned the Hilton Hotel chain in Europe. Excuse me. And I didn't know that all the flight attendants for Continental owned the George V and the Ritz in Paris. You are right, they don't need to work. They've got millions. And that lady who ownes the B&B outside Edinburgh, she's loaded. She doesn't need any guests. She was just in operation for money laundering purposes. Thank you, Mr. Mad, for opening my naive eyes. JG

Amy, the amount of travel companies who are making concessions and waiving the cancellation policy is stagering. The fact that Travel-Italy isn't one of them makes me think that I WOULD BE CRAZY to make business with such greedy, uncompassionate agency. The fact is that airlines and many other travel organizations are already clamoring the federal government to show compassion TO THEM and they, most likely, will get some tax relief. You have some nerves to post on a travel forum, who is clearly geared to independent travel, and waive a flag for some greedy travel agency that doesn't even realize the big mistake that is pissing off some people in the age of the Internet. I, for one, pledge to you, Rene, that I will post in every travel forum I can find in the Internet what just happened between you and Travel-Italy. <BR> <BR>Travel-Italy, I have no clue who Rene is, but you are never, ever going to get my business.

Here are my comments: <BR> <BR>You're Making Me Angry -- unless you sold any of your investments, you did not lost a dime in the stock market yesterday. The primary reason the stock market dipped yesterday was from seller orders that were not processed prior to the stock market closing on September 11th. If you haven't sold, you have lost nothing, it's just on paper that your assets are less. <BR> <BR>Fran - The company that Rex is using first offered to refund it's commission. Ultimately the villa he is staying at offered a 100% refund if Rex and his friends were not able to make their trip. They are going to Italy as planned. <BR> <BR>Kerri -- thanks for your comments. <BR> <BR>Vic -- rules and contracts are different for each entity. It is my experience that rentals for apartments and villas require prepayment in full at least 30 days prior to departure. Same goes for tour companies. <BR> <BR>John -- although it is unpopular to agree with you, I do. <BR> <BR>To all of you -- we cannot expect all businesses to absorb losses. We may be headed towards a recession. We should not be condemning each business because full refunds or credits are not available. It would be nice, but it is not always possible. Not every business has the profits that companies like Microsoft has. <BR> <BR>Overall, it seems that Rene is disappointed, but not as angry as the rest of you. Although we have to now take precautions because of the events on the 11th, we each have to decide whether to pay the additional costs to insure refunds, that means full fare tickets, and procuring lodging that offers easier cancellations. Some will opt to pay full fares, and others will take their chances. It's like playing at the tables in Las Vegas, sometimes you win, but sometimes you lose and have to walk away and accept the losses. <BR> <BR>

Rene, I'm not surprised by Travel-Italy's response. I tried to book a day tour through them and the woman I spoke with was totally unhelpful and rude.

Hi, I'm the Director of E-Commerce with Travel-Italy.com. This discussion has gotten very negative, and that is sad. <BR> <BR>My .02 cents is that T-I is not being greedy. We have refunded and will continue to refund many thousands of dollars of travel. Cuendet, one of our suppliers, has decided not to refund money that we have already sent them. There is nothing we can do about that and we are sorry. <BR> <BR>How far are we willing to go? Well, all the way. Last Friday I laid off my entire IT staff, and myself was laid off effective at the end of October. We are taking the steps we need to take to make sure that our company survives. This meant laying off all non-essential staff. Most of my work and my team's work was for the future. We don't need programmers to refund money, we need our phone staff. <BR> <BR>So, 5 people here have lost their jobs because there was not enough money to guarantee salary given the expected $150,000 in cancellations we are facing. We are a Mom and Pop shop, and I am upset that people would accuse us of corporate greed. <BR> <BR>The WTC attack has been felt even here in Columbia, MO. I don't think people should be too fast to point the finger at Chris Group and his company. There are other enemies we should be wary of. <BR> <BR>Like Kerri, our Customer Service Manager, I'll do my best to answer any questions you send me via email. At least until the end of the month, at which time I'll start looking for a job.

Jesse: <BR> <BR>I meant to commend your company for it's efforts but got distracted by JG's and others' posts. My comments were not meant against Travel-Italy. <BR>Most in the travel industry understand that under these extraordinary circumstances it is better to do what they know to be morally right rather than try to save their last buck. This is what they will live with in the long run. All of us will or have suffered loses from this tragedy(some more than others). The travel industry will recover the same as the stock market will recover. We wish the travel industry good forture as all of us will be traveling again soon. But, some of us will remember those that were not up to the challenge and will be taking our business elsewhere. <BR> <BR>Good luck to you and your company. <BR>

Travel-Italy, <BR> I'm sorry you have to be dragged through the mud like this. The spoiled brats who want the world to bow to their needs--even though the contract clearly stated...even though they are voluntarily changing their schedule...are NOT representative of the sophisticated travelers who generally browse and post on this board.

Fran, <BR> <BR>All I can say is BRAVO! You are absolutely right. The views of a few are not indicative of the rest of us. <BR> <BR>Leslie

I don't want to beat a dead horse, but the outraged seem to be accepting uncritically the notion that "numerous other hotels, tour groups and members of the travel industry the world over are showing their compassion by bending their cancellation/rescheduling rules." <BR> <BR>Many hotels have allowed travelers who were stranded during the stand down to stay free or at reduced rates and have forgiven cancellation penalties during this period. But are other companies like Travel-Italy providing full refunds under similar circumstances? Does anymore really believe that a cruise line in a similar circumstance would give a full refund. <BR> <BR>As stated by others Rene simply decided not to go. Why should the tour company take the hit.

The attached is taken from http://www.cnn.com <BR> <BR>I'm sure some of it will trickled down to tour/travel agencies, right? <BR> <BR>Read on: <BR> <BR> <BR>"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House and congressional leaders were nearing agreement Tuesday evening on a $15 billion bailout for the airline industry, which was hit hard by last week's terrorist attacks, senior administration officials and senior congressional sources told CNN. <BR> <BR>Senior Bush administration and congressional officials told CNN the package could reach the House floor as early as Friday and would include: <BR> <BR>• Between $2.5 billion and $5 billion in direct cash payments to compensate the airlines for revenue lost due to the shutdown following the September 11 terrorist attacks. <BR> <BR>• $12.5 billion in loan guarantees. <BR> <BR>• A delay in quarterly tax payments to improve the airlines' short-term liquidity. <BR> <BR>The industry also sought specific liability protection from claims stemming from the attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but no agreement was reached on that issue. <BR> <BR>The airlines said they suffered losses of $5 billion from loss of business since the attacks. The industry also predicted lower revenues. "

Others have tried to clarify what I said - - so I must have not made it very clear. The company www.rentvillas.com offers villas from many sources - - but ours comes from Cuendet - - sort of the "Century 21" of private vacation rental properties in Italy, especially. <BR> <BR>Cuendet offered full refunds for any rentals that begain Saturday Sep 15. Beyond that, they were apparently prepared to offer refunds ONLY IF flights were canceled, or travelers could not otherwise get there. I suspec that this would not occur to many travelers; it has not happened to us. Our flights are NOT canceled. <BR> <BR>For a while it seemed that various factors might contribute to some or all of our group canceling. If re-scheduling was not an option, then www.rentvillas.com offered to refund THEIR commission on the rental (20%) - - if we were "stuck" with few (or ZERO) people actually using the property. <BR> <BR>As of tonight, we may be back to all seven of us traveling. Or at least six, for sure. We may ask if www.rentvillas.com would still offer (some portion? half?) of their commission to us in that case. Or not. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>