Be forewarned if you have booked a trip with Overseas Adventure Travel. I was just bumped off of one of their trips departing in less than 4 weeks. They told me that they always overbook and on this trip there were no cancellations so I had to be bumped.

Wow, and there was never an indication that you might be bumped or that your reservation was a sort of "stand by"?
And out of curiosity, were you a single traveler?

Oh Susie that is real great!

Obviously they have more customers (travelers) than they need. But cannot help think of the old adage "have a happy customer and they will tell 2 people. Have an unhappy customer and they will tell 20".

Well thanks to the internet and also Fodors just think of how many people you have told.

Am sure sorry, I would be furious.

If you have taken vacation time from work is there something else you can work out? Sure hope so.

That really surprises me. I tried to book a trip with them to Egypt that was full and was put on a waiting list. When a spot became available, I was notified. By then I couldn't make the trip and they gladly refunded my deposit.

Patrick, yes I am a single traveler and was told that I was the ONLY single on this trip. IMHO they would rather bump me a single than two people from the same room.
I never had any indication this might happen and in fact had spent a lot of time with them this week upgrading my air to regular economy so that I could use my FF miles to upgrade to business. I definitely was not "stand by" and was paid in full. Of course, they say they will refund all my money.
They offered me the same trip later in the year or another trip. I declined since I was extremely disappointed and will never even conside using them again.
Normally I am an independent traveler and not accustomed to group travel, so I was very suprised that this happened.

Thanks for letting us know, Susie. You might want to read all of the fine print in all of the paperwork they gave you. Someone might be giving you the run around.

If I remember correctly, OAT gives a discount to repeat travellers. The least they should do is give you that discount on your next trip even if it's your first one -- if you want to risk being bumped again.

Mike, I have been reading and re-reading the fine print on everything and there is no mention of anything that would have given me a clue. By the way, this was a trip to the Amazon, so I am requesting that they reimburse me for the costs of shots and vaccinations I had to have.

I agree you should seek additional reimbursement. However, you may find that their 'reimbursement' is in the form of future travel credit. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

I hope you get your money back. Some businesses try to further slap their customers in the face by keeping any funds paid in advance as credit for future business. What gaul!

Wow! That stinks! And you were paid in full. I am amazed they could or would do such a thing.

I do have a trip booked with them, coming up, for Egypt. I also booked as a single traveler,but did happen to find a co-worker to go and share a room.If that matters.

I was thinking that if this trip goes well, I would like to take the Amazon river trip also.But if that is how they are I don't think that will happen.

Yes, Please do keep us posted.

I recently went on my first OAT tour (Turkey) and found it to be outstanding in quality and value.

HOWEVER, I had a terrible time dealing with this company on the phone AFTER I'd paid in full for the trip. ( http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34505619 http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34528379 )
Telephone hold times were so long as to be absurd, and, unlike the personnel who answer calls from potential customers inquiring about the tours, the ones charged with dealing with customers who'd already booked were poorly informed and in one case rude. This company has so many customers that I guess they think they can afford to be cavalier in the way they treat people once they've paid, and maybe they don't think there will be economic consequences if they bump solo travelers who, in their view, may be wore trouble than they're worth, since they tie up a whole room that might be filled with two people, paying almost twice as much as much.

I looked at my catalogue and saw that they reserve the right to cancel a tour at any time, but I see nothing about canceling a person from a tour that is set to go as originally scheduled. When I was on my Turkey tour, I was surprised to hear that there was another tour just like ours starting a few days later. I hadn't seen that starting date listed as an option in the catalogue or online. I was told that becaue there was so much interest in that tour for October dates, the company decided to squeeze in an additional tour not in the original schedule. I wonder why they didn't do that in the case of the winter tour to the Amazon.

Would it do any good if peopoe called, as potential customers, and asked about this bumping policy, and made it known that they had been interested in OAT but were now reluctant to book a trip with them becaue of report(s) of such bumping?

Wow! For the last few years I join a group or a tour. I was not even aware that this might happen! I've heard of wait lists, but never of overbooking. Thank you very much for warning, and hope you get at least your money back, and will have another nice vacation.

Just in case you think what I mentioned in the last paragraph of my post might help, here's the sales tel. #: 800-955-1925.

Susie, I've read the fine print of their website. My conclusion is the same as yours with one caveat: "OAT reserves the right to decline to accept or retain any person as a member of any tour..." The company declined to accept you, but I don't know the legal ramifications of that fine print or their decision.

Unless there are Massachusetts statutes that protect OAT in this circumstance, the company might be in breach of contract. (I'm not an attorney.)

Did you ask the criteria the company uses for determining who gets bumped? That may be a legal issue as well, and maybe could become a class action case which could scare the hell out of the company. (Again, I'm not an attorney.)

I suggest that you email a copy of this thread to the CEO on a daily basis. However, be certain that you have not accidentally libelled the company in any way whatsoever.

If you are a Massachusetts resident, there might be a consumer affairs government agency that will take up the matter with the company on your behalf. Check your city, county and state agencies.

By the way, I notice that had you cancelled the trip with four weeks notice you would be subject to forfeiting 50% - 100% of the sales price of the land tours. Yet they cancelled on you.

Susie, I just noticed that your trip is to the Amazon. My wife and I are usually independent travelers. However, when we went to Peru, which included a few days in the Amazon, we contracted with a company to make all transportation and hotel arrangements as well as transfers. Every time we got off an airplane, bus or train, or departed on a plane, bus or train, a person was there to hold our hands (though that was unnecessary as far as we were concerned.)

The reason we went with them is because they were so flexible. They bent over backwards to customize our tour to meet all of our needs.

If you're interested, the contact information (about four years old):

Jose P. Irauzqui
Kon-Tiki Tours & Travel
5327 N. Bay Road,
Miami Beach, FL 33140
Tel: 877-KON-TIKI / 305-867-0207
Fax: 877-325-7406 / 305-867-9655
Email: [email protected]
Web Site: http://www.kontiki.org

I sure do feel for you!

The criteria for any one individual getting "bumped" is likely a simple one. Someone else comes along at the last moment with a bigger wad of cash and magically they find a place.

<i>The criteria for any one individual getting &quot;bumped&quot; is likely a simple one. Someone else comes along at the last moment with a bigger wad of cash and magically they find a place.</i>

With cynicism this offensive, why bother leaving the house?

SusieQQ, I would definitely write the CEO but I wouldn't take MikeBuckley's recommendation to send daily copies of this thread. When you choose to fight for your rights as a consumer, it's important that you maintain control at all times and try not to appear like an obsessive lunatic with Travel Talk threats.

If you don't get a satisfactory reply after you've handled the situation with calm and intelligence, maybe then I might consider a more forceful hand (depending on how long you want to wallow and hang onto this disappointment).

Good luck.

While Playzman may sound more than a little cynical, there is a shred of truth to that statement.
If I remember right from the OAT brochures, a single traveler must pay a supplement if they want individual accomodations, but if there are no other single travelers then they don't, am I right? Or even so, the company is taking up two spaces on a tour to accomodate a single traveler. When the opportunity for a couple to replace them comes along, obviously it is considerably more financially advantageous to accept those two people than the single one, where they lose the money for an entire individual tour.

I'm not saying this is right, God forbid, just explaining. Single travelers often get the short end of the stick.

Okay, okay, I'll retract my cynical statement about the wad of cash. I really wasn't serious about that.

If this happened to me, I'd simply ask for my money back and they'd never hear from me again.

<i>Single travelers often get the short end of the stick.</i>

Only when they get involved with tour companies that cater to the double occupancy market.

Nobody gets into business to lose money and it's no secret that some of these tour companies offer great deals entirely based on promised volume. It's the nature of this beast. Single travelers have no right to complain about this. Unless they sign on with a single-traveler tour group, it's prudent for them to understand the name of this game is volume.

Get to know an owner of one of these tour companies and find out how much revenue is lost on single travelers, even with the supplement. Sure, nobody wants to see a room go empty so singles are typically offered an opportunity. But let's face it, very few single people have the purchasing power of two. It's a simple numbers game and the single traveler must decide whether he/she wants to play.