Villa Rental Italy - Problems -Agent tying to get me to cancel the booking
Jul 27th, 2019, 10:15 AM
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Villa Rental Italy - Problems -Agent tying to get me to cancel the booking
Hi all,
We decided that we would travel to Apulian in Italy next year for our holidays and wanted to book a private villa with a pool. A lot of the websites that we went on to already had no vacancies for next year, and so, we decided that we should get ahead of the game and book something now, for our holiday in July 2020. After a lot of research, we used a german website called FeWo-direkt.de, which are part of the HomeAway group. We booked a villa for 2 weeks for 10 people. We paid our deposit and got an immediate reply confirming the booking. Then about 4 days later a further confirmation from FeWo. We were delighted. Then out of the blue last week, I got a call from the agency (not FeWo) that look after the house. The lady on the phone told me that the house was not available, as they had only a one year lease with the owner and it wasnt going to be on their books next year, and they had a system error which allowed me to book it, even though it wouldnt be available.
This is where is get weird. She wants me to cancel the booking.
I dont know what to do. We will get our money back, that is not the issue, but I dont see why they dont cancel it and send us or money. I am not sure if we are not being cheated in some way. I know from enquiry emails to other properties that they all want to increase their prices in 2020, and I have a bad feeling that this property will be available in July 2020, but just a higher price.
Any tips or advice on how to deal with this? Or has anyone had a similar experience?
Thanks, Katie.
We decided that we would travel to Apulian in Italy next year for our holidays and wanted to book a private villa with a pool. A lot of the websites that we went on to already had no vacancies for next year, and so, we decided that we should get ahead of the game and book something now, for our holiday in July 2020. After a lot of research, we used a german website called FeWo-direkt.de, which are part of the HomeAway group. We booked a villa for 2 weeks for 10 people. We paid our deposit and got an immediate reply confirming the booking. Then about 4 days later a further confirmation from FeWo. We were delighted. Then out of the blue last week, I got a call from the agency (not FeWo) that look after the house. The lady on the phone told me that the house was not available, as they had only a one year lease with the owner and it wasnt going to be on their books next year, and they had a system error which allowed me to book it, even though it wouldnt be available.
This is where is get weird. She wants me to cancel the booking.
I dont know what to do. We will get our money back, that is not the issue, but I dont see why they dont cancel it and send us or money. I am not sure if we are not being cheated in some way. I know from enquiry emails to other properties that they all want to increase their prices in 2020, and I have a bad feeling that this property will be available in July 2020, but just a higher price.
Any tips or advice on how to deal with this? Or has anyone had a similar experience?
Thanks, Katie.
Jul 27th, 2019, 10:27 AM
#2
You might want to read this very long thread and then decide if you want to have anything to do with Homeaway. I would take the money and run.
Is there a way to determine if this property is legit?
Is there a way to determine if this property is legit?
Jul 27th, 2019, 09:10 PM
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My first guess:
The agency which may also have other properties on HomeAway could get a negative rating for cancelling a confirmed reservation. Or that this will enable you to give them a negative rating for bumping you. Or that any HomeAway fee will have to be paid by them for cancellation.
In order to avoid any of the above they want you to do the „dirty job“.
But, as said, that‘s just a guess.
And I would not do what they are asking for.
The agency which may also have other properties on HomeAway could get a negative rating for cancelling a confirmed reservation. Or that this will enable you to give them a negative rating for bumping you. Or that any HomeAway fee will have to be paid by them for cancellation.
In order to avoid any of the above they want you to do the „dirty job“.
But, as said, that‘s just a guess.
And I would not do what they are asking for.
Jul 28th, 2019, 08:31 AM
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I doubt that so many properties are already booked a year in advance. It's probably the case that most of them appear as "not available" because they don't take reservations so far in advance. Still, I would tell the agent that they, not you, are cancelling the reservation. If she balks, you may have to cancel it yourself, because I doubt that Homeaway will lift a finger to help you.
Jul 28th, 2019, 09:58 AM
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I'm not so surprised that many properties are already booked. Villas for 10 are relatively rare and people often book a year ahead.
Jul 28th, 2019, 12:28 PM
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I just checked on Homeaway, asking for a villa with pool in Puglia for 10 adults, for the last week in August this year, less than a month from now. I got 150 results. Probably there were other requirements, so the number that would be suitable would be less, but I really think that a year ahead, many are just not taking reservations yet.
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