ariannein

This past July, my husband and I booked a hotel in Urubamba with the company Go2Peru. We were very excited to stay at this hotel but unfortunately there was a transportation AND farmers strike that made it impossible for us to arrive at the hotel. We were coming from Cusco. The roads were blocked with rocks, tree trunks, and broken glass. After many attempts to get to the hotel (even the trains were shut down), we had to call the company and cancel our reservation. Their response was that there was nothing that could be done about it and they charged us for the entire stay (3 nights)!. If you book this hotel through Go2Peru, please read the fine print. There are many strikes in Peru and often it is impossible to get to your destination. We are out $355 and hope that other people will not make the same mistake we made.

crellston

I sympathise! We stayed in Urumbamba for a month as we were doing some volunteer work in Ollantaytambo and were comuting on the bus on a daily basis and experienced these "roadblocks on many occasions". Unfortunately they are a fact of life in Peru. Have you tried taking bit up with your credit card issuer? (assuming you paid by card). They may be able to help.
This is one of the resons I would always book direct with hotels rather than via an agent.

ariannein

We tried working it out through our bank but there was nothing they could do. It was the company's (Go 2 Peru) policy to not refund any money if there is a strike. We have learned our lesson and will always book directly with the hotel AND read the fine print.

qwovadis

If paid by credit card

which I always do

CC company will reverse charge

if service not provided

regardless of individual

company policy.

ariannein

Honestly, I did try reversing the charge with the credit card company. After reviewing the information for 5 months, they said they couldn't reverse the charges because it was written in Go2Peru's policy that no refunds were given due to a strike. It was a real bummer. I used Visa and am wondering if American Express has better protection for their customers.

mlgb

Isn't this what trip insurance is for?

Unfortunately people think that the credit card companies will automatically refund your money four undelivered services regardless of the reason. They do often refuse based on the contract.

We need to read the fine print. I hate booking package tours for just this reason.