Hurricane Evacuation
 

We were evacuated from Hilton Head Island due to Hurricane "Floyd". We had paid for a week at Hilton Head Beach and Tennis Resort and had only been there 2 days. I have been told I cannot get any type of refund. I was wondering if anyone else has any information on refunds during mandatory evacuations. Thank you.

Unless you got some type of trip insurance, you're out of luck. Sometimes places will reschedule your stay if a hurricane occurs. They usually don't give refunds. They call it an act of God. <BR>

We were in Myrtle beach, and they told us the ONLY way we would get a refund was if there was a mandatory evacuation, so,hopefully they told us the truth, and should be getting a refund soon.

Ah, they should refund your money for an act of God they couldn't control? Just like Americans, always complaining about something. Be glad there wasn't a real hurricane to wipe you out. Next time don't plan a trip down this way during hurricane season.

Candace, get a life!

Dear No name (could it possibly be the disgruntled author of the original post): <BR> <BR>Get a life because I'm telling the truth. Get over it. I'm sick of whiners who want other people to take responsibility for things beyond any human being's control. Having lived through a hurricane I'll say it again: Thank God the storm did minimal damage and that you didn't get wiped out. I think that's a whole lot more important than money lost at a luxury resort for a trip you planned at the height of hurricane season. Take it as a lesson learned.

Pat, I commend you for at least trying to see if there is anything you can do to get your money back. Better to try every option than to give up. It never hurts to try. It's a given that she's glad she didn't get wiped out, and since that didn't happen, her reality is that she probably got screwed out of some money, but it's OK to ask if she has any recourse!!!

The fact remains that we are right in the middle of hurriane season. When we make vacation plans during hurricane season on the SE coast, surely we realize that there is a gamble involved. <BR>

<BR>I would absolutely NOT give up until they at least give you credit so you can come back and make up the days lost! <BR> <BR>I received a refund from a motel when the power went out...due to "an act of god"....a lightening storm. <BR> <BR>That's the price of doing business. It's not your problem!

Furthermore....you have me on a roll! <BR>With the reasoning that you shouldn't take a vacation during hurrricane season....it goes both ways.....Maybe the resorts etc. should stay closed during hurricane season. <BR> <BR>They are inviting guests by staying open. <BR> <BR>Go all the way to the top and protest! <BR>

My dear Candace, I can assure you that I am not the original poster. Why the "noname"? That's easy to explain: In the past after criticizing an uncalled-for comment like yours, I was "punished" with a "spamming" and much, much worse. <BR>I still say your comments are uncalled for, considering how polite the original poster was! He/she was hardly a ranter and raver and didn't deserve your vitriol!

pat: <BR> <BR>i would be surprised if you received an actual "cash" refund, but i think that you've got a pretty good chance of at least getting a credit at the hotel to stay with them at another time if there was a mandatory evacuation. try corresponding directly with the front office or general manager at the hotel, if you have not already done so. make sure you get his/her full name & title. if you have no luck there, get the address or phone number for the corporate office (assuming the hotel is under the ownership of a larger company) and explain that you've tried to resolve the issue wih the hotel in question, but mgr "x" will not yield and all you want to do is enjoy the vacation you paid for, yada yada. if you send a letter, make sure you send a copy to the hotel manager as well. <BR> <BR>candace, k. noel, & any other nay-sayers: yes the hurricane is out of the control of the hotel. but like cedar pointed out, that is the price of doing business, and the hotel has chosen to do business on the eastern seaboard. they have also taken a gamble. pat has paid the price of her(?) gamble...their vacation was cut short, they have to re-arrange their lives all over again if they do want to go back, not to mention having to pay to get there and back again. <BR> <BR>any reputable hotel will allow guests to come back and enjoy the unused portion of the stay, because if they don't people will stop taking the gamble and simply won't vacation there during the hurricane season. it is actually in the best interest of the hotel to take that small loss when there is a disruptive hurricane than to run a very low occupency all through the very long hurricane season. after all, even if they extended the offer to return within the next 12 or 18 months to everyone who was displaced, many would never take advantage for the simple fact that they couldn't work out vacation schedules or babysitting or pay for the flight again..whatever. and those who do take advantage of the offer are only costing them a room comp.

If you paid by credit card, try contacting the credit card company maybe they can intervene.

Oh, burrother, it's another bout of blame-tossing. "It's your own fault." "No, it's their fault." <BR> <BR>Let's see: a tourist checks into a hotel built near the ocean because the ocean is pretty and that's where tourists who want to see the ocean need to sleep. There's a storm. The tourist can't get there, doesn't check in. Tourist loses money. Hotel loses money. Town loses money. <BR> <BR>Ah! I get it: The hotel deserves to lose money because it was too stupid not to build away from the ocean. The employees deserve to lose money because they're too stupid not to work for that hotel. The tourists deserve to lose money because they're too stupid not to go somewhere else. They're all to blame, they brought it on themselves, it's their own fault. But hey, you forgot the mayor, the governor, the president, the weather service, AAA, travel agents, the airline, taxi drivers, building contractors, and, oh yeah, God. <BR> <BR>No one should ever have built on, much less visited, the entire Caribbean, the Yucatan, Honduras, the entire southeastern part of the US, and much of the South Pacific, because they have hurricanes now and then. They should be shut down from June to November, at least, right? <BR> <BR>But if you're currently on dry land, have never had bad weather on vacation, haven't lost all you own in a tornado, fire, typhoon, or bolt of lightning, and don't have a fatal disease, it must be because you are smarter and better than everyone else, because if anything bad happened to you, it would have to be your own fault, right? <BR> <BR>Seriously, with the weather, including hurricanes, tourists and the tourism industries are dealing with luck and probabilities. Big storms don't happen every season, they rarely go in predictable routes, and they don't last an entire season. <BR> <BR>(And just for the record, in case you've been in a closet, the devastation in North Carolina covers an inland area beginning 40 miles inland -- mostly farmland, on a 500-year flood plain.) <BR> <BR>Pat -- I'm very sorry you got chased away from your vacation, especially if it was something special you'd saved and planned for. I think it's fair to ask if you can get a credit or a refund, and the Hilton would be well-advised to give you a credit for another visit, but technically it's not "owed" you. And does anyone have to say that if that's all you lost, you are very lucky.

Thank you! That's all I was trying to say. Sure, try to get the credit, but it is definitely not OWED to you. Bottom line STILL is, that's the price you pay for traveling to coastal communities during hurricane season. Like it or lump it.

No, Candace, what you said involved putting down Americans, putting down Pat, implying that Pat's group was to blame for their own misfortune by being dumb enough to book a vacation during hurricane season -- which is almost 1/2 the year, and implying that it's stupied even to ask about a refund for days not spent there (through no fault of Pat's). It was a legit question, and there was no complaint in Pat's query. There was nothing objective about the tone or attitude in your comments.

Candace, <BR>Did you have a bad day or what? There no excuse for rudeness. People have a right to ask questions on this board. You don't have to agree, but keep the tone down a bit.

Interesting. You respond to perceived "rudeness" with rudeness. Did you have a bad day? Didn't know we had to accomodate such thin-skinned people in this forum.

And gee, hi'n'dry, thought I had an ally in you. You have a lot of nerve to criticize me for not being "objective" when your post was just as flip, just as smart-alecky. Lots of hypocrites here. But I'll tell you this -- I'll bet Pat B. will think twice before booking a vacation in South Carolina at the height of hurricane season.

I'm wondering, Pat, if you would have considered staying the full two weeks if you had not been required to evacuate? Every tour guide has a section "When to Go" (which also mentions when NOT to go). Whenever the rates are a bargain at a resort (such as during hurricane season), there's a really good reason. Also, the folks who advise "some type of trip insurance" might want to try finding a policy which covers hurricane evacuations (I've never seen one). It's important to study the insurance policy or certificate (as opposed to what the agent selling it to you tells you). Policies do not cover everything everyone thinks they do. You are basically covered only if you must cancel your trip or leave early due to illness or accident. I've never seen coverage which includes natural disasters. Pay careful attention to the luggage section as well. If your laptop is lost or stolen, it's not covered under any policy I've ever seen. I must say that I'm with the folks who a) wouldn't have planned a trip there during hurricane season, and b) would have considered myself lucky to have escaped from the island and would not be whining about a refund for unused accomodations.

Maybe I'm missing something, but why should a person pay for a room and services for 5 days that they don't get to use? The hotel may pin it on an act of God, but to me it's just bad PR. Whether the money is technically "owed" or not, they've just lost one customer and probably more. <BR> <BR>If people shouldn't go there during the hurricane season then maybe, as Cedar said, the Hilton Head Resort and all others should close down during those times so as not to encourage people. And maybe they shouldn't allow people to live there either because it's costing the country a whole lot of money. <BR>

I re-read Pat's original posting. Nowhere do I percieve it as "whining" about a refund. She was simply asking a question ABOUT refunds ... and if the possibility existed. She does NOT deserve to be slammed by CANDACE or BILL about "whining". Sh was simply asking a question about the possibility of pursuing a refund. I honestly don't know how some people make themselves judge and jury of others based on their own personal OPINION! <BR> <BR>Pat - I was also evacuated from Hilton Head that week. Several people I met at hotels on the way inland said that they DID get a refund. Some said they WILL BE getting refunds. So it IS possible. Pursue it with the property owners with as much courtesy as possible.... and good luck!!! I know I'm going to try! <BR>

Candance: why must people like yourself take your frustrations out on others? there are other forums i am sure that can help you. Please understand that although sometimes it feels good to vent, we should not vent on others, especially another woman(we women have to stick together)regardless if our views differ. I think rudeness on this site is rampant. I hope you and others like you use this site to extend helpful suggestions in a fair tone. You can express your opinion in a respectful way. Even if I thought you may be right, I can't align myself with such rudeness. Respectfully, sally

Candace you were out of line, particularly to say that Americans are whiners. We invented the phrase "can-do" when the rest of the world gave up. <BR> <BR>Sally, I agree with your gentle reminder to Candace to be more respectful, but disagree that "we women have to stick together, even when our opinions differ". Wrong. I will uph old my beliefs, regardless of what other people think, even my fellow women. But I will try to be respectful.

Even if hi'n'dri was a a bit flippant, he/she makes a good point, which April just proved in her "people shouldn't live there" comment. Who can know ahead of time what's going to happen? Should everyone on the San Andreas fault leave? What about the New Madrid fault line through St. Louis? What about tornado alley? As hi'n'dri mentioned, some of those people in the Carolinas were much further inland than New York City or Boston -- should people be kicked out of those cities? <BR> <BR>And anyone so grudging about helping out people caught in disasters should probably quit carrying any form of insurance, so they won't burden anyone else.

Pat - Who told you that info? Just the desk clerk? While I've never been in your position, my advice would be to take it up the ladder as far as you can.....hotel manager, the person higher up than him/her, etc. Exhaust all your efforts. You never know, it just might work and even if it doesn't, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you tried as best you could. As they say with the lottery, "you can't win if you don't play". Good luck.

Amen to Hi'n'dry and Charlie! <BR> <BR>Vacations are almost always a gamble. Write a polite letter, ask if you can make up some days -- and take your lumps. Whining and threatening only makes it worse for everybody. <BR>

You guys are so easily baited it's pathetic.

My dear Candace, you are the pathetic one!

ok ok, if you all take it back, so do I. Not only that, but I will do it first--I am truly sorry to all those I have offended, especially Pat. The question was valid and, as many posters have pointed out, Pat may even get some $ back. Best of luck to Pat in those efforts. Please keep us posted.

Sorry for the late response - I own a villa at Hilton Head Beach and Tennis Resort. I had a renter that had to evacuate due to Floyd. I refunded the money for the unused portion of the vacation. <BR> <BR>Pat, did you rent from an individual owner, an off-site rental company, or from the on-site rental agency? If on-site, try contacting Clay Rice - Clay is the general manager of the resort. <BR> <BR>I do know, however, that the rental contracts in HHI, Myrtle Beach, etc. do note that no refund will be given due to Acts of God. <BR>

Did you ever get you money back? I hope so. I'm neither a whiner or a complainer, but if I didn't get something I paid for, I certainly would <BR>want my money back. Also were you made aware of the fact that the money was non refundable in the even of a hurricane? <BR>Only because I don't think I would book <BR>with a company who had those type of cancellation penalties, which are beyond my control. It would be like gambling with very poor odds. If they never advised you of this you should get not just a credit for future travel, but you money back too. Then and only then would I think of returing to this resort. <BR> <BR>P.S. I don't think that was really Candace who wrote that apology.

Pat..hope by now you've gotten a refund, in which case you'll no longer be reading here! ;) <BR> <BR>I just happened on this BB tonight and as my husband is a Hyatt GM in FL, I found the topic interesting but confusing. Put off saying anything until he got home, so I could get his input and answer accurately. <BR> We've lived here 3 years, have had to evacuate our guests once and have lost track of the close calls where there's been a storm in the Gulf aiming in our general direction. There is no question about it, if you were evacuated from a Hyatt,(or any of the comparable chains) or even if a storm was in the Gulf and a threat, you would receive either a refund or an invitation for a stay at another date. Hotels do have insurance for loss of business because of the storms, and it doesn't take an evacuation for it to kick in. There just needs to be a hurricane in the vicinity. We've had to use ours each of the past three years. <BR> <BR>Glad not everyone has the attitude that it's your own fault for booking in hurricane season! The hotel before this he had the Hyatt Regency Savannah, an hour from Hilton Head, and we had no threats or evacuations in the 4 years there. That little section of the GA/SC coast has been lucky to be hurricane free for the most part. Some attribute it to a dip in the coastline, some to the gulfstream. <BR>