Frank

Never having taken an escorted tour, last Summer we added a 4 day CIE tour of Ireland to 4 days on our own in Dublin and had a great time. As a result, we booked a 7 day tour of Atlanta/Charleston/Savannah/Jekyll Island with Collette Vacations, for earlier this month.

We compared the features of several tour companies before selecting Collette. One of the features that convinced us to select Collette was the 2 night stay at the Renaissance Hotel in the Historic District of Charleston.

You could imagine our suprise when we received our travel documents and saw the hotel had been changed to the Charleston Riverside Hotel, a mile out of the Historic District and about 10 notches below in quality. As a result we cancelled the tour and are out the insurance money we paid to Collette and cancellation penalties from the airline.

I think the practice of advertising one hotel and than switching to a substantially inferior one on the actual tour is unethical at best. Has anyone experienced something similar and do you have any suggestions on recouping our losses? Needless to say we will swear off on tours in the future.

Frank

That was actually the Charleston "Riverview" Hotel, just to keep the record straight.

bonniebroad

Wow, Frank, I would have been livid if I'd been *baited and switched* in that manner. If you're talking about one of the *riverview* hotels across the bridge, some of which are quite nice, they're fine if you EXPECT to be in that location. However, that's a totally different experience than staying in the historic area of Charleston, being able to walk to everything, etc. So sorry this happened to you....... wish I had some words of wisdom to help get a refund for you!

crefloors

I took a tour to Europe in 1999 and have looked into others but decided to go on my own. Take a look at your brochure if you still have it. I don't remember if I checked out Collett, but all the other tour companies I checked out reserved the right to make hotel changes. They also work it so...perhaps the hotel is a lesser grade than the one featured. So, I'm not sure if you were scammed or just didn't read the fine print. That's too bad that they did that...I totally understand how you feel, but again, the right to change hotels might be in your contract.

nytraveler

Every tour company reserves the right to substitute hotels at any time for any reason for an "equivalent" property. And what "equivalent' means is up to them - in terms of location, amenities, quality etc.

There is essentially no recourse for this - unless they switch a 5* property for the roach motel.

Only one of the detriments of a tour.

pollyvw

While I understand your disappointment and do not wish to minimize it whatsoever, I must say that the one tour we took with Collette was outstanding! We had a knowledgeable, informed guide and better than average accommodations in prime locations. We particularly liked their insurance policy that allows cancellations FOR ANY REASON!

FainaAgain

If you read the small print - it's right there on the website - they reserve the right to substitute any hotel. Each tour company has this disclaimer.

FainaAgain

Oh, just remembered: I took a Cosmos (budget) tour off-season, and we were lucky to stay in all 1-st class hotels usually occupied by Globus travelers.

So it's not always as bad as you're trying to show.

Frank

Thanks for the replies, I fully realize a tour company has a right to change hotels, but the Riverview is being offered for $59 a night on Orbitz and gets miserable reviews on Tripadvisor, ranks 41 or 51 hotels. The Renaissance is listed as the #4 hotel, and sells for over $200 per night. I'd don't think they are providing a comparable product to that which was advertised.

bob_brown

Well, let's not hate all escorted tours.
I don't usually go with them, but in some instances they can provide transportation and information.

Last year we took a 4 day tour of south Wales with Backroads Touring Inc.
It was a small group tour and our driver was tops. He knew the roads and the territory!!!!

One year in Paris we took a day tour to Vaux-le-Vicomte and Fontainebleau. It, too, was top level. Excellent guide!

We tried later to free lance a trip to the same places and decided it was a mistake.

I think you need to look at the itinerary before deciding.

I will say this much, long bus tours put me too much into a cocoon. We toured Ireland and I was totally fed up with Insight's tour. We enjoyed it a lot more when we freelanced it and found local day tours.

Patrick

I don't like escorted tours, but I fail to understand your reasoning that due to one bad experience you are making such a broad and general statement. If you get a horrible hotel room somewhere do you say, "No wonder you all hate hotels"?

Wednesday

...not sure about this specific situation, but hotels will sometimes abruptly close out their inventory (even well in advance of arrival)and bump clients. This leaves the vendor in a spot to find alternative accommodations and depending on the availability in the area it can be tricky. It is always the vendor that takes the heat and looks bad although sometimes they are at the mercy of the hotels...hopefully they couldn't help it if there was that much of a difference in quality...

Frank

Patrick: We don't take escorted tours as a rule, (guess we have an aversion to $59 hotels in peak season) but I believe this type of practice is rampant in the industry. We were leary about the hotel switcheroo and sure enough it happened. We're just happy we got away cheaply and didn't have to experience the actual tour.

Wednesday: If in fact it was out of Collette's control, don't you think they should have sent a letter with the documents explaining the switch and offering a rebate due to the inferior hotel? We wouldn't have gone anyway but why should they make the extra profit while the tour group stays at an significantly inferior property?

If you take a look at the reviews of the Charlestion Riverview on tripadvisor.com (see link below) you'll understand our outrage!

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Carolina.html

cyberUK

Hi Frank,

I have taken a few escorted tours, and I am going to France in June with Tauck.

I had the good fortune to have Tauck change our hotel in Nice to a better one in Monaco.
So sometimes things work out for the better.
I do believe that sometimes tour companies have to rearrange hotels, due to actual unforseen events, not a premeditated scam.

Wednesday

hi Frank,
I am not sure about this situation, but I know sometimes, vendors will even wait until the customers are "in destination" and have the transfer company explain and simply "deliver" them to the new hotel...it's horrible and I think their thinking is that avoids cancellations ahead of time and I think they assume most people will go with the flow once they are there, BUT that is a switch to a hotel of the same calibur..I have not seen a situation personally where such a downgrade was provided unless it was coupled with huge credits and amenities etc. offered...this sounds different..and many customers do not even read their documents, etc so perhaps they were assuming the switch would be glazed over by most people...who knows...that would be very bad on their part, I certainly agree. I am not defending the practice, as I have dealt with this on the losing end and it stinks, I was just sharing experiences....

RBCal

This happened to me, the one and last time I will take an escorted tour.
I was downgraded to two MUCH worse hotels. Supposedly they were 4 star, however one hotel that I was downgraded to had their water shut off the last day I stayed there. This meant no showers or flushed toilets. I hate to think how clean the restaurant server's hands were.

wemr

As the OP stated, we too scheduled a 5 day guided tour of Ireland. The hotels and hostels were not list but the overnight locations were. Nobody on the bus had problems with any of the accomodations probably because they were not listed and everyone was on the bus to have a good time. Yes one of them was a dump but all of us had so much fun together the accomocations didn't matter. I think it all has to do with your mind-set when traveling.

I would not have cancelled the Georgia tour. OP lost money and a good time.

GoTravel

Tour companies have contracts with hotels and these contracts are booked years in advance.

Frank, you were screwed. The Riverview is nowhere as near as nice and the Renaissance and you have a very valid argument that the hotel isn't in Charleston proper. Anything not on the penninsula isn't considered Charleston proper.

Patrick

Oh, I know both hotels and I totally understand your outrage. I'm just not so sure that such switches are the norm among good tour companies. And for what it's worth, I've seen few tour brochures which guarantee a hotel. They usually say "Acme Hotel" or similar. One of the reasons I wouldn't like them. But if this one definitely STATED it was the Renaissance and then switched to the Riverview you have every right to be outraged. I still just don't understand why you think ALL tour companies are like that. I have friends who have done tours with various companies and have never had a single complaint.

Frank

Just felt like venting, that's what's great about this site. I also felt it was important to pass on the information so that others considering an escorted tour will know one of the major potential drawbacks.

I've written to the President of Collette and the President of the USTOA (US Tour Operators Association). I'll let you know how I make out. If anyone has any other suggestions, I'm all ears.