Thursday, September 26, 2019

More Thomas Cook Issues

Over the last day or so, private stories have finally started to come out by Germans who were stuck in various vacation locations, and faced with hostile hotels who demanded they pay the bill that Thomas Cook was responsible for. 

I sat this morning and read through a piece by one couple....now safely back in Germany.  They were shocked to be told by their 'upscale' hotel in Thailand.....the bill was now in their hands and in the 5,000 Euro range (even though they'd already paid Thomas Cook months prior). 

Attempting to leave?  The hotel said they'd call the cops and hinted of jail in Thailand. 

What'll happen now?  There's supposed to be a insurance package existing to cover events that you'd buy via the travel agency (part of the package), but experts say there's only x-amount in that 'bucket' and they suggest that a lot of people may only get 50-percent of their money back.

So I turn to the hotel damage.  You, if you were on the screwed-list, would come back to Germany, and write a very negative comment on that hotel via Tripadviser.  Just two or three of those would do a serious amount of damage to your hotel's reputation.  A three-star operation wouldn't care.  But a four or five-star operation?  It'll dent their occupancy rate for the next season. 

The other thing that hotels have to worry about....eventually TV journalists will come and do interviews....listing the hotels that screwed Germans, and giving them prime-time status.  It's a million-Euro advertisement....giving you serious negativity as a hotel. 

People may think that this harms the tour business for September of 2019....but this is the kind of event that could cause damage for hotels and airlines for several years. 

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