Advice Holiday Park Booking Issue

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  bigcheese on 23/10/2024 - 18:36

  I don't think you have a case unfortunately.

  When I booked, there were two options: standard rate and flexible rate. I chose the standard rate since we weren’t expecting any issues at the time.

  Most people hope they don't have issues when they book but the option of flexible rate at the time is essentially an insurance policy - you hope you don't need it but pay for the benefit of flexibility.
  By not taking the flexible rate you saved yourself the extra cost at the time.
  Think of it this way - if the cost difference was still $60 now why would anyone buy a flexible rate in the first place?

  • 

    ABCDEFG on 23/10/2024 - 19:55

    This. I don't think the holiday park is being unreasonable here OP, for exactly the reason bigcheese outlined.

  • 

    Elvino on 23/10/2024 - 20:04

    Agree with the above.
    Consider an alternate case. Buy flights on AirNZ (seat/seat+bag), Flexible is usually $100-150(ish) more.
    Move closer to date and suddenly need to change, now flex is always at least 2-3x the price it was originally to select.

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  doubledippps on 23/10/2024 - 20:25

  Thank you guys, I just contact them again and got this resolve eventually! Cheers!

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  Alan6984 on 24/10/2024 - 09:36

  Hi all,

  I need some advice on a situation I’m facing with a holiday park booking at Rakaia XXX. Recently, I booked 3 tent sites for a 2-night camping trip with other families for this long weekend, costing us $570 in total. However, due to an unfortunate weather forecast, we’ve been considering cancelling.
  
  When I booked, there were two options: standard rate and flexible rate. I chose the standard rate since we weren’t expecting any issues at the time.
  
  Here’s where it gets tricky: when I reached out to cancel, the park owners offered us the option to switch to the flexible rate, but for an additional $180. This didn’t make sense to me because when I originally booked, the difference between the standard and flexible rates was only about $60 in total for the entire booking.
  
  I emailed them back with screenshots, explaining that the price difference between the two rates at the time of booking was only around $60. They responded by saying their system uses "dynamic pricing" and that the flexible rate is based on the price at the time of cancellation, not the time of booking.
  
  So, I went back through their online booking system, checking different dates (including public holidays), and found that the difference between standard and flexible rates was always around $60, not even close to $180. (Flexible are $10-$12 extra each night for each site)
  
  After emailing them again for clarification, I didn’t get a reply. My partner then called, and they now claim that the $180 upgrade should be compared to “Christmas period” rates, but I can’t check that because those dates are blocked on their system now. The thing is, no matter which dates I’ve checked in their system, the price difference between standard and flexible rates never even comes close to justifying the $180 they’re asking for.
  
  It feels like they’re giving different excuses to justify this large fee, which doesn't seem fair or reasonable.
  
  Has anyone else dealt with something similar? What can we do about this?
  
  Thanks in advance for any advice or insights!
  

  Out of interest, what was the resolution?

  • 

    doubledippps on 24/10/2024 - 10:50

    Hi Alan,

    I called them to try and clarify things. When they first quoted me the upgrade price, I questioned it, and they asked me to send screenshots of where I got the $60 difference from. So, I sent them screenshots I took before I booked the sites. They replied by saying they use dynamic pricing, which led me to check all the prices on different dates, including public holidays. I found that the difference between the standard and flexible rates was always minor, regardless of the date.

    I emailed them back to point this out, and their response then was that I needed to compare it to the Christmas period pricing. However, their website has Christmas bookings blocked out, so I couldn't even do that comparison. But as I mentioned before, the difference between the standard and flexible rates was always minor, even I checked on other public holiday.

    All of this back and forth has just led me to checking their booking system repeatedly, and I feel like the explanation they gave me doesn’t add up. If they had just been upfront from the start and said, "Since you didn't book the flexible rate, upgrading now means paying a higher price due to our policy," I would have accepted that.

    In the end, after clarifying with them further, we managed to settle on a lower upgrade fee.

    • 

      Alan6984 on 24/10/2024 - 15:20

      Good work!

      I was wondering whether you had made any moves to initiate things in the Disputes Tribunal (which can sometimes get the other party to 'cave' as it may not be worth their while, even if they think they'll win), but sounds like you didn't need to go that far.

      Congrats :-)