janib
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
Yet again for the second time this year, I have tried to book a holiday which is still advertised on the website as 9 places still available. This is the Bruges Christmas Market going on 27th November. I work 24/7 nights and days, I have a whole weekend off for a change.

After completing online last night, it would not give me the code or finish the booking. Today I have rung up and have been given the booking reference with a proviso that they have to ring up and see if they can get me a seat on Eurostar with an extra supplement. Knowing how much the extra supplement was for Albi and Carcassone, I am not holding my breath 😠

Jan

Moderator
(Member)
Hi Jan,

I'm sorry to hear that booking your next getaway has not been as easy as you would have liked. Unfortunately on some tours we have to give back unsold flight seats and hotel rooms a number of weeks before departure and then try to buy them back if a traveller books after this time. I believe the team are working on a longer term plan to address this, and they will get back to you shortly.

Kindest Regards,

Monty

Jaya
  • (Member)
(Member)
Good luck Jan. Hope you do get to go on this holiday.

Jaya

SarahS
(Member)
Fingers crossed for you. If you get to the markets, please write a review. This trip was on my wish list, but I couldn't make the date this year.
SarahS
(Member)
Fingers crossed for you. If you get to the markets, please write a review. This trip is on my wish list, but I couldn't make the date this year.
janib
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
Thank you Jaya. Have looked at a local tour company and there are 3 trips that weekend still bookable. Christmas markets at Ludlow and Bury St Edmonds plus a mystery tour. Have not heard from Just You, now 18.45 on Friday night so at a guess not viable which is a shame as Bruge is a tick on a list of To Do.

In June I was told that this would not happen again , yet it has. If Just You has given back the hotel and travel bookings, would be a good idea if it was deemed sold out :dodgy:

Jan

Susikat
(Member)
I'm about to try and book a Christmas holiday. I wish to book online but am wary of late supplements. If I book online will it stop me from completing the booking before I actually pay? I don't think I will take the holiday if I can't get it at the advertised price.
Julia
  • (Member)
(Member)
Hi Susikat,

Supplements are sometimes incurred if we have given back hotel rooms and/or flight seats and we have to buy them back from our suppliers at a higher price. If an element of the holiday is "on request" in our booking system and we are unable to confirm your holiday at the point of clicking the "book now" button, then payment shouldn't go through and you would get a message notifying you of this. There is however, always a small possibility that an update is made in our reservation system which is not immediately passed through to the website that could affect your booking, but it is only a very small possibility that this could happen.

Is there a particular holiday you are interested in?

Kindest regards,

Julia

janib
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
It is now 21.30 on Tuesday evening. I am still waiting to be phoned by the team to tell me what the damage is going to be for Bruge Christmas Market trip on November 27th. I have had e-mails on October 30th and 31st which told me that I did not finish the booking process. When I phoned on 30th, I was given the booking reference and told I would be phoned when they had an answer. On the 31st I spoke to Holly, and she told me that they would phone me on Monday :dodgy: I see there are now 7 places left, there was 9 last Thursday.

I shall be working the next 2 days so will not be answering my mobile.

Jan

Moderator
(Member)
Hi Jan,

Have you been contacted by someone in the team yet?

Kindest regards,

Monty

janib
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
Hello Monty,

Yes they rang the home phone just after I had gone to work. I rang after 18.30 and had great news. I am going to Bruges so woo hoo :thumbup: One happy bunny :)

Jan

Moderator
(Member)
Hi Jan,

Wow - I am so glad to hear that you are finally booked on this tour now. Don't forget to write a review upon your return.

Kindest regards,

Monty

Jaya
  • (Member)
(Member)
Hi Jan

Have a lovely time in Bruges - glad you managed to book.

Jaya

d17
  • (Member)
(Member)
'Moderator' wrote:

Hi Jan,

I'm sorry to hear that booking your next getaway has not been as easy as you would have liked. Unfortunately on some tours we have to give back unsold flight seats and hotel rooms a number of weeks before departure and then try to buy them back if a traveller books after this time. I believe the team are working on a longer term plan to address this, and they will get back to you shortly.

Kindest Regards,

Monty

Hi Monty

I'm glad to read that the team are looking at a longer term plan to address the issue of seats being returned. Earlier in the year I tried to book a place on the trip to Cuba in November only to be told that there were no flights available, I paid a £100 holding deposit whilst the flight team looked into what was possible. They could only find a flight from Manchester and this would incur around a £300 supplement and as it was an early morning flight this for me would also have necessitated an overnight stay in Manchester. I felt the supplement on top of an already expensive holiday was not acceptable so I did not proceed with the booking and my £100 deposit was returned. Incidentally this happened not weeks before departure but at least four months before departure, I can understand giving flights back a few weeks before but months before??

Also something similar happened a few years ago when I enquired about the Australian holiday, again it was months before departure and I decided not to book due to the uncertainty about flights and how much it would add to the cost of the holiday.

I wonder how many other bookings JY have lost because of this?

Having said all that I would also like to say I have been on two excellent JY holidays (China and The Grand Canyon) both were trouble free and thoroughly enjoyable.

I think JY have a great product and hope they can sort out the issues around returning flights prematurely.

janib
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
Hello d17,

So sorry that you had so many problems. Quite sad that you could not get to Cuba, hopefully you will get the chance next year. This one tour that I would love to do, sadly too many on Just You are waiting for me to retire and win the lottery ;)

Jan

fleurbyfleur
(Member)
Good morning D17

This situation is not peculiar to JY. I've had problems with other tour operators re flight supplements - and not just for late bookings. I recently booked a very expensive tour almost 12 months in advance (not JY) and got charged nearly £200 'supplement' on the flight cost. Airline logic is a mystery to me 😕 and I don't think it's anything the tour operators can do much about.

I'd love to know about other experiences on this topic.

SarahS
(Member)
I often have problems getting prices and availability for flight upgrades. No two telephone agents seem to follow the same procedure. Several times I have told no seats are available when I could buy them for myself on the Internet. Other times when I do get a quote, the cost is far more than the difference between the airline's published economy and upgraded fares. I appreciate JY has admin costs and is entitled to some commission, but some of the mark ups have smacked of profiteering.
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