Angry at last-minute holiday cancellation

Published on 29th March 2007 in News

A couple were left outraged this week when a Goole travel operator cancelled their holiday just 18 hours before they were due to depart because a virus had struck the hotel where the couple were due to stay.

David Metcalf and his wife booked a coach trip to the Duke of Gordon Hotel in Kingussie, Scotland with Cairngorm Travel in Goole and were due to depart on Tuesday for five days. However, the Bridlington couple were contacted by the travel operator on Monday and told that the trip had been cancelled because the hotel had experienced an outbreak of Norovirus, which is the most common cause of infectious gastro-enteritis in England and Wales but is not a long-lasting disease, and half of the hotel had been closed off.

"We were told by the travel company that the holiday was cancelled because there was a virus at the hotel, but when we called the hotel we found that Cairngorm Travel was still sending another coachload of people up there - so there is no reason why they couldn't take us," said Mr Metcalf.

"We have been offered a full refund but I would like compensation for the inconvenience caused. We booked our cats into a cattery and we're yet to find out if we're being charged for that."

Mr Metcalf and his wife have contacted Trading Standards, as well as the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), to put in a claim for expenses.

But David Southcott, tours manager at Cairngorm Travel, claims that the holiday cancellation was a responsible move to make, and that another coachload of holiday makers had been allowed to continue on their travels because they would be staying in the half of the hotel that had not been closed off.

He said: "We had guests in eight rooms at the hotel complaining of viral symptoms on Monday, and thought it would be reckless to put people in a hazardous health situation. We've done everything by the book, and this certainly isn't a case of negligence."

Mr Southcott added that a number of precautionary actions had been taken at the hotel to prevent the virus from spreading, such as fumigating the hotel and providing each room with an alcohol gel so that guests can disinfect their hands. He said that a number of tour operators have experienced norovirus this season, as it is commonly dubbed the "winter vomiting disease".

Mr Southcott said: "We were advised by Environmental Health to close off half of the hotel, and have been commended by them for the action we took. We have offered Mr Metcalf a complete refund or a more expensive holiday later on in the year."