money flopAlwin Nieuwpoort (57) had to rebook his holiday due to family circumstances, but a small inattention cost him dearly. He waited until the last minute to rebook his hotel and turned out to be too late. Because of the time difference, he lost 1,000 euros.
When was this?
Alwin: “In October 2021. Our three children are grown up and have long since stopped going on holiday with us. Still, we thought it would be nice to go away with the whole family: a week in the sun on Crete. I booked the hotel and flight tickets for everyone. And then my father died.”
So you had to cancel everything?
“Due to the circumstances we couldn’t go on the planned dates, but we were happy to reschedule. I could change the flight tickets to a later date. I could also change the hotel, which I had arranged through Booking.com. I set a reminder on my phone for when I should have arranged this at the latest, before midnight on a certain day.”
It was 10:50 pm and the film was still ten minutes long, so I thought: I’ll finish it first, then I’ll do it later.
How come you were late after all?
“That memory appeared on my phone while I was watching a movie with my wife on the couch. It was 10:50 PM and the movie was still ten minutes long, so I thought, I’ll finish it first and then I’ll do it later. When I wanted to cancel it at 11:10 pm I found out that the booking should have been canceled that day at Greek time. In Greece it was now 00.10 am: the next day. I was too late.”
Have you tried to explain it to the hotel yet?
“I called them, but they didn’t want to cooperate with a solution. I said we didn’t want to cancel completely, just postpone, and would like to come in November or early 2022. But it remained a firm ‘no’.”
Have you stated the reason for the delay?
“Yes. I told them that my father had passed away. On the email I sent, I did receive a ‘We are very sorry to hear that‘, but they still wouldn’t do anything about it.”
On Booking.com?
“Also not. They saw it as my responsibility that I canceled it too late.”
What did you think when you realized you lost your money?
“It was a lot of money. That hurt at first. And I was annoyed that people wouldn’t cooperate. But it was my mistake. If I had read the fine print better, I probably would have seen that I had to take into account a time difference. But because I booked through Booking.com, I assumed that the latest time to cancel would be our time. I have forgiven myself. Everyone can make mistakes. And I also had a lot of things on my mind at the time.”
There are more important things, I was able to let go and really enjoyed the holiday with the kids
Did you go to Crete yet?
“Yes, half a year later, but to a different hotel. I walked past that first hotel and stood there for a while, looking at it. At that moment it occurred to me that those people probably needed it more than we did. It was the end of the corona crisis. That period has of course had a hard impact on the hospitality industry on such an island. They probably had already spent that 1,000 euros as soon as it came in. And in the end it’s just money. A considerable amount, but still. There are more important things. I was able to let go and really enjoyed the holiday with the kids.”
What did you learn?
“In the future I will be more careful, because this would not have been necessary. And you can also cancel a day earlier, instead of waiting until the last minute.”
Also committed a money flop? A mistake with small or sometimes major financial consequences and do you want to protect others from this with your story? Send an email to [email protected].
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2023-05-07 05:00:00
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