A woman has hit out at the owners of a Gozo farmhouse for “not offering an alternative” after she learnt that there had been a double booking for a farmhouse she had reserved in May for the 8 September feast. She was refunded but said she was only notified about the blunder some two weeks ago.
The owners of the farmhouse had a different story to tell and claimed that they did offer the complainant – who they said had booked the farmhouse on behalf of third parties – an alternative property but could not accommodate her specific request for an alternative property in the same road as the farmhouse in question. They also said that they have proof of the refund payment which was accepted by the complainant.
Writing on her Facebook wall, Sarah Spiteri said that she insisted with the owners that she is given an alternative and not a refund for the blunder but her insistence, she claims, fell on deaf ears as the owners of the farmhouse did not even return her call.
She said that contrary to the owners of the farmhouse, booking.com – the site she used to book the farmhouse – went out of its way to help.
The property, she said, is Hakuna Matata owned by John Galea and Rosanne Galea. The former, she continued, is the owner/managing director of Allegro Hotel in Paceville, while the latter is the managing director of Future Focus.
“Way back in May, we booked a farmhouse with a private pool in Xaghra, Gozo around the feast of the 8 September. We booked through booking.com. We were contacted on the same day by the owners for the payment which we duly forwarded.
“Should have been an easy transaction right? Wrong! I got a call two weeks ago from Rita Agius (employed by Future Focus) who calmly informed me that there has been an overbooking and that they will be refunding the cost.
“I informed her strongly that I do not want a refund but a replacement. At no point did they offer a replacement property.
“When I insisted that I had no interest in a refund but wanted another property, she told me to call the Allegro Hotel the next day to sort it out leaving me totally high and dry.
“She refused to say where she was calling from and refused to give me the mobile contact numbers of the people concerned.
“What followed is a shameful display of lack of customer care at its worst. To her credit, the receptionist/manager at Allegro hotel tried to sort it out, but she had no authority to offer an alternative as, she rightfully pointed out, was not the owner.
“Conveniently the owners were out of reach from that day until today.
“I contacted booking.com who tried to sort out the problem. Legally, once the owners refunded the money, they have no obligation towards the customer at all. Basically they can just leave you in the lurch the day before you are meant to arrive.
“The owners, without any authorisation or acceptance from my end, refunded the amount, thus relinquishing any obligation towards us and left us in the lurch without so much as a blink of an eyelid.
“I would like to point out that at no point did we ask for a refund, but strongly insisted that we wanted a replacement,” she continued.
“Booking.com tried to find an alternative and even offered to pay the difference in cost but the Maltese owners didn't bother to even return a simple telephone call!
“I find the behaviour, attitude and arrogance of the owners totally deplorable.”
This newsroom contacted a representative of the owners – Corinne Galea - who said that persons who acted on behalf of the owners had been in contact with her and booking.com since the beginning of July to inform her that there had been an error from the owner’s end and immediately offered a full refund or alternative accommodation to her.
“Mr and Mrs Galea did their best to find an equivalent – a farmhouse with a pool in Xaghra - and this was offered to her.
“The complainant informed us that she had booked on behalf of third parties and insisted that she wanted the said farmhouse or an equivalent and if possible in the same street as Hakuna Matata.
“Alternative accommodation was located and a tentative reservation for her was made however 24 hours after the offer was made, she declined the offer and a refund had been demanded,” Ms Galea said.
What followed next is the fact that Mr and Mrs Galea had informed the owners of the other farmhouse to relieve the blocked dates since the complainant had declined the alternative accommodation.
“The refund was accepted and a proof of payment showing the refund was sent to her.
“A certain Mauro, who called us on behalf of the complainant, understood the situation and he had admitted that the farmhouse was booked for third parties and had informed us that she had gone ballistic and was not a person to be reasoned with.
“Had the refund not been given and accepted, Mr and Mrs Galea would have gladly continued to look for alternative accommodation however the refund was accepted and this released both parties from any further obligations in relation to her booking.
“As per booking.com’s terms and conditions the property owners can either offer a refund or alternative accommodation and the former was accepted,” Ms Galea continued.
Farmhouse is advertised on various booking engines, hence the error
Ms Galea said: “This genuine error occurred due to the fact that the farmhouse is advertised on other booking engines and another booking for the same dates had been received well before her booking and was erroneously overlooked which led to a double booking. “Furthermore Mr and Mrs Galea would like to highlight that they do not accept bookings on behalf of third parties as prospective tenants need to be vetted.
“It is must also be noted that this property is not run by Mr and Mrs Galea's place of business and Allegro Hotel and Future Focus Ltd have no connection with Hakuna Matata.”