They were supposed to go on holiday next week, but they received an email with the cancellation on Friday afternoon at 16.55 pm. Neatly according to the rules of the art, Vacansoleil sent out the bad news just before her own closing time and just before the weekend so that no one can call. Meanwhile, disappointed victims were able to 'cool off' for a few days before they could respond. It was therefore not possible to request a response from Vacansoleil until Monday morning. It's sad on the RTL Nieuws website story by Hans and Christel, who are not the only ones by the way. Dozens of people share their frustration and disappointment on social media.
overbooking
An inquiry with the Vacansoleil by RTL Nieuws shows that at least 160 holidaymakers received an email stating that their holiday had been cancelled. The holiday was paid for and the itinerary was already in. The holiday, which was postponed last year and could finally continue to cancel, is met with a lot of misunderstanding. Canceling due to forest fires or floods is all understanding but overbooking due to a system error?
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a major incident
Tour operator Vancansoleil late in a reaction to RTL Nieuws that due to a takeover, campsites that fall under the Iris group have been overbooked. These are campsites such as Iris Parc Le Château de Galaure where splashing about in the aqua park or in the lake with beach next to it is not an option this year. Vacansoleil informed at least 150 people in an email that bookings did not go well due to a system error.
Affected holidaymakers are unhappy with the way of communication. Some thought the mail was a joke, according to a tour of RTL Nieuws. They are disappointed that Vancansoleil was poorly or unreachable for days.
"As annoying as it may be, that happens every season. We have 550 campsites and make 55.000 bookings a year. Then things sometimes go wrong. But we always look for an alternative or else people will get their money back."
The spokesperson calls it "a major incident." “But we are looking for a new alternative for all these people, and if that doesn't work, people will get their money back.” Nevertheless, this cancellation causes a lot of stress for the affected holidaymakers.
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