Conquest Vacations crumbles

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Marianopolita

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I just saw on the news that Conquest Vacations went under. Approx 2000 passengers are stranded around the world. No explanation was provided by the tour company expect for a notice on their website. See here: Conquest Vacations - Click here and you are there.


They were one of the popular Canadian tour operating companies (37 years in operation per the news commentary). The halt in operations is a result of economic times. The Dominican Republic was a popular Conquest Vacations location. Just this week some of the resorts in Punta Cana were selling for $659.00 all inclusive (as per the news report).


Over the period of this decade a few other Canadian charter airlines went under or out of business without any notice. I remember Jetsgo and Canada 3000.

This is not good news from an economic standpoint. This is indicative that not only people but businesses are struggling to survive in these tough times.


-Marianopolita.
 
F

FireGuy

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Conquest was a voluntary cessation of business.

No one is stranded - all the airline seats for those current traveling are paid for and will be honoured. Yes, future travelers are inconvenienced but will get their money back. It's really not fair to compare this to failed airlines which stranded passengers and caused industry wide "tidal waves".

An interesting aspect is that the founder of Conquest, Robbie Goldberg, who started the business in 1972, sold it privately in 2007. The new owners subsequently couldn't adapt to the changing economy, it would appear.

Gregg
 
M

Malibook

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FireGuy said:
Conquest was a voluntary cessation of business.

No one is stranded - all the airline seats for those current traveling are paid for and will be honoured.

Gregg
Click to expand...
CTV news just showed some people scrambling to find a way home.
Since Conquest did not operate any planes, maybe they are confused.


Edyta Zdancewicz, spokesperson for the Canadian Automobile Association, told Newsnet her group has about 89 members affected in Ontario. She didn't have national number yet.
The CAA is looking for alternative ways to bring some passengers home, she said.

Grant Brewster is stranded in the Dominican Republic. He told Newsnet the news came as a surprise, with a fellow traveller finding out by e-mail.
He had been scheduled to go home Sunday, "but I figure we'll get home eventually. In the meantime, we're just enjoying the sun."

CanJet, an East Coast airline that handles passengers booked through Conquest, has already said it will honour the return flights, but not future ones.

"We're busy rebooking customers who haven't flown yet but have reservations and are taking care of customers who are at destination," he said.
Those who flew to their destinations on an Air Canada flight should be okay in terms of returning, he said.
CTV.ca | Conquest Vacations ceases operations immediately
 
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M

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
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Follow up article to my first post...

Here is a follow up article.

TheStar.com | Business | Conquest Vacations closes

Yes, the article indicates that it was a 'cessation of operations', whereas the news report on Global stated 'Conquest Vacations crumbles'. On Global they did say that 'passengers were stranded'. The article also clarifies this.

There was no intent to mislead in my first post thus the follow up article. Bottom line is they are no longer operating.


-Marianopolita.
 
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catcherintherye

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"I've been stranded here for almost seven years. Could someone send me some money via Western Union?
Thanks in advance."
Celt

Fear not, help is on the way.
 
M

Malibook

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I wonder if this is why the prices are so high right now for this time of year. :surprised
One week at Fun Royale leaving next Tuesday is currently listed at $945 plus $309 taxes. At least the single supplement is only $70.
This is Sunwing so add another $30 US.
That is around $1360 CDN when I am used to paying around $800 for this time of year. :ermm::surprised
 
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FireGuy

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Since those canceled by the Conquest closure are going to be scrambling for almost anything available, I suspect normal last minute pricing has been raised to maximize income from those travelers.

Gregg
 
M

Malibook

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That's cold comfort for a woman vacationing in Cancun who says her hotel demanded on Thursday that she pay the $1,000 owed by Conquest. And, management warned, it wouldn't rule out calling the police. :surprised:eek:

"I'm stressing out," noted Sarah Sayffi by phone in Mexico. "I don't know what I'm going to do.
We were thinking, what if we just disappear and go hide in our friends' rooms? Are they really going to find us? But I guess I won't even be able to get on my flight home."

And those who haven't even left for their vacation may have to pay up too.

"The prices of trips increased phenomenally, and not just a one-time increase. We would call back within a half-hour and that same trip was now going to cost us another $300, $400 more," revealed police constable Wendy Drummond about her Dominican holiday.

CityNews.ca - Toronto's News: Travellers Left Stranded By Conquest Vacations Shutdown
 
L

La Mariposa

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Malibook said:
That's cold comfort for a woman vacationing in Cancun who says her hotel demanded on Thursday that she pay the $1,000 owed by Conquest. And, management warned, it wouldn't rule out calling the police. :surprised:eek:

"I'm stressing out," noted Sarah Sayffi by phone in Mexico. "I don't know what I'm going to do.
We were thinking, what if we just disappear and go hide in our friends' rooms? Are they really going to find us? But I guess I won't even be able to get on my flight home."

And those who haven't even left for their vacation may have to pay up too.

"The prices of trips increased phenomenally, and not just a one-time increase. We would call back within a half-hour and that same trip was now going to cost us another $300, $400 more," revealed police constable Wendy Drummond about her Dominican holiday.

CityNews.ca - Toronto's News: Travellers Left Stranded By Conquest Vacations Shutdown
Click to expand...

Just heard on the radio this morning that some canadians on their last day of vacation in Cancun had to pay the hotel, since Conquest did not pay, or go to jail.
 
M

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
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Inconvenienced and stranded...

Here is an article in today's Toronto Star about Conquest Vacations. Good details are provided as well comments by the readers. TheStar.com | Business | Was public warning about Conquest warranted?

Also a list of other failed airlines in Canada since 2001 is provided. As per my first post Jetsgo and Canada 3000 are on the list. I think it's quite fair to compare Conquest to other failed operators with reference to Fireguy's post #3 because at the end of the day passengers are inconvenienced and stranded. They are not going reflect upon Conquest Vacations' success over the years. This last experience will prevail in their minds and have an impacting impression on the tour company. As? somos los seres humanos...

Toronto-based Conquest suddenly ceased its operations Wednesday, creating havoc for potentially thousands of travellers who had booked packaged holidays through the company and stranding some in foreign countries. The company blamed a fierce price war with rival tour operators, the credit squeeze, the economic downturn and "unreasonable demands" by its credit-card processing company.
Click to expand...


I don't recall ever booking with Conquest Vacations/ tours however, this recent experience will remind me to be cautious in the future. Although we as passengers cannot predict a 'cessation of operations' what I would like to have are options in the event of such an emergency. I guess spare cash $$$ would be my best alternative.


-Marianopolita.
 
M

Music

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It's just horrible for the people who have booked with Conquest. People have paid them so they should ensure those who have booked already are taken care of it's just wrong.

I was one of those Jetsgo customers booked a flight to Moncton as I was heading to my sisters wedding, I was so freaked out but luckily I got my money back :)

Marianopolita said:
Also a list of other failed airlines in Canada since 2001 is provided. As per my first post Jetsgo and Canada 3000 are on the list. I think it's quite fair to compare Conquest to other failed operators with reference to Fireguy's post #3 because at the end of the day passengers are inconvenienced and stranded. They are not going reflect upon Conquest Vacations' success over the years. This last experience will prevail in their minds and have an impacting impression on the tour company. As? somos los seres humanos...




I don't recall ever booking with Conquest Vacations/ tours however, this recent experience will remind me to be cautious in the future. Although we as passengers cannot predict a 'cessation of operations' what I would like to have are options in the event of such an emergency. I guess spare cash $$$ would be my best alternative.


-Marianopolita.
Click to expand...
 
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Malibook

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Lambada said:
Also panic in Punta Cana, it would appear:
Conquest vacationers panicked in Punta Cana | Canada | News | Toronto Sun
Click to expand...
This does not look like an orderly winding down of the business. :ermm:

Hundreds of Canadians had their travel plans thrown for a loop when Conquest shut down without warning. A telephone line for the company was not in service yesterday.
Since the end of Conquest, hotel staff have been demanding Santos and other Canadian guests pay cash for their rooms or they'll be locked out, she said.
 
cobraboy

cobraboy

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FireGuy said:
An interesting aspect is that the founder of Conquest, Robbie Goldberg, who started the business in 1972, sold it privately in 2007. The new owners subsequently couldn't adapt to the changing economy, it would appear.

Gregg
Click to expand...
I suspect a leveraged purchase in '07, and the overhead the debt created ate them alive, and few banks are doing much speculative (i.e. non-asset based) business financing.

<edit>

From their website:
Conquest Vacations regrets the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to cessation of its operations. Unfortunately this has been a result of overcapacity and price war among the major tour operators, unrealistic and unreasonable demands by the credit card processing companies, credit squeeze and economic turmoil in recent months making it impossible for companies like Conquest to continue in business even after weathering many storms over the past 37 years.
Click to expand...
 
M

Malibook

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FireGuy said:
Conquest was a voluntary cessation of business.

No one is stranded

Gregg
Click to expand...
Tourists told to pay twice or face jail

Holiday in the sun becomes a 'vacation from hell' as hotels threaten guests over Conquest collapse

Melissa Handley knew she was in real trouble when she discovered the lock on her hotel room had been changed ? with all her belongings inside.
When Handley, who booked her vacation in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, with Conquest Vacations, approached staff at the Hotel Grand Oasis, she was told to pay $1,000 (U.S.) or she wouldn't be able to leave the country.
"I was scared I wouldn't be able to get out or we would be sent to jail if I couldn't pay," said Handley, 22, who was greeted by her relieved mother last night at Pearson International Airport.
"They wouldn't let us out at all.
"They gave us last minute notice that we had no transportation to the airport, even though a day earlier they said there would be a bus. They said if you didn't have enough money on your credit card, too bad."
Handley said she "escaped" after her mother paid the hotel with her credit card from Canada.
Handley is just one of hundreds of former Conquest Vacations customers arriving home from popular vacation destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean armed with stories of hotel staff no longer able to speak English, threats of jail time if thousands of dollars of extra charges went unpaid, and abandonment by Canadian consulate officials.
Toronto native Lindsay Watson was vacationing with her friend, Luther Mallory, in Cancun, Mexico, when she received a letter under her hotel room door Wednesday night. The letter told her that she was expected to pay $1,256 for her stay at the hotel, plus airfare, before checking out.
Watson and Mallory immediately approached the hotel manager.
"He told us that if we didn't pay the full amount that he would call the cops and we would go to jail," said Watson, 22, a guest at the Golden Parnassus hotel.
Watson and Mallory then did what any responsible Canadian vacationing outside Canada would do: they called the Canadian consulate in Cancun to ask for advice and assistance. The response?
"They said `We suggest you pay the amount and just do what they say.' The woman we spoke to even said she didn't know anything about Mexican law," said Watson, who arrived home early yesterday. "They were absolutely no help."
On Thursday morning, Watson said, when about 50 Conquest customers had gathered in the hotel lobby, police and security guards arrived to prevent anyone from leaving. Some guests said their luggage and passports were taken away and they were told they couldn't get them back unless they paid thousands of dollars.
Watson and Mallory ended up paying $628 after negotiating with the manager, who they said constantly changed his story as to why guests couldn't leave the hotel.
"It was very clear that management had no idea what they were doing," said Mallory, 27, a Toronto-based musician, adding that the hotel's Conquest representative was not aware the company had gone out of business and quickly disappeared after learning of its demise.
Andr? Lemay, the press secretary at Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, said: "We have apprised local authorities of this situation and of complaints that Canadians are being threatened. They are taking our concerns seriously."
Yesterday, Oasis Hotels & Resorts issued a statement blaming Conquest for the "situation" guests are facing at some of their hotels.
"Conquest never paid us. The result is that consumers have been enjoying vacations at our hotels and resorts ? sleeping in our beds, eating our food, drinking our beverages ? which were never paid for. We have no recourse but to require payment prior to the traveller's departure. We completely understand that this situation is upsetting to everyone involved and we regret the impact it may be having upon people's vacations."
For the Gzik family of Brockville, Ont., no statement of concern will make amends for the "vacation from hell" they went through at the Hotel Grand Oasis in Cancun.
"When we tried to speak to the hotel staff to explain our situation, suddenly no one spoke English any more," said Gary Gzik, 45, who paid $4,400 (Canadian) through Conquest for the week-long vacation with his wife Jane, daughter Hannah and son Evan. But to leave the hotel yesterday morning, Gzik says he had to pay an additional $3,000.
He said he called the Canadian consulate but got no response.
"It was the worst vacation," he said. "We would never go back."


TheStar.com | Canada | Tourists told to pay twice or face jail
 
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