Canadian couple has a beef with Gran Bahia Principe Bavaro

[A.Hidalgo]

Couple says they were treated like hostages and had to pay twice for resort stay. Apparently the travel agency Conquest Vacations had gone under and had not paid the Gran Bahia Principe Bavaro, so they charged them for their daily stay, again. The couple was prevented from leaving and felt very threatened during the ordeal. Just wondering if this is standard operation or just an anomaly.

It didn't say anything in the brochure about kidnapping and being held hostage by armed guards for ransom when the Bogoukhas of Etobicoke booked their vacation to the Dominican Republic.

Nor did it say anything about having to pay twice for their hotel stay.

The "horror" vacation of Victor and Lana Bogoukha brings a whole new meaning to the Eagles' Hotel California lyric -- "you can check out any time you like but you can never leave" -- because it actually happened to them.

Held up in paradise | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun

 

[Robert]

Customer service Dominican style!

Nothing good like good PR to generate more business in slow times.

 

[suarezn]

Well if the vacation company never paid the hotel then it shouldn't be the hotel's fault and they shouldn't be expected to provide stay for free. It sucks for these guys, but their beef should be with the vacation company it seems.

 

[El Tigre]

Hidaldo...unrelated but related to how things are done DR style...

I know of a barrio girl that gave birth at the materno infantil in Santiago. They didn't let her or the baby leave until the full bill was paid. It took the fam like 5 days to come up with the cash.

 

[A.Hidalgo]

Well if the vacation company never paid the hotel then it shouldn't be the hotel's fault and they shouldn't be expected to provide stay for free. It sucks for these guys, but their beef should be with the vacation company it seems.

The Travel Industry Council of Ontario is making compensation for people who had booked by the know bankrupt Conquest Vacations. As indicated by the TICO webpage, attempts were made to make payments directly to the resorts, but the rule of the jungle prevailed. These resorts may have received payments from vacationers, but of course done under duress and at what future cost. No doubt that their reputation has taken a hit.

TICO is aware that some consumers are being asked for payment for accommodations in destination and transfer service (transportation) to the airport. TICO is currently attempting to resolve outstanding payments with hotels. Please be advised that some hotels/resorts that TICO has contacted are insisting on charging the consumers for their accommodations in destination in advance or upon check-out and are refusing to accept TICO's payment to protect the consumers. Should consumers be charged for their accommodations and/or transfers in destination, they may request a claim form from TICO against the Compensation Fund. Consumers should ensure they receive a receipt from the hotel and/or transfer company in exchange for payment to support their claim.

TICO.ca - Travel Industry Council of Ontario
(click Advisories:
Closure: Conquest Vacations - Updated April 21`09)

 

[edm7583]

Considering the hotels have been notified that they will not be paid for the Conquest guests, what other options do the hotels have?? They are not charities. Better to pay again and then when they get home, they can easily get the Conquest charges reversed on their credit card. These people are subject to the laws of the country they are in and there's nothing the canadian government, the embassy, or some bizarre provincial travel industry regulatory bureaucracy can do about it.

 

[IslandDreaming]

You think there is nothing they can do?

There sure is; issue travel advisories and decimate an already troubled economy.

People from Europe and North America are not used to "violence" or criminal action regarding a civil action

I have said before and will say again, the DR is getting a reputation as that of Turkey in "Midnight Express," people being held hostage and refused exit from the country for Civil actions will destroy what took a long time to build

Considering the hotels have been notified that they will not be paid for the Conquest guests, what other options do the hotels have?? They are not charities. Better to pay again and then when they get home, they can easily get the Conquest charges reversed on their credit card. These people are subject to the laws of the country they are in and there's nothing the canadian government, the embassy, or some bizarre provincial travel industry regulatory bureaucracy can do about it.

 

[Malibook]

As indicated by the TICO webpage, attempts were made to make payments directly to the resorts, but the rule of the jungle prevailed. These resorts may have received payments from vacationers, but of course done under duress and at what future cost. No doubt that their reputation has taken a hit.

Some resorts handled the situation well and they have happy guests, even more so after they see the horror stories.

Some resorts handled the situation very poorly and they have outraged guests and observers.

All of the resorts will be paid but some will have repeat business and recommendations and some will be the subject of scorn and outrage.

Imagine the backlash if one of the airlines had such wonderful customer service skills and held people hostage at the airport until they paid for an expensive last minute one-way ticket home.
Publicity like this can ruin a company.

I sure hope the reporters will publish a list of the well run resorts and the others.

 

[Fiesta Mama]

There sure is; issue travel advisories and decimate an already troubled economy.

People from Europe and North America are not used to "violence" or criminal action regarding a civil action

Yep, this pretty much sums it up. Those who think "the poor hotels... they won't get their money"... must put themselves in the shoes of the traveller to a foreign country and to make matters worse, to a country where for most, their native language of English is not spoken so things seem much worse when you are experiencing the situation and understand nothing the local offials are saying. It's very intimidating.

Whether or not these hotels will receive payment from Conquest at the end of the day, this is not the first time a tour operator has gone bust and left their customers in this situation and it will not be the last time. Hotels need to have a plan where they are not exposing their guests, some of the most important guests to their country might I add considering the number of Canadians that travel to the DR every year makes up a large percentage of the total number of tourists visiting the DR in any given year. Add to that the fact that if Canada issues a travel advisory to a certain country, the U.S. is very likely to follow suit as is Canada if the U.S. issues a travel advisory to a certain country. There goes a huge chunk of tourist money coming into the country. This is happening in Mexico right now with the U.S. issing a travel advisory and Canadians thinking twice about going there... historically a favourite Canadian destination.

I don't care whether these hotels may not have been paid, they handled the situation wrong. They should be resorting to taking civil action against Conquest and add themselves to the list of creditors. This is the cost of doing business in the tourist industry whether it is a different country or not. You have to respect the culture of the country where the tourists are coming from when they support a huge percentage of the tourist economy! Just my opinion.

 

[viajar]

News on these things travels fast. I got charged twice at the Paridisus Punta Cana a couple of years back. They said I booked for only one person then charged me double for my future wife. I let everyone I know at work know about it, so it is not just the Grand Bahia one needs to watch out for.

 

[Robert]

The internet is a very powerful tool and bad news travels very fast and over a broad range of media. You better have great PR if you encounter these types of problems, otherwise you can cause your business irreversible damage.

Eventually this one thread will get seen by 1000's of people over time and archived in Google and other search engines.

The problem is that many DR business owners and managers have a very poor concept of repeat business or referrals. You see this time and time again here.

 

[PICHARDO]

The first and only rule that applies to clients of tour operators that leave them high to dry, is to P-A-Y for the services/goods rendered by the third party and seek legal satisfaction via the courts where the original contract took place to begin with.

NO (and I mean none at all) biz will allow you to take a seat at their place (I.E: Restaurant) and order from the menu so that later you just take a stroll out of their doors, sans payment of course...

That's criminal action right then and there!

The people should be smart enough to know that even while traveling abroad, the rule of common sense applies as well...

What did they expect? That the Hotel would just smile and say "Oh! We understand! Don't worry be Happy!??!!

Some Hotels/operators can afford providing services and seeking payment later (as their operations are well funded and backed by legal firms that can represent in and out of the country), but others (and the large amount of them) can't just do that.

If the people expected to just pack their bags and be on their merry way home, they acted as fools and were treated as such to begin with.

That some operators go beyond the point to accommodate clients is their prerogative and lawful given right. The clients here share their burden under the LAW and that's to pay for the services "before" leaving the premises. The fact that armed personnel was used to restrain their intention to depart w/o satisfying their bill, tells the other side of the coin.

In Canada, hotel security would restrain any person from leaving the premises as Police is called in, if the clients are stupid enough to force their way out of paying for the services. That's a fact well documented there in the local papers...

For all their crying they should have paid for the services/goods rendered and seek satisfaction form the second party in question.

In the DR Police response is not on par to that of Canada or the US, UK and many other FIRST world countries. Using armed security is nothing out the book but the norm to restrain or enforce security/order in private premises. You can spot a shotgun wielding security even in the entrance to most stores in ritzy places, let alone have them enforce premises codes of conduct and payment for goods/services as well.

I find more shocking that the clients had the nerve to think that they could just walk out of paying their tabs, b/c they "said" they paid the second party for the Hotel services upfront. I mean... Coming from a super developed country one would think they know better than to avoid paying for services to a third party, w/o even thinking that the LAW provides that right to biz in the first place.

When was the last time you went to the corner 7/11 in downtown Manhattan and picked a bag full of goods, just to waltz clear to the street w/o paying for the goods? Or did you make a reservation and payment with a company like Orbitz, juts to later find out the full rates apply in your case and Orbitz can't send their maggot to your aid, and deciding to walk out of the front door of that hotel w/o paying!??!

The rule is to pay and sue the responsible party later. You can't walk out from a vendor/service provider charges for their wares just b/c...

I have seen people get arrested in places like the Marriott Marquis for failure to pay their tabs, as well as in Las Vegas so many times that I can't possibly count them... The Hotel places criminal charges against the clients and they get issued a court appearance summons to that end (at the officer's discretion).

Want to prove me wrong? Just try it and see if any hotel in the USA or CAN would just let you waltz your way out from paying your bill!

Jesus! The stuff people come up with just keeps getting worst by the day!!!

Private clinics in the DR are a biz, unlike in the US they can't just send the bill to the medicare or medicaid dept to cover the basic loses for services unpaid by patients. If they couldn't afford having a baby in a private clinic they should have gone to a public Hospital for free...

I see zilch wrongdoing from the Hotel owners on this matter at all...

Instead of giving the country a black eye on regards to services rendered/unpaid, the news will make those with pre-paid packages more observant of the operators they hand their money to in their own country before venturing to the DR...

 

[Thandie]

Why dont these resorts collect payment from these tour companies before tourists step foot on their resorts?
Most people have payed for and booked vacations many months in advance. What is the resorts responsibilty in all of this?
They agreed to take customers booked by a third party and have not received advance payment. That sounds stupid and lacks common sense to me.
The whole lure of all inclusives is so you dont have to worry about additional fees and pay a dime on your vacation. Stress free vacation. Many people dont ever leave the resort and its actually not encouraged by the resort workers.

 

[MikeFisher]

hey Pichardo,
that's the fu**ing best post i saw on the bord since i know it.
and i mean that exactly like i wrote it.
who went belly-up, a canadian travel agency which sent their canadian clients on vaca knowing that they close their doors before they are back or a hotel which provided services and asks to get paid for that by the person which received those services?
and conquest did not file for bancruptcy,
THEY JUST SHUT DOWN THEIR BUSINESS!!!
they simply closed their doors, planed and done.
sui 'em, put 'em in jail for their criminal behavior up there in Canada, but what the heck means that long list of BS posts above about "bad hotels behaviors??".
the hotels asking to get paid before the customer who consumed their services, did exactly the right thing.
next time you guys watch out for that super cool cheap last minute deal just think about the difference of booking such deal or booking with a reputable tourop who may cost a 100 bucks more per week, but that one may bring ya home in a nice mood.
to the lad giving birth in a private clinic without the money on hand to pay for such???
nice joke,
to defend her criminal act means you defend also every homeless man who takes a room at the Ritz Carlton and walks away the next morning without paying for that?
the Lad could have given birth at a public hospital for free of charge like 90% of dominican women do every day.
Pichardo,
thanks for the only truthful and on facts based post on this topic.
Mike

 

[mrchris74]

What did they expect? That the Hotel would just smile and say "Oh! We understand! Don't worry be Happy!??!!

I think what they expected was that they would not have to pay twice for their vacation.

In Canada, hotel security would restrain any person from leaving the premises as Police is called in, if the clients are stupid enough to force their way out of paying for the services. That's a fact well documented there in the local papers...

And what would the police do when the guests produced a credit card receipt for services rendered? Also, one could walk straight out of any hotel in north america without paying, and without fear of being held hostage. The hotels regard it as a cost of doing business.

For all their crying they should have paid for the services/goods rendered and seek satisfaction form the second party in question.

Seek satisfaction from the travel company? They paid for a trip and they went on it, they don't have a problem with the travel company. The RESORT does.

I find more shocking that the clients had the nerve to think that they could just walk out of paying their tabs, b/c they "said" they paid the second party for the Hotel services upfront.

What's more shocking than that is that a resort would risk its reputation (and that of every resort in the DR) over a few hundred bucks, and not only that, that there are actually people who defend this nonsense.

Or did you make a reservation and payment with a company like Orbitz, juts to later find out the full rates apply in your case and Orbitz can't send their maggot to your aid, and deciding to walk out of the front door of that hotel w/o paying!??!

WTF?

Want to prove me wrong? Just try it and see if any hotel in the USA or CAN would just let you waltz your way out from paying your bill!

The customers paid the bill. It wasn't their fault that their hotel was in business with a failing travel agency.

Jesus! The stuff people come up with just keeps getting worst by the day!!!

You got me there.

I see zilch wrongdoing from the Hotel owners on this matter at all...

Instead of giving the country a black eye on regards to services rendered/unpaid, the news will make those with pre-paid packages more observant of the operators they hand their money to in their own country before venturing to the DR...

I see zilch wrongdoing on the part of the guests.

Instead of giving the country a black eye in regards to customer service and/or basic human rights, those greedy resorts ought to be more careful about which travel agents they deal with and not try to blame their clients for their own idiocy. This resort just cost the DR 'X' amount of dollars in tourist revenue because they have no idea what customer service is. If 'Y' is how much the guests paid for their trip:

X > Y

Chris

 

[Thandie]

.
next time you guys watch out for that super cool cheap last minute deal just think about the difference of booking such deal or booking with a reputable tourop who may cost a 100 bucks more per week, but that one may bring ya home in a nice mood.

Mike

Mike Conquest is not a last minute deal tour company.
And they are not known for offering cheap deals!
They booked tours all over the world!
They were one of the most reputable tour companies in Canada for 22 years!!!!!!!!

 

[MikeFisher]

There sure is; issue travel advisories and decimate an already troubled economy.

People from Europe and North America are not used to "violence" or criminal action regarding a civil action

I have said before and will say again, the DR is getting a reputation as that of Turkey in "Midnight Express," people being held hostage and refused exit from the country for Civil actions will destroy what took a long time to build

Some resorts handled the situation well and they have happy guests, even more so after they see the horror stories.

Some resorts handled the situation very poorly and they have outraged guests and observers.

All of the resorts will be paid but some will have repeat business and recommendations and some will be the subject of scorn and outrage.

Imagine the backlash if one of the airlines had such wonderful customer service skills and held people hostage at the airport until they paid for an expensive last minute one-way ticket home.
Publicity like this can ruin a company.

I sure hope the reporters will publish a list of the well run resorts and the others.

Yep, this pretty much sums it up. Those who think "the poor hotels... they won't get their money"... must put themselves in the shoes of the traveller to a foreign country and to make matters worse, to a country where for most, their native language of English is not spoken so things seem much worse when you are experiencing the situation and understand nothing the local offials are saying. It's very intimidating.

Whether or not these hotels will receive payment from Conquest at the end of the day, this is not the first time a tour operator has gone bust and left their customers in this situation and it will not be the last time. Hotels need to have a plan where they are not exposing their guests, some of the most important guests to their country might I add considering the number of Canadians that travel to the DR every year makes up a large percentage of the total number of tourists visiting the DR in any given year. Add to that the fact that if Canada issues a travel advisory to a certain country, the U.S. is very likely to follow suit as is Canada if the U.S. issues a travel advisory to a certain country. There goes a huge chunk of tourist money coming into the country. This is happening in Mexico right now with the U.S. issing a travel advisory and Canadians thinking twice about going there... historically a favourite Canadian destination.

I don't care whether these hotels may not have been paid, they handled the situation wrong. They should be resorting to taking civil action against Conquest and add themselves to the list of creditors. This is the cost of doing business in the tourist industry whether it is a different country or not. You have to respect the culture of the country where the tourists are coming from when they support a huge percentage of the tourist economy! Just my opinion.

Why dont these resorts collect payment from these tour companies before tourists step foot on their resorts?
Most people have payed for and booked vacations many months in advance. What is the resorts responsibilty in all of this?
They agreed to take customers booked by a third party and have not received advance payment. That sounds stupid and lacks common sense to me.
The whole lure of all inclusives is so you dont have to worry about additional fees and pay a dime on your vacation. Stress free vacation. Many people dont ever leave the resort and its actually not encouraged by the resort workers.

such is exactly the usual worldwide practiced business behavior of those northern tourops, everywhere.
and it was not just a dominican thingy that people got forced to pay their Taps, watch what happened in Mexico and any other place where Conquest sent people to.
those northamerican tourop behaviors are a shame for countries who wanna rule Banana Republics, and when the BS is done they wanna blame the destin country for their irresponsible business behavior.
travelers can solve such risks easily:
before you pay your tourop/travelagent ask that you wanna get with your payment receipt a 2nd receipt which stes that they paid the resort at your destin, and also the transfer company which brings you from the airport to the resort and backwards aso aso. if they do not wanna provide such just let them know that you are not interested in booking with them.
which touroperator is booking that way????
heck, what do i know,
but i guess there's none on the market.
so travelers, stand up and grab your politicians by the horns,
make some pressure, force them to force the multibillion travelindustry to change their moneymaking behavior.
you as the customer pay your vaca upfront in full, sometimes months ahead, but the resort does not see any money for your vaca til months after your vaca been finished, so those big guys up their make bi bucks with all those millions gaining interests on their bank accounts, while you as the traveler PAY interests to the bank where you got the loan from to pay for that vaca upfront with your vredit card.
wake up
Mike

 

[IslandDreaming]

We use a "third party" in way of credit cards almost every time we pay for a hotel. We use the hotel and "Stroll right out the front door" before the hotel ever sees one penny, it is a contract between Visa, Amex or whomever and the Hotel, just as the Bankrupt Consolidator had with the hotel property

Your attempt at "spinning this" just makes matters worse, you appear to believe people will take your attempts at clouding the issue with your claims of seeing dozens or hundreds of arrests in the US and Canada are unfounded and silly. I have never heard of anyone from say Germany, being refused permission to leave a hotel or better yet, be denied permission to leave the country over a hotel bill. Any hotel verifies the payment method prior to providing service. If the hotels in US or Canada were in this same situation, I am betting they would seek redress in an action against the Vacation company, the party actually staying has an affirmative defense in that they paid an established company previously to obtaining service.If thehotel were to claim they generally were paid prior to letting anyone free from the hostage situation, they would have to show they always kept guests under arrest until the vacation company delivered cash in hand, pure foolishness.

Spin it any way you want, people react and the reaction you will see is not a positive one for the Dominican Tourist Industry.

I've read your posst before, you will now attempt to bolster your silly scenario with another few hundred words, bottom line is people just had the perception that they may be held hostage by armed personnel in the Dominican Republic over a Civil dispute they had no control over confirmed.

Work on that tissue in lieu of posting irrelevant garbage

The first and only rule that applies to clients of tour operators that leave them high to dry, is to P-A-Y for the services/goods rendered by the third party and seek legal satisfaction via the courts where the original contract took place to begin with.

NO (and I mean none at all) biz will allow you to take a seat at their place (I.E: Restaurant) and order from the menu so that later you just take a stroll out of their doors, sans payment of course...

That's criminal action right then and there!

The people should be smart enough to know that even while traveling abroad, the rule of common sense applies as well...

What did they expect? That the Hotel would just smile and say "Oh! We understand! Don't worry be Happy!??!!

Some Hotels/operators can afford providing services and seeking payment later (as their operations are well funded and backed by legal firms that can represent in and out of the country), but others (and the large amount of them) can't just do that.

If the people expected to just pack their bags and be on their merry way home, they acted as fools and were treated as such to begin with.

That some operators go beyond the point to accommodate clients is their prerogative and lawful given right. The clients here share their burden under the LAW and that's to pay for the services "before" leaving the premises. The fact that armed personnel was used to restrain their intention to depart w/o satisfying their bill, tells the other side of the coin.

In Canada, hotel security would restrain any person from leaving the premises as Police is called in, if the clients are stupid enough to force their way out of paying for the services. That's a fact well documented there in the local papers...

For all their crying they should have paid for the services/goods rendered and seek satisfaction form the second party in question.

In the DR Police response is not on par to that of Canada or the US, UK and many other FIRST world countries. Using armed security is nothing out the book but the norm to restrain or enforce security/order in private premises. You can spot a shotgun wielding security even in the entrance to most stores in ritzy places, let alone have them enforce premises codes of conduct and payment for goods/services as well.

I find more shocking that the clients had the nerve to think that they could just walk out of paying their tabs, b/c they "said" they paid the second party for the Hotel services upfront. I mean... Coming from a super developed country one would think they know better than to avoid paying for services to a third party, w/o even thinking that the LAW provides that right to biz in the first place.

When was the last time you went to the corner 7/11 in downtown Manhattan and picked a bag full of goods, just to waltz clear to the street w/o paying for the goods? Or did you make a reservation and payment with a company like Orbitz, juts to later find out the full rates apply in your case and Orbitz can't send their maggot to your aid, and deciding to walk out of the front door of that hotel w/o paying!??!

The rule is to pay and sue the responsible party later. You can't walk out from a vendor/service provider charges for their wares just b/c...

I have seen people get arrested in places like the Marriott Marquis for failure to pay their tabs, as well as in Las Vegas so many times that I can't possibly count them... The Hotel places criminal charges against the clients and they get issued a court appearance summons to that end (at the officer's discretion).

Want to prove me wrong? Just try it and see if any hotel in the USA or CAN would just let you waltz your way out from paying your bill!

Jesus! The stuff people come up with just keeps getting worst by the day!!!

Private clinics in the DR are a biz, unlike in the US they can't just send the bill to the medicare or medicaid dept to cover the basic loses for services unpaid by patients. If they couldn't afford having a baby in a private clinic they should have gone to a public Hospital for free...

I see zilch wrongdoing from the Hotel owners on this matter at all...

Instead of giving the country a black eye on regards to services rendered/unpaid, the news will make those with pre-paid packages more observant of the operators they hand their money to in their own country before venturing to the DR...

 

[MikeFisher]

I think what they expected was that they would not have to pay twice for their vacation.



And what would the police do when the guests produced a credit card receipt for services rendered? Also, one could walk straight out of any hotel in north america without paying, and without fear of being held hostage. The hotels regard it as a cost of doing business.



Seek satisfaction from the travel company? They paid for a trip and they went on it, they don't have a problem with the travel company. The RESORT does.



What's more shocking than that is that a resort would risk its reputation (and that of every resort in the DR) over a few hundred bucks, and not only that, that there are actually people who defend this nonsense.



WTF?



The customers paid the bill. It wasn't their fault that their hotel was in business with a failing travel agency.



You got me there.



I see zilch wrongdoing on the part of the guests.

Instead of giving the country a black eye in regards to customer service and/or basic human rights, those greedy resorts ought to be more careful about which travel agents they deal with and not try to blame their clients for their own idiocy. This resort just cost the DR 'X' amount of dollars in tourist revenue because they have no idea what customer service is. If 'Y' is how much the guests paid for their trip:

X > Y

Chris

i guess it was the customers which booked with that reputable touroperator, right?

Mike Conquest is not a last minute deal tour company.
And they are not known for offering cheap deals!
They booked tours all over the world!
They were one of the most reputable tour companies in Canada for 22 years!!!!!!!!

their reputation is worldwide well known now i guess.
and yes,
knowing that they close their doors they sent still people all over the globe.
that's why i said it was anyways not a dominican specific thingy, people got asked to pay their bills all over the globe.
they booked with "the most reputable canadian touroperator since 22 years" and after arriving home they just should sui that tourop for it's reputable behavior and not blame others for homemade failures.
Mike

 

[Malibook]

I find more shocking that the clients had the nerve to think that they could just walk out of paying their tabs, b/c they "said" they paid the second party for the Hotel services upfront.

How do you think they even got in the door unless there was confirmation of payment?

The hotels have a contract with the tour company.
The hotels receivables are billed to the tour company.
This is not the same a someone walking in off the street and signing a contract with the hotel.
It is not the same as someone going to a restaurant and leaving without paying.

All of your many examples of people walking into a business and simply walking out without paying are not the same situation.

Suppose you sign a contract for a mortgage with a bank and then I rent the property from you and pay you the rent.
If you don't pay the bank, do you think the bank has the right to come to the house and force me to cover your end of the contract?
The contract between you and the bank has nothing to do with me.
The fact that I lived in the house is irrelevant.
Even if I don't pay you and that's why you can't pay them, they will still come after you, only you.

All of the hotels have been or will shortly be paid, not just the ones who pulled these threatening hostage tactics.
TICO will probably pay them much sooner than Conquest would have.
Even if legal, these actions were not necessary and were a very stupid business decision.
That's why most of the resorts did not pull this crap and neither did any of the airlines.