Monday, March 27, 2023

Two holiday hiccups

Hiccup No. 1

Husband accidentally booked our return journey for a week later than he meant to. 

He offered to change it but I put on a brave face. "Don't go to all that bother of cancelling and rebooking everything. I'm sure if I try really hard I can cope with an extra week with the grandchildren."

He is so lucky to have such an understanding wife. And the good thing is that it wasn't at all my fault!

Hiccup No. 2

While we're in Italy we're all going to stay at the coast for a few days. Nuora found a lovely apartment for us and I, basking in the glow of my success with Lyme Regis bookings, said I'd book it.

All very simple and booked. The website said the owners would be in touch to arrange payment so I sat back and waited for an email. And then forgot about it until yesterday when Nuora asked me to confirm the dates we're going for. 

I searched back - noticed I hadn't had an email but didn't think anything of it - and discovered that where it had previously said, "Booking confirmed," it now said, "Booking cancelled by the property owners."

What?! I was up in arms. 

A bit more searching and I discovered messages on booking.com asking me for payment, reminding me about payment, and finally cancelling because I hadn't paid. Still up in arms.

I fired off an angry email to booking.com asking, nay, demanding that they find me an equivalent apartment for the same price because I hadn't been notified by email. I then sent a slightly more apologetic email to the owners asking if the apartment were still available.

Then followed a tense Sunday checking every five minutes to see if they'd replied. By dinner time when there was still no reply I searched for alternatives. On one page it said the apartment I'd 'booked' was not available; on another it didn't say that. So I booked it. And it all went through smoothly.

Still very cross that they'd not emailed me I read through all the messages carefully and discovered they had, in fact, emailed me but on my gmail account - which I don't use. Still indignant - "how did they get that email address anyway; it's not the one I gave booking.com" - I checked only to find it was the one I'd given booking.com.

So it was probably a little bit my fault, maybe 95% my fault. Okay, totally my fault. 

But it's all fine now so we don't have to press the issue. Unless we get there and they deny all knowledge of us.

10 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

And in rebooking it, I assume you added the extra week onto it?

Ole phat Stu said...

Once we arrived at our Black Forest b&b a day earlier than booked and luckily the room guests before us had departed a day earlier due to excessive rain. The gods were on our side. AND we had a sunny week

Liz Hinds said...

Oh now don't say that, Debra!
Fortuitous, Stu.

Ann said...

Well I'm glad it all worked out in the end.

Marie Smith said...

Glad that’s sorted for you.

Kathy G said...

Hiccup two sounds like something I would do :-)

Ole phat Stu said...

Interestingly I spell it Hiccough.
Is this a regional thing? Where is the dividing line?

PipeTobacco said...

I am hoping your “extended” trip is going wonderfully for both of you!!

PipeTobacco

Cop Car said...

Grammarhow presents "hiccup" as the preferred spelling in English. I would come closer to believing the statement had it not included, "most correct variation", which made me cringe.

Anonymous said...

I don't think, husband accidentally booking return journey is a mistake or hiccup. I think it's 😍 super amazing Another whole week in Italy. Oh mustn't forget the grandchildren haha.