Some time ago, clients came to the office asking if they were entitled to any compensation from a travel agency for an unsuccessful holiday. This holiday was supposed to be unique – combined with romantic proposals and a perfect start to a new life. Unfortunately, the long-planned and awaited vacation turned out to be a failure.
According to the offer and the concluded agreement, the clients were to be accommodated in a three-star hotel, in an apartment-type room. After reaching the selected hotel, it turned out that due to overbooking, there is no room for them, which they had not been informed about before departure, although the travel agency must have had such information. The clients were offered a stay in a different hotel of a much lower standard. The hotel had two stars, it was far from the sea, right on the street. The room itself, although clean, was neglected, and the equipment in it – heavily worn. Both the hotel and its surroundings significantly differed from the conditions specified in the concluded contract. After numerous complaints and phone calls from my clients, the travel agent offered to be transferred to another hotel and then to stay at the hotel where the original reservation was to be made. As a consequence, my clients had to change their place of stay three times. Each time they had to pack their things on their own and move them to another hotel, as the travel agency did not provide any assistance in this regard.
Another significant omission on the part of the travel agency was misinformation about the time of transfer to the airport. My clients received an SMS in German with information about the transfer time. A message in a foreign language disturbed them, so they contacted the travel agency to confirm the date and time of the transfer. The helpline employee in a very rude manner confirmed the earlier text message, which indicated that the transfer was organized at 3:00 p.m.
How surprised the customers were when, on the day of departure, approx 11:00 a.m. they received a phone call from the hotel reception with the information that transport to the airport was waiting for them. Despite their sincere intentions, customers were not able to prepare for departure in just a few minutes, so they immediately contacted the hotline of the travel agency to clarify the situation. They then received information that the transfer was provided for that hour, and since they did not use it – they must reach the airport on their own. Eventually it turned out that there was a bug in the office system. Nevertheless, the travel agency tried to burden my clients with the responsibility for the situation. The only form of assistance from the office was to offer reimbursement of the cost of private travel to the airport at a flat rate of EUR 100. My clients paid for the transport, but despite assurances from the office, they did not receive a refund of the promised amount.
After returning from vacation, my clients made a complaint themselves, wanting to receive compensation from the travel agency. The agency itself proposed the amount of PLN 340. This amount was unsatisfactory for customers. After reviewing the facts of the case, we sent another complaint to the travel agency, demanding a reduction of the trip price by PLN 3,200. and demanding reimbursement of the cost of self-transferring my clients to the airport. Calculation of the requested amount was prepared on the basis of the so-called Frankfurt table outlining the amount of compensation for customers in the event of improper performance of the contract for the provision of travel services by a travel agency. This complaint was also not considered in the expected amount.
The next step was to prepare a statement of claim for the payment of compensation for material damage and compensation for the harm suffered. Using the Frankfurt Table again, we calculated the compensation due – taking into account the costs of changing the standard of the hotel, changing the distance to the beach, loss of 3 days due to necessary relocation to another hotel. In the section on redress, I referred primarily to the personal feelings of clients – the stress caused by an unsuccessful trip, disappointed hopes for relaxation, rest and unique, romantic engagements.
The court allowed the clients’ claim, awarding them damages in the amount of over PLN 2,500 and compensation in the amount of PLN 2,000 along with statutory interest for delay, and reimbursement of costs of trial and attorney representation costs.
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