He had imagined a ten-day holiday in Puglia in the name of physical and mental well-being, but once he arrived at the hotel he saw the dream of total relaxation vanish. The one booked through a famous online platform, in fact, was one quite different structure compared to the one where he had arrived and it was not worth all the money spent. Hence the decision, after many ups and downs, to pack up and leave, opening a dispute with the hotel which today, more than four years after the incident, was sentenced by the justice of the peace to reimburse the tourist.
The hotel is different, tourist sues
In June 2018, arrived at the structure, in Vieste nel Foggiano, the hotel that came to the sight of a 44-year-old Milanese tourist was very different from the one seen on Booking. There poolslightly deeper than a bathtub, and the lecture in the sun with just one piece of equipment and a treadmill, in fact, they were a far cry from the photos he had seen online. The only truthful photo was that of the spaotherwise a “scam”.
Embarrassed, but still back from one expenditure of 2,250 euros to book the 10-day stay, the Milanese vacationer had done everything to assert his reasons. After announcing to the owner the will to leave and be refunded, however, the sad discovery: in case of renunciation he would have lost his money, the refund would have arrived only if the room had been booked again on the site. After several mediation attempts by Booking itself, after three days the decision to leave and open a dispute with the hotel (here we talked about the hotel overbooking scam).
The lawsuit went on for three years and it was only thanks to the decision of the Milan justice of the peace Alexia Dulcetta that the hotel was sentenced to reimburse the seven days already paid and not taken, in addition to the court costs. The tourist, therefore, ended well, while the hotel was a little less condemned and above all the offer made to the 44-year-old in 2018 to close everything with a refund of 100 euros. Money that the unfortunate vacationer did not accept until, today, to have repaid in full the disappointing stay.
The Milanese tourist in court was defended by Marco Donzelli, national president of Codacons, who heard the news of the justice of the peace’s decision and exulted: “We are always active in protecting consumers from episodes of this type, citizens must understand that when they choose the vacation package they must have the same precautions as when, for example, they decide to buy a boiler or a new car “.
The one experienced by the Milanese tourist in 2018 is a sort of scam put in place, by the hotel, against the vacationer and Booking itself. But also pay attention to numerous scams that take place in the summer, with many Italians who have reported being victims of scams in booking holiday homes. We have talked about it here and the advice is never to let your guard down, because it is precisely when prices are low that the alarm bells must ring.
