Poor service, Miscommunication and Loss of Booking!!!

I'm disappointed and frustrated with the poor level of service I received from AfricaStay regarding a trip that was booked for seven ladies in November 2024, scheduled for travel from the end of June to early July 2025.

Our booking was handled by Cheyenne, who initially assisted us well. However, a week before the travel date, I unfortunately lost my aunt, and her funeral was scheduled for the same Saturday we were due to depart. I immediately contacted Cheyenne to request that my portion of the trip be postponed by one day to Sunday. She agreed and assured me she would make the necessary arrangements.

To my dismay, on Friday afternoon just a day before the original departure Cheyenne contacted me to inform me that the Sunday flight was fully booked and there was no seat available for me. Despite this, she once again reassured me that she would assist in postponing the trip to a later date, provided I submitted my aunt’s death certificate, which I did promptly.

However, on Monday I received an email from her stating that my trip had been canceled entirely and that there was nothing more she could do. I was shocked and disappointed by the lack of empathy, planning, and professionalism displayed, especially during such a difficult time for me especially given the reassurances I had been given.

To make matters worse, I later learned that the hotel management in Zanzibar where we were booked to stay, confirmed that he was aware of my situation and was willing and able to assist with the postponement of my booking. However, Cheyenne had never followed up with him to confirm my new travel dates. Due to this lack of communication, and because the hotel’s booking system is linked directly to the Zanzibar government, the booking was automatically cancelled as I had not checked in on the scheduled date. Once this happens, entry into Zanzibar is no longer permitted under that booking.

In short, Cheyenne’s failure to act timeously and communicate effectively with the hotel has now resulted in me forfeiting close to R20,000. This is an unacceptable loss, caused not by my own actions, but by the negligence of the agent. I find it unacceptable that I now stand to forfeit nearly R20,000 due to poor communication and failure to deliver on multiple assurances. I trusted AfricaStay to provide reliable support, particularly when unexpected circumstances arose, but instead I was let down when I needed help the most.