Tremendous disappointment and inconvenience experienced

Tremendous disappointment and inconvenience marked our experience with Booking.com, Hotelbeds, and the Pavilion Hotel in Durban on 24 November 2023.

As customary, I entrusted our family holiday arrangements to Booking.com, only to discover upon arrival at our Durban destination that our booking had been inexplicably cancelled. To provide context, we had meticulously booked and paid for our flights, accommodations, and excursions in advance, leaving us with a constrained budget for incidental expenses.

The booking was made on 28 October 2023, and on 01 November 2023, at 10H13, I personally called the Pavilion Hotel to confirm our reservation. The call was answered by Sedeeka at reception, who directed me to Thandaza in reservations. Thandaza confirmed our reservation, even permitting us to drop off our luggage upon arrival for an early exploration of the city. Our booking confirmation number was 10564506026630140127, with pin 017015.

Upon our arrival in Durban, seeking to drop off our bags and explore the possibility of an early check-in at around 9H00, we were shocked to learn that our reservation had been cancelled on 17 November 2023. This left me, accompanied by my two children, stranded in an unfami**** city, as the hotel conveyed their lack of availability. This situation was compounded by the fact that my husband, due to a sudden loss, had to remain in Cape Town.

The subsequent challenges and questions I encountered are numerous:

1. Who initiated the cancellation of our booking?

2. Why were we not promptly notified of the cancellation?

3. Why was the paid amount not refunded on the day of cancellation?

4. The repetitive verification process during numerous phone calls was exasperating—why was this necessary?

5. In the face of our distressing situation, why was there a lack of empathy from the involved parties?

Regrettably, the Pavilion Hotel failed to exhibit compassion, offering only the use of their phone. Even a simple request for water was met with a suggestion to purchase it at the bar, and there was no gesture of hospitality such as offering a cup of coffee or tea. The receptionist bore the brunt of our frustration, compounded by another family facing a similar crisis. Surprisingly, no member of the hotel management approached us to address or alleviate our stress.

I extend my gratitude to Booking.com, Hotelbeds, and the Pavilion Hotel in Durban for subjecting us to heightened levels of stress and anxiety. We were compelled to secure and pay for alternative accommodation, as it became evident that assistance from these entities was not forthcoming. The suggested alternatives from Booking.com were dismissed due to concerns about safety in unfami**** areas of Durban.

The following response was received from Deshni Govender, the reservations manager at the Pavilion Hotel: "Good Day Mrs Willemse, Hope that all is well. Please accept our sincere apologies on behalf of the hotel with regards to the cancellation of your booking. I have escalated your e-mail and concerns to the relevant parties as well. The agent with whom you have booked with had exceeded the number of rooms that they are allocated with. At the time off confirming your booking, the booking was still active hence Thandaza confirmed the booking at the time. Unfortunately the agent Booking.Com did not inform you as the booker about the cancellation and refund in due time. This is completely unacceptable and I await feedback from Booking.Com with this regard. We do hope that should you return to Durban in the near future that you will stay at The Pavilion Hotel and help us to redeem ourselves. Please feel free to contact me directly to assist with this. Best Regards"

To date I have not yet received answers to my questions as there was no reply from Booking.com and Hotelbeds.