Imagine arriving in Morocco, excited for what was meant to be a luxury stay, only to find your five-star hotel doesn’t actually have a room for you, even though you booked months earlier. This exactly happened to a group of French tourists that thought they alleged they were meant to check into the White Beach Hotel. Instead, they arrived to what would be described as a Mozambique airline pickup point, complete with late coming, sporadic arguing and chaos.
The Swap Gone Wrong
Take Dylan for instance, he arrived on July 31, and with his parents and partner in tow, was hoping to experience crisp sheets, the ocean front views and all the five-star extra touches. Instead, he was told that the hotel was overbooked, all while the travel agency scrambled to fix the situation by offering rooms in at the Palais des Roses in Agadir, claiming that the only difference was that kids stayed there—and they claimed it just been renovated.
Yup, not even close.. Dylan shared that the replacement hotel was “nowhere close” to the standard of what he paid for. He wasn’t alone either, as there was about 20 to 30 travelers who ended up experiencing the same “surprise” that day, and approximately 50 travelers had similar issues a week prior.
The Fine Print Everyone Ignores
So here’s the thing: when Dylan attempted to reach out to its agency back in France, they didn’t respond. Dylan wrote on his LinkedIn page that this felt like downright manipulation. They had forced travelers to sign documents that would therefore waive their rights to refunds. It was peak holiday season and there were limited options. Thus many tourists accepted the downgrade, with no other options.
Who’s Responsible?
So who is responsible? Depends on who you ask. White Beach said they issued 10 rooms for use per week to the travel agency Ovoyages during that two-week time period. Any more than that? That’s called overbooking.
Ovoyages rebutted, saying they had already issued deposits on these rooms and could prove it.
The Aftermath
While some guests were offered refunds or transfers to four-star properties, there were plenty of guests who simply weren’t having it. There have not been any official complaints filed to date, but many unhappy travelers are sharing their discontent on social media.
Ovoyages is stating that they are working on solutions and are trying to reach an agreement of some kind, but for the people who spent a significant portion of their hard earned money on a five-star Moroccan holiday, it is all a bit late. The damage is done.
The Bottom Line
In travel, “overbooking” is normally just a headache for the airline. But when it happens to your vacation hotel – and especially one that you have been looking forward to – it feels like a betrayal. A betrayal of trust essentially. For Dylan and the dozens of other French travelers, what was supposed to be a sun-drenched escape in Morocco, became a story that they are probably going to be telling for a number of years… just not in the way they envisioned.
