I was wondering if any of you have also been watching the BBCs Save My Holiday? Although I must admit I have watched each episode and like the show, mainly seeing the different destinations, I also find it quite irritating (and i'm not just commenting on the fact that it seems to have 15 mins of content spread over 45 mins!!!!)
I think its a shame that the BBC have not gone fully into details, it would have been a fantastic opportunity to go into detail and explain what ABTA, ATOL, FTO, CAA, Dynamic Package etc are and what that means when things go wrong or your not happy on your holiday. I think the way they have done the show would lead people to believe that you could and should expect the same level of service and standard however you book (which we know is simply not the case).
Another issue that has got on my nerves is H&S standards... they are very quick at explaining and quoting the FTO standards on the temp of water in taps etc but then are quite happy to show or encourage the featured holiday makers do activities that are against tour operator basic H&S. For example I would point out the group of lads who had hired quad bikes in Malia (they didn't even have helmets on), when they put the holiday makers in a taxi to change hotels (it does not look like they have checked them taxis out) and the instance where the holiday makers have just told the camera how they have diarrhea so they arrange for them to go to the waterpark for the day (should they really be swimming in a pool when they had diarrhea?).
Another pet hate of mine is the "this is not a 4 star hotel", well yes it is, thats the rating by the relevant tourist board / association in the relevant country based on there criteria. You may not believe that the hotel is of a good standard or quality and it may not of reached that star rating in another country but you can't say its not a 4 star!!!!!
OK rant over!
What does everyone else think?
I couldnt agree more!!
The programme frustrated me!! And whats more.. I thought that there was supposed to be a Data Protection Act in this world??? How on earth can a BBC presentator speak on behalf of the customer to the travel companies and ABTA anyway? Surely that shouldnt be allowed!
I thought this program was interesting but they didnt highlight what the customer was initially looking for with their budget. We get so many customers (like im sure everyone else does) wanting 5* luxury for 2* prices. So very often these people probably are so price driven that they will take what ever comes up within their price range, which is fine but then complain when it not the hight of quality. I understand that there should be a level of saftey, like one of the episodes show a childs play area in a hotel where some of the slides were not fixed to the gound and bolts were sticking out of the equipment. Which is clearly not suitable where children are concerned but to complain about not getting certain things which go along with spending the extra on 4* or 5* is not on. Then to complain to the BBC and get them in most cases free of change, will only cause these people to book a similar cheap holiday next year and expect the same results. The BBC should really give the full story and not the bare facts, how they booked, if it was through an agent or on the internet, if it was a dynamic package etc.......at least this way it would be a more realist picture of what happened. Although it has highlighted a few hotels and areas that i would no longer suggest as a option for customers in the future, great program but the bigger picture would have been accurate.