6 essential tips on how to make a holiday complaint

Not every holiday goes smoothly. If you do need to make a complaint, Sally Francis from Money Saving Expert has handy tips for making sure you get the response you deserve

5 mins

1: Don’t wait until you come home


A man making a complaint over the phone in a hotel lobby (Dreamstime)

It makes it a lot more difficult to fight your case if you wait until you come home. If it was that big a deal, the argument from the tour operator or the hotel would be, “Why didn’t you say anything at the time?” Whatever you do, complain as soon as you can.

If you notice a problem, make your complaint known. The first step would be, if something is not included and you’ve booked through the tour operator, get in touch with the tour operator. Drop them an email if you’re away and say what wasn’t included. Make sure you have proof of it from your booking because, if it was meant to be included, it would have been detailed in your booking. 

If it’s an issue with the hotel or the hotel’s not up to standard, then complain to the hotel. If you booked through a tour operator, then go to them as well. If they’ve sold you something, saying that it was of a particular standard and it’s not, then go down that route.

 

2: Take to social media


Using Twitter on phone (Dreamstime)

If you can’t get through to anyone, then taking to social media would be a good way of doing it. Companies don’t like you airing their dirty laundry in public. You could get a better response that way. 

If the hotel isn’t what you thought it was going to be, or if there’s a lot of building work going on when you were told there wouldn't be, then take photos of it and make sure you use that to support your complaint. 

Twitter is probably your best bet. Speaking from personal experience, companies don’t want people to know that things aren’t great, because it’s obviously brand management. If it shows on Twitter that there are hundreds of complaints then it’s not going to do much good for the brand. If they are shown to be responding well on Twitter, that they’re engaging, that tends to be better for them from a business point of view and it's also better for you because it means you get a quick response. 

Sometimes they have an online webchat. You can get a live response from somebody during working hours. If there’s a time difference, it can be difficult, but it’s a good way to get a quick response.

  

3: Jot down notes


Man taking notes in hotel (Dreamstime)

Jot down some notes after you’ve spoken to the staff at a hotel, giving details of dates and times, the name of the person you spoke to and their job title, as well as any responses you got from them. 

Do the same for a tour operator. Keep any emails as well, rather than deleting them, so that if you do have to escalate the complaint, you’ve got all the evidence to support your claim. With a complaint, it’s a case of gathering all the evidence you can and escalating it as soon as possible.

 

4: Write to a member of a travel trade organisation


Person writing at a table (Dreamstime)

It makes sense to contact a travel trade organisation. ABTA (Association of British Travel Agensts) is probably the biggest trade organisation. If the company you travelled with is a member of ABTA and the standards aren’t good enough, then you can hold them to account that way. 

ABTA covers financial compensation and will give you a refund if the company goes bust. They have certain standards that members have to stick to.

  

5: Tell the airline

 
Staff at an airport (Dreamstime)

If you’re been bumped from a flight, there are certain rules that the airlines have to stick to in terms of cancellation and delays. If, for example, you’re bumped from the flight and they don’t offer you food or drink, go to the airline. They will have a complaint procedure that you should follow. See if you get a response that way. 

If you don’t - let’s say you’re at the airport and no-one’s offered you anything - then, again, take to Twitter and see if they can do something that way. That could be a way to get an immediate response. 

If standards aren’t great when you’re on the flight itself, talk to a member of staff on the airline and see if they can do anything to help. If they don’t and that makes things worse, you could contact the airline as soon as you land and see if they can escalate things that way.

 

6: Know what you want the outcome to be


Man in waiting room at airport (Dreamstime)

Do you want compensation, or a refund? Do you want a refund and compensation? You need to be quite clear about what you want the outcome to be, because it sets the tone for how serious you are about the complaint. It just gives a company or hotel a bit of guidance. 

If you’ve been staying at a hotel and the hotel was appalling, there was building work going on, it wasn’t the relaxing break you were promised, then that to me would suggest you should claim compensation. There’s nothing they can do in that situation that would make things better for you. 

If it’s that you’ve been bumped from a flight and the airline isn’t offering you food or drink vouchers, then you’d want food and drink vouchers. You’d want them to give you something, but you might not necessarily ask for compensation. It’s about looking at the situation and seeing what detriment it had to you, and what would make it okay.

  

Sally is a senior writer at Money Saving Expert, specialising in travel.

Main image: Making a complaint at the airport (Dreamstime)



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