"We travelled 4,000 miles to look at a car park": John's dream Florida holiday became a nightmare

Booking a package holiday should make travelling easier, not harder. With your flights, hotel and car hire all arranged together, there’s an expectation that if something goes wrong, your travel company will step in and sort it out.

But that’s not always how things work out. For John, what was supposed to be a relaxing two-week holiday in Florida with his wife became a string of disappointments, unexpected costs and stressful decisions that left the couple feeling abandoned.

The problem

John booked a British Airways Holidays package to Florida, including flights, a beachfront hotel and car hire. Before travelling, he explained that both he and his wife have mobility issues and requested a room with a view. Because the hotel was located on the beach, they hoped they would be able to enjoy the scenery without having to venture too far from their room.

British Airways Holidays told John they couldn’t guarantee a room with a view. Concerned, he asked whether they could move to another hotel before travelling instead, but says he was told it would cost an extra £500. After flying around 4,000 miles, John and his wife arrived late that evening and discovered their room overlooked a large car park instead of the beach.

“We weren’t pleased after travelling all that way.”

Four days in, they had to start again

Things didn’t improve and after four days, the hotel agreed John and his wife could leave, despite them having booked a two-week stay. The couple expected British Airways Holidays to arrange another hotel. Instead, John says they were told the cost of the remaining ten nights would be refunded to his account within two hours so they could book somewhere else themselves.

The money never arrived. With nowhere else to stay and no refund to pay for another hotel, John had to phone his daughter back in the UK and ask her to send money so they could book alternative accommodation. The promised refund eventually appeared the following day.

“We had to phone our daughter in the UK to send us money because we couldn’t wait for the refund. That’s not something you expect to do when you’re on holiday.”

For John, who is 75, and his wife, who is 70, arranging emergency accommodation in another country while both living with disabilities was an ordeal they hadn’t expected.

Then came the car hire surprise

Unfortunately, the problems didn’t stop with the hotel. When John collected the hire car from Avis at Tampa Airport, he says he was told his British Airways Holidays voucher already included insurance and breakdown cover.

He was asked to sign an iPad document and trusted what he was being told. It wasn’t until later that he discovered Avis had charged an extra £285 for insurance and breakdown cover he believed was already included in the package.

When John raised the issue with British Airways Holidays after returning home, he says he was told there was nothing the company could do because the charge had been made by Avis.

A goodwill payment, but unanswered questions remain

After returning to the UK, John complained to British Airways Holidays about both the hotel and the unexpected car hire charges. The company offered him £602 as a goodwill gesture, but John doesn’t believe it reflects the disruption to what was meant to be a relaxing holiday.

“We thought booking a package holiday meant someone would be there to help if things went wrong. Instead, we were left to sort everything out ourselves.”

Instead of spending two weeks enjoying Florida, John and his wife found themselves searching for alternative accommodation, relying on family back home to send emergency funds and questioning unexpected charges on their car hire. For John, the experience left him feeling that the support he expected from booking a package holiday simply wasn’t there when he needed it most.

What are your rights if your package holiday isn’t provided as agreed?

One of the biggest benefits of booking a package holiday is that your travel organiser is responsible for making sure the holiday you paid for is delivered as promised.

Under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, if a significant part of your holiday isn’t provided as agreed, the organiser must take reasonable steps to put things right. If they can’t, you may be entitled to an alternative arrangement, a price reduction, compensation or reimbursement for reasonable additional costs.

If your package holiday doesn’t go to plan:

Report problems as soon as possible. Tell your travel company or their local representative immediately and give them the opportunity to resolve the issue.
Ask the organiser to put things right. If your accommodation isn’t suitable or differs significantly from what you booked, they should, where possible, provide an appropriate alternative at no extra cost.
Keep evidence of everything. Take photographs, save emails and messages, and keep receipts for any additional costs you incur.
Check any unexpected car hire charges carefully. Before agreeing to additional insurance or breakdown cover, compare what’s being offered with what your booking confirmation says is already included.
Make a formal complaint. If the issue isn’t resolved during your holiday, complain in writing when you return home, explaining what happened, how you were affected and what outcome you’re seeking.
Escalate your complaint if needed. If you’re unhappy with the response, you may be able to take your complaint to ABTA (if the travel company is a member), an approved alternative dispute resolution scheme or, in some cases, the courts.
Use Resolver to help. Resolver helps you organise your evidence, keep track of correspondence and escalate your complaint if you don’t receive a satisfactory response.

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Resolver Stories are based on individual consumer experiences and reflect the account of the person involved. Businesses mentioned have not necessarily responded to the claims described.