Reply from Fl Premier RentalsJun 17, 2020
I am sorry to see that Mr Bryant is unhappy with our service. When he made the initial booking, he was fully aware that it was non-refundable as it is clearly marked on the villa details page. The no-refund is also clearly laid out in the Terms and Conditions document he had to agree to before his initial booking was accepted.
During the Covid crisis, as a gesture of goodwill, we have been making exceptions and allowing our guests to move their bookings to a later date to avoid disappointment. Now that Orlando is open for tourism, we are having to stick firmly to the legal terms agreed when he made the booking.
As I'm sure you are aware, there are several reasons why we have to insist on a no-refund policy:
We cannot allow guests to reserve a villa and then later demand a refund because they have changed their mind. This means they have blocked other vacationers from booking the villa on those reserved dates. A no-refund deposit shows a firm commitment to book and stay at the villa, and it must be respected.
Secondly, we do not hold or control the funds paid by guests to secure their villa booking. The majority of the deposit goes to the booking company, with a very small percentage being passed back eventually to FPR. We cannot refund monies that we do not control.
Thirdly, our villa owners have taken huge losses over the past months of lock-down. They have had no income from new bookings but they have still had to pay high overheads including resort memberships, insurances, pest control, utility bills (to maintain air-con and pool maintenance etc), and mortgage interest in many cases. This continues to be an on-going problem for them as they honor past bookings which limits availability for new bookings for the rest of the year. Now that Orlando is open for tourism, we have to revert to the Terms and Conditions agreed by guests when they book.
We have already had to accommodate moving over 300 bookings that have been rescheduled. We simply do not have the availability to accommodate any further changes.
I'm afraid that making threats and leaving vitriolic feedback comments does not change the legal facts. This was a non-refundable booking that was clearly stated from the outset. Mr Bryant signed to say he understood that there would be no refund if he canceled, and we regretfully have to maintain that position.
Yours faithfully,
Karen Collinson
Owner and CEO Florida Premier Rentals