A Northern couple swept up in a vacation nightmare partially blames tour company for taking advantage of where they live
Dawn Ostrem
Northern News Services
Cape Dorset (Feb 12/01) - The last-minute cancellation of a vacation to Cuba last spring has meant months of frustration for a Cape Dorset couple.
Don Oliver works for the North West Company and has to plan holidays well in advance to allow the company time to bring in a replacement manager. With that in mind, he and his wife Hollie booked a vacation four and half months in advance.
They paid $1,300 each for 14 days at Cayo Coco, Cuba only to discover when they arrived in Toronto last April that their Ontario tour company had changed those plans.
They were offered their money back at that time, or the option of accepting an alternative package.
"My husband and I can only make one trip a year," said Hollie Oliver. "There was no time for us to make other arrangements ... and too late to change our departure from the North."
The rest of the story unravelled like a typical vacation horror story, according to the Olivers.
They planned to meet up with friends so accepted the alternative deal that found them in an insect-ridden hotel room with no partition between the toilet and tub.
After four days at the hotel -- reported to be a four-star establishment -- the couple rented a car and booked accommodation, on their own, with their original hotel.
Now they want compensation for their out of pocket expenses.
A customer service manager for Conquest Tours, Laura Palmer, told News/North the Olivers' file was closed.
"We do not discuss our files with third parties," she said, although she did say Conquest did exchange correspondence with the Olivers.
Carlson Wagonlit is the travel agency that booked Conquest Tours as the Oliver's tour operator. It approached Conquest Tours on the Olivers' behalf but were unable to help them.
Get to know agent
Northerners are at risk of similar experiences, said the manager of a travel agency with offices in Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet.
Terri Chegwyn said because not all communities have travel agencies, people are often forced to book through an out-of-town agency.
That can "sometimes be detrimental because you don't know who is on the other end of the phone," Chegwyn said.
She explained travel agents or travel agencies book vacation packages through tour companies, some of which try to cut corners so they can offer a cheaper rate in the very competitive tour market.
The best thing to do, she said, is find an agent you can trust.
"If you don't know a travel agent, ask a lot of questions, get everything in writing or ask other people," she said.
