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Angry Zone: The bad stories
Club Med Angry Zone: The bad storiesBooking Issues Locked: Login first Starting Member - CANADA - 2 Posts 12 August 2010 03:11:23
Ok I am having an issue booking a trip and I am getting very frustrated and hope someone can help me.
We went to Club Med Cancun last year and were very happy with everything about our trip other then the travel agent we went through who told me she makes "no money on this sale" nice hey? So I thought I would book directly through Club Med. I have been watching the Club Med website for sales, and finally one came up with a price in our budget. When I started to book it online, the price would go up every time I hit "next" and with no information stating if I could book joining rooms like we had in January. So I called the 888# and was totally given the run around. The price they were giving me was $1480 more then the price advertised on the web. I was given a ton of reason that were all bull in my mind as to why the price changed, from airplane seat quality, to the first price I got did not include membership fees or Peace of mind insurance (although the website clearly stated that it did), or the price didn't guarantee a joining room but the $1480+ did, or that my kids don't fit in the beds in the rooms for that price, and needed an "up graded room" I am just frustrated, this seems like "bait and switch" to me. After two hours on the phone I got no where. Any advice on how to get the price advertised? It is just such a shame because I was such a Club Med fan before, and now I want to just walk away from the whole trip and book somewhere else!
 SponsorExpert - UNITED STATES - 629 Posts 12 August 2010 13:43:57
Club Med is notorious for changing "deals" on the website. I have seen prices change overnight with no announcement, and then again a couple days later. If you can still "see" the deal on the site, make a "screen capture" of your window and send it to them. Otherwise it is probably gone.
Your travel agent sounds pretty flakey. I always book through an agent and she is my advocate for air, prices, etc. And it's true, most agents get paid in the form of free rooms not a commission. My agent has been able to secure air that is not shown on the site - non-stops for the same price as the crazy schedules that sometimes show on the site. The few dealings I have had with CM phone sales people have been spotty at best. Just call back and talk with another agent if you still want to deal direct. Also, at Cancun, there is NOT an unlimited supply of adjoining rooms. It probably DOES cost more to guarantee it. The law of supply and demand. Back when the village was adult-only, they had little use for them - but now as a family village, they are in demand. They usually CAN guarantee you are in the same building on the same floor or across the hall from your other room. Also, sometimes the adjoining rooms are in a higher price-class building, or ocean facing. More expensive. Good luck. V.I.PExpert - UNITED STATES - 1636 Posts 12 August 2010 13:54:53
Website 99% of the time gives you the cheapest, basic rate. All those ads they post with the great prices never seem to work. And if you dont know a village, you can get the cheapest and be furthest away. You need a good CM travel agent specialist who will work with you and for you. I have a good one who is an exGO. So always knows where I am coming from. But to be on phone for 2 hours and get no satisfaction is terrible. Wishing you lots of luck with booking and getting what you want or as close as possible.
Jim How many gold bar beads?
Chicago Jim
SponsorExpert - UNITED STATES - 829 Posts 12 August 2010 15:23:43
Dogtiredwoof, I sent you a PM with an agent I use. I generally reserve my room and then have them book it but they seem good. I don't doubt what you say but I generally have good results calling direct and would do as one poster says and call back to get a different person. I however don't like their website and frankly I am not sure I trust it that much other than getting some ideas on price. CM is like the airlines with constantly changing prices promos, etc. Good luck! It is a great place to go.
dogtiredwoof
Starting Member - CANADA - 2 Posts 13 August 2010 13:48:58
Thank you guys for your response. I tried a few travel agents and that balooned the price by $5000 crazy! I was able to go on the website yesterday and book rooms for the six of us in the Jade Trident rooms for less then the "supervisor" at Club Med quoted me for two club lagoon view rooms. Just doesn't make sense if you ask me. ANYways, this "supervisor" did call me back last night at closing time and offer me a few hundred dollars more then the lowest price I saw on the web. She wasn't able to talk to me about it because the phones "automatically shut off there at closing and she coudln't talk a minute more" Things like that make me mental because it sounds like BULL to me, and I hate hate hate being lied to. No company selling travel packages would set their phones off at 8pm, because I am sure they wouldn't tell someone calling at 759 to book a few suites "call back tomorrow". Now my delema is do I want to book the joined club rooms or for $400 more book the Jade rooms!
John-Chicago
V.I.PExpert - UNITED STATES - 1298 Posts 13 August 2010 15:14:43
I have written several times about CM pricing. Travel agents call it Las Vegas pricing. You roll the dice and you get a price. Roll them a minute later, you get a different price. I am constantly amazed how anyone could run a business that way. If I tried to run my business that way, I would be laughed out of business. It is very disrespectful to your clients.
John PS: At least Europe gets some idea of pricing, since basic pricing is still shared in the brochures-at least it used to be. SponsorExpert - UNITED STATES - 629 Posts 13 August 2010 20:40:43
Totally concur with John.
Jade is like a Club Med within Club Med. If you have not seen this site, there is a section on Jade.... Much more lux, especially suites. www.cmcancunreview.com V.I.PExpert - UNITED STATES - 1636 Posts 13 August 2010 20:44:59
Are you booking in September or October? Did you get the Fall Booking bonus?
Fall Booking Bonus** - when you book a Deluxe room or a Suite, you'll enjoy: > Punta Cana, Dominican Republic: one complimentary Swedish massage (1 hour) and one complimentary lobster cruise excursion > Cancun Yucatan, Mexico: one complimentary Swedish massage (1 hour) and one complimentary Chichen Itza excursion > Ixtapa Pacific, Mexico: one complimentary Swedish massage (1 hour) and one complimentary Sunset Cruise Picante excursion How many gold bar beads?
Trish
 V.I.PAfficionado - FRANCE - 475 Posts 14 August 2010 11:09:12
Craig, John and Jim are right: you really have to know what you're doing when you book with the club.
As some of you recall from earlier this year, I had pretty much given up on going to Columbus this summer because the website price and the price I got from one travel agent were just out of my budget. Some of you kindly sent me the name of your travel agent and through that, I got better pricing. But in the end, here's what I did: I Googled "Club Med Travel Agents" and then I contacted a bunch of different agencies through their websites or by email. I had written a little blurb in advance about what I wanted - so fortunately, a lot of it was copy and paste. In the end, Brian at All Travel in LA got me a great price. And not only that, when I went to book the trans-Atlantic flight Paris-ATL and the connecting flight from ATL to Fort Lauderdale, he got a me a combo price that was much cheaper! So my advice to anyone booking is that you need to look at the website price over several days and then get quotes from several different travel agents. It's unfortunate that you have to work like this to book a trip, but there it is.  I'm now starting to plan my trip to the new village in Egypt next year, so I'll be doing the same strategy, but this time, in French! Should be an adventure!!!  Bisous, Trish Dive now; work later!
John-Chicago
V.I.PExpert - UNITED STATES - 1298 Posts 14 August 2010 14:36:23
Trish writes:
I'm now starting to plan my trip to the new village in Egypt next year, so I'll be doing the same strategy, but this time, in French! Should be an adventure!!! We do expect your usual complete report and photos! John
GMforever
 V.I.PActive - CANADA - 152 Posts 14 August 2010 23:42:23
*CM is like the airlines with constantly changing prices promos, etc*
CM on the website is not only changing the prices but also the flights !. Direct flights appear and disappear. For one of our trip, after a first try, it took me 4 iterations to get my direct flight for Caravelle. Even with a travel agent, only Central CM ''knows'' the multiple room categories and does not send your request to the Club. Therefore, for our first trip in Ixtapa , it took us 30 minutes of discussion at the front desk to get what we wanted in an empty CM. The GO wanted absolutely to speak to me in english and I had to put my foot down to speak spanish to make her understand what we wanted. As recommended in other posts, if you know already the village, fax them one week before what you want. Usually it works. Cancun used to be an adult village and I am pretty sure they added the connecting doors. In one of our trip with the kids, we ended up in our ''old room '' from our old days and I did remember that they were connecting rooms in the 90s Even with all the booking problems, we are going back year after year. Caravelle for Xmas ! Bonne chance pour l' Egypte
Trish
V.I.PAfficionado - FRANCE - 475 Posts 15 August 2010 10:18:34
quote: But of course John! As as it's a new village (with excursions to Petra in Jordan), I'm sure people will be interested! But natch, all the photos will be underwater as I'll be diving. After my visit to Columbus this summer, some colleagues who'd been there before asked to see my photos. The looks on their faces when they realised I didn't have ONE photo on land were hilarious! But this time, I'll to do some "dry work"!  Bisous, Trish Dive now; work later!
John-Chicago
V.I.PExpert - UNITED STATES - 1298 Posts 15 August 2010 17:12:45
Question?
Since CM knows the various catagories of rooms and which ones have premium pricing at each village, why doesn't the club publish maps of the villages that show where the different catagories are? It would be kind of like the cruises which show color coded ship decks and price catagories. Please don't say that it is too complicated, because if a policy is too complicated to understand or explain, then it is a bad policy. John V.I.PExpert - UNITED STATES - 1636 Posts 15 August 2010 19:44:09
It is too complicated. LOL. As you are all aware, I am most familiar with Punta Cana. They have maybe 8 different categories. Unlike a cruise ship, they have difference categories in different buildings and different locations in the village. As I remind people, it is not the old days when there were only two categories - ocean view and garden view. It was clear then what you saw from your room window, either ocean or gardens. There were even price listings for High and Low Seasons in the brochures. All this "upscale" has made it impossible for GMs to know where anything is. And the travel advisors on the phone have NO idea where anything is. Thankful I have friends in reception and planning and they always answer my questions, no matter how small. Sometimes people settle for the lowest cost, but upon arrival have no idea the problems that may arise. And now with the creation of almost two club med villages in one with the suites, I have no idea what the future will hold. End of my sermon.
Jim How many gold bar beads? SponsorExpert - UNITED STATES - 629 Posts 15 August 2010 21:58:38
The room category thing IS complicated, and overly so.
But to me it all boils down to just how much time I'm spending in my room. Basically just to sleep. So I'm looking for location. Proximity to activities and certain beaches, buildings, etc. In my experience, you can still get where you want to go with the most basic room classification - as long as you know here you want to be and you make the request a week before. To John's point about showing a map - I bet they are worried that most people would pick the same buildings, without firsthand knowledge of the village. Just based on the map. But it's a good idea anyway...
John-Chicago
V.I.PExpert - UNITED STATES - 1298 Posts 16 August 2010 14:57:39
Jim writes:
All this "upscale" has made it impossible for GMs to know where anything is. To paraphrase Martha Stewart, This is NOT a good thing. As a matter of fact, it is a pretty sad state of affairs and reflection of an attitude toward your customers. John Locked: Login first |