to send or not to send, that is the question!

[Musetta]

I also voted "no" and agree here with Brooke. I think, as rotten as it was of them, best thing to do is forget it and move on....and never consider any booking final until you have the deposit. Honestly, are they even worth your time? they are obviously stupid and rude and I doubt a well written and well meaning email will change the. (of course, that's me - I would be on pins and needles waiting for the to reply, etc. - so would be best for me personally to let it go)

[Bellywobble]

I think if I received a letter like that I would want to curl up and die. I would be so ashamed of myself that I wouldn't tell a soul. So I voted to send it!

[A-two]

Having just dealt with a toddler drowning on the the night before the family were due to arrive with us, I definitely would not send a bitter letter like this. Try and reach them by phone, and use a very sympathetic language, asking what news was so terrible that they couldn't come. bad news. You have a far better chance of getting paid.

[alifrank1]

I also voted a big yes!

A couple of years ago my daughter and boyfriend booked to go camping in the UK. A couple of weeks before they were due to go the weather changed and they decided not to bother. I asked if she had emailed the campsite to say they were not going after all (they didn't have to send a deposit) and she was quite surprised when I insisted she should. Thankfully she did and got a nice email back thanking her for letting them know.

We all know the consequences if there is a no show and no deposit has been paid, but I believe many people just don't realise about the loss to the owner

Sending the letter may stop them from doing it again to someone else

[Jimbo]

... draw up a new policy of chasing deposits more aggressively if the arrival is less than 2 weeks away ...

Sorry, but I'm a 'no' too. Far better to chill in your favourite chair with a glass of something and (as others have said) resolve to implement steps to ensure that this situation couldn't arise in the future. Once this is done, you might want to email this 'no-show' and thank him for his help in improving your booking system.

Jim

[Margaret]

I think several people here have hit the nail on the head. Was this actually a booking? If your T&Cs say that a deposit has to be paid (and that is surely how you avoid no shows costing so much money), then this wasn't actually a booking. We do not do B&B (except for large groups, and even they have to pay 50% at the time of booking and 50% 8 weeks before arrival) and don't issue a booking confirmation until we have received payment.

Writing the letter you want to write is always the best way to let off steam in these circumstances. But there could have been an excellent reason why they didn't come. Even if there wasn't, the best way of stopping these people to doing this to other people is for everyone to insist on a deposit, isn't it?

[Hells Bells]

Margaret, absolutely,although I can understand why it may be difficult to accept a deposit for a short B&B booking, due to bank charges for transfers ,but surely there are ways round this? Full payment for last minute bookings may be an option with an emphasis on the booking not being confirmed until the money is received. Last summer, becasue of family members staying at our apartment, we had to book a B&B for our first night. We wanted to see our family before they left,as they don't live in the UK. To cut a long story short, we didn't require the B&B in the end, but emailed to cancel, and offered to pay. I had no reply from them though.

[Rocket Rab]

Nope, don't send that letter, much as I understand your reasons for wanting to (and sympathise, hugely). At least you will have the moral satisfaction of being professional, right down the line.

[cc]

Anyway, last year we had a similar situation, last minute booking, didn't respond to the email asking "Are you coming?" so we sent a message saying, no deposit so no booking and guess what? They turned up saying they had sent the deposit (never arrived) and had left for the first week of the holiday after sending the confirmation email and for Gods sake who checks their emails when they are on holiday!!!
We didn't have a room for them so they were going to complain about us to the police, UA, tourist office, State government, National Government and even the EU. The woman was an obvious loon and we heard no more.
So this year we tried the other way and it seems that you're damned if you do and damned if you don't, really.

Thanks for the comments, very interesting reading they make too.

[Hells Bells]

Perhaps a phone call could have sorted all of this, whatever the circumstances? Or didn't they have a mobile phone either?

[cc]

No phone number included, just email and address. I suppose I could have sent them a letter as they didn't answer the email.

[Margaret]

Honestly, I'm not sure that just a name and an email address sounds like a serious booking. We insist on 2 things for a booking to be treated as serious and confirmed: 1. our booking form on our website filled in, so that we have full address, phone number and email, confirmed date of arrival and departure, number in party, and 2. money. Then we send our booking confirmation.

[la vache!]

Can't you take a credit card number like hotels do and charge in case of a no show?

[Hells Bells]

At least you could then charge for one night, and perhaps get another booking for the remaining time.

[cc]

best offer we got from the banks when we asked was 8% to have a machine. A friend used to have one for her business and only paid 2% but there is so much CC fraud around that I am loathe to start taking CC bookings. As I have said before, the banks would hold us responsible for a fraudulent transaction even though we acted in good faith.

I suppose we'll just have to move away from a trust based system, ie. people who send messages like this:
"That's great to hear! It's perfect, and i want to book for those nights then. And how i going to pay that? Is it possible to pay it cash when we arrive, or do you want something else?
Let me know. Thank you very much!"

should be given the reply, "no deposit in X days means no reservation".