Tourist parking incident in Cua Lo: Tourists' meal money is unclear?

(Baonghean.vn)- The representative of Thai Binh Duong Hotel said that the group of guests requested a meal of 150,000 VND/person (a tray for 10 people) but the tour guide asked the hotel to only make a meal of 130,000 VND/meal and arrange a tray for 12 people. Meanwhile, the leader of Cua Lo Town said that the biggest mistake here was the inappropriate behavior.

On the morning of July 7, many reporters from press agencies continued to be present in Cua Lo Town to capture information about the "incident" of parking tourists' vehicles on July 6 at the Pacific Hotel.

According to Mr. Ho Dang Tuan - Director of Thai Binh Duong Hotel, onOn June 30, 2016, Thai Binh Xanh Tourism Company (Party B) and Thai Binh Duong Hotel (Party A) worked on the price mechanism and sales policy for the group of guests.

The two parties reached an agreement via email with the following content: Party A agreed to sell the room rate from July 4 to July 6 to the group at a 40% discount compared to the listed price; with the condition that Party B must use the on-site dining service of 3 meals/day; the form of payment is full payment before the guest checks out.

Pacific Hotel, Cua Lo Town (photo taken on July 7, 2016).

With the above content, Party B agreed and transferred the deposit. On July 4, the group came to use Party A's service and ordered lunch. On the afternoon of July 4, two representatives of the group and the tour guide named Quang went to the kitchen to order the menu for dinner.

According to the hotel's Chef, the group requested their meal to be 150,000 VND/person (10-person tray), but Mr. Quang requested the hotel to make it 130,000 VND/meal, and arranged a tray for 12 people. Mr. Quang was afraid that his actions would be exposed, so he made an excuse to go down to work with the sales department and then arbitrarily took the guests out to eat, leading to a breach of the agreement between the two parties.

After that, Party A called and emailed the management of Party B to request the correct implementation of the agreement. At 11:00 a.m. on July 5, Party B sent a message to Mr. Hoang - Sales Department of Party A with the content: "The company is very grateful for the hotel's thoughtful reception regarding room service. However, due to the customer's need for food service, the company has made changes according to the customer's request."

Responding to this issue, at 4:30 p.m. on July 5, Party A responded: "The group please follow the original agreement: eat 3 meals at the hotel. The hotel will support the maximum price for the group to eat at the hotel. In case the group does not eat 3 meals as agreed, the hotel will charge the room rate according to the individual customer price" and requested the operator to book meals for the group on the evening of July 5 and noon of July 6. However, Party B did not cooperate and did not respond to any questions about the quality of service and meals, and took the guests out to eat.

Director of Thai Binh Duong Hotel, Mr. Ho Dang Tuan (white shirt) talked with reporters on the morning of July 7, 2016.

On the morning of July 6, 2016, before the group checked out, Party A emailed Party B's manager about the group's debt and requested payment according to the agreement that both parties had confirmed via email (Party A applied the room rate based on the retail price); but Party B had not paid in full, so Party A invited the guests to work on the group's debt situation.

Afterwards, the group of guests raised the issue of reducing the service price to ensure harmony between the two parties. Party A agreed to apply to the group according to the published price list for travel companies with the total outstanding amount of 12.9 million VND (if applied to individual guests, it would be 21 million VND). The customer agreed and while waiting to withdraw money to pay, the authorities came to work, but Party A did not "imprison the vehicle".

However, when the reporter asked Mr. Tuan to clarify the information in the minutes: "Currently, Thai Binh Xanh Tourism Company owes Thai Binh Duong Hotel 12,900,000 VND, the hotel is temporarily holding the group's car...", Mr. Tuan refused to answer.

Minutes No. 197 were made by the Inspection Team of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism on July 6, 2016 at Thai Binh Duong Hotel.

As reported by Nghe An Newspaper, before the "incident" that occurred at noon on July 6, 2016 at Thai Binh Duong Hotel, Mr. Vo Van Hung, Vice Chairman of Cua Lo Town People's Committee, along with leaders of functional departments of Cua Lo Town and Inspector of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, were present and promptly paid the hotel in advance so that the tourists could leave because they had checked out earlier to ensure the highest benefits of the tourists.

On July 7, the leader of Cua Lo Town said that the right and wrong between Thai Binh Xanh Tourism Company and Thai Binh Duong Hotel will be handled by the Inspectorate of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. However, the above "incident" has affected the Cua Lo tourism brand, the biggest mistake here is the hotel's behavior towards tourists. If at that time, the representative of Thai Binh Duong Hotel had been calmer and more tactful, the incident would not have turned out like this...

"Cua Lo Town always affirms its brand as a friendly and hospitable coastal tourist city. Any inappropriate behavior towards tourists will be strictly handled," affirmed the leader of Cua Lo Town.

Ha Giang