B&B owners on the Isle of Wight are starting to field calls from people staying in their holiday accommodation.
Those travelling with Wightlink are finding they are having their bookings moved around. All this following one of Wightlink’s boats being unexpectedly taken out of service for a week.
One self-catering cottage owner told News OnTheWight that their guests had originally been booked on an 8am ferry this coming Friday morning – only to be contacted by Wightlink yesterday (Tuesday) and told their booking had been shifted to midnight on Friday.
With young children on holiday with them, this has caused some consternation.
Shifted to 3am crossing – with young children
Another has told of a case where their guests have been informed they will be on the 3am crossing – again, with young children.
It’s unclear what visiting families can do with their time after they leave their holiday cottages at 10am. The day should be all quite possible, but it’s the evenings where they have to wait until midnight or 3am to catch their ferry. It’s one of the questions (below) we’ve put to Wightlink – What do they suggest or have they arranged anything?
Very hard to get through
Those trying to get through to Wightlink on the phone are finding it extremely difficult, as those impacted try to get through to make changes.
One property owner told News OnTheWight that even those with a Trade account aren’t able to get through the Wightlink site and gain access to rebook.
Some accommodation providers are booking their guests on Red Funnel, so they can get off the Island at a reasonable time. We’ve been told that one-way tickets were £60. News OnTheWight has asked Wightlink what their refund policy will be for these tickets.
Cancellations
Two cases of cancellation have come up. One accommodation provider had guests who are booked in for next week cancel, as their Wightlink ferry had been switched to a later-night crossing.
The other, slightly more upbeat. Their guest’s 6pm ferry had been shifted to 1am and has they had kids, they cancelled – happily for all concerned, they rebooked for the following week.
Be kind to WL staff
Wightlink staff will be doing what they can in a very difficult situation, so, if you’re travelling, we know it’s not going to be ideal, but please don’t take it out on them.
Just think about how hard a day they’ll have had as well.
Questions and Answers to/from Wightlink
News OnTheWight put some questions to Wightlink (WL):
- How much has WL expanded the number of people answering calls while the boat is out of action?
- What’s WL policy on refunds if visitors are forced to book with Red Funnel to get off the Island at a reasonable time? Will WL refund the ticket price?
- What arrangements have Wightlink made for people (particularly those with young children) to occupy themselves with their time now they have had their booking rejigged from a morning crossing to some at midnight or 3am? If none – do WL have some suggestions as to what families can do?
They respond as follows:
The vast majority of Wightlink’s customers book either online or through the Wightlink App and all amendments and changes can be carried out without a phone call to the Contact Centre.
However, as a small proportion of our customers prefers to phone, we have increased the capacity of the Contact Centre by rostering extra shifts and calling on other staff who are trained in the reservation system to bolster numbers. Unfortunately, our third party phone system supplier is currently experiencing software issues which may impact on the time taken to answer calls.
We are emailing all customers affected by this week’s issues and giving them a link to a webpage with the following options. They can accept the alternative booking, rebook for an alternative date, opt to receive a travel voucher for the full value of the booking or ask for a full refund.
The Wightlink website features a Things to Do section, with information on activities and attractions. Visit Wight also has plenty of ideas and several other websites are available.
