Akasha Retreat Omdömen 2

Svar från Akasha Retreat

14 juli 2020

Dear Adel Hutchinson,

As mentioned in my emails, your situation is no different from millions of people who have had holidays booked and been cancelled in Europe due to the pandemic and no different to over 200 bookings we have had to postpone between March to date. Some customers who wanted full refunds made claims from their insurance or chargebacks on their credit cards, but over 95% have rescheduled their holidays and are still due to arrive at Akasha.

I am deeply sorry for the frustration you feel, we can understand under these conditions you and Laura do not wish to travel anymore and would like a refund. We have always stated that our terms and conditions and cancellation policy accepted at the time of booking apply, we cannot offer refunds and we recommend you check with your insurance provider or credit/debit card provider to check your consumer rights. We believe under these conditions we have done everything we possibly can to safeguard the deposits paid by our customers so they can come and claim these when restrictions have lifted (many accommodations or retreat centres have ceased to exist) we have done everything in our power to ensure that when you do come you are offered a safe place in which to receive the same Akasha experience.

Just to confirm:

1. We did not cancel your booking, a global pandemic did, which we did not create or cause. Your reservation was for Mar 27 - Apr 1, 2020 (5 nights) when our country, Romania went into a countrywide lockdown forcing us to close operations by law. Not by choice. We emailed you conditions of your booking on March 11 offering you a full credit note for the amount you paid and an additional €300 credit as a gift from us for this inconvenience which no one could have foreseen. Credit applicable or transferable for a period of 12 months, a generous policy considering the limitations imposed on us.

2. At the time of booking, you accepted terms and conditions which explain that your deposit is non-refundable in normal pre-pandemic conditions. You also accepted the terms that " Akasha Wellness Retreat reserves the right to alter any facility accommodation or yoga activity ". I have sent you by email copies of the terms and conditions you accepted at the time of booking to verify with your insurance provider, your bank, credit/debit card provider or legal representative.

We followed strict protocol imposed on us by law in our country and I invite you to read the European Union FAQ on cancellations of individually booked accommodations, car rental and events due to COVID-19 that provides more information at European Union level of the situation that both providers and consumers face and your rights - https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/consumers/resolve-your-consumer-complaint/european-consumer-centres-network-ecc-net/faq-cancellations-individually-booked-accommodations-car-rental-and-events-due-covid-19_en

The alteration to the programme is made to comply with the law, whilst making Akash safe for customers again. We now offer greater flexibility to all customers, undoubtedly due to the current situation some things must change for example when we do open, we are not allowed to serve meals indoors, the number of people allowed to stay at Akasha has reduced to 14, from 22, all our activities must be done outdoors, all our staff are required to wear protective masks and safety measures and we risk being closed down at any moment. We cannot function in the same format as we were advertising the retreat experience before March but we are at least allowed to open hence offering the chance for all those like you who have booked experiences with us to come and claim these credits so they do not lose the deposits paid. Which most have already done.

As a consumer, you have rights which we invite you openly to exercise. You should check your rights with your bank, your travel insurance and your legal representative. We also have a duty to be responsible providers to all our customers who still wish to come to Akasha despite the disruptions caused by the pandemic. We are a small accommodation provider with 9 rooms in a village in Romania, we are not Booking.com, Expedia or a large Hotelier Group with HUGE cash flow reserves and teams of lawyers. We are doing the best we can in an impossible situation.

I hope this helps if there is anything else I can do to help with your claim please contact me directly.
Irina