Worried about Upcoming Trip, Need Advice!

[sweetpeakaris]

I'm so worried about this issue, it's all I can think about. Well, I went against my first mind and booked a large 6 Bedroom Home for our upcoming trip to share with my sister and her family. It was all her idea, this will be there first time at Disney and she wanted to rent a home we all could stay in. I told DH from the beginning I thought we should book separate places just in case something happened where one family couldn't go. So, I found out that her DH lost his job Mid Dec, she didn't even tell me although we talk daily. I just noticed he was home an awful lot and asked her, BTW she doesn't work. So about a week ago I asked her if they were still gonna do Disney with the job loss, her response was "Yes, we already have $400 invested into it". The $400 was there portion of the nonrefundable deposit for the home we rented. So yesterday I saw some very good prices for Airfare (booked ours months ago), and thought I'd call them to give them the heads up. Well, She told me they don't have any money right now to buy the tickets. So now I'm thinking, if they don't have money for Airline tickets, how will they have the balance for the home we rented that need to be paid Feb 1st. Perhaps, they plan to use there tax return for the trip, I don't know. Her DH got fired from his job, so she said he has to wait 6 weeks to even file for unemployment or something like that. I also asked her again yesterday if they were still gonna do the trip, she said "Yes, if something changes I'll let you know asap".

I'm really worried they will cancel on us at the last minute and we will need to cancel the home we rented and search for something cheaper. If we cancel the home, we loose $400 and I'd feel bad for canceling on the owner at the last minute. There is no way we can keep the home and pay the entire rental amount ourselves. I could be worrying all over nothing, maybe they will keep there end of the bargain, maybe they have some money coming I don't know about. I know one thing for sure, I will never book anything combined like this again. I don't want to just give away $400 either. Also, if we have to book another place, I'm not gonna find anything that was in the same price range of our portion of the home we booked and my budget will be blown, not to mention its gonna be hard to find a new place since most owners are booked for Spring Break/Easter. What should I do? Any advice?

 

[Dani4girls]

I would talk to your sister! Like you said, you may be worrying for nothing. Would it be too intrusive to ask her how they were planning on paying for the trip? And I would also make sure that she realizes how "inconvenient" it would be for everyone involved if they had to cancel at the last minute.

 

[Kay1]

I don't know what else you can do other than what Dani4girls said. You may have to accept the fact that you'll be out of the $400 unless the owner finds another renter and is merciful.

You should have a backup plan should the worst happen, even if it's finding something on Hotwire. Or, have a few hotels in mind and act quickly.

Sorry.

 

[Sandi]

Maybe your sister is planning to drive down, so they don't need to be concerned about air. If they don't have jobs to schedule around, that might be the plan.

I think you need to talk with her and explain how anxious you are about this. I'd rather have a $400 lesson than have to spend a lot more than I could afford on a place to stay. It's not too late for you to get out of the house and find someplace else. The owner would rather know about it now than on February 1 when you can't make the payment.

 

[kymmyk13]

Am I the only one confused. First off if you are fired you can not collect unemployment. If they have no income coming in shouldnt any tax refund, ect go toward bills and groceries and not a vacation. I would cut my loses now and start looking for any place to stay

 

[CdnCarrie]

You had to put down $800 deposit and it's not refundable?


That doesn't seem right at all. I sure wouldn't be booking some place like that.

Do they have trip cancellation insurance they can use to recover some of the costs?

 

[ceecee]

You can collect unemployment if you're fired, however taking a vacation should not be a priority for them. They should be thinking ahead and saving the tax refund. Don't forget tickets, food, etc. too much when no one in the family is working.
The house sounds really expensive if the deposit alone is $800 non-refundable???

 

[RangerPooh]

I would confront her and say that you need to know by this weekend whether they will truely be able to go or not. At this point the remainder of the balance on the rental property is due in 3 weeks, and even if her DH was ot find a job ASAP they might still not ahve the first realpaycheck in their hands by that time. Plus it might be going to any back bills. If she is whisy washy make sure that you ave a plan B just in case.

Go online and search for alternative accommodations. Call around and price hotels for the time of your visit and see what kind of rates you can get. Chances are most would only require a 1 nights deposit, which you could get back if they were in fact able to go, with enough notice of course. This way in case she backs out Jan. 31st or March 15th you have a plan. You've already invested money into your plane tickets, which is considerably more than she has contributed.

Having paid for relatives in advance and then had them flake I have learned the hard way that losing money happens. We have had entire trips planned, down to us paying the deposits and their airfare to only have them cancel. Having had this happen to us we no longer invest that kind of resources into certain family members. In the end while it would bite, a $400 loss is manageable compared with being left with the entire cost of the rental.

 

[DISdreamin']

I'm with a PP - $800 NONrefundable deposit?!?! Wowza!

Personally, I might consider contacting the person who owns the property and see if they have other (smaller) properties.

 

[sweetpeakaris]

I'd be shocked if they drive down, she would have to do all the driving as her DH falls to sleep too easily while driving. We normally drive down every year, tried to get them to do the same, this is why we did airfare since they wanted to Fly, and plus our Minivan is getting kinda old.

If it were me, I'd be trying to save any money I have, I wouldn't even consider doing this trip after a jobloss. This puzzles me, and in Michigan its really hard to find a job period!

No they didn't purchase Trip insurance.

The total Rental was $2400 for 10 nights, owner wanted $400 deposit, however due to a miscommunication, I sent a $400 payment and so did my Sister, vs just one of us sending it. So since we just booked the end of Nov, we decided to just leave it, another HUGE mistake on my end.

If in a position to, a big IF, I have an Aunt that lives about 50mins from Disney who offered us to stay with her. Issue is, it's too far, she smokes, occassionally drinks, and stays up late most nights playing poker online, lol!! That wouldn't be a vacation, but would save a lot of money. She did say her and her DH would smoke outside while we are there, but the house would still stink like smoke.

I did an inquiry to find another place to stay, got about 30-40 offers will narrow them down and book with one if my sis don't give me the deposit. I'm gonna call them and tell them I need it by Jan 18th and see what they say.

I will never make this mistake again.

 

[pixiewings71]

Ok if the deposit was only $400 you should have NO problems getting the other $400 back from the owner. I'm assuming you have a written agreement right? And I think you might be overreacting, just because they can't buy the airfare right now doesn't mean they don't have a plan in place, or a job prospect or something else. Hopefully DBiL will be working soon and the plan can go on as it is currently but you need to talk to your sis and tell her how you're feeling, I'm sure she's stressed as well.

As for taking a trip while unemployed, that is up to each individual family not us to chose.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Why not just get a room at the *** or Pop if money is an issue? Much better idea than driving 50 miles.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Cancel NOW! Give theowner the chance to rebook the house. You should also be able to get the $400 deposit back (and are you sure your sister hasn't gotten the deposit back? )

Have you checked the Disney specials right now? AP rates have up to 45% off rack rate and there are packages with a gift card back

Sorry this has happened, hope it all works out for you!

 

[secretpantssam]

I'd hate to say this, but it's best to cancel this house now. It's not looking good for your sister being able to pay, and even if they do come up with the money, they really should save it and put it towards essentials rather than a vacation. Her husband also needs to be looking for another job and not worrying about whether or not he can take vacation when he starts.

I agree with the PP who said that since you sent 2 deposits, maybe you can contact the seller and get one back. That way it's only a $200 mistake and you guys can look for new accommodations. Check the Disney properties, they're having some great sales right now. I know it sucks to have to change your plans like this, but it would really be better for everyone if they just didn't go.

 

[4Seasons]

Well if you booked a 6 bedroom home for 2 families, I'm assuming if it was just your family a 3 bedroom townhome or condo would work?
You can find something else if that's the case.