Foot-and-mouth refunds anger customers

Partial refunds being paid out by hotels after the cancellation of the Cheltenham horse-racing festival because of foot-and-mouth have left some customers angry and out of pocket. Most of the big hotels have given full refunds, but others are returning only part of the money or keeping the money to secure bookings for next year's festival. Geoffrey Tong, 62, of West Sussex threatened to take the 17-bedroom Prestbury House hotel to the small claims court because he risked losing half of his £1,120 deposit unless he re-booked the hotel for a future date. In the end, owner Stephen Whitbourn refunded £800 and no legal action was taken. The 38-bedroom George Hotel has refunded 55% of bookings. Owner Jeremy Shaw said: "There has been a varied reaction but the majority have happily accepted. A few refunds are under discussion and haven't been settled. We think we're being fair." The 79-bedroom Queens's Hotel and the 75-bedroom Carlton Hotel both gave full deposits back after the cancellation of the festival. Joanne Blackburn, assistant manager of the Carlton, said: "We decided to keep our loyal customer base. Every single guest is booked in with us for next year's race. Two actually sent back their deposits saying we should keep them." Legally, hoteliers can keep two-thirds of a cancelled half-board booking. Martin Couchman, deputy chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, said: "Whether the hotelier chooses to exercise goodwill is his own personal and commercial decision. Hoteliers are legally entitled to be compensated for what is effectively - if the guest doesn't turn up - a breach of contract."