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Beginner September 2021 Gloucestershire

Advice Needed! Venue cancelled due to refurbishment 3 months before our wedding...

Ella, 9 of June of 2021 at 14:52 Posted on Planning 2 10

I'm due to get married on 25th September this year and unfortunately got a call on Friday from our venue (completely out of the blue!) telling me that a refurbishment they are doing will not be completed in time so they are cancelling our booking. Absolutely gutted! Everything has already been arranged, invites sent etc. Not even an apology from them either which made the situation even more upsetting - We've had our wedding booked for nearly 2 years and have already had to reschedule once due to Coronavirus.

Against the odds we have managed to find another venue that is available on the same date (very little availability for this year due to everything opening up again later this month) but it will cost us an extra £2,117. We have also lost deposits and are having to pay again for things like notice appointments due to the cancellation. The original hotel have agreed to pay us our deposit back but have said they cannot cover any of these additional costs we are facing because of their actions.

We have tried to claim the costs back through our wedding insurance but they are saying that refurbishment isn't in their set list of conditions to pay out so they will not help us (which seems ridiculous).

I wondered if anyone else has been in a similar situation before/has any advice? Should the original hotel be compensating us for all the extra costs we are facing because they have breached our contract?

10 replies

Latest activity by Esi, 13 of June of 2021 at 19:46
  • Michelle
    VIP July 2024 Cheshire
    Michelle ·
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    Sorry to hear thats happened hope you sort it out but im glad you still get to marry when you want to good luck x💗
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  • Emma
    Rockstar August 2021 Wiltshire
    Emma ·
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    In your signed contract does it state anything about if they cancel the wedding?
    Maybe contact citizens advice and ask them?

    Surely this is complete wrong!!! 😫 yay to finding another venue but it must be so upsetting and frustrating.
    Also most hotels were shut November to may!!! Why couldn’t they do the refurbs then?! Our hotel did all their refurbs then as they were shut and not allowed guests/weddings etc. Was this refurbishment planned in advance? Did they know if it when they rebooked your wedding (2nd date)? Did they tell you?
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  • E
    Beginner September 2021 Gloucestershire
    Ella ·
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    View quoted message

    In our contract all it says is that the hotel 'may cancel the booking if it is closed due to circumstances beyond its control'. Which is quite a vague statement but in my view, deciding to do a refurbishment is not out of their control?

    We were first told they were doing a refurbishment last year and that it would be finished by the end of 2020, but it didn't happen. We were originally meant to be getting married on 12th June but due to coronavirus restrictions the hotel told us to postpone - they offered us some September/October dates so we booked the 25th September. They then advised in February that the refurbishment was 'in full swing' and that they would be reopening at the beginning of August (no indication that it would not be done in time for our wedding). And then I didn't hear anything from them until the phone call last week cancelling the wedding. We have been incredibly lucky to find another venue for our date but it has been such an upsetting & stressful experience, and the thought of having to rearrange everything AGAIN is soul destroying...

    They are refusing to pay us any compensation so we are considering taking legal action, but just not sure we stand/whether they should be covering all of our additional costs?

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  • R
    VIP July 2020 Monmouthshire
    RomanticGreenStationery27135 ·
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    Try Citizens Advice.

    If you're not adverse to publicity, it might also be worth contacting your local paper. It's the kind of news story most local rags love, and being contacted by a journalist might encourage the original hotel to rethink the compensation issue!

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  • Emma
    Rockstar August 2021 Wiltshire
    Emma ·
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    It’s a tricky one.
    If you had stuck to your original date of June 12th the wedding would of had to been cancelled to!! And the fact that they’ve made you change the date under the pretence of COVID when they obviously knew it was due to refurbishments. This just screams sneaky to me.
    When they first advised it was due to be finished end of august was this in email? I’m thinking paper trail for evidence etc.
    Personally the contract stating out of their control doesn’t cover refurbishment!! That is their control. They chose to do it and how long it’s taking. So technically they’ve broken the contract and surely your insurance would cover that?
    I’d definitely talk to citizens advice and they can advice if taking legal action would work in your favour. I’m not sure if you could claim back additional costs or not. Ideally it would be nice if they paid some sort of Compensation.
    With the rearranging try not to stress lovely, easier said than done 😘😘 With the registrar I’d ring up and explain the situation and I’m guessing you have the appointment booked to give notice already, hopefully they can just change the address. Suppliers booked will just need the new address. With letting the guests know, I’m sure everyone will understand with what’s going on the world. I sent out my invites but said I would email/text after 21st June to confirm the invite and everyone is happy with that.
    I had a nosey at your profile and it says Swindon. Me too!! The other thing you could do is see if you can book rooms/events at the original venue for the same time and see what they say. Sounds bad but just make sure they aren’t lying etc
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  • PhotographybyBillHaddon
    Super January 3000 Leicestershire
    PhotographybyBillHaddon Online ·
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    You shouldn't loose any deposits from your suppliers as its the same date.

    Just so I understand this.

    You booked in 2020 for June 12th 2021.

    At the time of booking you were told that they were going to have a refurbishment to be finished by the end of 2020. But that didn't happen.

    When did you change the date from June 2021 to September 2021 ?

    You were advised in February that the refurbishment was 'in full swing' and that they would be reopening at the beginning of August.

    In 2020 I believe all non essential building work had to stop - also even on building work that was allowed things slowed down due to social distancing and contractors shielding so its quite possible that the planned 2020 refurbish was delayed until 2021.

    And due to the continued restrictions on social distancing the planned work due to be completed by August will now not be completed in time for your wedding in September. On top of the slower working conditions I read in the news about wide spread shortages of building materials.

    I think I may see some problems with getting any compensation. The refurbishments looks like they have over run which they would say are out of their control.

    Im my contract its says that if I have to cancel I will not be liable for any extra cost that you incur for using a more expensive photographer. I am sure that the venue must have something similar otherwise what's to stop you from booking a venue £50,000 more expensive and claiming the difference from the original one.

    £2,117 is a lot of money I understand, but -- I don't know Smiley winking going through the papers is also going to bring publicity and stress to yourself, is that something you really need right now just as you are moving forward to your wedding.

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  • E
    Beginner September 2021 Gloucestershire
    Ella ·
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    So we originally booked in July 2019 for June 12th 2021. I was not told about any refurbishment at the time of booking, I booked thinking the venue would be exactly the same as when we first viewed it.
    I then got an email in June 2020 saying that the hotel had changed ownership and that the new owners were planning on doing a refurbishment that year. They said 'The function room won’t look much different besides a neutral floor and white walls with amazing chandeliers. The bedrooms will look much better and there will be an amazing bridal suite.' - So we were led to believe it was only minor cosmetic work (painting rooms, replacing carpets etc) whereas now it looks like major construction work is being done (we drove past the site a few days ago and it looks like half the building is being knocked down).
    I think the most frustrating thing is that the hotel keeps dodging our questions and they are providing no proper explanation as to why there is such a huge delay. They're being really shady about it - if the work had to stop due to Covid or the delay was caused by a shortage of materials why aren't they saying that? Communication from them has been appalling & they just don't seem to care at all about what has happened.

    We changed the date from June 2021 to September 2021 in March this year. At that point the hotel told us they would not be reopening until 21st June so therefore we would have to move our wedding. I then asked what dates they had available over the next year (after 21st June) and they suggested we move it to September, which is what we did.

    It just seems completely unreasonable that we should have to cover all extra costs but legally I'm not sure we have any other option Smiley sad
    Thank you everyone for your advice/comments!

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  • PhotographybyBillHaddon
    Super January 3000 Leicestershire
    PhotographybyBillHaddon Online ·
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    "if the work had to stop due to Covid or the delay was caused by a shortage of materials why aren't they saying that? Communication from them has been appalling & they just don't seem to care at all about what has happened."

    That was just me thinking out aloud as to possible reasons for the delay in the refurb, but like you say why don't they just say so. But from the sounds of it they seem to of taken the opportunity (as they see it) while they could to take the refurb up to another level.

    What seems just as bad is that your insurance are refusing to pay out the difference. I would say that any time you have would be best spent on pursuing the insurance company who may respond to bad press more than the venue because any bad press for the venue could be perceived by new couples as just relating to the old building owners especially when the accompanying picture will be how it looked before.

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  • S
    Beginner September 2021 Worcestershire
    Sarah ·
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    Oh my goodness, exactly the same has happens to me for the same month!!!! I wonder if It’s the same place!! I feel your pain I have cried and cried! But found a much nicer venue so all clouds…!
    Get in touch if you want to chat about it xx
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  • E
    Beginner August 2021 South East London
    Esi ·
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    Hi Ella


    I am in EXACTLY the same situation as you are (and possibly with the same venue?) Let me know if you would be keen for a chat sometime?
    We like you are also considering our options
    Esi xx
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