Community Forums

jerry davis · 02-02-2022, 10:14 PM

Several months ago we made a reservation at PALM BEACH MOTORCOACH RESORT in Jupiter Florida. They took our money (not a deposit but the entire amount for the stay) and gave us a confirming email for our stay dates. A couple of days ago, as we were on our way from California to Florida, they called to say our reservations were canceled as they had someone who wanted the spot for a considerably longer stay. They said their policy had changed at the beginning of the year and our stay was not long enough to be guaranteed.

Is this the new way of doing business in the rv industry? Can you no longer rely on a “confirmed” reservation? I’m incredibly saddened by this situation and sure hope it’s not the way of the future for rv parks. Needless to say, this park will no longer be on our list and I hope others will think long and hard before they make reservations there.

MikeyG · 02-02-2022, 10:32 PM

That's BS Jerry.
Sent you a PM.

bevandtomH · 02-03-2022, 09:57 AM

That’s a “policy” that they should be ashamed of.

A few parks we’ve booked have a “guaranteed site” that I paid $20.00 for, in addition to our deposit. Is it worth it? Not sure, but if they don’t put me in my “guaranteed site” as promised, I better be in an equal or better.

What a lousy thing they did. Alienating more who read this must be valued more by them than doing the right thing.

hohenwald48 · 02-03-2022, 11:34 AM

Without reading the policy in force at the time you made the reservation or the signed contract you had at that time, it's hard for any of us to have an intelligent opinion.

Assuming the policy/contract in effect did not have an out clause for them they would normally be considered as the breaching party.

Their website doesn't contain any contract or policy wording so I suspect that would be contained in any confirming email they sent to you.

2cyber71 · 02-03-2022, 11:38 AM

Holy cow

Mr JP · 02-03-2022, 12:00 PM

That's a load of BS "PALM BEACH MOTORCOACH RESORT in Jupiter Florida"
is off of our list to stay at. Thanks for the heads up on a crappy park.

lrwinddancer · 02-03-2022, 02:51 PM

WOW, How can any business do that. I guess that just goes to show you things are really messed up. I am heading out for a 6week trip stopping at 29 different parks. None in FL but sure hope that is not the trend I am about to experience. I am with others, no way I would stay there based on this. I wonder if you can post a review on RV Trip Wizard or any and all other park reviews telling the world what they did to you.

Suburbazine · 02-03-2022, 03:56 PM

At this point you tell them that you're charging a 20% interest fee on the entire reservation charge they applied, or they can talk to your lawyer. If you paid up front for the entire duration of the stay, well in advance of the stay, they owe you interest on your money since they are treating it as a loan.

Ricci · 02-03-2022, 04:11 PM

Hi - If I had paid in full and my site wasn't there when I arrived I'd be there with the local TV new caster and the county sheriff. They accepted your money for the site.

Tom

NCC-1701A · 02-03-2022, 04:20 PM

Hohenwald48 has the answer...what was the wording of any contract signed for the stay? If the contract says nothing, or refers to nothing, about the park being able to cancel without cause, then the park is in breach of contract and should be liable for damages. If it does state something that allows what they did, then it's a rotten practice, but those were the terms.

I'd be checking what was in force for terms. Problem is with something like this is it would probably cost more to pursue than anything financial one would get out of it.

Very little now-a-days in the way of business ethics or just plain old customer care. The entire industry, from manufacturers to dealers to campgrounds just oozes with lack of caring about their clientele. I don't mean all in the industry, but enough of them that it's pretty disheartening.

arcaguy · 02-03-2022, 04:25 PM

Assuming that the OP and the park are not domiciled in the same state taking the park to court is an exercise in throwing good money after bad. This suit would have to be in Federal Court and the last figure I heard to get into Federal court was about $30,000 and that was about 15 or so years ago. That said, I would contact the local TV stations and maybe the local city attorney and maybe the Attorney General of the state. This does sound like a breach of contract, but pursuing on your own is it likely more trouble than it's worth. I guess I won't be staying in that park either.

In looking at the web site it looks like this is a park where you buy your spot so I'm not so sure it was the park that made this call, it could have been the lot owner.

It's a bitter pill to swallow but I would just leave some bad reviews and move on, there has to be nicer people somewhere else.

travelingjw · 02-03-2022, 04:30 PM

Since they accepted the money it sure appears to be a legal contract. The problem will be that to enforce it will take considerable time. I would call the Management on the phone and let him know you reached out to the forum to get answers.

Bylandorsea · 02-03-2022, 04:48 PM

This should not stand, I am sure you can give them negative reviews and file a better business complaint

jerry davis · 02-03-2022, 04:55 PM

Here is the part of our confirmation letter that they emailed us that they said allowed them to cancel our reservation. Funny, I don’t see the term cancel reservations anywhere:

“Palm Beach Motorcoach Resort reserves the right to change lots as required for sales and long term stays."

To top it off, when they first called to inform us, they simply said that they had someone who wanted to reserve our site for several months and there was nothing they could do for us and then just hung up on us. And then they refused to answer our calls. Just totally unprofessional and rude!