This hotel seems to do this on a regular basis! We went there some years ago now when it was the Bodrum Princess, it was AI but when we looked to book the following year it was FB plus and remained so for a couple of years!

I really hope it doesn't go full board because there is nooooo way we would be able to go. Well, we would be able to afford to go, we just wouldn't be able to afford to drink anything apart from water whilst we were there because the bar prices were shocking!

it is possible that they will come back to you at some point, and if the options to move you elsewhere are too expensive for them to consider they will just cancel your holiday and offer you a full refund.
sop you get left with nothing booked and everything now more expensive.
i personally would be on their case looking for clarification or at least a promise, in writing, that they would offer you a comparable hotel.
i doubt you will get either from them readily, but if i was in your position i would be looking on having an alternative plan as i suspect that if this hotel has gone FB from AI then you will be given the option to accept that or take the refund.

We are in the same position we have booked 11 nights all inclusive for end of may2012. I've seen comments on trip advisor from the manager saying they are going full board plus! When I have rang Thomas cook they say it's still all inclusive and not to worry. I have also sent 5 e-mails to the hotel but have had no reply.

we've had this problem a few times with other hotels and TOs but there tends to be a common pattern.

Check the T&Cs in your booking for major changes and cancellation. It will say something like if they make a major change you don't like you can cancel and get a full refund of your deposit or pick something of equal value form tjheir range. It will also say something like if they notify you close to departure they will also give cash compensation, a common allowance being 56 days (so if the give 58 days notice there's no extra cash). In previous cases notification has been delayed until close to the date when the compensation rule would cut in. This meant they didn't have to pay but the customer is now running out of time and options so if basically being held hostage to events - they can have their original money back but now they might need a lot more to get another holiday.

Write to Direct Holidays head office, recorded delivery, and say you've heard the AI has been dropped and notice that it has gone form teh website. Ask for prompt clarification of what is happening to your booking. Obviously prompt will take at least 28 days, that's just standard polciy with TOs. But that gives them two options, they can confirm a major change now which then gives you the chance to bail out and look elsewhere. Or they can explain why it's off the website but still confirm your AI booking, they can still announce the change later but you would be in a good position to demand extra terms from them. It's a case of getting your retaliation in first! Don't wait, start a paper trail with dates that can be produced in court if it all goes wrong. No phone calls, no emails.

Hey Biffo, frustrating isn't it. Are you also a returning guest? I have also emailed Hilton directly and have received no response from them either, however, their website is still advertising it as AI so fingers crossed.

Steve, I agree, I think my next option is to write to them. I have phoned them a few more times in recent weeks and have also phoned Thomas Cook, just to see what they say, the reasons I have been given by TC and Direct are extremely varied, to say the least.
It strikes me as just tell me anything to get me off the phone. Though, to be fair, Direct are a lot more helpful and sympathetic than their sister company.
It is obvious though that neither of them have any idea and have said that there isn't anyway that they can find out the required information or who to ask! Amazing isn't it!!
I have kept a record of dates, times, who I have spoken to and, using the term loosely, 'advice' that they have given.
What I have been told though is that, at the moment there isn't anything I can do which won't leave me out of pocket. If I change the hotel now, I will have to pay the admin fee and if I cancel I will lose my deposit.
So, I 'will' put pen to paper and hopefully will make some progress. Would be good if you could do the same Biffo as then we can see if our responses match.

I have also just emailed the manager at the Bodrum Hilton as I have managed to obtain his personal email address at the hotel and have asked him for clarification as to the board basis at the hotel next year. Will let you know......

I will do. I've written and phoned Thomas cook now 5 times with no joy they just keep saying it's all inclusive so will have to see. I am also going to get a lad in the village who is Turkish to ring the hotel for me I will keep you posted

I have just been reading some reviews of this hotel over on TA. If you look at the review of Claire23B posted on the 6th October - look at the response by the manager, he states the hotel is NOT going to be all inclusive next year! The managers name is there, so you may be able to e-mail or at least know his name when speaking to someone?? HTH

Yes, it is Levents, (the managers), email address that I have got.

I do think that we have to resign ourselves to the fact that the hotel isn't going to be AI next year but the problem that we've got is that the travel companys won't clarify this for us and won't change our holidays at no extra cost to us. If we have to change then so be it but I would rather do it sooner rather than later so that we have more options.

Have had the expected reply back off the manager and he said that it is going to be full board next year

Before I put pen to paper I though I'd see what Direct said about this bit of information. Have to say, again the advisor that I spoke to was as helpful as she could be but, as she explained, until they receive word from Hilton that the board basis of the hotel has changed, they can't do anything for me, well there is but it will cost me.
She has however raised the issue with the 'relevant' department and has made notes on my booking that I have again been in contact with them. She said that the 'relevant' department should hopefully be in touch with me in the next few weeks, fingers crossed.

Thomas cook have just got back to me saying that they have alegal contract between thomas cook and the hotel to sell the all inclusive package which they have sold there quoter for next season. They saying they have to honour the package or face legal proceedings with thomas cook. so basically we still dont know what package we are going to get!

Uhm!

So you get there and don't get the All Inclusive. Will TC (a) move you, (b) give you some cash to cover costs or (c) make you wait for the outcome of a court case in Turkey? Answers on a postcard......

The plot thickens......I contacted the Hilton Group directly and they have replied saying that the hotel is AI next year as it states on their website. They also forwarded my email to Levent, (bet he,s getting sick of me) and he has said, again, that it is not AI next year but full board. Isn,t it great when hotel and hotel chain don't know what the other is doing!!
He has said in his email that "the travel agent has made the booking without completing the contract with the hotel"
and that the, "AI advertisement on Hiltons website is for Summer 2011, not summer 2012."
Personally, I will only go back if it is AI as their bar prices were through the roof and the last thing that I would want to do is budget when on holiday. I appreciate my username, (I must get it changed), makes me sound like some raving alcoholic, but I can assure you that this isn't the case......well most of the time!

So it is now definitely time to start making a serious nuisance of myself with Direct....

Regards

Just a thought? Do Hilton Group actually own all the Hilton hotels? Some multi national chains franchise the name and join up the various concerns through a joint website and booking system. In which case what the locals say is what will happen.

Do Hilton Group actually own all the Hilton hotels? Some multi national chains franchise the name and join up the various concerns through a joint website and booking system.

I think that you've hit the nail on the head here - Hilton DO run a franchise system and they don't own all the hotels which trade under the Hilton name.

I came across this in the context of a delegation of trade union officials from Cuba coming over here and wanting to book into a Hilton hotel. The booking was initially refused on the say-so of the main US hotel group on the grounds that to accept it would contravene the US trade and economic embargo. The TUC here took legal advice and the outcome was that the US company backed down when it was pointed out that the Hilton in question was UK owned and not owned by the US parent group. The TUC threatened that if the booking was refused on the grounds that the potential guests were Cuban, the TUC would fund taking the case to court in the UK citing racial discrimination. The case was so strong that they would almost certainly have won and so Hilton decided not to fight it and the case was never tested in court but the whole thing hinged on the fact that the US company couldn't control the local booking policies of a franchisee which was subject to UK law and UK law alone.

SM

Yes I agree, that does seem to make a lot of sense.
The Hilton group only took over this hotel early this year, the hotel was formally known as the Bodrum Princess so it makes me think that they kept it AI just for this summer for various reasons.
But, now the problem I have is getting Direct Holidays to recognise this and change my booking sooner rather than later.

Now my other worry is what happens if Thomas cook go bump!!

After posting a commet on trip advisor the hilton emailed me back saying that the tour operator have not signed contracts for 2012 so under no circumstances that the hotel will be all inclusive but you will get free drinks wih your meals at the main restaurant. So back to square one with thomas cook who ive just forwarded the emails!