Travelers, please beware.
Conti di San Bonifacio does a great job in marketing and creating the allure of a beautiful, hillside winery and retreat in Tuscany; the grounds look beautiful.
However, in reaching out to their team to cancel our honeymoon, sadly, due to COVID-19 and travel restrictions and health risks, their response was:
"Regarding your deposit, as you know we are unable to make refunds as per our Hotel policy."
I can see if we were still coming to Italy... wanted to stay somewhere else, and gave them little notice. However, I shared that we would love to book at a later date, but that we would like to fully cancel and start fresh when the world has calmed down.
The Deputy Manager on staff has doubled down on "hotel policy," ignoring the force majeure (unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract) that will preclude us from going to Italy in the foreseeable future (from Hawaii, mind you, 8,000 miles away).
The other three hotels we booked - in Bellagio, Cinque Terre, and Florence - all got back to us with full refunds and messages that essentially say, "sorry to hear, we get it, can't wait for you to rebook with us." Conti di San Bonifacio got back to us and essentially shared that our deposit was more important to them than our experience, contract or no contract, honeymoon or no honeymoon. This is a poor display from a hospitality organization that claims superior, world class service and experience.
I am sure people can go and stay at Conti di San Bonifacio and have a great time; I am sure the grounds are beautiful, the suites luxurious, the food wonderful, and the wine amazing. However, what they still need help understanding is that the customer experience must always come first - that is where their reputation, credibility, and integrity will be earned. And that 700 Euro up front would have been 3500 Euro this summer or fall, if only the customer and the customer experience was first.
Holding deposits during a global pandemic, and referring to your hotel policy, is a trite, short-term business strategy that puts the core values and ethos of Conti di San Bonifacio on display. It is my hope that they can evolve from their near-sightedness and evaluate whether or not they are truly world class. read more