Summer In ItalyReviews of summerinitaly.com

Response from Summer In ItalySep 30, 2024

Thank you for sharing your feedback. I sincerely apologize for any disappointment you experienced during your stay at the villa. I want to assure you that we take your concerns very seriously. We’re glad to hear that you found the place nice during your stay. Since your visit over a year ago, the villa has undergone significant refurbishment, completed at the beginning of the 2024 season. We’ve been waiting for these upgrades to be fully completed before updating the photos, which caused some delay. Additionally, as the villa is very popular and often occupied, finding the right combination of low season, good weather, and availability for professional photography has been challenging. We genuinely regret that the current photos on the website do not yet reflect the villa's upgraded condition. The villa underwent significant refurbishment in several areas, after your stay in August 2023. These updates include improvements to various amenities, including lounge chairs, hammocks, and other furnishings. We rely on professionally taken photos to ensure a consistent and accurate representation of each villa. These photos must meet specific technical requirements in terms of resolution, lighting, and framing to ensure clarity and uniformity across all listings. For this reason, we are unable to update the website with photos provided by guests, as they may not meet these technical standards. Please rest assured that the villa is now in even better condition than what is currently shown in the photos, and we are committed to updating them as soon as we can. In the meantime, we are offering a 10% price reduction to ensure guests continue to receive great value. Regarding the "false advertising" claim, we want to reassure you that while the photos on the website may be outdated due to the recent upgrades, we took the original pictures ourselves. Our goal is to provide a clear and accurate representation, and we are working diligently to update the photos to reflect the villa’s current, enhanced condition. We take transparency very seriously. We apologize for the delay in updating them and are making this a priority. We appreciate your feedback and regret that your stay did not fully meet expectations. Your experience has motivated us to improve, and we have acted on the issues raised to enhance the guest experience. Thank you again for your patience and for bringing these issues to our attention.

Response from Summer In ItalyMay 20, 2022

Hi Ina! Thank you so much for sharing your feedback. I have to say that I am very sorry about the issue we had with your reservation but, at the same time, I am pleased to see that the safety measures that we employ to make sure an inconvenience does not turn into a tragedy have worked. "What has worked?" you may be wondering... as you mentioned, we got back to you --> one hour later <-- to report that the property had been triple booked (triple!), with an offer for an alternative (more on that later). Such a very unusual event may happen when technology fails. Availability calendars are synced via the Internet around the globe, and, as anyone might have experienced, connections from time to time do fail. When bookings are taken through many different platforms, this might become a problem since holiday homes, unlike hotel rooms, are not "one of many", but individual properties with unique amenities. That is why at our company we double-check each and every reservation with a live human being whose job is to catch a failure as soon as possible. Can you imagine if the issue with the calendar had been discovered days later, or, even worse, at check-in? That's what we call a tragedy. This is not to say that we are happy with the way things went... it's just to let you know that we tried our best to handle an issue where a calendar update repeatedly failed while three travelers were trying to book the same house for overlapping dates through different platforms at the same time. As for the alternatives offered, we selected the two available properties that most closely matched the style and amenities of the property you had originally booked, based on our knowledge of the properties we represent. Our job is exactly one of helping travelers to choose the right place for their Italian holiday, which is a concept that might sound alien to travelers used to "self-service" platforms where you have to pick and book on your own. The staff felt that it would have been "as usual" to receive feedback on the initial selection to go deep into details, so they didn't think they should explicitly mention that you were welcome to provide any input to take advantage of what for us is exactly the service we provide. Sorry about that, this will teach us not to give it for granted and be proactive about it. The automated email were triggered as the normal course of action for a reservation. The "safety net" that caught your booking is rarely used, to be honest, and so our technicians didn't feel that they needed to wait for the reservation to clear before the onboarding procedure would get started. Your kind feedback will help us to improve on that front, too. So, dear Ina, please accept our apologies for this glitch. It was a very unfortunate situation, and we tried to deal with it as best as we could. I understand you expected more of us, and, as usual, we would like to take the opportunity given by your feedback to improve for prospective travelers who maybe reading this in the future, and to send them a message: dear friends, if you feel we are not doing enough to help you, please ask! We are a human-powered company, and as much as we try to answer questions before you ask, your input will be at times necessary, and at all times welcome!

Response from Summer In ItalyJul 17, 2021

Dear Stephen, thank you for following up. I am still surprised at finding such hardship on your side, honestly. Call me dumb, tell me I don't understand customer service, but we clearly state that booking requests are confirmed with 24 hours. You put through a booking request that could not be confirmed, and I am very sorry about that, and the response was given within the stated 24 hours. No credit card payment was processed for any portion of the rental fee. We do not blame any failure on any party, to be fair, since the request was correctly processed along a flow which can result in a request being confirmed or, regrettably, declined. Your request was put through Vrbo, and I am not blaming you for trusting Vrbo. Vrbo clearly explains on their web site that they charge a service fee for putting through a request, which is not a rental deposit, and which is refunded if the booking request can not be accepted. That's all. I don't see how explaining how they work or using quotes around the word "agent" means we are keeping them at a distance. The quotes were used since Vrbo does not operate on an agency model and is technically not an agent, but the word can nonetheless be used to identify their role. I understand that you might have bought airfare before receiving a response on the status of your request, and once more I am sorry to hear about the trouble. However, and let me also apologize for my lack of understanding, I don't see how an offer for free land transportation for a booking that never actually happened could have been expected. I realize that you feel that there was an issue that should have been mitigated, however you reservation request went through the normal flow at our company, where all requests are treated individually, and where a definite answer is given with 24 hours. To prospective guests who might be wondering why we go through the trouble of checking each and every request with a live staff: in today's connected world, reservations are made by multiple "agents" around the clock, through web sites, apps, phone calls, email. Unlike hotel rooms, private holiday homes are unique dwellings which are not easily replaceable, and the technology currently available to process automated reservations is not able to completely eliminate the risk of double bookings. At our company we feel that it is far better service to promise a definite response within 24 hours rather than create double bookings. We will try to further improve our communication so that guests booking with us have no doubts that they need to wait for a live member of our team to confirm their request before finalizing their travel plans. Also, I apologize to Stephen for appearing like the one who always wants to have the last word. The Trustpilot system is such that companies are required to respond to guests' feedback -- which I think is fair and shows respect for the guest's opinions, as well as the will for participating companies to always listen and improve. Even though Stephen's experience does fall within the usual flow, his comments are being analyzed by our management as we strive to always surpass expectations.

Response from Summer In ItalyMar 30, 2020

Dear Az, thank you for being in touch here with your kind note. I am sorry if I you missed a direct interaction over the phone. Our phone number is, of course, available for anyone to call. It was a pleasure to speak to your friend twice, and I regret that you never took the time to give me a call, although, obviously, we have been personally in touch every day for days, as the difference in our time zones allowed me to start every morning trying to assist you and to make sure you would be able to enjoy your stay without losing a penny of what you had paid. As you know, Az, on November 15th you rented a holiday home for a stay in August. We don't know if you will be able to travel on not in August, which is 5 months from now, but it doesn't matter, does it? What matters is that you are, at this moment, afraid to travel in August, and that we want to help you. Before you booked, back in November, you asked to be allowed to pay only a small deposit for your 20-night stay, 728.50 euro, to be exact. I informed you that we could arrange that for you, but that the deposit would have been non-refundable. You agreed, and entered into a contract. Then you decided to cancel you contract, even if your stay is 5 months from now, and, again, I can understand. I told you "Hey, Az, look, you have a contract with a non-refundable deposit, I am sorry, I am not in the position of processing a refund, but I will send you a credit voucher, so that you can apply your deposit to a future reservation. No need to give me the dates right now, let's wait for things to calm down. You voucher will be valid for the next three years, and since you come to Positano every summer you will have plenty of opportunities to use it. Also, Az, don't worry about paying the balance now, that goes without saying." Az, we are doing this for 100s of travelers who had non-refundable contracts. All of them, except 3, at this time, have written back saying "thank you". A lot of travelers contacted us saying how sorry they were for Italy, how sorry they were for cancelling, understanding that they were backing out of a contract, and wishing us the best for the future. I will let you imagine their surprise and gratitude when they found that we were able to help them move their stay at a future time without penalties! Still, I am very sorry for the three travelers who felt we haven't been good enough for them. As every company on Earth in these unprecedented times, we are facing difficult choices, and have limited options. At this time, our priority is to guarantee that travelers who were supposed to stay at one of our holiday homes will be able to enjoy their stay at a time when they will be able to travel. Before I go, Az, I need to draw your attention on a statement you made. How is illegal to offer you a voucher when, according to the contract you entered into, you are not supposed to receive anything at all? I tried to explain this in our private correspondence in every possible way, and I am sorry if I wasn't successful. Happy to keep trying , and, hopefully, to welcome you whenever you will be ready to take your trip.

Response from Summer In ItalyMar 24, 2020

Dear Toby, I very much regret to hear that we have not met your expectations. I know that we have corresponded privately, but I would like to take this opportunity to explain to other travelers how we are trying to help, and to apologize to you for not being able to address your particular needs. As you know, you have placed a non-refundable reservation for the summer, which you are cancelling months in advance as you are disinclined to travel at this time. We respect your decision, although it is not confirmed that at the time of your visit there will be any restriction in place. We assisted you by doing the following: 1 - we are not charging you the balance for your reservation, 75% of the total, which would be otherwise due as you chose to place a non-refundable reservation; that's so obvious that is barely worth mentioning, but someone who might not be familiar with your situation might think that we are grabbing your money in exchange for nothing. No way, Toby, that's not us. Maybe it would have been fair to let people know that you are not being charged for your reservation. 2 - we are offering you travel credit to reschedule your holiday at a future time of your choice, in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, or even later, if requested. I am sorry if you feel that the credit is "ridiculous", but it is exactly for the amount of 207 euro that we have received from you. There is no penalty, no catch. That's just what many other companies, including airlines, are doing for travelers who are afraid to travel. As other travelers with non-refundable travel plans may know (and, on a personal note, that includes myself), not even paid travel insurance offers that level of protection. Disinclination to travel is generally not covered, and travelers are subject to the cancellation policies of the individual providers. We have worked with you beyond the policy, by voluntarily renouncing the 75% balance payment and by providing credit for the 25% deposit paid. That's the best we are able to do, and this is what we are doing at this time for ALL of our clients, regardless of when they have booked or when they are travelling. I apologize, again, if that was not good enough for you. I hope you will be able to plan this trip again in the years to come, and we will be here for you, with no hard feelings, to help you with your reservation and, hopefully, to show you that Italy still is that beautiful place that you planned to visit before fate decided to reclaim a few months of our lives.

Response from Summer In ItalyApr 1, 2020

Hello, and thank you very much for your feedback. Unfortunately, you are providing it anonymously, so that we don't have a way to confirm your identity and provide specific details. Regardless, saying that there is nothing we would do is simply not true. We are providing all of our guests with credit to reschedule their stays at any future time, or with refunds according to the cancellation policy, as well as with cancellation invoices that they can use to make claims to their travel insurances. We are doing this even for those travelers who are supposed to visit Italy months from now, when the pandemic is supposed to be over, because we realize that there are travelers who are just too scared to even think of leaving their homes, even months from now. After all, you know, people are hoarding supermarkets and buying guns, which is totally irrational, if not dangerous. We don't discuss, we just help. We are sorry if we have not been able to make everyone happy. We are trying. As a reputable company, we feel that it is our duty to offer an opportunity to all of our clients to enjoy their stay at a time when they are comfortable traveling. No one is losing their deposit, no one is being charged a balance if they don't feel like they will be able to travel. We are told that not even travel insurances are providing the level of service that we are offering at this time. That might be true, or not, but we would like to wholeheartedly thank all of our clients, and friends, for their support in this difficult moment, not only for Italy, but for the entire world. Stay safe, be healthy, and, even before that, make sure no one is left behind.