I booked a Nā Pali snorkel adventure tour on a Friday for the following morning, which was the final day of our Kaua’i trip. I received a confirmation and signed the waiver. I had shopped around for tours and while I could have chosen another operator I decided on this specific one because it had good reviews, met my requirements, and we were departing just five hours after the tour ended.
I was very surprised when I received a call after I had woken up at 5 a.m. and departed my hotel for the tour. The representative apologized and indicated that there had been a “glitch” in their booking system and that even though I had a confirmed reservation for two people there was no room on the boat. She offered another slot the following week, which didn’t work because I was leaving that afternoon.
I completely understand that mistakes happen and that sometimes they can’t be avoided. However I was very disappointed that Kauai Sea Tours did not take responsibility and offer to compensate us in some fashion for their failure to uphold the booking terms. While they refunded us the cost of the tour, since we were only on Kauai until the evening, we were unable to book another tour. When consumers make bookings, these bookings represent commitments on the part of BOTH the customer AND the operator. While KST imposes consequences on customers for failure to cancel within a specific timeline or not showing up to a tour, the company does not appear to believe that the concept of accountability applies both ways.
Again, I understand mistakes happen, but given the other reviews on here I would have expected a more customer friendly response to a mistake that prevented us from experiencing what we viewed as an essential part of our short vacation. We relied on KST when we could have chosen another provider, and we regret doing so.