Villaparade / Travelopo
 

This is an emerging situation that may well ruin the holiday villa plans for many Pollensa devotees (including ourselves) during 2014. It would appear that the company Travelopo has "taken over" the contracts of many (no specified figure) villas that were previously the letting responsibility of Villaparade, and have already been booked for 2014. Several stories are circulating as to what is behind this action, but the upshot is that Villaparade have issued a statement this evening that they are taking legal advice and seeking to resolve the issues. However there are already instances recorded where persons who have booked are seeking refunds because no suitable alternative arrangements can be offered by Villaparade. The story seems to have become public when Travelopo managed to obtain pre-booking client information for the villas affected and approached those clients outlining the circumstances behind the changes. Several people not surprisingly believed that they were the victims of a scam. At present there is a lot of uncertainty and people who have pre-booked are understandably anxious. It is not simply a case of responsibility being transferred to another company, there are issues of decent business practice, and it is not confirmed that Travelopo are even ABTA registered. I wonder if anyone "on the ground" in Pollensa can provide any relevant insight into developments

A quick search and my favourite villa on Villa parade is also now on Travelopo with bookings on both sites so there are going to be some disappointed people :mad:
The same photos and almost the same descriptions have been copied.

Best not post the links as not sure its allowed.

I almost made a booking last weekend so pleased that I waited as I now recognise many of the villas on both sites.

Our nephew has booked a villa with Villaparade for middle/late June and has already paid a hefty wedge of dosh. Travelopo have e-mailed him saying that they have the sole letting rights for lots of villas in the north. They say they'll get back to him in the near future but are currently dealing with the more urgent cases.

So yes, if anyone can shed light on this it would be extremely helpful.

From Travelopo website, contact and support section, they say credit card transactions are administered via Global Administration of Pollensa.

Which reminds me that one of the Sunday travel supplements a few weeks ago was warning about car hire agents who appeared to be British based but who were taking transactions via Paris. This, if I recall correctly, meant that the contract was thus under French law and many safeguards we in Britain have come to expect did not apply. And importantly any contract disputes had to be sorted by the French courts.

Travelopo claims to be part of a group based in Frome Somerset, with card transactions via Pollensa. I can't see any abta or atol numbers.

There is an issue with Villa Parade - am not sure exactly what it is, but I know there are problems with this company. Just wanted to give an early heads-up to anyone who might have a booking with them...

I have been trying today to help a forum member who is due out this weekend and has been told by Villa Parade that their booking has been cancelled because the owner of the villa has withdrawn from the contract that they had with them, i had assumed that this was just a one off with one owner but there really does now seem to be a problem :mad:.

Tripadvisor on the Majorca forum has a very, very busy thread on this problem...sounds awful and feel so sorry for anyone that is affected by it...hopefully the problem will be resolved soon. Unbelievable what has happened.:mad:

Yes it is a very bad situation and for anyone who finds themselves without accommodation do have a look at the links below, hopefully you will be able to find replacements.

Rent Villas Apartments in Puerto Pollensa (Port de Pollenca), Majorca (Mallorca)

Late Deals in Puerto Pollensa (Port de Pollenca), Majorca (Mallorca) - Rent Villas Apartments

Rent Villas, Apartments from Agents in Puerto Pollensa, Mallorca Majorca

Puerto Pollensa, Mallorca Majorca Holidays - Travel Companies

Travelopo have had their membership of ABTA withdrawn as of 14th April - the ABTA advice is to contact ABTA direct if you receive an email from Travelopo regarding a previous booking with Villa Parade. At present my understanding is that Villa Parade should themselves be offering alternative accommodation, or a full refund, for villa bookings where contracts have been cancelled.

It's my understanding too that the Villa Parade office in Puerto Pollensa was closed - or at least, it was at the beginning of April. I'd advise anyone who has booked a villa via Villa Parade to contact ABTA, and to have no dealings with Travelopo.

There is now a statement on ABTA
ABTA statement regarding Villa Parade - ABTA

I also know for a fact that a number of villa owners who previously worked with Villa Parade in the Pollensa area have indeed cancelled their contracts and moved to other rental companies (haven't heard of anyone who has gone to Travelopo though) - and I don't think their decision was because the other company was offering more money.

So many question the safety of dealing with private owners directly and opt for dealing with a company. If you deal directly it is often cheaper and you are able to speak with the owner and build a relationship. I feel very sorry for people that have been affected by this situation. It puts a nasty start to a holiday. I go with Sparky and suggest looking at the availability of property advertised on this site. Most of the properties are known as are the people who own them as many are forum members. Do not be put off if there is no availability calender as sometimes for security reasons it is best to leave blank. Just contact the owner directly and have a chat.

The advert on this site still says that Travelopo have an ABTA number which is now an untruthful claim.
Rent Villas, Apartments from Agents in Puerto Pollensa, Mallorca Majorca

That's a nightmare at such short notice :(

Sealand villas that I first found from an advert on this site have plenty of availability and the prices include an Autos roig hire car which makes them very reasonable especially for last minute bargains and they are certainly a quality company with great customer service.

Villas in Majorca to Rent | Sealand Villas

Puerto Pollensa, Mallorca Majorca Holidays - Travel Companies
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I cant help but think VP have been have not been entirely innocent. Last year they took over a villa I had booked with a different company, advertised it as unbooked for my weeks at an over inflated price. They ended up selling it at less than I had paid to the original company. VP have also had lots of new villas on their books this year, these villas also with other companies but under different names. Ie Finca Marina Valley is also with Best Villas Pollensa under the name of Villa Juana. Interesting that their original portfolio are now "fully booked" and the villas also with other agencies are still available!