A husband and wife were supposed to be vacationing in Sant'Antioco. The woman, who has cancer, deteriorated just before their departure, requiring her emergency hospitalization and making it impossible to reach the B&B they had booked. The hotel refused to refund the amount paid for the stay.

Thus the dashed dream trip of a couple living in Asti turns into a legal battle involving Adiconsum Sardegna , an association to which the husband and wife turned for assistance.

The reservation, for the period June 23rd to July 1st, dates back to last April. The couple paid €609 in advance. But on June 22nd, the day before departure, the woman was urgently admitted to the hospital in Asti for acute vestibular dysfunction. Discharged on June 26th, the doctors scheduled a follow-up appointment for June 30th . Therefore, it was impossible to reach the hospital during those days.

The husband immediately contacted the hotel, explaining the situation and requesting a refund, even partial, of the amount paid. The B&B categorically refused, "demonstrating total insensitivity," the consumers explain .

Adiconsuma Sardegna therefore filed a formal formal notice with the facility, requesting a full refund pursuant to Article 1463 of the Civil Code, which states that "if the service becomes impossible, the released party cannot request payment and must return any money already received." Emergency hospitalization, Adiconsum explains, represents an unforeseeable and insurmountable circumstance, which objectively made it impossible for both consumers to travel by plane and reach the facility.

The B&B did not follow up on the formal notice, and now the matter will end up in court, where the establishment "could also be required to pay the moral damages caused to the couple, as well as the legal costs of the proceedings," explains the association.

"The most regrettable thing is that incidents like this discredit Sardinian hospitality and the entire tourism sector in Sardinia , even harming honest operators," says Giorgio Vargiu, president of Adiconsum Sardegna. "When dealing with serious illnesses like cancer, greater sensitivity and tolerance are needed from those who work with the public. Furthermore, the facility manager, immediately informed of the impediment, would have had the opportunity to sell the now-vacated room to other guests. In this case, if the hoteliers failed to return the sum to the unfortunate couple, the facility could constitute unjust enrichment. We believe that the organizations representing hoteliers and the island's hospitality system as a whole have a duty to intervene and distance themselves from the actions of the Sant'Antioco B&B."

(Unioneonline/L)

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