Claims in tourism. An outlook.

Today's increasingly demanding and informed travellers and tourists are often aware of their rights and obligations. This is a sign of health and maturity of the entire tourist value chain whose sole objective is to satisfy the needs of customers according to the category of product and the level of service contracted.

As in all sectors, in tourism the provision of a service can be defective for two main reasons: either by objective facts - a last-minute cancellation, an inadequate service with respect to what was contracted, thefts and extractions, accidents of all kinds up to illnesses contracted during the trip such as food poisoning or norovirus - or by subjective perceptions that materialize in disappointed expectations. In this case, we are going to limit ourselves to the casuistry of objective facts that can trigger claims and, in its case, material and/or economic compensations in case that this way is stipulated contractually or legally.

When there are cases of claims for objective facts, even knowing that it may be the case to act in bad faith, the situation depends largely on the existing and available documentation that will serve to claim as to defend itself. Thus, at the time of claiming, the client must present documentation accrediting the suitability of the complaint, while the other party must use reports that support the maximum diligence of the establishment, the good state of the facilities or other files according to the claim made.

Although it is true that the boom of "false claims" experienced in previous years has already been institutionalised, there are still clients who demand economic compensation for situations that have not occurred. In these cases, it is very important to know which are the claims that must be taken into account in order not to damage the cordial relationship between client and service provider and others that are objective, such as ensuring the health and safety of guests.

In any case, the best ally is a good external and specialized provider to assess the situation from a holistic point of view. Preverisk Group has a long history of handling complaints in the tourism sector through its HotelClaim service line. This solution is managed by a multidisciplinary team and its primary objective is to investigate what happened and investigate from all possible points in order to issue a legal and technical assessment as well as propose an action plan.

As a concluding note it is worth mentioning that in specific situations the actors in the sector seek an immediate solution and sometimes it is the best option. However, it must be added that the scrupulous enforcement of prevention systems, methodical, perseverance and data collection are the natural enemies of bad faith as well as allies of those who seek every day excellence and customer satisfaction.