SafariNo!

Friends of mine and I recently made a booking via SafariNow for the Steenbokkie Cottage in Badensfontein. I paid the deposit, we received a confirmation/thank you email for paying the deposit and securing our booking. A week later, on a Saturday morning, SafariNow sent an email saying that because we didn't secure the place with a deposit, it was now no longer available. I don't know if there was some sort of miscommunication between them and the host - perhaps the host made a private booking themselves without informing SafariNow or SafariNow didn't inform the host that we had made the booking. Regardless, they took the money and sent confirmation our way, so there should not have been this sort of miscommunication (if that were the case). On the Saturday, we made contact with the host, Sankie. She was not at home at the time, so could not check her books. She said she would call back the following day. Sunday came and went with no word from anyone. On the Monday, SafariNow called to say that the place is not available. I guess they got in touch with Sankie to confirm this. They asked if they can find us a different place or if we wanted a refund. I opted for the refund as opposed to the risk of booking through them and this happening again. They processed the refund (which obviously took a few days to clear) and luckily did so without giving us any issues. But at no point in time was there even an apology. Needless to say, I'd be weary using them ever again. Luckily, I managed to find a different place through Afristay. And once that deposit was paid, the dates I chose were no longer on any booking website. The host was also kind enough to confirm the booking with me, as I had told him about the previous mishap. A few days later, a friend of mine made an enquiry for the the place in Badensfontein. Lo and behold, it was available! Maybe they just didn't want us there...

Whatever the case may be, I have no grudge against Sankie for double booking, or whatever, and for not getting back to us. But hopefully in future she checks with the booking agency she uses to make sure that there aren't such mishaps. This whole thing just comes off as incredibly unprofessional. Whoever is to blame, it does make both parties look terribly bad. Badensfontein looks like an amazing place to stay and it's a pity things didn't work out.