Southeastern Asia Travel Review: Thailand, Vietnam, & Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap Temples, Landmine Museum

   I would have been a little more observant on reviewing the final contract and the sales contract which had been provided to solicit our trip.  There were a few things that seemed to be almost a bait-and-switch on the hotel accommodations in Siem Reap and the substitution of travel guides.  Had the company highlighted those changes upfront, I wouldn't have been upset.  However, to not know you were getting a substitute guide until you walked out of customs at the airport, made me question the planning and coordination the company had done ahead of time.  There was no excuse for the sub-standard room we were originally given in Siem Reap; especially since one of the co-founders lives in this city.  The hotel staff was exceptional and when we were moved to different rooms, the new rooms were very well appointed and comfortable.

Travel Company Comments
Glad to hear your family enjoyed the trip! And thank you for raising these points in your review. I would like to address each of the concerns raised to provide clarity, as I believe there may have been some confusion.
When you were in Siem Reap and I met you at high tea, based on the information you provided me that morning on the phone, I was under the impression that our operation team had changed the hotel AFTER you paid deposit. But after doing a diligent investigation later and reviewing the email correspondence, I found that was not the case. In the haste of resolving the situation based on the information in front of me, I offered for us to cover to arrange an additional room for your son. My apologies if that reinforced your view that we had, as you put it, "bait-and-switch"ed you. But after reviewing everything, I see we booked exactly what you had confirmed, and I would encourage you to go back and check the email record in Zicasso to verify what I am saying.
Between the 5 proposals you and your travel advisor had worked on and considered over a 9 month period, the fifth itinerary(ending in v5) did contain the hotel in Siem Reap that we arranged. That was the itinerary which you had confirmed and sent deposit based on. Your travel advisor also highlighted point by point to you in that email of the hotels we changed, specifying the unavailable previous hotel and the new proposed hotel in Siem Reap. Over the course of 3 weeks, between the fourth itinerary and the fifth, a lot of hotels during the peak travel holiday/New Years period were no longer available. Kindly consider that we do not own these hotels and cannot compel them to give us a room if they are fully booked.
In fact, we recommend our guests wishing to travel during the holidays and New Year period to reserve 6 months prior. This will allow us to arrange the best guides and accommodations, and will allow us to get better rates on accommodations and flights for our guests. Reserving one month prior to that period can result in some hotels in the updated proposal needing to be changed from a previous version.
In your case, we were able to arrange all of the hotels in that final itinerary to which you confirmed and sent payment. During our advising process, we not only send the updated itinerary, but use numbered points to highlight any changes as a convenience to our customers. I think what happened was that when you searched back through the email thread while on the trip, you may have overlooked that email with the fifth version, selecting the email that had the fourth version instead. I mention that because during our visit, you did not strike me as the kind of person who would intentionally mislead someone. I got the impression that you and your family are upstanding people and I still feel that way. Please contact me or your travel advisor if you would like to review the email thread together. We would be happy to clear up this misunderstanding.
Your review mentioned that I spoke of a hotel group in Siem Reap having 3 different properties with similar names. This was in reference not to the hotel you were staying but to the hotel you had seen in the 4th proposal. I had mentioned this hotel group has 3 hotels in Siem Reap with similar names(a hotel, a boutique, and a resort) which each fall into varying hotel categories and have different rates. My concern was that, based on your comments, you may have been comparing one of their higher category property online rates with the online rate of the property you were staying, and thus felt this was a downgrade between the fourth and fifth version of the itinerary. I was not referring to there being 3 different hotels for the hotel which you did, in fact, book with us and stay. The property we arranged, was in the same category and similar rate as the property in the fourth itinerary, similar in size, higher online rating for service(perfect 5/5 star with 80+ reviews) but, as you mentioned, was a minimalist style in the rooms, and so didn't have large wardrobes for hanging clothes or placing luggage. In hindsight, your travel advisor recognized that he maybe should have encouraged you at that time in the booking process to pay the extra for the additional room for your family of three.
Regarding the guide situation in Hue and Hoi An, I investigated this matter with our Hoi An office and was informed the staff made a mistake when sending us the guide contact details. She had sent a different guide's contact details to us. However, the guide arranged for you was the original guide intended, and as you provided in the guide feedback form, you gave her 5/5 stars in all categories. We spoke with the staff who made the mistake and are looking at ways to avoid human error from creeping into the process. Thank you for pointing this out for us.
Regarding the guide situation in Bangkok, upon further investigation, the guide we had arranged had some health issues which have prevented him for guiding tours for the next month or so. While we can't control a guides health related issues, we have informed our office in Bangkok that if the guide information should change, we need to be updated of this as soon as possible.
Regarding the late pick up in Bangkok, looking back on Flight Aware, I see that the flight had arrived unusually early, 20 minutes earlier than scheduled. Our office in Bangkok informed us that between the early flight arrival time and irregularly bad traffic on New Years Eve, the guide called ahead to have another staff at the airport meet you. Then the guide met you when she was able to. I regret this situation happened, and thank you for letting us know about it. We have passed this feedback along to our Bangkok office to deal with accordingly.
Lastly, regarding the followup, or lack thereof from our office while in Bangkok, I have spoken with the Tour Operator involved about this. He was under the impression that since we met you in Siem Reap for High Tea, it wouldn't be necessary to give you a last call, as is customary in our process. He was in error on this point and we've discussed this issue - thank you for bringing it to my attention.
Your Travel Advisor and I are grateful for you choosing to travel with us and for your invaluable feedback. We also want to thank you for the referrals you've sent us so far. We wish you and your family all the best in the future.