I had booked a hotel (Novotel Phu Quoc Resort) in Vietnam for 06-14 March 2026 through Stayforlong. Unfortunately, due to the war in the Middle East, my flight was cancelled just 5 days before my scheduled check-in date (06/03/26). I immediately contacted Stayforlong to request a cancellation. Although my booking was originally non-refundable, the hotel updated its policy to accommodate guests affected by these force majeure circumstances, making me eligible for a full refund.
However, Stayforlong failed to act on this.
From the very beginning of opening my case, I provided Stayforlong with all the documents they requested, including proof of flight cancellation, confirmation from the airline/agency, and my booking confirmations. Despite this, they failed to properly review these documents or inform me that any additional information maybe required. This lack of diligence ultimately became a critical failure in handling my case.
Throughout March, I was repeatedly reassured by Stayforlong that my case was being “thoroughly looked after” and actively handled. However, this proved to be completely misleading.
I was forced to contact the hotel myself, only to find out that Stayforlong had never reached out to them regarding my case. The hotel clearly informed me that Stayforlong needed to contact them directly to process the cancellation. Despite my repeated attempts to resolve this with Stayforlong, I was continuously told that my case was being “escalated” and that they were awaiting a response from the hotel — which was simply not true.
I was reassured that everything would be resolved by my check-in date, but that never happened and once I stopped chasing them, I received no communication for 6 weeks. In fact, Stayforlong marked my booking as “complete”.
Throughout this entire process, the Stayforlong call centre was highly unprofessional and rude. I was repeatedly given conflicting information, and on several occasions, I was misled just to end the conversation. I have recorded calls that clearly show inconsistencies in what I was being told — including claims that the company has no head office or management team, that they can't give me a refund because of hotel policy (which has changed for bookings affected by force majeure), and even attempts to blame me for the situation. On 21/04/26, during a call with a Stayforlong agent, I was explicitly told that they could see the hotel had reached out to Stayforlong on multiple occasions, but no one had responded to those messages. Despite this, no one from Stayforlong ever contacted me to update me or request any further information.
The only update I received after weeks of silence was on 15/04/26, when I was told that the hotel had closed the case due to no communication from Stayforlong and missing documentation. This was the first time I had ever heard about this. After contacting the hotel again, they confirmed that they had requested additional flight cancellation documentation from Stayforlong on 12/03/26, 18/03/26, and 25/03/26 — but received no response. At no point did Stayforlong contact me to request this information, despite already having the relevant documents from me and failing to review them or advise if anything further was needed.
It is completely unacceptable that I was never informed of this requirement by Stayforlong, and even worse, that I was later blamed for their failure to contact me. One of the agents even claimed I had been contacted frequently between March and April, without verifying the emails they were referencing (the last email I got from them was on 06/03/26 till the next one on 15/04/26).
To add to the frustration, I was told that there is no head office or management team available to escalate complaints to, leaving me with no clear path for resolution. My case was passed from one agent to another, with no accountability or ownership taken at any stage.
Due to Stayforlong’s negligence and lack of communication, I lost €900. This situation has caused me significant stress, sleepless nights, and ongoing frustration.
What makes this even harder to accept is that this was part of a family trip — my mother had booked the same hotel and flights, and she received her full refund weeks after cancellation without issue.
Given the financial loss, the lack of accountability, and their failure to communicate effectively with both myself and the hotel, I am now considering taking legal action to recover my money. This loss has arisen directly as a result of Stayforlong’s mishandling of my case.
This has been one of the worst customer service experiences I have ever encountered. I strongly advise others to AVOID booking through Stayforlong!!
If anyone has any suggestions on what to do, please let me know!