Sandstone Point resort refuses refunds on Easter holiday bookings despite coronavirus travel bans

WOULD-BE holiday-makers are being refused refunds on Easter holiday bookings at a south east Queensland resort, despite a ban on interstate travel and pleas from leaders for people to stay home.

BIG4 Sandstone Point Holiday Resort is refusing refunds despite coronavirus travel bans. Picture: Supplied

Despite orders for people not to travel to stop the spread of coronavirus, a Bribie Island district resort id refusing to give people refunds on Easter holidays booked before the health crisis.

Melbourne woman Geraldine Lynch had been planning to fly to Queensland to stay at the BIG4 Sandstone Point Holiday Resort but the coronavirus emergency made her reconsider.

Mrs Lynch said the resort could not supply the holiday/facilities described and she could not travel because of government restrictions and the lack of flights.

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Brisbane woman Erin Houslip said she had no choice but to cancel her family’s Ester holiday there because of the government direction not to take holidays.

“… it’s not a decision we wanted to make, but it seems like we have no choice being a government mandate,” Mrs Houslip said

“I am a small-business owner myself so I appreciate the financial impact however, the Sandstone Point Resort, Sandstone Point Hotel and the Eatons Hill Hotel have all been very well supported by the community over the years.

“Now is the time to do the right thing and give back like most other caravan parks are.”

Many others have also complained about the lack of refunds on the resort’s Facebook page.

A spokeswoman for the Comiskey Group, which owns the resort, said it had re-evaluated its policy last week after the recent government announcement to allow for more flexibility during this current climate.

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It will allow people to transfer their booking to another date within the next 18 months (with no fee) including Easter next year if they have booked for Easter 2020.

If the transferred date becomes unsuitable, they have the flexibility to transfer again with no transfer fee.

Also, guests could receive a 12 month credit so they could rebook for another time.

“Like many businesses including airlines, we encourage our customers to reschedule as opposed to cancel to protect our business and the livelihood of our staff,” the spokeswoman said

“We understand these two options may not be suitable for some and so we have and are providing refunds in accordance with the refund policy that we have had in place from day one; this policy follows traditional holiday park guidelines and is industry standard.

“We have tried to be as accommodating as possible for our guests because we understand these are tough times for all.”