ComplaintsforKEES Vacations

• Initial Complaint

  08/16/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  04.28.22 I canceled a reservation. I was told I had to pay the balance before I could cancel. Seemed odd to me. I had taken out "cancel for any reason" travel insurance. The entire reservation was ********* They only paid me ******** so I have been shorted ******** I have made numerous calls to Kees as the policy is once the unit is rented to another person I would get my money back. I can't get anyone to answer the phone at Kees. The last time I got through was June 2nd and was assured I would get my money back. I sent Kees and the purported travel insurance company certified letters on June 10th. The travel insurance must not be a brick/mortar business and no one answers the phone there either. My husband has incurred over *********** in unexpected health issues and I can't afford to be out of ******** It's ridiculous how they have treated me and it's such poor customer service. I have proof that the unit is rented. I am attaching all documents and a screen shot showing the said cottage has been rented out.

  Business response

  08/30/2022

  Consumer Response /* (2000, 5, 2022/08/17) */ 8/17 FROM CONSUMER- Good morning, Kee's Vacation has issued a credit to my original form of payment so you can cancel needing to take any action on my behalf. Thank you so much.

• Initial Complaint

  05/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I stayed at a vacation home operated by Kees Vacations in the Outer Banks,NC from 4/22-4/26. Within 48 hours of the stay I contacted them to advise of multiple issues : rodent droppings, extreme lack of housekeeping, lack of air conditioning, UNDISCLOSED CAMERAS, multiple exterior doors that did not lock, windows falling out, severe disrepair. I advised that I was there for a funeral and ash scattering service and had family coming so I could not vacate immediately , but that I would leave as early as possible. The repairs needed were extensive and not easily fixed and would have caused major disruption to the service we were having, and I also did not want the COVID exposures as I have a child with one kidney so they did not come out. They requested photos and videos and said they would provide compensation. They demanded that I clean up laundry left behind by a previous guest. Once I left, they refused to refund me until I removed a negative review.

  Business response

  07/28/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/05/31) */ Thank you for taking the time to provide us with feedback about your stay with us. Our management team has been following your timeline since you arrived at our vacation home. We've had multiple team leaders offering insight and solutions and have been eager to come up with a solution that everyone could agree on. This is a new home for us and as one of the first few guests at this home, we're still learning more about the home as well. We appreciate your patience while you uncovered concerns at the home such as the ****** ***** unit. At KEES we do our best to convey the age and quality of the property through the pricing and photos. I do apologize if we did not accurately set your expectations. After reviewing your account, we do see where you reported several issues and requested they not be addressed while in-house. We requested multiple times to be given the opportunity to rectify the concerns listed, however, you were adamant about no one entering the property. Our team is specially trained in entering a home to resolve concerns while ensuring the guest's health and safety is the top priority. In our business there are times when the homes need to be taken care of and sadly not every item can be resolved before or during check-in. Our team does our best to proactively repair and take care of these homes. When it's not absolutely perfect, our team is available to step in and assist. I see a note where you did request the linens to be removed, but also refused us access to the property. We asked if you would be willing to collect the linens and place them outside, which you seemed happy to oblige. In discussing compensation for your concerns, you demanded a full refund and a free week at any KEES property, or you would be seeking legal action. We explained those terms were unreasonable, but we were happy to work together for a fair solution. You responded by posting a negative review saying we did nothing to resolve your concerns. We were very shocked to see this review since we had actively been working to come to a fair solution. We requested you removed the false review until a solution was met, which you declined. Despite your review, we still did what was right and approved a *** refund and the full amount of your cleaning fee. We thank you for choosing KEES Vacations and insist you will not find better customer service anywhere on the beach. Thank you for staying with us. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/06/03) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) This response is typical of Kees. A look at the reviews for this particular property on ****** listed on Dory Rd in Salvo shows that the guest staying immediately after us had the same experience. A further look at their presence on **** and other review sites including *** shows this pattern of behavior. In my initial dealings with the company, I strongly advocated for a full refund. I was asked what I felt was a fair solution to this problem. In response I said that two things were taken from me, time and money. So, if they wanted me to feel I was being made whole from this, a refund as well as a courtesy stay would be appropriate. I was very clear that any legal action was for a refund only, the additional request was a matter of customer service. The purpose of this trip was for a memorial service for my husband, and as such we had a significant amount of planning to do as well as a need for privacy. When I brought the issues up with the house to Kees, I made it clear to them that I was not willing to accommodate contractors coming into the house. As a property management company that is charging a cleaning fee of each guest, having the property in excellent shape PRIOR TO ARRIVAL is their responsibility. Time spent waiting for repairs uncompensated is unreasonable - people go on vacation to not deal with day to day tasks. During the stay despite knowing this, they sent someone to service the hot tub with no notice and no mask. They are absolutely not following any sort of COVID protocols - the Kees website has a section detailing their extensive cleaning process which includes a supervisor making a walk through and verifying cleanliness. We had rat droppings, two cameras undisclosed, heavy amounts of dust and lint clogging the air ducts to the point of spilling on to the floor, and no locking exterior doors. Would you trust them to be clean enough to prevent COVID transmission? As for the linens, Kees called me after requiring photos and video of the issues as proof and told me that they had a someone en route to pick up some laundry and trash bags that were left in the house by a previous guest. This was completely out of the blue and something they had spotted in the photos and wanted because they said it was their laundry day and was nonnegotiable. I stated no one was entering without a mask, and they needed to be there within an hour since I had guests coming for the service. I again expressed the level of inconvenience that I am prepping for a FUNERAL and they wanted me to deal with their laundry. The person I spoke to said that being able to get this was a condition set by the manager to provide a partial refund, and I then hauled this down three flights of stairs to try to keep things moving and get Kees to cooperate. Kees did not at any time offer or provide a *** refund, or a refund of the cleaning fee. I have attached photos of that conversation and the tone taken by them. ****** customer service intervened after Kees began trying to extort my refund over the review, and offered a *** refund of the first nights stay, and the cleaning fee. At no time did Kees ever offer a refund in any dollar amount. Lastly, I would like to say that the language used in their response to both this complaint and my review on ****** is troubling. The use of the terms "not up to my standards" and "absolutely perfect", as well as "set my expectations" implies an unreasonable level of expectation on my part. The property had windows that didn't close with no screens on high floors. These were floor to ceiling and very easy to fall out of. No working locks on the doors. Piles of dust and feces on the floors. Cameras hidden. If not dealing with these issues at a rate that breaks down to over **** a night is unreasonable that should be embarrassing to Kees. For the management to respond to this and my review on ****** with blatant lies shows there is no shaming this company, they have none. Please view my screenshots as evidence of this. Business Response /* (4000, 13, 2022/06/06) */ ****** and KEES vacations both attempted to guide this guest. We stand by our reputation and many attempts to work alongside this guest. Again, we apologize for your experience here, a refund has been processed and we wish you luck on your future vacations.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩