By COLlive reporter
Back to the kitchen…
Dozens of Jewish families are scrambling to make new plans for Pesach, exactly a week away, after their holiday program was abruptly cancelled.
2 Jewish-owned hospitality and tourist companies sent the cancellation notice to consumers in an email, the website Haredim 10 reported.
Perla Luxury, owned by Moshe Friedman of Antwerp, blamed the cancellation on the Mitsis Blue Domes Hotel in Kos, one of Greece’s Dodecanese islands known for its abundant sandy beaches.
“They didn’t respect any agreement we made with them and they made everything difficult for us,” the company wrote in an apology email.
“The hotel claimed that we demanded a divider between men and women to be built at the swimming pool at the coat of 9,000 Euro and they wanted to charge us 4,800 Euro for Shabbos clocks that we were bringing,” the company said.
Perla Luxury, which booked singers Lipa Schmeltzer and Avremi Roth to entertain the guests, said they will only refund customers in a month’s time. They didn’t offer alternative Pesach options.
A second company, I.M. Tours of England, which cancelled its Pesach program as well, was more forthcoming with its customers.
Their resort was planned at the Demidoff Country Resort overlooking the Italian city of Florence in the Tuscany region at a height of 500 meters above sea level.
The Brummer brothers, owners of I.M. Tours, said they didn’t fill even half of the hotel’s capacity and would “remain with huge losses that will not allow us to give you good service and good food and everything we wanted to give you with all our heart.”
They offered consumers the following options: Full and immediate refund or an arrangement to join another Pesach resort in Ukraine, Croatia or Greece.
“There were those who decided to break the market and we couldn’t match the prices,” Meni Brummer told Haredim 10. “I do not want to compromise and want to provide 100 percent to our guests, and here it was not possible. We hope to be better organized next time.”
many go to a hotel because it is the one chance a year bubbe gets to be with all her grandchildren.
The “reasons” people go to a hotel is avoid work – and so they can eat hamburger buns and pizza. Not good chinuch.
Dear Yidden,
I am B”H making Pesach at home, still for thousands. While a program is not for me, there are many reasons why a family might choose that. Frankly, it’s not your business. Instead of using someone else’s tzaar as an opportunity to push your opinion, be a mentsch and empathize. And if you can’t, then just be quiet.
Go to phuket Chiang mai, Kos o mui join pesach with the Chabad houses very cheap holiday beautiful resorts
Thailand would be the best place for last minute solutions
21 is 100% right 3 progress cancelled you should be in a hotel for Pesach
Ad Mosai!
NOT TRUE!!! i know a lot of lubavitchers going to hotels for pesach!!! everyone has his shlichus somewhere else so…. pls dont be so harsh!!!
And shouldn’t be judgemental!
Oy! Painful. Sorry for all the pain…hopefully something very good will emerge from all the ‘tzar.’
Do not be so judgemental about why people are or are not going to hotels for pessach. Some may not have family and do not relish the idea of staying home for a Chag such as this on their own, others may have received tickets and hotel registration as a gift (a couple I know), others have other reasons. It’s nought to do with any of us the reasons wherefore one might be going but rather if you know someone who now finds themselves in difficult circumstances for Pessach due to such a happening maybe invite them over for a… Read more »
What do people do about air fair paid or even how can one afford to make Pesach without much time to prepare?
Glad you’re a proud mom of a big family, truly. And making pesach at home would be best. But there are those who are not proud moms of a big family and do not want to be a kol dichfin at someone else’s family table. So they have no choice but to find some less than perfect yet costly alternative.
This is going to hit Pesach hotels in the future. Who would trust any of them. Glad we decided to stay home this year. For the 12k we saved ( for 2) we can take 3-4 great vacations. Who can eat that much food anyway.
Stop being a sell out and thinking that Pesach is about luxury vacations and make a real Pesach with your family in your home and experience yetzias mitzrayim al manas to enter eretz yisroel not al manas to enter materialism.
If someone offered me a place in a hotel for half price i’d cancel on you so fast the charoishes would still be moist.
A HOTEL IS NOT A PLACE LUBAVITCHERS SHOULD BE MAKING PESACH ANYWAY.
making psach @ home the best, one thing for sure no one will cancel on me/ proud mom of a big family.
At least they got a week notice. One time a program was cancelled Erev Pesach as people were arriving @ destination.
It was discussed afterwards on Zev Brenner radio program.
2 birds in one
Indeed the tuscany hotel is completely filled up
Brummers business almost crashed
They asked rabbi knyesky for a brocho
And they have no rooms available
Menachem and itzhak brumer are a very close friend
We wish them all the success
And their customers should a enjoy a pessach kosher vessameach
In the other hand the greek hotel enterpreteneur
Closes phone and mail and facebook and disappeared with all money
I have friends that beside the issue where to stay
They do not money for the chag
מבן חורין להפכו בין רגע לכל דיכפין
Prime in california has also cancelled
what happened to “pesach misht men zich nit”
How do you make Pesach in 1 week especially when all the money you scraped together for yom tov won’t be refunded till after Pesach? How do you pay for all the food you need to buy thinking it was already paid for.
And what about those who are too old or frail, and dont have family to go to. What are they supposed to do now?
I feel so sad for them. Hope they all have friends who can stretch their tables to accommodate them
2 birds in one
Indeed the tuscany hotel is completely filled up
Brummers business almost crashed
They asked rabbi knyesky for a brocho
And they have no rooms available
Menachem and itzhak brumer are a very close friend
We wish them all the success
And their customers should a enjoy a pessach kosher vessameach
In the other hand the greek hotel enterpreteneur
Closes phone and mail and facebook and disappeared with all money
I have friends that beside the issue where to stay
They do not money for the chag
מבן חורין להפכו בין רגע לכל דיכפין
Passach program one thing now what about flights??!@
the first (who apparently didn’t know that the second canceled as well) offered his guests the option of going to Greece (program 2 to cancel as well…) not knowing they canceled as well …
super complicated biz…very few make it….
One who know a ton about Pesach programing…
It’s not right to cancel last minute – at least IM offered solutions.
So sorry for guests who had this happen to them and all owners and employees that probably badly needed the money which won’t be making it. Truly sad. However, G-d bless the owner of the latter hotel which had the humility and honesty to place blame on himself for failing to sell enough spots. Takes tremendous guts and if he brings this honesty to his future ventures he will ultimately succeed in his long term business portfolio.
Better yet, make Pesach AT HOME.
Is that a foreign concept to you?
Try ffhevents.com
Very affordable but luxurious Pesach hotel in Johannesburg. Contact Batya Shaffer Kievman at [email protected].
Accommodations are beautiful on beautiful grounds; wonderful program, fantastic food with all hidurim.
There’s another program in South Africa that’s beautiful and well organized. Also comes out cheap considering the exchange rate.
Rabbi is Ari Kievman (find him on Facebook for details)
If your hotel was cancelled. Call Pinny Andrusier quickly. He may still have availability.
This is not being sent from Pinny but from a random Lubavitcher. Promise. Just trying to help everyone out.
The hotel in Tuscany could be filled by the greece customers
Thats very disappointing, my pity to all those who had reservations, but then went up in smoke!! MOSHIACH NOW, THIS YEAR IN YERUSHALYIM HABNUYA BE’KAROV MAMISH!!
There are still rooms available
There were at least 2 more programs canceled in the US ask around!