Refund Requests Considered Singly : Tours: Some companies may make individual refunds for unused portions of a group trip, if they can recover their costs from the businesses they deal with abroad. However, unless you’ve got a good reason, don’t count on getting any money back.

A woman on a motor-coach tour in Europe left the tour to mail some post cards in Florence, but afterward couldn’t find her way back. After waiting for nearly two hours and notifying the police of her absence, the tour escort finally decided to continue to Rome without her.

Left without a tour, the woman took a train on her own to Rome, and then a taxi to the hotel her group was staying in. Upon return to the United States she asked the tour operator for a reimbursement on her train and taxi expenses.

In another case a man didn’t see the tour operator’s representative at the airport in Paris and missed the transfer bus to his tour group’s hotel. He took a taxi to the hotel and afterward asked for a refund of his expenses.

Due to a delay in departure of a flight from the United States, a tour group missed its first night in London, in still another case. Several in the group sought a refund on the cost of their unused hotel rooms.

These three refund requests received by Los Angeles-based Brendan Tours are representative of the kind of complaints that all tour operators get at one time or another.

Here’s how they were resolved:

“While the woman who missed her motor coach in Florence tried to hold us responsible, it was really her fault and so her extra costs weren’t recoverable,” Chuck Winn, manager-special services of Brendan Tours, said.

“But let’s say this same traveler had to suddenly go to the hospital or a doctor and missed her departure from Florence to Rome, and then got to Rome and the hotel on her own,” Winn said. “As a good will gesture, we would probably pay part of her costs. Each case turns on the individual circumstances.”

The traveler who missed his airport-hotel transfer bus received a refund, Winn said. “It’s likely it was the traveler’s fault. He may have been tired after the flight, but we usually give our clients the benefit of the doubt.

“The amount of money involved is usually small. But if the traveler had to get to his hotel from an especially distant airport, say Gatwick to London, it might be a different story.”

Tour operators commit themselves to a certain number of hotel rooms. By buying in volume they can get lower prices than the individual traveler can. But if people on a tour don’t turn up, the hotel still may impose a no-show fee.

“Most people don’t understand this,” Winn said. “Since the reason for the flight delay was beyond our control, we didn’t make any refunds on the unused hotel rooms in London.”

Another common situation is when a member of a tour decides not to attend a scheduled event, such as a dinner or theater show.

The tour operator, which may deal with as many as 25 companies, including airlines, hotels, motor coach operators and restaurants during a two- or three-week tour, is generally not obligated to refund unusued portions of tours. However, some do refund unusued portions of tours. Some operators may even refund an unused land arrangement if they can recover their costs from the businesses they deal with abroad.

The tour operator agrees only to provide the basic tour elements such as transportation, hotels and sightseeing. Brochures generally will list in their last few pages what the tour operator is offering and what its responsibilities are.

“We generally don’t offer refunds of services that are regular features of a tour that people don’t avail themselves of,” Winn said. “These are prepaid by us and we usually don’t get a refund for no-shows from the local organizations we work with. But again, it depends on the circumstances. Some costs of unusued services may be recoverable.”

Cruise lines also evaluate complaints from passengers on an individual basis. Some common complaints revolve around seating requests in the dining rooms, what cabins do and don’t include and location of the staterooms.

For example, some passengers fail to find their cabins on the deck plans in brochures and afterward complain about how close they are to dining areas, discos and other public areas.

“Some problems come from Love Boat expectations,” said Pat Biederman, manager of passenger services for Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines. “They see a suite in the rooms shown on the TV show and don’t expect the size of the cabins the get. They also don’t expect to get a nautical-size bed in their cabins.”

Air-sea cruises are another problem area. Sometimes passengers don’t check their air tickets to see what time their plane arrives at the port of embarkation and what time they can board their ship. These interim periods are sometimes a source of confusion and frustration that can be avoided by carefully reading the information provided in advance of departure.

“At least half of the complaints come from not reading the brochures and other cruise material,” said Bruce Setloff, director of passenger service for San Francisco-based Royal Cruise Line. “Some passengers don’t turn in a first- or second-sitting dining request in advance of sailing and wait until they board the ship. Then they don’t like the sitting or seat they’re assigned.”

Shore excursions can be another troublesome area. “One of our ships was in Belem, Brazil, and the shore excursion was named Jungle Cruise. Its description indicated there was a lot of walking involved.

“Some passengers thought it would be more of a Disneyland experience. There was real mud as it rained, and one passenger asked for her money back. As a good will gesture she received a $100 credit to be applied to a future cruise with us.”

As with tours, the best policy is to let shipboard personnel know about problems when they crop up, not at the end of the cruise or after you get home.

“One passenger wanted a refund for the difference between a cabin with a bath and one that only offered a shower, as the stopper was missing from her tub,” Setloff said. “But she waited until turning in her comment card at the end of the cruise to tell us. She also received a credit toward her next cruise. Basically, we feel keeping the client happy is the most important value.”

While travel outfits may make good will gestures to placate repeat customers and those likely to be repeat clients, you obviously can’t depend on this treatment. Your best bet is to register your complaint when the situation arises. There may be an immediate solution.

To avoid ever having recourse to a customer/passenger relations manager, start with reading brochures and other documents carefully so that you know precisely what comes with your specific travel arrangements.

Brochures are primarily sales tools and don’t cover every conceivable aspect even in the fine print. Travelers have to ask questions.

Determine what extra costs may be involved. Tips to the tour manager and vehicle drivers, as well as shipboard cabin stewards and dining room staff are extras. Also, make sure that special requests are received early enough. If they’re not honored, find out ahead and spare yourself the disappointment.

One way to cover yourself for some key contingencies is to buy travel insurance for such things as luggage, trip cancellation, trip interruption and even hospital expenses.

If your complaint can’t be resolved during your travels, write to the tour operator or cruise line upon return. Directing these missives to the president of the company is worthwhile.

Keep letters brief and to the point. Include all the details of what did or didn’t take place, the names of the people involved and their positions, and send copies of any pertinent documents or receipts. If you know the cost of a particular service, you can ask for a specific amount of money. However, it doesn’t mean that you’ll get it.

“Most people don’t document their case properly,” Winn said.

Remember that tour operators and cruise lines frequently have to investigate to give you an answer.

“You should, as a rule, get a response from us in about three weeks,” Winn said. “More involved situations might take a little longer.”

Use the same general guidelines when contacting airlines about complaints. If it doesn’t work out with the carrier, contact the U.S. Department of Transportation (government pages in front of a phone book).

And if the resolution of your complaint isn’t satisfying, you can always go to court.