My son is 15 and I would not let him go on holiday with the school or any other organised trip if I didn't feel that they would be in decent accommodation,this includes locks on his door if he is boarding anywhere the general public has access to.I would also want to know if there would be any choice of food offered.

Oscarben and Alicesadventures, I'm afraid that whilst I respect your views and your experiences, I cannot support them 100%.

Part of a foreign trip is to explore local food, and I know that the Campanile does offer chips with anything if requested!! Sometimes teachers have to plan the meals in advance to fit in with their budget and touring programme, and perhaps do not always consider portion size and quality as their first priority. And I'm afraid that, in my experience, youngsters on a trip tend to 'graze' throughout the day whether they are actually hungry or not. A good teacher will prepare pupils in advance as to what will be on the menu, and you cannot expect your own country's native cooking when travelling abroad. I am sure that the pupils were not offered local delicacies such as snails, frogs legs, 'smelly' cheese or offal!

Also as a former school teacher, who has led many school trips, whilst I agree with the need for a lock on the door, I cannot accept that a Travelodge type of accommodation necessarily would be less secure for unexpected visitors or thefts than a hotel ............. and many hotels refuse school groups because they consider that the risks of accommodating a school party - noise, unreasonable behaviour and smoking and underage drinking are too high when trying to accommodate other guests as well.

I consider Campanile to be a HOTEL not a motel - meals are provided and there is a staffed reception. And it is considerably more comfortable than many of the guest houses and youth hostels I have stayed in with school groups in the 1980s!!

But this is not the place to scrap! All I would say is, please have confidence in the teachers leading this trip. They are on a limited budget and at least in a Campanile or similar, all rooms are of equal size with suitable bedding, power points, hot water and private facilities per room ........... and somewhere where the bus can park overnight safely and close to the group.

I would much prefer a Campanile to some doubtful guest house with unequal standards of hygiene and hot water. At least this organisation will take note of any complaints and will generally try to resolve them on the spot.

I appreciate your views. I would like the school not to change the accommodation from one thing to another. This is what the thread was about. I gave my child's trip as an example of how parents are not always fully informed or how things later change after payment and you have no options.

As you say you have experience of this yourself and we parents and guardians have to put our trust in the group leaders who go on the trips, even though it is possible we may never have met them personally. I do feel strongly that parents should not be made to feel stupid or overprotective for asking questions and getting answers about the trip whatever the concern is. I am sorry but the "we know what we are doing" attitude and which I am afraid comes over in your post, is often what we get. Each school is different at how they deal with trip, maybe in your experience it has been done in a better way. I have no idea, only my own experience to go on.

And I do not expect my own country's native cooking when travelling abroad, but I do expect a reasonable diet other than fish served with chips everynight.

Can I ask if he tried to resolve the problem - i.e. the quality of the hotel, the size of the rooms etc with the school? Maybe they had been misled. It's obviously not in their interest to fail to tell anything but the full truth.

Maybe he can just cancel the accommodation part of the trip, and do his own thing? Are there any of his mates having similar problems? All he needs is one more person and they can get a cheapo twin room in New York.

The way I read it is that the cancellation seemed to be rather perfunctory. The cancellation charges after all are predominantly the airlines. And they won't be allowing name changes either, so they can't re-sell.

Alsacienne,as you said ,a good teacher will prepare pupils in advance,that way each can make an informed choice as to whether the trip is suitable for them.I fully agree that they should,at least sample some traditional food but as a responsible parent I would not let him go if I thought that he would be hungry all week Perhaps we were lucky because our school gave us all the information necessary and the pupils had a first class experience.

Is woodlands is about to give us an update on this thread ??? Did the college go ahead and insist on the 65% ?? I guess if the flights or coach were paid already that may not be unreasonable, however I would have been appalled by eight in a room, when I had thought it would be two.

For both ski trips my DD did to France, the paperwork was somewhat inadequate to say the least, at the time you had to commit to book they hadn't even chosen the hotel, due to the fact that they book budget airlines the moment the prices come on-line to get the flights at a good price (no problems with that as it is what most savvy travellers would do).

On both holidays according to DD the food has been totally inadequate, it is almost like the see the parties of Brit kids coming and give them some kind inadequate food package as they are a captive audience and have no 'voice' because they are children.

They have also been stuck up mountains paying the equivalent of ten quid for French sausage and fries that they have had to leave as it's so horrible. DD was also charged four pounds for a tiny bottle of still water. She has a sense of humour though she brought the bottle home as a reminder of how to get ripped off ! This was before the pound collapsed.

My apologies if this seems but I'd just like to reply to doepsmc, based on my experience of school trips, and of living abroad, not far from various ski resorts.

both ski trips my DD did to France, the paperwork was somewhat inadequate to say the least, at the time you had to commit to book they hadn't even chosen the hotel, due to the fact that they book budget airlines the moment the prices come on-line to get the flights at a good price (no problems with that as it is what most savvy travellers would do).

Organising any school trip is no picnic. Many schools travel with organisations who provide the local transport, accommodation and food part of the journey and also the necessary insurance. So a teacher can be involved with a package where accommodation is not normally initially named because it depends on the party size, dates and resorts. The address/phone number of the hotel should certainly be passed on to the parents well before the trip starts, optimally in the context of a parents/pupils/trip information meeting. I would be surprised if the teachers were to block book cheap flight tickets before the party has been formed, because budget airlines insist on the names of all the members of a party at the time of initial booking, whether it be a school group or local dignitaries, and changes are costly if they have to be made.

On both holidays according to DD the food has been totally inadequate, it is almost like the see the parties of Brit kids coming and give them some kind inadequate food package as they are a captive audience and have no 'voice' because they are children.

I am sorry that your daughter considered the food to be totally inadequate, but I have to ask if she gave you specific examples, because most youngsters (including my own) are very quick to criticize the food on a school trip. Of course, on a skiing trip, where a great deal of calories are consumed on the slopes during physical activity, it is not unreasonable to expect adequate quantities of suitable food, but I would suggest that the teacher should perhaps double check this before booking. I have been involved with many school exchange trips from here to the UK, usually as an English-speaking helper as I have not taught in France, sometimes on an exchange pupil basis or with French pupils staying in English families which are paid to have them. There have been cases where I have been ashamed of what these children were given for an evening meal - beans on toast, or spaghetti hoops as the only course. And bread and butter (no filling) 'sandwiches' for their packed lunch. And sadly there have been many more cases of this type than I would have wished to see.

They have also been stuck up mountains paying the equivalent of ten quid for French sausage and fries that they have had to leave as it's so horrible. DD was also charged four pounds for a tiny bottle of still water. She has a sense of humour though she brought the bottle home as a reminder of how to get ripped off ! This was before the pound collapsed.

It has always been a seller's market at mountain top restaurants and cafés and prices in the resort below the slopes are often substantially higher than in towns and villages. It is no particular grudge against English school children, but it can be even more of a shock when pupils have to budget their pocket money in the context of a holiday because they probably don't have to do that at home ... there's always crisps/snacks/drinks somewhere at home!!

So that's another new thing to have to come to terms with on holiday. Parents should ensure that their children have enough pocket money if they have to pay for their midday meals, and should check not only with the staff organising the trip but with other sources, eg via the internet, or on here, to make sure that they are fully informed. I'm sure we are all familiar with the scenario that ice creams, drinks and cocktails cost more on holiday, even at the British seaside! In ski resorts, there should be no difficulty in drinking the local tap water, and refilling (or recycling) an earlier-drunk bottle.

In no way am I denigrating your daughter's experiences and what she told you. Perhaps being better informed on all 'outings' including school-organised trips is the answer. The days are over, I fear, when 'teacher knew best'. After all, we expect too much from our teachers, who not only have to educate, have to civilise, control and discipline children, many of whom should have been taught simple skills from an early age in a loving atmosphere (sorry rant over!!!)

Please don't hesitate to ask as many questions as you need - and as frequently as you need - when your child goes on a trip. I think that teachers will respect you for being proactive and helpful, rather than saying nothing and complaining when your child returns.

Woodlands, have you anything further to tell us?

Travelling Sam said

Maybe he can just cancel the accommodation part of the trip, and do his own thing? Are there any of his mates having similar problems? All he needs is one more person and they can get a cheapo twin room in New York.

I think that this would be most unwise, because he would not know the neighbourhood in which the group was staying, and he would have to make arrangements to meet up with the group, and possibly provide any meals that were not included in the accommodation package. And I think you have to be at least 18 years old if not 21 to book a room ........................ and I think that a hotel might not accept a third party booking on behalf of a child/young adult by credit card because the youngster concerned would not have the card (nor the authority to use it) with them at the moment of the stay .......... plus it would be in the parent's name.

This is perhaps trivial, but what Travelling Sam suggested is horrific as he is still 'in loco parentis' of the teachers involved. Supposing he got sick, or mugged or .......... when away from the group, either at or on the way to or from his own accommodation. How would he get help? At the age of this youngster, I do not think that this is a feasible alternative, but that's just IMHO.

I'm sorry you took offence at my post. I am offended that you feel I took no interest in my childs trip.

I can assure you I attended every meeting that was offered, read every scrap of paper sent and I even asked questions on here. (to which you kindly replied).

You may be 'suprised' that they booked with easyjet. But I am not a liar and this is 100% the truth, of course they took names, how on earth would they have booked the easyjet tickets.

She loved these holidays and would book again tomorrow if another one was on offer.

Quite enjoyed the 'dig' at British families cooking.

NOT .

Doe, I can assure you that there was NO INTENTION WHATSOEVER to criticise you personally for your involvement in your child's trip.

I can fully believed that they booked with Easyjet ..... school trips here use Easyjet and Ryanair frequently, but it is an accepted method of getting (mostly) reliable transport to cover the initial distance .......... memories of long coach or rail trips to get to the destination ........ but it is important to have the names, and therefore the permission of the parents before they can be booked.

And sadly the British family cooking situations I have witnessed at first hand, usually with families who are paid by a UK organisation (and there are loads of them) to offer board and lodging to foreign students on a short time basis. I was ashamed to be British, and was very disappointed how little notice the 'local rep' for the accommodation part of the trip took when a formal complaint was made. Sadly this sort of thing can happen in any country and for any nationality.

Travelling Sam said

Quote:
Maybe he can just cancel the accommodation part of the trip, and do his own thing? Are there any of his mates having similar problems? All he needs is one more person and they can get a cheapo twin room in New York.

I think that this would be most unwise, because he would not know the neighbourhood in which the group was staying, and he would have to make arrangements to meet up with the group, and possibly provide any meals that were not included in the accommodation package. And I think you have to be at least 18 years old if not 21 to book a room ........................ and I think that a hotel might not accept a third party booking on behalf of a child/young adult by credit card because the youngster concerned would not have the card (nor the authority to use it) with them at the moment of the stay .......... plus it would be in the parent's name.

This is perhaps trivial, but what Travelling Sam suggested is horrific as he is still 'in loco parentis' of the teachers involved. Supposing he got sick, or mugged or .......... when away from the group, either at or on the way to or from his own accommodation. How would he get help? At the age of this youngster, I do not think that this is a feasible alternative, but that's just IMHO.

I'm a bit confused - have things gone a bit off topic above re: France? Did me or you get confused?

Anyway, just to confirm (having checked the original post) that the person in question is 18 i.e. an adult?? New York is plenty safe. Sick? Mugged? No greater risk than a night out in your town? It's an easy town to traverse. 18 year olds are very good at researching the internet and finding accommodation near where their friends are.

At which point does it stop being 'horrific'??? Sorry, the day after I turned 18 I buggered off to Asia for a year. I moved to Louisiana when I was 20 - far more risky than New York!

I realise it's different for different people but the idea of an 18 year staying with friends in a decent hotel in New York as being 'horrific' I find absurd!

I realise it's different for different people but the idea of an 18 year staying with friends in a decent hotel in New York as being 'horrific' I find absurd!

Well since Travelling Sam took the trouble to take the time to reply to my post, I'd just like to say that 1) Yes the original post was about New York
2) I did not originate the post referring to Campanile or similar accommodation, but as I know about this as I live in France and have organised school trips I felt that I had some useful input to add to this topic.
3) As it has never been clear what the lead-in period to visit originally mentioned, it seemed to be unwise to be changing hotel accommodation with what seemed very little information about the precise location in NYC. And 'decent' hotel accommodation does not necessarily come cheap. And the gent in question would have to oblige other members of the party to share with him, and pull out of the arrangements already in place for the group, which might lead to complications with the whole group visit if based on a minimum number of occupants in the accommodation envisaged.

My comments would apply to a similar decision to change accommodation even in London ..... except that the OP would have more knowledge of the products on offer. It is still very easy to be given an impression by looking at pictures on the internet of accommodation and prices, and to find yourself in a situation where you have not been given true and accurate information when you arrive at the booked accommodation.

And some (not all) 18 year olds would not be able to cope with this - they may be legally entitled to enter into an accommodation booking contract, but are they 'streetwise' enough to cope with any unexpected consequences?

I think that this topic has run its course. I shall not be commenting further on it.