A luxury glamping company has refused to bow to pressure after a customer demanded a full refund because they claimed they were forced to sleep in the freezing cold when their air conditioner broke.
Zhi Jian stayed overnight in a luxury off-grid clear bubble tent at Bubbletent in the Capertree Valley, NSW, on July 10.
The adults-only glamping sanctuary promises a night under the stars overlooking the second biggest canyon in the world, just two and a half hours from Sydney.
Mr Zhi booked the Ophiuchus tent, which offers features including a telescope, an all-weather firepit, a rotating bed and geothermal reverse-cycle air conditioning, for $855 a night.
The disgruntled customer claimed their air conditioner had given out in the middle of the night and that they’d been forced to ‘use more blankets’ to keep warm.
Bubbletent’s lawyers, Rostron Carlyle Rojas, told Daily Mail a staff member had been sent to the site and ‘there was no evidence of a fault in the system as alleged’.
The glamping company then offered the customer a $300 voucher on top of the $50 discount offered in its terms and services as a gesture of goodwill.
‘In the event of a malfunction or unsatisfactory performance, management reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to offer a rate adjustment of up to $50 per night of stay,’ it states.
Mr Zhi asked for a refund following his stay, citing the alleged problem with the aircon system, and the ‘discomfort and health risks’ associated with sleeping in cold conditions.
Bubbletent responded by asking the customer if he could share the temperature inside the tent during his stay and to provide more details about the ‘health issues’.
Mr Zhi was then reminded of the terms and conditions which every customer must agree to upon booking a stay.
‘Once any technical issues are resolved to management’s satisfaction, the room rate will revert to the advertised price,’ it states.
The customer stated a $300 voucher was not useful as he was an overseas tourist before accusing Bubbletent of a ‘breach of the n Consumer Law’.
He also shared his intention to lodge a formal complaint with NSW Fair Trading and with the n Competition and Consumer Commission.
In an email shared online, Bubbletent replied: ‘Next step after Fair Trading is NCAT, you can make a submission here, you’ll need more than Chat GPT to argue your position with the registrar.’
Mr Zhi wrote a one star review online and shared his experience on Reddit.
In correspondence shared by Bubbletent to Daily Mail, Mr Zhi said he had warned the company he intended to share a public review in a previous email and claimed he was not responsible for any other reviews.
He said his review ‘was posted with the intent to allow consumers to make an informed decision due to the inherent power imbalance of a consumer and business’.
Bubbletent replied: ‘There is no power imbalance here Zhi, you’ve chosen the path of denigration as opposed to exercising your rights as a consumer and this pathway now carries grave consequences.
‘This has gone to the next level and I assure you we are now in the process of fighting this vigorously’.
Bubbletent’s lawyers have said Mr Zhi ‘falsely asserted that the ‘fault’ (of which there is no evidence occurred at all, other than Mr Zhi’s assertion) is a major failure’ under n Consumer Law.
The ‘failure (if indeed it occurred at all), clearly constitutes only a minor failure, and one which was promptly, properly and legally addressed’.
Bubbletent shared a statement with Daily Mail, claiming the company’s objective was ‘to provide guests with a premium glamping experience’.
‘In pursuit of this goal, we may incorporate unique, customised, or repurposed features that may not have been specifically engineered, approved, or designed to standard specifications, including but not limited to turntables and geothermal air conditioning,’ the statement read.
‘To the best of our knowledge, these features have not been previously implemented in a Bubbletent. While we endeavor to ensure a safe and optimal performance of these features, unforeseen technical issues may occur.
‘We live in an age where anyone can post, review bomb or write whatever they choose, but that does not mean it comes without ramification or personal responsibility.’