Holiday company, Center Parcs, announced via Twitter earlier this week that all of their villages would be closing on Monday 19 September to allow staff to watch Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
What did Center Parcs say about closing?
The statement read: “Following the announcement of the date of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, we have made the decision to close all our UK villages on Monday 19 September at 10am as a mark of respect and to allow as many of our colleagues as possible to be part of this historic moment.
“Guests who were due to arrive on Monday 19 September should not travel, we will reopen on Tuesday 20 September to welcome guests. All impacted guests will receive an email from us today.”
Guests who were already staying at a Center Parcs resort on the Monday were told they would have to leave the site and return the following day. The announcement went viral and received thousands of comments from concerned holidaymakers.
One user wrote: “Closing the facilities would be one thing but turfing people out and telling them to come back the next day is outrageous. What on earth were you thinking?”
Another said: “You say “out of respect”, but where’s the respect for your customers in this? Is it really that you’re looking to avoid paying your staff a bank holiday rate instead?”
Are Center Parcs still closing?
The company released a second statement on Monday evening following the backlash. They chose to partially backtrack on the decision to shut the park on the day of the Queen’s funeral.
The statement read:”The vast majority of our guests are either due to arrive or depart on Monday 19 September.
“We have however, reviewed our position regarding the very small number of guests who are not due to depart on Monday, and we will be allowing them to stay on our villages rather than having to leave and return on Tuesday.”
On-site facilities will still remain closed on Monday and those whose stay has been affected will be offered a partial refund.
