You pay for a guided boat trip from a hotel. The boat capsizes. The passengers lose cell phones, cameras; thousands of dollars worth of equipment. The hotel gives you a free hamburger and a beer, and says the accident wasn’t their fault. WHAT?
You’d think that growing hotel chains like Selina — the Panama-based budget hotel, hostel and co-working company — would have well-established policies for dealing with accidents, compensating guests and making things right. You’d also think they’d have insurance, and would only contract boat operators who also have insurance. But you’d be wrong, at least in Selina’s case. (You can also read my review of the Selina boating accident on TripAdvisor.)
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In November, my husband and I joined a Zapatillas Islands boat tour, purchased from Selina Bocas del Toro. As the boat driver made a very sharp turn at an excessive speed, the boat capsized, throwing everyone overboard. It was, quite frankly, a bit scary. One person was trapped under the boat, and anyone could easily have been hit in the head and knocked out in the water. Some passengers lost personal items that sank to the bottom of the sea. We were able to retrieve our items — a small Canon photo/video camera, two chargers and a Canon 60D camera — but they were ruined beyond use.
We waited in the water for at least 20 minutes before being rescued by another boat. The boat owner and pilot disappeared on another vessel with no word to us.
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Upon arrival back on land, the hotel manager, Shanti, took us into the Selina hotel’s so-called “movie room,’ where we were forced to spend nearly two hours recounting the incident to both town police and maritime police, while we were still undressed in wet swimwear.
The boat’s captain claimed the capsizing was our fault because some passengers were standing up when he hit the curve (which was something that he was fully aware of before he made the sharp, high-speed turn). Eventually, the boat’s owner showed up, fully dressed in clean clothes, to tell us that the blame should be shared with the hotel.
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Shanti asked the passengers to make a list of all the items damaged or lost during the accident, which we did. After two hours, nothing was resolved and she said we would all have to go to the police station to file reports, even though we’d just spent two hours with the police.
Shanti blamed the pilot and boat owner for the accident, and said that Selina can’t be held responsible. All she offered us as compensation were a refund of the tour cost ($80 for two people), a few bottles of water, a towel, drinks and hamburgers for dinner. I later contacted the Selina corporate headquarters in Panama City and was referred to a man named Lior, back in Bocas del Toro, who spoke with me by phone for about 20 minutes about the incident and said he’d try to resolve the situation. Two months later, he hasn’t done anything, and hasn’t responded to my follow-up call.
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We are very disturbed by the lack of responsibility on the part of Selina, as the company that sold the services is fully responsible for the danger and loss. We purchased our services from Selina Bocas del Toro, and the company accepted our money and contracted a vendor (the boat owner and captain), who apparently has no insurance.
If I get sick from french fries that I buy at McDonald’s, I sue the restaurant, not the potato farmer. It is the responsibility, as the company who sells the services and contracts the service providers, to take charge and resolve this issue in an efficient and logical manner. Two hamburgers do NOT cover our loss of property.
https://departurelevel.com/panama/hotel-review-laid-back-life-at-hotel-bocas-town-in-panama/
The lesson?
1. Make sure you have travel insurance (although that didn’t cover most of our losses).
2. Make sure you buy from companies that have insurance and plans in case of accidents — and that they only contract other companies and people who do, too (Selina does not).
3. Think twice before assuming that the laid-back, hip-and-friendly vibe of Selina hotels and hostels means that they will be responsive take responsibility when it comes to taking care of their customers.
This isn’t meant as an overall Panama travel warning, of course (I love Panama and have been there many times), but Selina’s shortcomings has provided a valuable lesson in what to watch out for in any country while on vacation.