Months ago, eight women from the Chicago area paid for tickets to Solfest and Sol Comedy Jam 2023, put on by Music Getaway, but just 24 hours ahead of their departure, the event was abruptly canceled.
Branded as “an R&B lover’s dream vacation," the event featured performers like Ludacris and Ashanti, but the sudden cancellation has left fans, and artists, in the dark.
“We booked these trips back in September, said ticket holder Litanya Matlock. “The promoter isn’t taking any responsibility. They are kind of just pointing fingers at the resort.”
Because they had the time off work approved and plane tickets booked, they decided to pay out of pocket for new hotel rooms so they could still take their dream trip.
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“We were very disappointed initially, but we decided to move forward,” said ticket holder Tiffany Moore.
Still, the group said they’ve lost over $12,000 combined because of the canceled event.
“That’s extra money we planned to use for excursions and spending money, and it now has to a room we had already paid for,” Moore explained.
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The women said the promoter, Music Getaways, hasn’t offered any help to ticketholders. The hotel and resort where the event was set to take place accused the promoters of not making contractually-required payments, which led to the cancellation of the event.
The Hard Rock Hotel Punta Cana did offer discounted rooms to people, and issued this statement:
"Dear Sol Fest 2023 and Sol Comedy Jam 2023 Attendees:
"The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana regrets to inform you that, due to circumstances beyond our control and the control of the artists, the Sol Fest 2023 Event and the Sol Comedy Jam 2023 Events at the Hotel have been CANCELLED. Additionally, if you are checking into the Hotel between Sunday, January 15, 2023, and Saturday, January 21, 2023, and you purchased your hotel accommodations through Warren Hill, Music Getaways, Sol Fest Events, or one of their affiliates, your reservation was unfortunately not confirmed. Despite repeated requests from the Hotel, and months of diligent effort to secure compliance with our agreements, the third parties in charge of the Sol Fest 2023 Event and Sol Comedy Jam 2023 Event did not remit to the Hotel the contractually required payments for reservations in connection with the Events. Because these contractually required payments were not received, the Hotel was unable to confirm these reservations and was forced to cancel both Events and the unconfirmed reservations. The Hotel is taking appropriate legal action against these third parties for keeping guest funds and failing to remit them to the Hotel in order to secure your reservations.
"We are sorry for this inconvenience, and we share in your frustration. If you would like to reserve a room at the Hotel during your originally programmed dates, please visit the link below, where you will be able to reserve a room(s) at the Hotel at a discounted rate:
"Once again, we apologize for these circumstances, and we hope to welcome you to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Punta Cana soon."
NBC 5 reached out to Music Getaways for a comment, but has not received a response.
The sudden change of plans has left music fans flummoxed, and demanding answers.
“In the Music Getaways contract, it says we don’t allow refunds but in a unique situation like this, I think they don’t have a choice but to refund us,” Moore explained.
