It's the icing on the cake.
The Evanses' travel agency, The Holiday Place, denied any wrongdoing. They declined to talk to the media, citing privacy laws as the reason. To top it all off, they claimed that the “goodwill gesture” of offering each member of the family a $130 discount off their next trip (totaling $780) was just a little fraction of the $13,000 they had charged. To them, it was all someone else's fault.
Getting lost in translation
The travel agency's contention that different countries have different standards, while ludicrous in this case, is true in general. While the Caribbean may have some similarities to the United States, visitors from places like the United States should keep in mind that the standards of their own country are not necessarily the same as those of their destination. The equivalent of a four-star hotel in your native country may not meet the same standards in the Caribbean or South America. We are not trying to persuade you not to go; rather, we want you to walk in with realistic expectations.