Advice for when booking a holiday

THE past few months has seen a number of airlines and travel firms close down, often leaving holiday makers stranded far from home.

And with the growing appeal of booking separate parts of a holiday to France to cut costs, difficulties can arise if one part of your trip goes astray as the knock-on effects on the other sections of your holiday can see you out of pocket.

Some simple tips offered by Consumer Direct, which is part of the Office of Fair Trading, may help you decide on the best travel plans as well as holiday choices so that you are not still paying for your trip long after you have returned.

– If you are booking a package holiday, which usually means a holiday that consists of two or more pre-arranged elements (for example flight and accommodation), check that the travel operator has a bonding scheme or some other form of protection such as those offered by ATOL, ABTA or AITO.

These will usually give you financial protection and arrange to get you home if the operator or another business involved in providing your holiday ceases trading. Also you should usually receive a refund if you haven’t already travelled.

– If you book a non-package holiday, for example if you arrange your flight and accommodation separately, and you book directly with an airline or hotel you may have less protection so check terms and conditions.

– Be aware that some websites where you select different elements of your holiday and make a single payment may not be considered a ‘package’ holiday and may not provide sufficient protection.

It is important that you check the terms and conditions of the holiday and look for ATOL, ABTA or AITO membership or check that there is adequate bonding or travel insurance in place to ensure you are protected.

– If you book a flight only arrangement, operators are usually required to have measures in place which can allow you a refund of your money and bring you home if you are abroad. This will usually be by way of the ATOL scheme or some form of bond or travel insurance. However, this protection does not apply to flights that are bought directly from an airline.

– If the cost or your flight is more than £100, you could consider paying with a credit card as this offers you some financial protection. If the airline goes out of business you will usually get a refund on the cost of your tickets from your credit card provider.

However, you may have to pay for and make your own arrangements to get home if you have already flown and you would not be covered for any extra costs such as additional nights in a hotel.

– There is little protection for non-package holidays paid for by debit card. Much will depend on the terms and conditions of the holiday.

– Consider buying travel insurance and look for a policy that covers insolvency or includes supply failure cover. There are a few of these types of policies and they usually promise to provide an alternative holiday or a replacement journey in the event of a travel operator going out of business.

You may have to book and pay for another trip and then claim the costs back from the insurer.

Website: Consumer Direct