Two travel company failures test different financial protection routes
Customers affected by two travel company collapses are being directed towards different forms of financial protection for outstanding holiday bookings
Two UK travel companies have ceased trading, leaving customers with outstanding bookings facing different routes to protect or recover the money paid for their holidays.
Frasers Travel and Golf Villa Rentals both stopped trading this month, according to travel trade association ABTA.
Ayrshire-based Frasers Travel had operated for 40 years, selling long- and short-haul holidays to destinations including Spain, Australia, and the Caribbean.
ABTA said customers who booked through Frasers should identify the tour operator responsible for their holiday, which should be listed on the Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (ATOL) certificate for flight-inclusive packages.
Where the underlying tour operator remains operational, bookings should continue as planned, with customers advised to contact that company directly.
Frasers Travel said in a statement: “We regret to inform you that Frasers Travel Ltd has today ceased trading. We would like to thank all our past clients for their loyalty and support.”
By contrast, East Sussex-based Golf Villa Rentals, which sold golf-focused package holidays internationally, had financial failure insurance in place for its package holidays.
ABTA has directed customers with Golf Villa Rentals bookings to Evolution Insurance Company for further information and guidance on making a claim.
The two failures illustrate how consumer protection after a travel business collapses can depend on the structure of the original booking and the financial protection arrangements behind it.
Customers may therefore find themselves dealing with an underlying tour operator, ATOL arrangements or a financial failure insurer when attempting to preserve a trip or recover their money.
The closures follow the collapse of UK ski holiday company SkiYodl in late July, which resulted in the cancellation of its outstanding bookings after more than eight years of trading.