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Thomas Cook collapses, stranding 150k UK holidaymakers

theguardian.com

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Re: Thomas Cook collapses, stranding 150k UK holidaymakers

#81

Post by Already__Taken »

warrenmiller wrote: post #64
kitd wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

British travel agents that belong to ABTA, the national association, should have emergencies like this covered by insurance, so the money is there. This is basically the nightmare scenario for a travel agent so you would think ABTA has an emergency process all set up and ready to go.

There is ATOL protection but there's only approx £18 million in the fund. £200 million is needed to pay everyone out.

Where do you get numbers like that from and hows the scheme funded by design?

Re: Thomas Cook collapses, stranding 150k UK holidaymakers

#82

Post by hnarn »

mhandley wrote: post #72
FartyMcFarter wrote: post #43

> Customers at a hotel in Tunisia reported being locked in by security guards as the hotel demanded extra money, fearing it would not be paid by Thomas Cook. This is quite bad behaviour from the hotel. Presumably their business relationship is with Thomas Cook, not the people on holidays? They went as far as grabbing people who jumped a wall in an attempt to get out! More details here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-4…

Don't hotels realise this is a reputation business? In the age of the Internet, no-one with access to TripAdvisor or Google will ever stay there again. Wouldn't be at all surprised to see the hotel change name in the next year, if they survive. But perhaps worse that that, a hotel behaving like this, and not being slapped down hard by the Tunisian authorities, will damage the entire Tunisian tourism industry, just as…

> Don't hotels realise this is a reputation business?

I would say that the facts presented above answer that question for you.

Re: Thomas Cook collapses, stranding 150k UK holidaymakers

#83

Post by hnarn »

2rsf wrote: post #65
dehrmann wrote: post #45

I was recently debating booking a flight to Europe on Norwegian. It didn't affect my decision, but I'm very aware that they're struggling financially, so I'd only buy the tickets less than a month out on a credit card so it's the bank's money, and if they declared bankruptcy and cancelled flights, c'est la vie.

But what happens if they declare bankruptcy on you way back ? and what about hotel reservations or the more expensive flight you'll have to take ? BTW Norwegian are fine for a while https://simpleflying.com/norwegian-bond-payments-deferrednor...

> But what happens if they declare bankruptcy on you way back ?

Buy your plane tickets with a credit card, ask your credit company for the money back, buy another ticket. This is one of the main advantages of using a credit card: the credit company will absorb the debts of the third party (the airline, in this example).

Re: Thomas Cook collapses, stranding 150k UK holidaymakers

#84

Post by hnarn »

wp381640 wrote: post #16

Reminder again to never hold gift cards. I had a family member who was gited a $3,000 travel voucher with an agency - I told them to exchange it in for flights asap as you can book up to a year out, change the tickets later and it's better to be a creditor with a national airline than a likely-going-out-of-business-because-of-online travel agency

> Reminder again to never hold gift cards.

$3,000 is no small amount of money, do people really feel so much shame in giving someone plain old money that they have to buy a gift card?

A gift card is almost like buying a stock, except it's much more risky and gives you zero benefits compared to the cash that paid for it. If you want someone to be able to travel for $3,000 just give them $3,000.

Re: Thomas Cook collapses, stranding 150k UK holidaymakers

#85

Post by freshfey »

2rsf wrote: post #65
dehrmann wrote: post #45

I was recently debating booking a flight to Europe on Norwegian. It didn't affect my decision, but I'm very aware that they're struggling financially, so I'd only buy the tickets less than a month out on a credit card so it's the bank's money, and if they declared bankruptcy and cancelled flights, c'est la vie.

But what happens if they declare bankruptcy on you way back ? and what about hotel reservations or the more expensive flight you'll have to take ? BTW Norwegian are fine for a while https://simpleflying.com/norwegian-bond-payments-deferrednor...

The hotel reservation problem actually happened to me. I booked the hotel via a company called AMOMA, which Google recommended me when I entered the hotel name (it was the cheapest so I took it).

They recently sent me an email saying that they immediately ceased service and our booking will probably be cancelled. I checked with the hotel the same day and got a confirmation that the booking is all good (via phone and email). One day after I get an email from the hotel saying our booking has been canceled.

I did pay via (prepaid) credit card so it'll be interesting to see whether I'll ever get my money back...

Re: Thomas Cook collapses, stranding 150k UK holidaymakers

#86

Post by csomar »

mhandley wrote: post #72
FartyMcFarter wrote: post #43

> Customers at a hotel in Tunisia reported being locked in by security guards as the hotel demanded extra money, fearing it would not be paid by Thomas Cook. This is quite bad behaviour from the hotel. Presumably their business relationship is with Thomas Cook, not the people on holidays? They went as far as grabbing people who jumped a wall in an attempt to get out! More details here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-4…

Don't hotels realise this is a reputation business? In the age of the Internet, no-one with access to TripAdvisor or Google will ever stay there again. Wouldn't be at all surprised to see the hotel change name in the next year, if they survive. But perhaps worse that that, a hotel behaving like this, and not being slapped down hard by the Tunisian authorities, will damage the entire Tunisian tourism industry, just as…

> Wouldn't be at all surprised to see the hotel change name in the next year, if they survive.

It won't change its name. The reason they are still in business is that they are so dirt cheap. They are known in the area and avoided by almost everybody except for these "tours" and the uninformed.

> But perhaps worse that that, a hotel behaving like this, and not being slapped down hard by the Tunisian authorities, will damage the entire Tunisian tourism industry

It's already damaged. The tourism industry is a joke and the receipts are laughable comparing to other countries (Morocco or Egypt). Just a week before protesters were able to blockade a main road in the capital and cause a gridlock for several hours lasting until late-night.

Re: Thomas Cook collapses, stranding 150k UK holidaymakers

#87

Post by chadcmulligan »

beaker52 wrote: post #80

It's always blown my mind that companies like this will operate not having enough cash on hand to actually provide the services they've sold. Maybe that's why they're in business and I'm not.

I've been told many large companies only have a few months cash flow to keep them operating. I remember many years ago this fact was exploited by the unions when a dispute couldn't be resolved. They stopped collecting payments (pre internet) and the dispute was resolved quickly.

Re: Thomas Cook collapses, stranding 150k UK holidaymakers

#89

Post by consp »

greglindahl wrote: post #69
physicsguy wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not a subsidy; the companies which sell package holidays need to put the cash up. It was done because of financially unstable package holiday companies setting up and then failing leaving people stranded. Most people in the UK know to buy an ‘ATOL Protected’ holiday if they go for a package deal.

It ends up being a subsidy when the largest provider collapses and the funds don't cover the problem. Who pays then? Oh, the government.

Who are also first in line to collect when the company goes into bankruptcy and there is still money somewhere.

Re: Thomas Cook collapses, stranding 150k UK holidaymakers

#90

Post by Broken_Hippo »

hnarn wrote: post #83
2rsf wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But what happens if they declare bankruptcy on you way back ? and what about hotel reservations or the more expensive flight you'll have to take ? BTW Norwegian are fine for a while https://simpleflying.com/norwegian-bond-payments-deferrednor...

> But what happens if they declare bankruptcy on you way back ? Buy your plane tickets with a credit card, ask your credit company for the money back, buy another ticket. This is one of the main advantages of using a credit card: the credit company will absorb the debts of the third party (the airline, in this example).

Sure, and hope that you aren't on a strict budget and the return flight doesn't cost a lot more. Oh, and that the credit comes in a timely manner and you aren't waiting until monday/tuesday because friday evening isn't a business day.
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