British tourists could be hit by holiday cancellations in July following the collapse earlier this month of one of Europe’s largest tour operators, FTI.
It is based in Germany, but the British could be affected by the consequences of its bankruptcy, since it owns a subsidiary called youtravel.com, an intermediary accommodation provider, known as a “bed bank”, which online travel agencies of the United Kingdom (OTA) ), including Loveholidays, are used to secure hotel rooms for customers.
These OTAs combine hotels booked through youtravel.com with flights, creating a package for their customers.
Youtravel.com initially announced that bookings through June 11 were cancelled, leading some UK travelers to pay twice for their rooms because hoteliers feared they would not receive funds from the bed bank.
Now, Youtravel.com has announced that all bookings through July 26 will be cancelled, potentially leading to even more disruption.
British holidaymakers could be hit by holiday cancellations in July following the collapse earlier this month of one of Europe’s largest tour operators.
Among those affected by the FTI collapse is Annie Cox, 24, who said Birmingham Live who was forced to pay an extra £900 to keep her room at the Labranda Targa Club Aqua Parc in Morocco, which she booked through Loveholidays.
What are the chances of disruption for the British in July?
Loveholidays told MailOnline Travel that it is working hard to ensure its customers’ holidays go smoothly.
Earlier this month, FTI Group, the parent company of one of our many suppliers, Youtravel, filed for bankruptcy. This affects only a small proportion of our customers and we are working hard to minimize disruption to their holiday.
“This is a rapidly evolving situation so we will remain in contact with affected customers as the situation progresses and we are very sorry for the inconvenience.”
Additionally, customers who have booked through Loveholidays will be Atol protected, meaning they will receive a refund if they have been asked to pay extra for their holiday.
The collapse of FTI has caused some tourists to pay twice for their hotel rooms
Currently, holidays booked after July 26 will go ahead and customers will face cancellation charges if they attempt to withdraw.
In a statement, Youtravel.com said: “The insolvency of FTI Touristik GmbH has had a significant impact on Youtravel.com. Over the past three weeks, our management has been in active contact with the appointed administrator of the FTI group and has been conducting the M&A process to secure our future.
‘While we hope these discussions will conclude positively soon, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all bookings up to and including 26 July 2024. We understand the inconvenience this may cause and sincerely apologize for any disruption. All active reservations on the Youtravel system for arrivals up to and including July 26 will be automatically canceled without charge from Monday, July 1, 2024.’