Comments on: Your tour operator is bankrupt — so who pays your hotel bill?

By: chris

chris — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 07:38:48 +0000

Fortunately we do not book Conquest tours so had no clients affected. However, if you booked in Ontario your travel agency as well as the supplier, is required to be registered and pay into a compensation fund,,,TICO. What this means is that you will get your monies back, but it will take time. as for the travellers forced to pay at the resort..I was dicusted by the hotels that did so. The guest has already pre paid the stay…i certainly would be livid if asked to pay again, after already paying before leaving home

By: Best Tour Agents

Best Tour Agents — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 09:43:28 +0000

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By: Regina

Regina — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:43:16 +0000

I understand the hotels haven’t been paid, and guests certainly don’t want to double-pay, but the hotel isn’t responsible for comping guests. It’s up to the traveler to find out in advance what happens in the event the tour operator goes bust before their trip. However, threatening guests with arrest is wrong and will ensure they never come back to your property. I hope the hotels attempted to contact guests who hadn’t arrived yet to inform them of the situation. Personally, I’d rather book direct even if it means I pay more. I have always avoided tour operators and other third-party vendors. I won’t even book through Expedia or Orbitz. I just feel more comfortable dealing directly, because when a third party is involved it’s more complicated if something goes awry.

By: Stephen Pickford

Stephen Pickford — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:36:35 +0000

The unnamed hotel representative being quoted that tells the customers to go pee-in-the-breeze and play in the steam is from Oasis Hoteles. With Mexico’s image imploding (remember the tourists murdered at the Barcelo on the Riviera Maya?), what goes around comes around….when their tourism numbers are down, I will be crying crocodile tears as their occupancy rates will reflect the efforts they have made to satisfy (or chase away) their clientele.

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:46:37 +0000

What a mess. I suppose the customner is ultimately responsible for paying the hotel bill, or the hotels would go bankrupt too.

The best advice seems to be to use a credit card, so you at least get your money back.

By: David Z

David Z — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 23:47:12 +0000

RTFP. Sigh.

By: Joe Farrell

Joe Farrell — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:33:34 +0000

Uh, liability insurance is just that, liability insurance – it does not insure against banruptcy – it insures against business torts . . . employee theft . . stuff like that.

Now, they have a travel bond – guess what? If they post a letter of credit – it is immediately frozen the result of the bankruptcy – no one will pay out on such a letter of credit. If they post a bond, every bond I have ever seen also becomes uncollectible once the beneficiary becomes insolvent. Even when the bond is there to protect against insolvency – thats all in the fine print.

Thus, membership is meaningless and the bond further is meaningless – and $1M US is further insufficient.

The point here is to ALWAYS pay via credit card. Period. End of subject. And ALWAYS pay a local agent since in most cases if you buy more than 50 miles from your home – the issuing bank does not have to refund your money.

Fine print taketh away.

By: John F

John F — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:59:40 +0000

If a TA went bankrupt, you most likely would have known in advance–you woudl not be allowed to board the plane, etc. and you woudl have known the TA did not pay the TO.

But the hotel is entirely correct. It sucks for the traveler for sure, but all 3rd party insurances cover suplpier insolvency except for certain suppliers. Your agent or the insurance company can tell you who and what is covered.

This is really no different than the guy you worked with on a WN ticket bought on Craigslist that was not valid. In the end, Southwest was not paid and they need to be paid to provide the service.

I woudl not go so far to say an agent can get you (or keep you) out of jail, but hopefully there is some pull that will help you out. If you want a good example of an agent helping out a client, read this column

By: Christopher Elliott

Christopher Elliott — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:02:04 +0000

Your travel agent and your tour operator are two separate companies, under most circumstances.

By: SirWired

SirWired — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:51:38 +0000

Oh, and as a side note, the linked article mentioned that $1M has been seized from the operator, and there is a $30M compensation fund that could be used to reimburse at least some travelers.

SirWired

By: SirWired

SirWired — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:49:46 +0000

For insurance that does cover provider default coverage, you have carefully read the terms of the policy to protect yourself. All default coverage I have seen excludes coverage for the company with which you booked the travel (tour operator, airline, cruise line, etc.)

So, if you book a tour through a travel agent, insurance will protect you from the tour operator’s default, but not the travel agent’s.

This would be a good reason to book through an agent, but only if you have verified that they have insurance of their own to cover any default on their part.

SirWired

By: mindy

mindy — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:42:45 +0000

Ummm.. unless your Travel Agent went bankrupt. I’m a little confused by the call your travel agent advice.

Thanks for the USTOA deets.. that will come in handy!