So I have picked up lots of information on this Goldtrail story on Twitter and on the news, and I am sure that you have probably heard something about it too, so I thought I would just share my thoughts on the matter! Basically, I am talking about the collapse of Goldtrail, a Greece and Turkey specialist tour operator based in New Malden, south-west London (website not operating but the link provides detail on the administration).

It is something about holiday problems that gets people really riled up (does anyone remember that TV show ‘Holiday Nightmares’ or something, that should give you an idea!). And I can definitely see why – after all the stresses and strains of everyday life, and saving up all year for a holiday, people deserve to have a relaxing, enjoyable break. People really put themselves into the shoes of others who have had their holiday cancelled, and imagine their own disappointment, and the media goes wild. Thousands of British holidaymakers caught up in the Goldtrail crash have been told to either pay extra money or face being thrown out of their rooms by hoteliers who fear they will not be compensated following the holiday firm’s collapse. There are now lots of individual stories about people’s individual experiences of the Goldtrail collapse.

Take this article,  where a British couple on holiday in Turkey were forced to sleep outside their hotel on deckchairs after the collapse of tour operator Goldtrail left them stranded. The hotel they were booked into was demanding £1,000 before allowing anyone to enter. At another hotel, staff confiscated guests’ passports and refused to return them unless they paid an extra £400.

One couple had to sleep outside their hotel in deckchairs following Goldtrail collapse

The CAA (UK Aviation regulator) said that it was contacting hoteliers in both Turkey and Greece to assure them that bookings will be paid for through ATOL, the CAA’s financial protection scheme.

In another story,  a brother and sister, Laura North and Andrew Coleridge, missed their nephew’s wedding in Turkey this weekend due to the collapse of Goldtrail. The siblings managed to rebook their flights with Thomson travel agents, but said they were left £400 out of pocket due to inflated prices.

Overall, 50,000 customers have been affected by the collapse of Goldtrail. So what can you say for these people who have been affected? Well I doubt there is anything that can be really said to make them feel better, but hopefully at least their experience can act as a warning for next time. In fact, the customers are lucky in one respect as they booked through a travel agents, they get some financial protection from regulatory bodies, like ATOL.

However, more and more people now book their holidays online and therefore independently, rather than through a travel agents. The consequences of a financial failure in this situation could be even worse. For example, you may book a flight, excursion, car hire, a ferry crossing or even a camp site, hotel or villa online. If any of these service providers could go bust, this could leave you with little realistic chance of getting all your money back, or possibly even stranded abroad.

So is there anything you can do to help yourself in this situation? Well it is said a lot but it really is always worth checking the small print of your insurance policy to see exactly what cover you have, because this Goldtrail incident reminds us that there is always a risk of financial failure by the airlines and tour operators etc, particularly in the current economic climate.  For example, AllClear Travel, include ‘Dynamic Packaging Insurance’ as part of their policy which protects you in the event of financial failure of holiday providers. This means you are covered against the insolvency of a supplier, even if you book your travel on the internet in separate transactions – Accommodation, Flight, Car Hire, Excursions, etc. The policy will pay up to £5000 per person for irrecoverable sums paid in advance in the event of insolvency.

If you have been affected by the Goldtrail incident, and would like to share your story, please do so in the comments box below. If you have any questions, we will try to answer them. I hope this blog has helped you out a little bit when you are next preparing for your holiday…