Operators reduce the due date for balances


Harry Kemble and Juliet Dennis S


ome operators have delayed balance due dates to give agents more chance to retain bookings by allowing customers extra time to confirm their travel plans. Agents had piled pressure on operators to delay


balance payments to “the absolute minimum”. Balances are typically due at least 10 weeks ahead of travel. Coach specialist Shearings Holidays has reduced


the balance due date to three weeks prior to departure for customers travelling between May 1 and June 30. Cosmos said it was planning to introduce a


30-day balance due date “as soon as possible”. A spokesperson for Gold Medal and Travel 2


said the operators were looking at “a range of options” to support agents and customers. Agents said customers were increasingly opting


to lose their deposits rather than pay the balance in return for vouchers or credit notes for holidays cancelled due to the coronavirus. Miles Morgan, owner of Miles Morgan Travel,


said: “Changing the balance due date offers the clients more thinking time rather than them having to pay it now and finding at a later date they can only get their money back in vouchers.” Amanda Matthews, founder and managing


director of Designer Travel, called on more tour operators to have a “flexible approach”. “We are having so many clients talk about not


We’ve had so many clients talk about not paying their balance for dates in July and August and just losing their deposits instead


paying their balance for peak dates in July and August and just losing their deposits instead,” she wrote on Facebook. Lee Hunt, owner of Suffolk-based Deben Travel,


added: “If operators could be flexible with due dates and take it down to the absolute minimum, that would save bookings.” Carol Kirkham, of Kirkham Travel, and Travel


the World2’s Denise Hodgson both said clients were choosing not to pay the full balance and lose their deposit.


Some operators are reducing balance due dates, which are typically 10 weeks prior to departure


Rental sites d H


Lee Hayhurst


oliday rentals remained on sale on leading websites this week despite the government telling people to stay away from popular domestic destinations to


prevent the spread of Covid-19. On Tuesday, popular rentals site HomeAway, which


is owned by Expedia, had listings for more than 300 family properties in Cornwall for the first week of the Easter school holidays, despite the government having banned all but essential travel in the UK. A search for the Lake District for the same week


on Booking.com found multiple listings. The site was offering help to cancel reservations, but was not advising against travel. Similarly, Airbnb had plenty of availability in the


UK and users were being urged to book with messages like: “Only a few places left for your dates.” In contrast, leading rentals website Cottages. com, which is owned by Hoseasons parent Awaze,


ALSO IN THE PAST


Wednesday,


March 18 ●


WEEK...


Airlines continue capacity cuts: Loganair cuts half of network; Qantas 90%; Air Malta all flights. Ryanair says it expects all operations to be grounded by March 24


● Butlins announces closures


Thursday, March 19 ●


Spanish government orders hotels to close


● Global Travel Group postpones 2020 conference ● Jet2.com says all flights to stop by May 1 ● Qantas suspends all international flights ● Hurtigruten suspends operations


● CAA confirms three Atol-holders failed in previous week ● CAA extends Atol renewal deadline to April 28 ● Haven says it will close parks


FRIDAY, MARCH 20 ●


● ● ●


Carnival Corporation reports net income of less than half of same period last year


Heathrow vows to stay open with shell operation


ITT postpones annual conference until September


Travel Counsellors puts 320 head office roles under consultation


6


26 MARCH 2020


travelweekly.co.uk

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