The pitfalls of bonding won’t go away – TravelMole guest comment by David Speakman, Travel Counsellors
The collapse of Travelscene means the issue of bonding – and how it is currently failing the customer – is going to run and run whether we in the travel industry like it or not.
It was only a matter of time before there was a high profile collapse that left customers in the lurch – ironically John Harding himself knew this only too well – although it seems he thought it would be a low cost airline, rather than his own tour operation, that would bring it to the public’s attention.
It is because it has been so obvious that there were glaring loopholes in current protection arrangements that for the past six months we have been putting in place our Financial Trust with the Barclays Bank Trust Company.
Coincidentally the Trust came into effect on Wednesday (September 1), the very week that bonding has been thrust into the public domain like never before.
But let’s be clear here – even without the Trust we would have paid out to our customers who had been left out of pocket due to the collapse of Travelscene through no fault of their own.
We would have paid out, even though we didn’t have to, because we want to keep our good name and our customers to trust us and come back to us again.
Which is why I also think ABTA has a moral obligation to pay out – even though technically customers who booked through Travelscene’s unbonded subsidiary Citybedz are not entitled to their money back.
The issue of bonding is complex – and hard enough for most people in the travel industry to understand. It was not only customers, but also travel agents, who thought that Travelscene’s accommodation only was bonded – whatever the small print of the booking conditions said.
ABTA should have checked the booking conditions so my view is it now has a moral obligation to pay up.
Why should the customer – who after all was looking forward to an enjoyable holiday – suddenly find they are caught up in a technical minefield the end result of which is that they lose their hard earned cash?
We have over 400 agents throughout the country and thanks to our Trust they can now give a simple message to their customers – book with us and your money is 100% protected, end of story. It also protects our payments to suppliers.
Happily for our customers they don’t have to know what is – and what is not – covered by ABTA or ATOL.
Phil Davies
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025