Over 20 million holidaymakers will take a DIY holiday this summer and I wonder how many of those holidaymakers realise that they have no financial protection if their airline or hotel chain goes bust. The increase in low cost airlines has certainly made consumers more confident.

The dangers of Do-It-Yourself holidays

It’s important to know the dangers of DIY holidays

If you have booked your holiday with a company that goes out of business, you might not be able to get your money back and worse still, you could be left stranded abroad. If you pay with your credit card then you can only reclaim the money back if the value totals £100 on each part of your holiday.

New airlines struggling

Oasis Hong Kong went into administration earlier this year and left passengers stranded in Hong Kong. What was a low cost flight turned into an expensive one as they would have had to pay for a flight back to the UK. A number of airlines including Cathay Pacific helped passengers out, by offering discounted flights for those affected.

Consumer experiences

It took those passengers who had paid by credit card, over 2 months to get the money back, and you can read about their experiences on this blog post, which provides some valuable advice from consumers who have gone through the process of trying to get a refund from an airline due to insolvency.

Insurance to protect DIY travellers

I am surprised that more insurance companies have not created policies which include cover should the airline or hotel go into administration. Tonight, I spent some time looking around a few travel insurance companies websites, and I could not find a policy which copes with Do-It-Yourself travellers.

I’d be interested to hear any nightmare DIY holiday stories, or have you travelled without any glitches.
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