Yahoo News UK holidaymakers face more chaos as hotel agent cancels all July bookings
A major supplier of holiday hotels has announced that all bookings will be cancelled up to and including 26 July. Youtravel is owned by German company FTI Group, whose tour operator brand FTI Touristik filed for insolvency earlier this month.
Youtravel - which supplies accommodation to major tour operators and agents - had already cancelled bookings up to July 5 but now says it has taken the 'difficult' decision' to extend this to July 26. It is feared thousands of travellers could have their plans thrown into disarray.
The company confirmed all active bookings for arrivals up to and including 26 July would be cancelled without charge by Monday 1 July, giving agents holding packages for UK travellers with accommodation booked via Youtravel just days to act. If there are issues, travellers will find out over the next few days from the company that made the booking.
One of the travel companies which uses Youtravel - loveholidays.com - said in a notice on its website it was 'working round the clock' to source alternative accommodation for affected customers. It said: "Our team is working hard to rebook your hotel with a different supplier. In the unlikely event this isn’t possible, we will provide you with suitable accommodation alternatives via email."
European travel giant FTI Touristik, one of the continent's largest travel firms, filed for insolvency at the start of the month. Youtravel said the impact on its business and operations had been 'significant'.
In a statement, London-based Youtravel said: "We want to express our gratitude to all our partners for their unwavering support and patience since the announcement on the 3rd June 2024.
"The insolvency of FTI Touristik GmbH has had a significant impact on Youtravel.com. Over the past three weeks, our management has been actively engaging with the appointed administrator of the FTI group and undergoing the MandA [mergers and acquisition] process to secure our future.
"Whilst we are hopeful for a positive conclusion to these talks soon, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all bookings until and including the 26th July 2024. We understand the inconvenience this may cause and sincerely apologize for any disruption. Any active bookings in the Youtravel system for arrivals up to and including 26 July will be automatically cancelled without any charges by Monday 1 July."
Bookings from 27 July remain active and will be subject to the usual cancellation charges, the firm said.
"Our teams are fully operational, and our dedicated task force is here to provide support to our partners during this challenging period," added Youtravel. It added: "Our teams are fully operational, and our dedicated taskforce is here to provide support to our partners during this challenging period. Alternatively, you can contact your account manager for any queries or concerns."
"We will continue to keep you updated as soon as we have any further news regarding the future of Youtravel.com. We want to express our gratitude to all our partners for their unwavering support and patience since the [FTI] announcement on the 3 June."
