How to – get the best deal on holidays

When you’re booking a holiday, there are a few consumer rights tricks to making sure you get the best deal.

Read on for our top tips to make the most of your summer – without any mishaps.

Don’t be duped by pressure selling!

Some booking sites use tricks to push you into buying a bad deal. A site might say “only two rooms left at this price!” or “15 other people looking at this room”.

The thing is, they aren’t really supposed to do this.

The CMA ruled that practices that give a false impression of a room’s popularity or might not display the full cost up front could mislead people. This was only guidance, though, meaning that booking sites don’t have to listen to the CMA on this one. If you see a site that’s using these tactics, be wary – you could end up paying more than you ought to.

Book all-inclusive for better consumer protection!

We’re all aware that all-inclusive packages are generally cheaper, but there’s more good news for package travellers. If you book a package holiday you’ll have more rights than if you book everything separately! This means you’ll enjoy far greater protection if things go wrong.

Under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations (Package Travel Regulations 2018), if a site sells you a holiday that’s made up of multiple parts (for example, if a site puts together a hotel and a flight in a single transaction), they’re responsible if anything goes wrong with the holiday. You should expect them to resolve the matter (either by offering a replacement, fixing the situation or offering a refund).

Book your holiday with an ABTA agent

When you’re booking a holiday, make sure that you’re booking with an ABTA agent. ABTA is the main trade body for travel agents and tour operators. They’ve got a great code of practice that their members have to stick to. It gives you great protection against everything from building work to cancellations.

Make sure you’re booking an ATOL protected holiday.

You should check to see if your holiday is ATOL protected before you buy! ATOL protection covers you if your tour operator or travel agent goes bust.

It makes sure you don’t lost money or end up completely stranded abroad.
ATOL covers nearly every overseas holiday booked with a UK travel agent.
However, it’s worth noting that it doesn’t apply to holidays or flights you’ve booked directly with scheduled airlines.

Pick the right travel insurer!

If you’re booking all the different parts of your holiday yourself, make sure you take out travel insurance! Ideally, look for one that has ‘force majeure’ cover.

This’ll make sure you’re covered if something really unexpected goes wrong (like a strike or volcanic eruption). Be careful about travel insurers who won’t let you drink booze on holiday – some travel insurers won’t pay out if you have an accident after a drink.

The thing is, the Consumer Contracts Regulations say that all contracts have to include fair terms and conditions.

You could argue that it’s unfair from a travel insurer to prohibit you from drinking on holiday.

While this hasn’t been tested in court, the Financial Ombudsman has upheld loads of decisions about unfair terms and conditions.

Hope these tips help – and have a great holiday!