More than four million people encountered issues with package holidays over the past year, according to a new survey from Citizens Advice.
The charity’s findings suggest that while 76 per cent of adults have previously booked a package trip, a significant 34 per cent of them have experienced a problem. This translates to an estimated four million travellers facing difficulties within the last 12 months alone.
Citizens Advice, which receives approximately 14 complaints about package holidays daily, highlighted common grievances including unexpected hotel changes, denied refunds, and substandard customer service.
Of the 3,500 package holiday complaints lodged with the Citizens Advice Consumer Service in the past year, a substantial 42 per cent concerned all-inclusive packages booked abroad.
Quality issues, such as hotels being inaccurately described, poor food, or unavailable facilities, accounted for a third (33 per cent) of all complaints.
Meanwhile, customer service failures, encompassing lengthy phone waits, ignored complaints, and administrative errors by firms, made up 19 per cent of the reported problems.
As a result, one in four of those who experienced an issue with a package holiday (25 per cent) said they suffered stress, anxiety or upset, while 17 per cent had to pay extra for daily expenses.
Citizens Advice encouraged holidaymakers to check what protections were included within their booking.
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One complainant, Zorana, a semi-retired NHS doctor from north-east England, reported spending £6,300 on an all-inclusive, seven-night trip to Lanzarote with her daughter through a UK holiday operator.
Torrential rain on the second day resulted in “nightmare” flooding, leaving hotel guests without electricity, water, food or internet.
However the woman said she received no on-site support from their operator, causing them considerable stress.
Zorana, 66, said: “We spent the morning on the beach and planned the sauna for later. But when we were eating lunch the rain started and didn’t stop.
“By the time we got to the spa, the hotel told us we couldn’t go in because it was flooded. Half an hour later the electricity had gone. Without electricity, everything stopped.
“There was no more internet and no more water because the pumps were not working.
“We all gathered in the hotel lobby, to hear what was going on. It was the weekend and reps from all the other travel companies were there, talking with people, reassuring them, giving them information.
“Some were already distributed to other places. We asked, ‘Where is our rep?’ And we were told he doesn’t work on weekends.
“We were very angry. Hotel staff told us our travel company was always a problem and never helped people.
“We came home after five days and I started to chase the travel company for a refund. But the customer service adviser said they can’t deal with it because compensation was offered. But their offer was not adequate.
“I mentioned the lack of support, the delay, the value of the holiday, that I had to find and pay for another hotel, and because of this it was reasonable that they should give me all my money back.
“I feel a victim twice over because I had the stress of our holiday being ruined, and then months of trying to get compensation.”
Citizens Advice consumer spokeswoman Jane Parsons said: “Too often, people are left stressed and disappointed when their dream holidays are spoiled because they’re not getting what they paid for.
“To make matters worse, they’re having to spend a lot of time and effort trying to resolve issues, sometimes with no luck.
“A record of any issues that occur and evidence should be kept – like clear details of what went wrong and when, photos and receipts.
“If something goes wrong with your holiday you might be able to get compensation from the company you booked with. You should tell them about any issues as soon as possible – if you don’t say anything until you get home you might get less compensation, or none at all.”
Chartered Trading Standards Institute chief executive John Herriman said: “This research highlights the real impact poor practice in the travel sector can have on consumers, specifically the problems for consumers booking holidays online, particularly through social media.
“Too many people are left out of pocket or dealing with stress when holidays don’t meet what was promised. What should be a time to relax and unwind can turn into the opposite.
“While it’s vital consumers understand their rights, check the protections included and keep clear records if something goes wrong, businesses must meet their legal obligations and ensure they deliver the standard of service people have paid for – and resolve issues raised quickly.
“Strong consumer protection depends on both informed consumers and responsible traders.”
Consumers are entitled to compensation for a holiday if it was lower in value than the one booked, spending extra money was required because of a problem, a large part of the booked services were not provided, something goes wrong that causes distress or disappointment or if the holiday was completely ruined.
Yonder surveyed 2,018 adults between April 17-19 about their experiences with package holidays, including problems.
Respondents were asked to exclude issues outside the operator’s control, like geopolitical events or natural disasters.
