LowCostHolidays

BoroPhil

I'm sure this has been asked before but...what do we think of them? I see plenty of stories about them losing ATOL protection in 2013, is this still the case? They seem to have been successful since then.

bagand96

They didn't lose ATOL protection. They moved their business abroad to Spain, so that they didn't have to partake in the ATOL scheme.

But, if you're going to book a Flight + Hotel through LowCostHolidays and not receive any ATOL protection... then why not just book your flight directly with the airline, and book the hotel directly too (or via an agent if cheaper?)

leylandsunaddict

They didn't lose it. They relocated the UK part of the business to Majorca (part of it was already there anyway) so holding an Atol isn't applicable any longer.

They do have some cover under Spanish law but I'm not well up with Spanish law so have no idea what it entails.

Although they don't sell package holidays, they do voluntarily accept that they are packages as far as the Package Regs go, so your holiday would be treated as a package should something go wrong.

I'm not a fan of OTAs for booking anything, irrespective of where they're located, and prefer to book direct with the airline and accommodation direct with the owner/hotel etc.

Alan_Bowen

Low Cost are protected by the Majorcan financial protection scheme. Allegedly, it should provide refunds, although knowing how big the business is, I am not sure how, but may not arrange repatriation home if they fail whilst you are on holiday. It seems the scheme expects you to make your own way home and then reclaim the costs, on the assumption your Spanish, or their English, is good enough.

lowcosttravelgroup

Hello,

I hope I can help you to clarify your concerns.
We are established in Spain. Spain, just as the UK does, has financial protection requirements for travel companies. ATOL and ABTA are for UK companies only, so we aren't actually eligible for membership of these organisations. However, we've voluntarily accepted package regulations (so you will still be covered as you are with any UK-based travel agent) and we have supplier failure insurance, which will permit a full refund or alternative flights rebooked if any issue occurs. Of course all our teams are always happy to help with any issue. If you have any questions, just drop us an email to OnlineAnswers@lowcostholidays.com

Kind regards,
Paula
The lowcostholidays Team

BoroPhil

thanks all.

I looked at buying the hotel and flights separately, and there wasn't much price difference. I think I thought it would be easier to do as a package (and it would include transfers as well)