Package holidays - what are they?
A package holiday booking includes your travel, accommodation, rental of hire cars and any tours booked as part of the holiday. Where all, or at least some of these are organised by a travel agent or tour operator ("the organiser") then you have a package holiday. It does not matter if the holiday is booked online.
What if the package holiday goes wrong?
If you have an accident whilst on holiday, you could sue the organiser under the Package Travel Regulations, provided the accident was caused by, for example, defective hotel accommodation. You can sue the organiser in your local court. You may also have the option of suing the operators of the hotel in their local court.
What if there is no package holiday?
Nowadays more holidaymakers are organising their holidays themselves. If you organise all of the travel/accommodation etc. yourself then you do not have the protection of the regulations. But, thanks to the recent court case of Lackey v Mallorca Mega Resorts SL and Generali Espana (2019) EWCH 1028 (QB) you could sue the operators of the hotel in your local court. To do this, you need to meet the following conditions:-
- The hotel or resort advertises its services to the country in which you live, for example either by advertising on social media in English or selling via a UK travel agent;
- You are party to the consumer contract with the hotel - you do not need to be the actual contracting party providing you are named in the contract.
Then you have the right to sue the hotel operators in your local court.
Right of action against the insurers of the hotel/resort
If the country where the holiday takes place allows in heir national laws a direct right of action against insurers, then you can also sue the insurers of the hotel in a joint action in your local court.
Brexit
The legal position may change depending on how we will leave the EU. We will update you on that in due course.
How we can help
If you have sustained an injury whilst on holiday, and you think you may have a claim, please contact us to discuss the matter on 0800 988 8082 or complete our online enquiry form and a member of our team will get back to you right away.
