Hays Travel boss Dame Irene Hays has called for the industry to work together to put “firmer arrangements” in place to prevent a rise in holiday cancellations.
Speaking at Travel Weekly’s Future of Travel Conference, Hays said the company had come out of Covid in a financially stronger position but was now seeing “some cancellations”.
Hays said consumers now felt “more able to cancel than before” but cautioned it was too early to tell if cancellations would become a “booking pattern” during the cost‑of‑living crisis.
Most travel firms introduced flexible terms and conditions during the pandemic to enable consumers to easily amend and cancel holidays affected by Covid.
Although most companies have begun to return to traditional terms and conditions, she said consumers now believed they could “cancel at the last minute” without penalty.
Hays said: “We are seeing some cancellations. It’s a really big challenge for agents and equally big for our supplier partners.”
The degree of flexibility still available meant it was “difficult for the industry as a whole”, she stressed.
“If we can all agree to some firmer arrangements, I think that would be better for the industry,” she said.
The call echoes comments made by Nick Marks, managing director of Baldwins Travel, at Travel Weekly’s Future of Travel Spring Forum.
Marks said then that agents were “doubling up”, while Abta chairman Alistair Rowland said policies should “get back to what they were”.
Hays added that clarity on the government’s action on tackling the cost-of-fuel crisis would help determine consumer booking patterns over the coming months.
Speaking in a separate panel discussion, Si Morris-Green, director of sales and marketing at Classic Collection and Classic Package Holidays, said the operator had tightened its terms and conditions as it felt the flexibility needed to “diminish”.
“We have firmed up our terms and conditions and we think that was the right thing to do,” he said.
“Covid hasn’t gone away but the freedom to travel is a lot greater now than it was, so we felt the terms could be tightened up.”
