Inspire Europe ‘thrilled’ to rebook 90% of trips affected by Middle East conflict

Inspire Europe chief executive Lisa Henning has revealed the group has managed to retain the overwhelming majority of forward bookings by helping clients shift to destinations away from areas impacted by the Middle East conflict.

Henning told a Travel Weekly webcast that 90% of bookings with departures up to mid-April have been transferred to alternative destinations, adding: “I’m absolutely thrilled with that.”

She said the company’s trust account model has meant it has been able to rearrange trips even though it is still waiting for refunds from airlines and suppliers.

“That [the trust account model] has helped us, and that’s actually a huge part of our strategy going forward,” she said.

She added: “The key thing is, people do want to travel. We’re managing to re-protect those bookings.

“We haven’t had any refunds back yet from any suppliers, though we know they’re coming. So we’re choosing to cashflow those new bookings to allow people to travel.”

Travellers who were originally due to visit Dubai have rebooked to destinations including the western Mediterranean, Florida and Las Vegas, she said, but price hikes have been “frustrating”.

“Previously a flight to Vegas was, say, £800. Today, we’re rebooking some packages and it’s £1,300 for the same flight that was £800,” she added.

Aspire Travel agent Amy Richardson said some customers with bookings to Turkey and Cyprus within the next five months have asked about moving to alternative destinations, but the agency has successfully prevented most from changing by highlighting key details within the Foreign Office advice.

“About 90% are staying [with their original booking] and have taken our word, but there have been a couple who want to change and they’re paying £3,000-plus to move flights or to change destinations,” she said.

Further highlighting airfare increases, she described helping clients to avoid paying about £2,500 for a flight that had been about £700 the day before.