How to get a travel refund if your holiday gets cancelled

Q: What are my rights if my hotel is cancelled?

If your hotel or Airbnb host cancels your booking, you should get a full refund. If you want to cancel it, you must respect the cancellation policy, and you might be able to get a refund or not, depending on it. For hotels, you should get a refund within seven to ten days.&#xA0;

Q: What are my rights if my flight is cancelled?

If your flight is cancelled, you should get a full refund. If you want to cancel it, you must respect the cancellation policy, and you might be able to get a refund or not, depending on it. For flights, you should get a refund within seven days.&#xA0; IMPORTANT NOTE: We have a full guide about flight cancellations and delays. <a href="https://www.latestdeals.co.uk/guides/reclaiming-money/flight-delay-compensation-explained">Learn more about it here.</a>

Q: What are my rights if my packaged holiday is cancelled?

If your packaged holiday is cancelled, you should get a full refund. If you want to cancel it, you must respect the cancellation policy, and you might be able to get a refund or not, depending on it. For packaged holidays, you should get a refund within fourteen days.

Q: What are my rights if I have booked a holiday through a travel agent?

If you have booked a holiday through a travel agent, your contract is with the agent and not with the airline or hotel companies. And you will need to check their cancellation policy. You might be able to get a refund or rebook your holiday.&#xA0; IMPORTANT NOTE: The rights for holidays are different from flights and hotels because instead of dealing directly with the airlines and hotels companies, you are dealing with an agency, so you need to check your contract with them. It&apos;s essential to check their cancellation policy beforehand.

Q: What if my trip hasn't been cancelled?

If your trip hasn&apos;t been cancelled but you for some reason don&apos;t want to travel anymore, your tour operator is not obligated to give you a refund.&#xA0; What you can try to do is to contact them and see if they can rearrange the trip or if you have travel insurance, if they can cover it for you. Also, you can try to get the money back from your bank. IMPORTANT NOTE:&#xA0; In some cases, you will lose your deposit, and in other cases you might still need to pay the full amount. That&apos;s why it&apos;s so important to read the terms and conditions beforehand.&#xA0;

Q: Can a travel agent charge me a 'cancellation fee' if my holiday is cancelled?

Yes, they can as long as this is written on their terms and conditions. That&apos;s why it&apos;s important to read this document beforehand before paying for your holiday.&#xA0;

Q: I booked a package holiday. Can I now cancel?

If you have booked a package holiday, it&apos;s very unlikely that you will get a refund if you cancel it. To be able to get a refund, you need to have a cancellation policy in your favour. In some cases, you will only lose any deposit you have already paid. In other cases, you still need to pay the full amount. That&apos;s why it&apos;s so important to read the terms and conditions beforehand.&#xA0;

Q: I booked a flight, hotel or car hire I no longer need. Can I get my money back?

It depends on the type of flight, hotel or car hire you have booked, and if they come with free cancellation included.&#xA0;

Tom Church

Updated 13th December 2021

It’s not easy having to deal with a cancelled holiday, and Latest Deals wants to help you with everything you need to know about travel refunds to make your life a bit easier! Learn in this guide how to get a travel refund if your trip gets cancelled.

In this guide

5 Tips BEFORE You Book Your Holiday

1. Before booking any overseas holiday, check the UK Government website to learn the rules you must follow to leave and enter the UK.

Since the Coronavirus outbreak, the rules regarding overseas travel have been changing constantly. NEVER book a holiday without checking the UK Government Official Website as there is a step by step checklist you must follow to be able to travel without any issues. You can check this checklist here.

IMPORTANT NOTE: There is separate advice depending on where in the UK you are travelling from or to. So the rules for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Irland can be different, make sure you check them according to your location.

2. Read the cancellation and refund policy before booking a flight, hotel, car hire or holiday package

You never know what could happen, so it's always better to be protected against unexpected cancellations to be able to get a full refund. If there is a cancellation and refund policy, make sure you read and are happy with it before paying and booking the service.

3. Package holidays usually offer better cancellation protection.

If you have a package holiday, which usually includes flights, hotel and car hire, you are more likely to have better cancellation protection. Since 2018, tour operators have been working to give better cancellation protection to their customers.

Buying everything together in the same transaction can be more advantageous. It's important to keep in mind that the tour operator will mention their cancellation policy regarding your booking, and in some cases, they will charge more to allow you to cancel your booking and receive a full refund.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you book everything from the same tour operator but with different booking references, your protection is then limited.

4. If your package holiday comes with flights, you will get ATOL Protection, and if it comes without flights (and with cruises or trains), you will get ABTA Protection.

ATOL provides financial protection if your tour operator goes bust. This type of protection can ensure you can get a refund or continue your holiday as planned. And most importantly, ATOL can help you if you have a complaint to make against one of its members. So if you have complained directly to the company and they didn't resolve your complaint, you can then go to ATOL.

ABTA also provides financial protection if your tour operator goes bust. This type of protection can ensure you can get a refund or continue your holiday as planned. And most importantly, ABTA can help you if you have a complaint to make against one of its members. So if you have complained directly to the company and they didn't resolve your complaint, you can then go to ABTA.

You can learn how to complain to ATOL and ABTA below in this guide.

IMPORTANT NOTE: ABTA protection also applies to packages with flights, so if your ATOL complaint wasn't enough, you could also complain to ABTA. You will need your ATOL complaint number to fill your new claim with ABTA.

5. Invest in travel insurance to protect your trip

The best way to protect your trip is by getting travel insurance that covers cancellations and guarantees a full refund. We have a full guide about travel insurance.

How to Get a Refund on Your Holiday or Flights

If the company has cancelled your holiday

If the company has cancelled your booking, you have the right to get a full refund.

This includes a package holiday, a hotel booking, a flight leaving from the UK, a flight arriving in the UK with a UK or EU airline and a flight arriving in the EU with a UK airline.

If you want to cancel your holiday

If you want to cancel your booking for any reason, you might not be able to get a refund. What you can try to do is to rebook for another time.

IMPORTANT NOTE: It's important to always book your holiday aware of the cancellation policy. Usually, travel companies charge a bit extra to allow cancellations, which can be a good investment during these uncertain times. Another possibility is to get travel insurance that covers cancellations. We also have a full guide about travel insurance.

Keep in mind that if you are cancelling your booking because of coronavirus, it might be better to wait and see if the company doesn't cancel first, then you are automatically entitled to a refund, but make sure to respect the cancellation window to be able to get a refund or to rebook.

If you can't travel because of coronavirus, you might be able to get a refund or choose to rebook for another time.

Nowadays, most travel companies have a coronavirus cancellation and refund policy, and you should look for it before booking your holiday.

What to do if you're offered a voucher instead of a refund

If the company has cancelled your booking, they must give you a full refund, and you don't have to accept a voucher instead.

On the other hand, if you want to cancel your booking, accepting a voucher can be a good option.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure you understand how the voucher works and how long you have to use it.

What to do if your refund is taking longer than expected

Usually, after a refund is approved, it should take from 14 to 30 days to be sent to your

chosen bank account. If after 30 days you haven't received your refund, you can complain.

First, complain directly to the company, then if unsuccessful, you should complain to ATOL or ABTA, and finally, go to the small claims court, if applicable.

How to complain to ATOL

You can only complain to ATOL if your package comes with ATOL Protection. If it does, you will need to fill a form and wait up to 28 days for a resolution. You can learn more about this here.

How to complain to ABTA

You can only complain to ABTA if your tour operator is an ABTA Member. If it's, you will need to fill a form and wait up to 28 days for a resolution. You can learn more about this here.

IMPORTANT NOTE: By law, your refund should be with you within 14 days for cancelled services.

What if the company won't give you a refund

If it's within your rights and the company won't give you a refund, there are some things you can do. First, you can contact your travel insurance company if you have one. Second, you can contact your bank. Your rights change depending on how you have paid for the holiday:

If you paid by debit card

If you have put your holiday on a debit card, you can try the chargeback scheme.

Call your bank and explain the situation. Say you would like to make a claim via “chargeback”.

You may be asked to provide evidence of your communication with the company, including emails, dates of calls etc.

Some banks offer this service, but it can only be used to reclaim money for services that you haven't been provided with. Usually, there is a 120-day time limit from the date of the purchase.

There isn't a limit on how much you are covered, as this depends on each case. Chargeback is not a legal right, but an optional service some banks provide.

If you paid by credit card

If you paid for your holiday on a credit card, you can try claiming a refund via Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Learn more about this here.

In this case, you can also reclaim money for services that you haven't been provided with, and there isn't a time limit. You must have spent a minimum of £100 to make this claim. You are covered by services costing between £100 and £30,000.