Short Breaks Ltd ceases trading; Abta to protect forward bookings

Around 800 passengers were due to travel with the company, which specialises in Eurostar bookings, over the next three months.

Abta, with whom the company was bonded, says it will guarantee payments to hotels to ensure holidays through to the end of May can go ahead as planned.

It will then focus on June departures and intends, “wherever possible”, to ensure these bookings continue.

Normally when a tour operator fails, all forward bookings are cancelled,” said Abta in a statement. “In this instance, forward arrangements such as train tickets and attraction passes have been paid for in advance by Short Breaks.

“As a result, Abta has taken the decision to cover the costs of hotels for imminent departures, in order to minimise disruption and inconvenience for customers, meaning people can continue with their holiday as planned.

John de Vial, Abta’s head of financial protection, added: “It can often be a difficult experience if your travel company goes out of business, as while you can get the money back for what you have paid so far, forward bookings are often cancelled – disrupting people’s travel plans.

“I am pleased to let the customers of Abta member Short Breaks Ltd know their holidays will not be affected by the company going out of business, and will go ahead as normal. We have agreed to pay unpaid accommodation for customers travelling in May and we will be in discussion with customers who have later departure dates to discuss their options regarding accommodation.

“Short Breaks’ customers were fully financially protected by Abta and we have taken this decision to minimise inconvenience to customers who will have the reassurance of knowing they will be able to stay in their originally booked accommodation and not have to pay again and then seek a refund.”

Short Breaks Ltd traded under Abta numbers L3461 and W5344, and held an Atol (5968) which lapsed in March 2018, a spokesperson for the CAA confirmed.

TTG has approached Short Breaks for further comment.