The 2023 summer season has brought unforeseen challenges, such as flight cancellations due to strikes and wildfires in parts of Europe, resulting in the evacuation of numerous holidaymakers. Prolonged heatwaves in Southern Europe and severe flooding in other regions have also prompted holiday cancellations and delays. Therefore, it remains crucial for Irish consumers to safeguard their holiday plans and payments in case of any mishaps.
For those embarking on their eagerly awaited summer holidays, the European Consumer Centre Ireland advises the following:
Consumer Rights
When it comes to holiday bookings, your consumer rights are contingent upon the nature of your chosen type of travel, principally falling into three main categories: package holidays, linked travel arrangements (a subset of package travel ) and independent holidays. The level of compensation you receive for disruptions like cancellations, delays or missed travel hinges on the specific services contracts you have concluded.
Currently, the most comprehensive safeguard for consumers lies with the package holiday option. This is due to the legislative framework provided by both European Union as well as consumer protections in the various Member States, encompassing protections against company insolvency, travel cancellations, extraordinary and force majeure situations, and all manner of potential travel constraints.
Consumers who experience cancellation or postponement of a travel package will be offered one of the following: a replacement holiday of equal or superior quality; a lower quality holiday, plus a refund for the difference; a full refund. Holidaymakers can cancel the package themselves for a reasonable fee but are entitled to free cancellation and full refund in the following situations: natural disasters; substantial changes in price and nature of the trip; conditions on the ground. Linked travel arrangements enjoy similar consumer protections.
If you organised your holiday yourself, you are likely to have different contracts with different companies for different services. Independent holidays entail services purchased from separate operators and, as such, are governed solely by the Terms & Conditions specified in each of the contracts, which also detail the applicable jurisdiction law. Types of Travel
If your holiday travel services are all booked separately, you should look into how it all works in case any one of the elements of your trip gets cancelled, specifically when it comes to the cancellation of flights or ferry services out of Ireland, as this would prevent you from reaching your destination abroad, and therefore from accessing the other services that are of your holiday, such as hotels, accommodation, transfers, tours, etc.
There are different and separate consumer protections when it comes to air passenger rights, as well as sea travel by ferry or passenger ship. If your onward travel in Europe involves a bus or a train, you can find out about these specific consumer rights for missed connections or cancelled journeys on eccireland.ie
Accommodation Options
In case you have booked your accommodation directly and independently – not part of a holiday package – if you arrive too late or miss your first day of the reservation, due to a travel delay or cancellation, for example, it may trigger automatic cancellations of the entire stay reservation in some strict cases and, in some cases, the inability to claim your money back. Consumer rights and protections will differ for hotels, private rentals (booked directly with the owner or through a third-party platform ) and timeshare/club arrangements and are detailed on eccireland.ie
Car Rental
Car rental stands apart from the other modes of travel due to its lack of dedicated consumer rights and protections in both European Union and national regulations in the Member States. However, the terms and conditions of the car rental company might offer such provisions and your fundamental consumer rights still apply. Depending on the type of reservation, it is important to meticulously review the terms of both the third-party booking website and the car rental agency.
Travel Insurance
These days it is preferable to secure travel insurance immediately after confirming your holiday plans. To ensure the most suitable coverage, check the extent of protections before, during and after your trip.
This involves confirming whether cancellations (including flights and accommodation ) are included and if any travel advisories or disruptions could impact your departure. Numerous companies offer robust, comprehensive travel insurance packages that encompass a wide array of scenarios, such as cancellations, lost baggage, missed hotel bookings, unfulfilled on-site travel services, and more. For ultimate peace of mind, it’s always advisable to opt for comprehensive travel and medical insurance.
For any problems with your cross-border reservation of package travel or flights, accommodation, car rental and more, if you are resident in Ireland and you have a complaint about a travel or flight operator based in another European Union country, Norway, Iceland or the United Kingdom, and you have tried to resolve the matter directly to no avail, contact the European Consumer Centre Ireland through the Contact page on eccireland.ie
Please note that the European Consumer Centre Ireland provides advice only to Irish consumers who experience issues with cancelled, delayed, or missed travel booked specifically with cross-border travel services operators based in the EU. This includes EU-registered airlines operating international flights flying out of Ireland, with the exception of airlines registered in Ireland (for these, please contact the Irish Aviation Authority ). We also deal with non-Ireland ferry operators departing from Ireland for EU destination ports, but not with ferry companies registered in Ireland (for these please contact the National Transport Authority of Ireland ). "
