Tips for holiday makers, travel agents & airlines booking in 2021

Since the country first went into lockdown, many who have booked to travel have lost out on a holiday or travel experience and the cost of flights, accommodation, and other purchases that they are likely not to see again.

Some of those that were protected are still fighting to get their money back as airlines and travel agencies pass the blame for who is responsible for refunds.

This has caused a record number of chargeback requests to be filed, and rightly so. Failing to issue legitimate refunds is fraudulent behaviour from the merchant, and exactly why chargebacks were put in place, to begin with.

Having said that, we are not totally unsympathetic, as refunds on this scale could quite easily see the airline close, meaning that more people could lose everything they have spent.

Despite this, travel agents and airlines are desperate to get customers booking with them. However, enticing holidaymakers to book is near impossible at this uncertain time, especially as we enter into another lockdown.

Tips for holiday makers

There are some great holiday deals out there at the moment if you’re brave enough to take them on. However, you would need to prepare for the fact that:

It is unlikely that you will depart on the date you have selected, so be flexible with when you can go.
You are unlikely to get a refund unless they specify otherwise, so be prepared for that money to be held by the travel agent or airline until it is once again safe to travel.
You will need to get travel insurance.

It’s basically cheap travel but with no commitments to when you go.

The only way you lose out completely is if the airline or travel agent goes bust. Therefore we recommend only booking holidays in places that you can either drive or travel to on public transport.

Tips for merchants

Merchants can lower their number of payment disputes and chargeback fees by:

Ensuring all who book with you are aware of your refund & cancellation policy to lower the likelihood of payment disputes or friendly fraud.
Investing in chargeback management software to reduce chargeback fees because it still costs you even if you win the dispute. Find out more about how Payment Help’s chargeback management software can reduce your chargeback fees.
Never ignoring your customers. Set up a system that will let them open a complaint case or ticket and manage their own complaint. This helps the customer be patient and gives you more time to investigate the dispute thoroughly.