Package Travel

It might be. If you enter into several different travel service agreements, your holiday is considered a package holiday if any of the following requirements are met:

• You select and pay for various travel services at the same point of sale or on the same website. Here’s an example: you book a hotel and transport with two different companies, but you pay for both services at the same time and in the same place. 
• The travel services are sold, offered, or charged at a joint price. 
• The travel services are marketed as a package holiday or the like, such as an all-inclusive holiday. 
• The travel services are put together after the company and the traveller entered into an agreement that gives the traveller the right to choose from a selection of services. Examples include a gift box containing several optional travel services and a hotel that allows the traveller to choose their preferred spa treatments upon arrival at the hotel.
• The traveler purchases the travel services on the Internet with separate business operators, and the first company (the travel operator) transfers information — such as the traveller’s name, email address, and payment details — to another company. The traveller books a different travel service with the latter within 24 hours of reaching the first agreement.

Before you book a package holiday, the point of sale (for example, a booking website or app) or your travel agent must provide you with all standard information, such as:

• The travel destination (itinerary, travel dates, length of stay, details regarding transfers (if any), and visits or excursions) and a list of services included
• The name and contact details of the organiser of the package holiday — and if sold through a retailer, the latter’s name and contact details, too
• The total price, including all taxes and, where applicable, all additional fees, as well as payment arrangements
• Information on how you can terminate the contract on payment of an appropriate termination fee before the package holiday starts
• Information on passport and visa requirements
• Information on complaint handling procedures, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms and, where appropriate, the designated ADR body, and the Online Dispute Resolution platform

Furthermore, it should be explained that you have been offered a package, and your rights should be clearly outlined based on a form standardized in/by the EU.

Can the package travel operator change the price?

The package travel operator can increase the price for the trip until 20 days before departure, provided the operator has included the possibility of this happening in the terms of the trip. If they didn’t, they cannot change the price.

The price may only be raised due to changes in exchange rates, taxes, fees, or fuel costs for transport included in the trip.

If the price is raised by more than 8 percent of the trip’s total price, you have the right to cancel the trip and receive a full refund.

Can the package travel operator change the trip?

Sometimes, a package travel operator changes the trip. They may, for example, adjust your itinerary. Or, they can cancel or change excursions at the destination you booked. If the changes in your package holiday affect the trip adversely, you can demand a price reduction. In many cases, the amount of the price reduction will correspond to the part of the package holiday that will not take place.

If the changes are very significant and constitute a major disadvantage for you, you may have the right to cancel the trip and demand a full refund.

What if the time or date of travel is changed?

If the time of departure changes significantly and constitutes a major disadvantage for you, you may have the right to cancel the trip and demand a full refund.

What if your package holiday is shortened by, for example, one day (because the plane departs 24 hours later), and you still want to go? In that case, you should be able to demand a price reduction from the operator that corresponds to the day missed.

If the package holiday you bought gets cancelled, you can demand your money back. You are entitled to a full refund. Contact the travel operator, preferably in writing by email, and ask them to issue a refund. You have the right to receive the money within 14 days from the date you contacted the operator and demanded a refund.

You might also be entitled to financial compensation, except in the event of: 

• Termination due to an insufficient number of participants;
• Termination due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances such as war or a natural disaster.

If the package holiday is cancelled while you are away and return transport is included in your package holiday, the travel operator should arrange a comparable return trip at no extra cost to you. This applies regardless of the reason why the trip is cancelled.

If too few travellers have booked the package holiday, the operator may cancel it. The operator must state the minimum number of bookings required to operate the trip in advance, and if they cancel the trip, they should notify you in time.

The trip may be cancelled no later than: 

• 20 days before the scheduled start date of the trip if it should have lasted longer than 6 days 
• 7 days before the scheduled start date of the trip if it should have lasted between 2 and 6 days 
• 48 hours before the scheduled start date of the trip if it should have lasted less than 2 days

The operator may also cancel the trip due to extraordinary circumstances, such as natural disasters, war, or an outbreak of a serious disease at the destination. In such cases, the operator should inform you about the trip cancellation as soon as possible.

If the operator cancels the package holiday while you are away, you may be stuck at your destination as a result. If, for example, that means you have to pay for food and lodging, you can demand compensation from the travel operator.

If your return trip is postponed to a later date, the package travel operator must arrange lodging for you until that date arrives.

If extraordinary events impact the trip and you get stuck at your destination as a result, the operator is obliged to arrange food and lodging for you.

If you can prove you have incurred extra costs— by submitting receipts or the like — due to a change in the package holiday, you may have the right to claim damages from the package travel operator to cover these extra costs.

You cannot claim damages if the package holiday changed because of you or if the change was due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances the operator could not have foreseen, such as natural disasters, disease outbreaks, or war.

If you want to file a complaint with the operator about a change to the package holiday, you should do so as soon as possible. It is recommended that you file a complaint in writing — for example, by email. That way, you can always prove (when) you filed a complaint.

If your package travel is cancelled before departure or while you are away, you can get compensation from the travel operator. But if the trip is affected by extraordinary events that are beyond the operator’s control, different rules apply.