Interestingly Darren, our first Podcast ,http://www.selectworld.travel/destination-essentials/2007/4/21/select-world-travel-podcast-caa-announces-new-atol-protection-contribution-scheme.html
( Don’t laugh too much) covers the fact that AITO are welcoming the CAA’s plans to levy a £1 ( Yes just £1) charge to offer protection.
I didn’t find the programme 1 sided, in fact I don’t think it went far enough.
Consumers are not aware of the Pitfalls and don’t read the small print, If Surveyed how many people booking seperate Flights and Seperate Accommodation would Know what the term ” Principle” actually means and exactly what they are actually covered for?.
A lot of Accommodation suppliers are refusing to adopt principle status.
For every satisfied Do-It-Yourselfer, unfortunatly there are an equal amount of People left very dissatisfied and out of pocket
I Expect this year will also reveal a lot of Hotels over-booking, Flight changes or cancellations, On arrival, no mention of the reservation, Building works, People taken ill suddenly, Companys disappearing, I could go on and on.
Unfortunatly Clients want to pay less and less, they want something for nothing and the Message is Clear, BOOK AT YOUR OWN PERIL. If it Goes Wrong you are on your own.
Pay the £1 levy and have the backing of a reputable Tour Operator and Travel Agencies, and have complete peace of mind.

I didn’t watch the programme last night partly because I was working on my website and partly because it sounded as though it was just going to be all the horror stories about DIY holidays,

I have been on countless DIY holidays over the years and never had any problems. However I am aware of potential problems and am willing to take that risk for the low price and flexibility. However if there was a low cost “safety net” bonding I would probably pay for this, just for the extra security and peace of mind.

I do agree with you, Lee, that some people are looking for something for nothing and to much pressure to reduce prices can lead to declining standards of quality and protection. Interested to hear that you have started podcasts. I received a Podcast Factory yesterday, a prize from a competition on a French news website. The box has the usual, “up and running in minutes” on the box but not being very technically minded, I’ve had no joy. just had to send an SOS to my son to come and assist.

For information on TTA you can contact
Malcolm Byrne
Travel Trust Association
Albion House
3rd Floor
High Street
Woking
Surrey
Gu21 6BD
Tel 0870 8890577
or http://www.traveltrust.co.uk

I Do think Darren, that an important point came out of last nights programme, that a Client who had booked 2 adults and 2 Children would have been better off paying as 4 Adults when he booked with one of the Major Operators. The Top 4 Tour operators should not be allowed to get away with having more than 1 way of pricing a holiday!! Not only is this confusing to the Client, it’s confusing to us as well when entering the details. At Least with an Independent Operator, Pricing is fair and you know exactly what you are paying for.
The Industry must do a lot more with regards to fair pricing, and I hope that the necessary Authorities clamp down hard on Operators who flout the Pricing Wars

Hi, was just wondering how you can justify the statement “For every satisfied Do-It-Yourselfer, unfortunatly there are an equal amount of People left very dissatisfied and out of pocket”

Are you saying that 50% of all D.I.Y. holidaymakers are not happy and /or overcharged?? It would be interesting to see the statistical evidence of this….

Sorry, but 50% is rubbish.

This programme highlighted an example where someone was stranded in Italy and they had to find their way home via train. If this is the only nightmare story that they could find then it’s pretty poor.

That story was featured over a year ago.

Just compare the prices DIY £600 Package £900. Is the extra security worth £300?

Like Lee Harrison I was shocked to hear that it was cheaper to book a holiday for 2 adults and 2 children as 4 adults. I’ll cetainly be trying this out the next time I book our family holiday.

Sorry Rohan, the programme was only 30 minutes long, they can only put on so much in that time. Of Course every body is going to be defensive over DIY packages, and it’s not until it goes wrong that people learn the hard way.
A £300.00 saving is considerable, but if it goes wrong that’s when the Costs can escalate.
Take some clients of ours who Booked a Package to Austria, the Tour Operator issued the Business class tickets incorrectly and had forgotten to include the E-ticket Numbers. Yes The Airline had the seats booked, they had them reserved for the Clients as per their passport details, but no ticket numbers meant no proof of payment, and the Airline refused them boarding. This was on a Sunday, and we got a call from the client, after a few Telephone calls from ourselves to Heatrhrow and Vienna, we were able to pay again for the clients tickets at a cost of £3000.
Had the Clients booked this as a DIY package they would have been on there own.
The Tour operator apologised and compensated both us and the client

Interesting to read these comments by the MD of Teletext:
http://www.travelmole.com/stories/1117694.php
He seems to be agreeing with you, Darren, that the programme did not present a balanced, informed view.

I do DIY all the time, without fail.

I prefer to organise my own trips.