Package holidays are fairly common nowadays. Who wouldn’t want to just pay a single fee for an all inclusive stress free holiday, where you don’t have to worry about booking the hotel, flights, transport, and other things separately. It saves a lot of time.
However there is also another benefit to booking an all inclusive visit abroad – you may be afforded the protection of the Package Tour Regulations in the event something goes wrong.
Under the Package Tour Regulations, if you have an accident abroad, you may have a claim against the package provider. The general prerequisites are that:
- The holiday must be sold as a package for the regulations to cover a potential claim.
- The package must be made up of at least two or more components sold at an all inclusive price, which can include transport, accommodation, or a tourist attraction or event / excursion, as examples.
- Any injury sustained must be in relation to one of the components of the package – i.e. if the injury occurred at the hotel, the accommodation must have been inclusive in the package.
If you therefore have an accident in the hotel – say you slip on a spillage in a bar, or trip due to defective flooring in your room – you may have a claim against the UK package provider. If you try and make a claim against the hotel directly, you could face difficulties. You would need a lawyer with the jurisdiction and experience to operate in a foreign jurisdiction. Laws and regulations are likely to be very different to what we have here in the UK, so it may be difficult to find a lawyer with the practical skills to pursue your claim.
If you have a potential claim under the Package Tour Regulations, we must still prove negligence. Domestic regulation and law may not be as stringent as it is in the UK, so where you may have a claim in UK jurisdiction, you may not have a claim under foreign regulation.
It can all be a little complicated! So the best advice I can give you is to get in touch with us and we will assess your claim and advise you whether we can help you out on a No Win, No Fee basis. Make sure you have a copy of your original contract and documentation as this will be necessary for us to determine whether you have a potential claim under the regulations.
