In conversations that TravMagazine had with various travel companies and messages from affected travelers that arrive at the editorial office, it became clear that some (hotel) partners behave scandalously towards (Dutch) tourists. Soon after it became clear that FTI had filed a bankruptcy petition with the court in Germany, the editors received messages from holidaymakers who did not enter the hotel or had to pay on departure, while they had already paid when booking in the Netherlands. The letters that the German guarantee fund has made for hoteliers do not always help either, the editors are told several times. One of the many reactions that came in to the editors: ‘This morning at 8 o’clock I was attacked by 4 employees in our hotel room. Because of the bankruptcy we had to pay immediately for the stay, while it is our second day. We were forced and escorted everywhere to withdraw money. Our debit cards don’t work in Egypt and we couldn’t transfer either. With the little bit of money we had with us, we were able to pay part of it. Family members from the Netherlands have transferred the rest to the hotel.’ Hubert van Velden (Director of Virtual Touroperating Prijsvrij Vakanties & D-reizen) recognizes the stories: “With every bankruptcy, we see that certain hotels try to take advantage of the situation by holding customers hostage,” says Van Velden. “People are evicted from their rooms and have to pay the daily rate. We have done everything we can to help our customers in the best possible way. It is often the same parties that are guilty of this behaviour. In the meantime, it is important to know abroad that the guarantee funds in Western Europe are well organised. Give it a few days and don’t put vacationers in such an unpleasant situation. We also see that DRFS is really delivering after a difficult start.” Hans van Hoffen (CEO of VakantieDiscounter) confirms the problem: ‘We saw the same thing happen during the Thomas Cook bankruptcy in 2019. Hotel owners even took customers hostage on the hotel grounds because they were not getting paid. This kind of behaviour is unacceptable and creates a huge amount of stress for travellers. The communication to us from FTI and the German guarantee fund DRFS doesn’t help either.’ When asked whether this bankruptcy and the settlement will affect the cooperation with parties that are not SGR members, Van Hoffen says: ‘No, certainly not. Of course, the coverage is just good. It just works differently. Each country has its own way of working, and we are of course used to that of the GSC. Now that we are not used to it, we have to switch gears and take the rules. But this certainly does not affect the cooperation with members who are affiliated with a guarantee fund other than SGR.’ Reinoud Koot (Chief Commercial Officer Zoover/Vakanties.nl) also confirms the stories of travellers who are treated badly by hoteliers as a result of the FTI bankruptcy. ‘There are partners who send customers out of the hotel or charge our customers sky-high amounts. I would like to call on hoteliers, also in future situations, not to fight these kinds of situations on the backs of customers.’ In addition to exposing these abuses, Van Velden also wants to highlight positive examples. ‘Fortunately, there are also plenty of parties that are taking their responsibility,’ he says. “Think of chains such as Riu, Best Hotels and Lopesan, they have shown their best side and taken their responsibility, despite the difficult situation. In addition, the Turkish tourist board also acted very quickly and adequately by sending instructions to the hotels, so that the problems were solved quickly,’ says Van Velden. “These kinds of actions are an example of how it can be done and should be followed up by more parties.” When asked what Koot and Zoover/Vakanties.nl have done about the situation at the destinations, he says: ‘We try to contact partners and explain the situation to them. We understand that it is also very unfortunate for our partners what is happening as a result of the FTI bankruptcy, but again, this should not be on the backs of the customer.’ When asked, he says that he may do less prominent business with hoteliers with whom there have been unpleasant experiences in recent days. Van Hoffen also indicates that he is taking a serious look at certain partners: ‘We are seriously considering stopping the sale of certain hotels if they continue to misbehave. This kind of behaviour is unacceptable and must have consequences.’ Van Velden indicates that Prijsvrij and D-reizen will take a critical look at their collaborations with hotels that have misbehaved during this crisis. ‘We will make very critical choices in the further cooperation with these hotel chains, based on the course of events during this bankruptcy,’ says Van Velden. With this clear message, Van Velden hopes to bring about a change in the way hotels deal with their guests during financial crises in the travel industry. “This behaviour must no longer go unpunished,” he concludes. Koot says that the situation is quite different from when an SGR member goes bankrupt. ‘The SGR has always done a very good job, but things are different with the German guarantee fund. I was shocked by that. For example, it is very annoying that the customer has to reclaim from the German guarantee fund himself. In addition, we indicate that we are ANVR and SGR members and that everything is well arranged, but in the meantime this (the bankruptcy of FTI, ed.) is a problem.’ Van Hoffen, who says that FTI was sold quite successfully through VakantieDiscounter, says that it looks positive for holidaymakers who still have to travel. ‘FTI collected quite late, so that’s why we’re still on ‘all’ customer funds, except for those from 4 and 5 June. As soon as we have permission, we will immediately refund money to our customers and they can then choose a new holiday. We try to inform our customers as well as possible about everything, but we also have to wait for the German trustee, it will all take just a little longer than with the bankruptcy of a Dutch party.’
