The sun is finally setting on Thomas Cook. The oldest travel agency in the world. Founded in 1841, 178 years ago, it has been a household name in Britain (and probably across Europe) for years. So how can a long standing company with roots that run so deep find its seemingly insolvent overnight? Well there are a lot of factors. Its a common story. Boy founds company, company finds success. Boy pays himself too much and his staff not enough and gets rich.. rinse and repeat ad. nauseam for many years and suddenly you have a business with poor financial health.
Ok, its more complex than that. Yes, they overpaid their executives an embarrassingly and undeservedly large amount, but they also failed to adjust their business model when the internet came around. Most people (as someone earlier posted about) go online and find their own deals and put their own holidays together. There is always the Thomas Cook faithful who would just purchase package holidays, and why not? Its convenient, someone else does the hard work for you and you get a nice vacation that you can pay off over time in instalments (interest free).
But it's less people than what Thomas Cook thought. Like HMV, they overestimated their market position.
OOPS!
Then this past summer which has been so hot that many people didn't bother travelling to sunny locations (Thomas Cook's main product) they started to get into trouble.. then the uncertainty of brexit hit too.. people were delaying booking holidays to see what would happen to the exchange rate (as well as other travel factors). This coupled with the fact that TC's finances were already riddled with debt to the tune of some £1.2 Billlion, things just became untenable.
R.I.P. Thomas Cook
So what does this have to do with high velocity contact between a foot and my genitals? Well it's not certainly the way I wanted to break the news to my fellow steemians, but I will be getting married in a few weeks, and in 3 weeks we are scheduled to go on our honeymoon.
Now we didn't book our honeymoon with Thomas Cook, we booked with another travel firm (they had good honeymoon deals and we had enough stuff to deal with for the wedding planning) but the problem is that there is only one direct flight from where we live to our chosen destination, and.. you guessed it.. that flight is operated by Thomas Cook! So we have a beautiful hotel in a beautiful location, with no means to get to it.
BOOM! NUTSHOT.
The agency we are with are now working on new flights, but the replacements could end up costing us a lot of extra money since everyone else who has been affected need new flights too.. The news reports indicate some prices have tripled.
Normally I never ever ever use travel agents. In fact this is the first time I have booked through one. I can assure you it is likely to be the last!
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First, congrats on the upcoming nuptials. Second, sucks to hear about your bad luck with the flight, I really hope you can find a cost effective way to get to your holiday destination.
My parents are going on a holiday soon and they did book via a travel agency that is a daughter company to Thomas Cook but apparenty those will still be operational, at least to the end of the year.
Thanks!
I hope so too, I should hear from the agents in the next day or two if we've gotten replacement flights and how expensive they will be. We have been looking at back up plans and other holidays we could go on but it would in fact mean paying twice for what would essentially be the same holiday. Not ideal but right now all we can do is wait for more news.
Hopefully the situation with your parents' travel agency doesn't change and their holiday remains unaffected. I think the worst possible thing would be if the company folder while you are on your holiday. Some of the stories I've heard of the hotels kicking out guests or locking them out of their rooms .. or even getting security guards to prevent them from leaving the hotel is awful. Not something you want on a holiday!
Ah that sucks sorry for the kick to the balls. Congrats on the upcoming nuptials and good luck getting to the honeymoon destination!
Thanks! Hopefully things will still work out. I'm just glad it was only our flights that were affected.
Dang! Sorry to hear that. What a fucking headache to have before your wedding.
Hope it’s gets sorted without extra cost you. Surely you’re liable for cover?
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Thanks, its not an ideal thing to have to worry about this close to the wedding. Its unlikely that I will get away with not paying more but we should get refunded for the lost flights. Whether I get refunded for that from the travel agency or the insurance is still unclear.
We are covered by atol though its unclear if they reimburse for just lost flights, so the most likely course of action is a claim through the credit card company. Thank god I paid with a credit card!
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Wow, hearing about the oldest travel agency going into administration is such a blow. It's like getting kicked in the balls—such a historic company, and now this. It’s a tough time for everyone involved, especially those who relied on them for their travel plans. On a brighter note, if you're looking for some great vacation deals, check out sunwing vacations. They offer amazing all-inclusive vacation packages to sunny destinations. With hundreds of top-rated resorts and excursions, you get so much more for your money. It's a perfect way to get away and relax, even in these uncertain times!"