Should my flight and hotel be covered by Atol protection?

Q We booked a hotel and flight to Florence over Christmas with lastminute.com. However it would appear that we are not covered by Atol protection. Lastminute.com states that, if we do not receive an Atol certificate with the confirmation of the booking, then it is not protected. Can this possibly be correct? I thought that all holidays booked in the UK and covering both hotel and flight were covered by law. Is this not the case?

John Q

A How lovely to be going to Florence at Christmas. I am a frequent visitor to Italy during the festive season: travellers are almost guaranteed a sunny welcome, and the chance to explore every tourist attraction without the usual crowds. Presuming that you booked a flight and hotel in the same transaction, I am indeed surprised that you have not been issued with an Atol certificate.

There may be something about the way you booked that means you did not qualify. But on balance, in your position I would be glad to have saved the £2.50-per-person Atol-protection contribution – the money that goes into a fund to pay for failures such as Thomas Cook. There is no prospect of the airline taking you to Italy failing in the next two months, and I presume your accommodation provider is solid, too. Assuming you have paid with a credit card, you should have yet another layer of protection in case anything goes wrong. So spend the £2.50-per-person saving on a (small) festive drink.

Finally, as a British traveller I would not choose to book a trip to Italy with a company that is based in Switzerland and an operational hub in Amsterdam. That is the geography of the online travel agency, lastminute.com. I would prefer to deal with a UK-based specialist in Italian holidays, such as Kirker or Citalia. It makes life much easier if anything goes awry.

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Q We booked a trip a year ahead with Virgin Holidays to fly from Manchester to Las Vegas this week, at a cost of £2,300. My Esta was obtained in January 2019, and I travelled to the US in April without a problem. But I received an email the morning before travel from US Customs and Border Protection simply stating that my Esta had been revoked. No reason, no suggestion of what to do next. Nothing.

We called Virgin. It helped us work through issues such as: “Had I not been checked back into the country from previous flights?” No, all fine. We called the US embassy in London. You cannot speak to someone so it’s automated hell as you crash between menu choices. I can reapply for an Esta in 10 days’ time; too late for our purposes. We can rebook the flights on Virgin but only to the west coast of America. To date, we have lost a minimum of £1,000 on accommodation and want to ensure we don’t suffer any further loss. However, no one seems to be in a position to give us any direction. Are you able to help at all?

Name and address supplied

A What a nightmare. Your problem originates from the dominance that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has in the United States. That, in turn, is a consequence of the tragedy of 9/11; the hijackers who killed nearly 3,000 innocent people had all been legally admitted to the US. Understandably, the American authorities wanted to do all they could to prevent further attacks.

One consequence was the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (Esta), an online permit to travel to the US, allowing the authorities to assess prospective visitors. For most tourists the application process is straightforward and the Esta lasts for two years, or until the passport expires. But as you discovered to your cost, the CBP can revoke permission to travel to the US at a moment’s notice. That may be for a straightforward breach of the Esta rules, such as overstaying on a previous trip, or evidence that you have visited Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen. But these do not apply in your case, and it is more likely to be a similarity between your name and date of birth with someone of interest to the US authorities.

“Abundance of caution” describes the usual approach: revoke first, answer questions later. You could make a freedom of information request to find out why your Esta was revoked, but I think the time and effort would be better spent seeking another Esta when you are allowed, and if necessary going through the gruelling and expensive business of getting a US visa – this is valid for five years, and requires a personal interview at the US embassy. Virgin Holidays, meanwhile, has performed creditably – working through the possible problems with you, and agreeing to transfer your flight booking. This is way beyond its legal obligation. I hope you will soon be able to visit Las Vegas, Los Angeles or San Francisco, the three west coast destinations it serves.

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Q I’m coming to you for advice after trying since September to resolve my issue with Airbnb and the 17 nights of accommodation I paid for in Greece. I was able to stay for only two nights. The access path to the apartment included a very steep and stony stretch of virgin hillside which made finding my footing precarious. There was nothing in the description of the apartment to state accurately the condition of the path. I’m in reasonable shape and I’m used to Greek island paths and steps, but this was too dangerous. I had to find alternative accommodation.

When I returned I was fobbed off, and finally received a brief message to say Airbnb have closed my account. I’ve asked for an explanation. But what can I do next?

Name supplied

A Sorry to hear about your experience. As you may know, Airbnb specifies: “When members make or accept a booking, they are entering into a contract directly with each other.” Your contract with Airbnb specifies that the company has no control over, and does not guarantee, the safety or suitability of accommodation. Nor does the organisation accept any responsibility for the “truth or accuracy of any listing descriptions”. So your dispute is with the apartment provider, and that is where you would to pursue a claim for the money you wasted.

Airbnb does operate a resolution centre, and has a policy to refund bookings for listings whose descriptions are “materially inaccurate”, but the company decides on the merits of each case. In your case, it appears to be a question of whether or not the owner should have highlighted the difficult access. If you asked specifically about access, and were assured it was fine, you would be in a stronger position than if you simply assumed, not unreasonably, that access would be manageable for someone in reasonable condition. Leaving something important out of a description is not quite the same as making a false claim.

Airbnb can close an account for a wide range of reasons, and I fear you may never find out why yours was terminated. But plenty of other sources of accommodation are available. Without the large percentage paid to Airbnb, I hope you can get a good-value place to stay next time.

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