Holiday bug scam: now hotels block British from best deals
Germans offered cheap all-inclusive trips – but they won’t be on sale in the UK
BRITONS are missing out on cheaper, all-inclusive holiday deals because hoteliers have had enough of bogus sickness compensation claims by UK tourists.
Hotels in popular Spanish resorts have stopped selling the packages through the British websites of holiday operators Thomson and Thomas Cook after a surge in claims – but the value deals are still available to German travellers.
Hotel bosses made the decision after a more than fourfold increase in the number of Britons claiming compensation for falling sick from food or drink while abroad. The many thousands of cases dwarf the numbers from other countries.
Earlier this year The Mail on Sunday revealed that Turkish hotel owners have dumped UK tour operators in favour of less litigious German holidaymakers.
We also reported on a British couple who were alleged to have fabricated a £10,000 food-poisoning claim against a five-star hotel in Crete. The hotel launched a £170,000 counter-claim for damaging its reputation.
Last week, the Foreign Office added Bulgaria and Turkey to the list of countries where tourists making bogus claims could face criminal charges.
Unlike half-board deals that are still being offered to Britons, allinclusive packages make it easier for fraudsters to lie about being ill and blame it on a hotel where they will have had meals and drinks throughout the day.
The MoS found that many Spanish hotels booked through Thomson and Thomas Cook will only provide half-board accommodation from next year. However, all-inclusive deals can still be accessed when booking through the European versions of the sites.
Seven nights half-board for two people at the Costa Canaria in Gran Canaria next year, flying from Gatwick airport, can be booked on the British Thomson site for £883 per person. In contrast, a one-week allinclusive stay at the same hotel in the same week for two, flying from Cologne, can be booked on the German site for £821 each.
The island’s Eugenie Victoria cannot be booked through Thomas Cook for an all-inclusive stay flying from Britain next summer but the full package is available on its German counterpart, Neckermann.
This newspaper also found that two hotels owned by the Best chain in Spain are offering full packages to Britons this year but only half- board accommodation from next summer.
Mail on Sunday travel editor Frank Barrett said: ‘The likelihood is that more hotels will follow suit as Britons have now unfortunately been given the title of sick man of Europe. It means honest holidaymakers will not be able to get the cheapest deals as halfboard holidays usually end up cost- ing more. The hoteliers cannot be blamed for doing this as they can’t afford to lose millions of pounds and margins on holidays are not much anyway.’
Thomson said: ‘We are starting to see a direct impact on our UK customers’ holiday choices as a result of the staggering rise in illness claims. For future seasons, one of our hoteliers has taken the decision to only offer holidays to the UK market on a half- board rather than all-inclusive basis.
‘This is the first time all of our customers will feel an impact from the actions of those who have made fraudulent or exaggerated claims for sickness by having their holiday options limited.’
Chris Mottershead, the managing director of Thomas Cook UK, added: ‘ This shows how serious the issue of fake illness claims has now become. Criminal activity by a growing minority is already restricting choice for innocent British holidaymakers.
‘Unless we stamp this out, more hotels will s t op off eri ng al l - inclusive holidays to Britons or even stop accepting British bookings altogether, and holiday prices will go up.’