|
Why buy ABTA?
|
|
click
on the logo for instant verification
|
|
|
|
Ski
Collection is a trading name of Peak Retreats. Peak
Retreats is a full tour operator member
of
ABTA
|
|
|
|
WHY BUY A PACKAGE TRAVEL THROUGH AN ABTA TRAVEL AGENT
OR TOUR OPERATOR?
|
|
ABTA, The
Travel Association, is the organisation which
represents UK travel agents and tour operators
responsible for the sale of around over 90% of
package holidays and approximately 45% of independent
travel arrangements. It’s ABTA’s role to
ensure that you, the customer, benefit from
consistently high standards of trading practice in
the travel industry; that the standards of service
and business throughout the membership are of the
highest calibre. As such, ABTA’s famous symbol
has come to represent choice and value.
|
|
|
|
BOOK WITH CONFIDENCE
|
|
ABTA Members
operate under a strict Code of Conduct, to promote
your best interests. So, when you see the ABTA symbol
in an ABTA Member’s brochure or on their
website, you can be confident that the descriptions
of your travel arrangements have been compiled under
comprehensive guidelines set by ABTA to ensure
clarity and accuracy.
ABTA applies
just the same amount of care when checking its
Members’ finances, too, reducing the risk of
anything going wrong.
|
|
|
|
BETTER SERVICE AT NO EXTRA COST
|
|
The Code of
Conduct means that every one of its travel agents and
tour operators has to work to the highest standards
of service and quality. When you deal with an ABTA
travel agent, they are required to give you
comprehensive advice on things like insurance, visas,
passports, health requirements, and any alterations
to your travel arrangements.
ABTA also
requires that each Member’s office contains
properly qualified staff.
It’s
very reassuring to be able to book with this kind of
peace of mind.
|
|
|
|
PRICE
|
|
ABTA tour
operators who sell package holidays minimise the
impact of fluctuating currency rates as they buy
currency and fuel a year in advance at fixed rates
and secure deals with their suppliers and
hotels.
Many tour
operators like Ski Collection have a ‘no
surcharge guarantee’ in place. Those companies
that do allow for surcharges have to make sure they
meet certain criteria and request permission from
ABTA before implementation. By law, an amount
equivalent to two per cent of the consumer’s
original holiday price has to be absorbed by the tour
operator before the remainder is passed on and, if a
holiday incurs a 10 per cent surcharge, customers
have the right to cancel and get a refund.
|
|
|
|
COMPLAINTS RESOLVED
|
|
Complaints
about holidays are best dealt with on the spot by the
tour operator’s representative or supplier.
But, if you’re still not happy, raise the
problem with your travel agent or tour operator when
you get home. ABTA's Code ensures that ABTA Members
respond to any complaint within strict time
limits.
If you
can’t resolve a dispute, ABTA offers a low-cost
independent arbitration service.
(Consumers
travelling independently are exposed to overbooking
of hotels and may have no recourse other than through
the local courts in their destination. Equally
Consumers who “self-package” and have a
complaint often face lengthy battles through regional
courts in their holiday destinations)
|
|
|
|
FINANCIAL SECURITY
|
|
Many of the
travel arrangements provided by ABTA Members are
protected in case of the financial failure of the
travel company. Ask your ABTA Member if protection
applies to your travel arrangements. Where travel
arrangements aren’t already protected, most
ABTA Members will be able to offer suitable insurance
to cover you.
Ski
Collection provides total financial protection for
all the monies that you pay for the holidays booked
from its website. This is provided by way of a bond
held by ABTA. Ski Collection is fully bonded with
ABTA for ALL arrangements that it offers and
therefore not only for packages but also for each
individual component booked separately. This means
that accommodation only booked with us is protected
for instance (it is not with many operators in the
same way as flights only are almost never covered).
This goes well beyond our legal requirement derived
from the Package Travel Regulations and is the only
total guarantee.
Ski
Collection is fully bonded with ABTA but does not
require to hold an ATOL license run by the CAA as
these are only for operators who offer flight
inclusive packages that we don't offer.
(If
you pay the airline, hotel or other supplier direct,
there is no legal requirement for them to provide any
security against insolvency and you could lose your
money. If you have bought the flights direct from the
airline, the airline has no legal responsibility to
repatriate you)
|
|
|
|
QUALITY THAT SHOWS
|
|
It’s
not just ABTA's service standards and strict Code of
Conduct that make ABTA travel agents and tour
operators stand out from the crowd. The fact is, the
Association is highly visible too, because all ABTA
Members display the ABTA sign in their windows, on
their letterheads, on their brochures and websites,
and on their advertising too. So it’s easy to
pick out the right people to deal with when you want
to arrange your holiday.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Call us on 0844 576 0175 or email us at
reservations@skicollection.co.uk
if you have not found the information you are looking
for.
|
|
Updated
09/02/12
|
