Cancelled flights - what if hotel/ villa is non refundable?

[SunnyPineapple]

I’ve been pondering what would happen if easyJet cancel our summer flights, as we have two independently booked accommodation bookings. We would lose a few hundred on the first one but could cancel the Airbnb at short notice (which feels mean).

We have belt and braces Covid insurance and thought we had everything covered but this new trend for last minute flight cancellations is an uninsurable risk, as far as I can see. Are we all going to be compelled to book packages from now on or risk losing the whole cost of privately booked holiday accommodation? Am I missing something?

I'd have thought your hotel would be covered by travel insurance, even if flight isn't - you should get refund/compensation/costs from airline anyway.

You can claim from travel insurance usually in that situation. You will probably have an excess to pay out if it through, so won't necessarily get the full amount back.

Tbh it's why, after years of booking everything separately, I've booed as packages this past year as any cancellations for whatever reason are easier as only dealing with one company. And sadly cancellations m, on both sides, are more likely for various reasons at the moment.

In the same position. It would be awful.

And to complicate things, these are transferred flights from 2020 that were transferred to 2021, then again to this year. So how mich, if anything we would get back is debatable.

That’s what insurance is for

Interesting responses… I have checked my policy though and there’s nothing about cancellation due to flight issues etc (it’s all about illness etc) so assumed it’d be excluded.

Also, if you have splashed out on a family villa in peak season then the airline compensation will very likely not cover your losses!

Would you bé covered with credit card insurance if that's how you paid?

I’m with stay sure and have a comprehensive policy

if my flight is cancelled or a delay of more than 12 hrs then I can cancel myself
I can claim up to 5k for accommodation
but also my accommodation will only charge 1 night 350euros if I don’t turn up

unless you have a very basic insurance then most will cover you for cancelled flights / accommodation

If you’re flying to the EU, the Article 261 provisions still hold which pay out, depending on how much notice they give you before cancelling the flight. But yes, I’d expect my travel insurance to cover the costs, subject to excess.

Call your insurer and check. It’s the only way to be sure.

Don’t forget that the airline compensation is per person, including children, so it may be enough to cover your outlay. However be prepared for the airline to try to deny liability on the grounds of extraordinary circumstances. If that defence is available then, yes, you will have to absorb the loss.

My travel insurance covers such eventualities. The only significant exclusions are the normal "act of God" stuff, and to date neither airports nor airlines have been declared deities.

If your insurance doesn't cover it, you need better insurance.

It’s not relevant at all whether or not you are flying to the EU.

U.K. 261 compensation (which is essentially the same as the old EU 261 regime) is available in relation to any flight anywhere in the world as long as it departs the U.K. However it’s not payable if the airline successfully argues that the cancellation was due to extraordinary circumstances (which have a specific legal meaning based in very complicated case law).

Do you have travel insurance or do you have something just to cover Covid? I'm just surprised how you could have a travel insurance policy that doesn't cover cancelled flights - isn't that one of the main things travel insurance covers?!

Sorry everyone, I was being a bit dim. My travel insurance does cover it- I was looking under reasons for cancelling the holiday myself and another section that included travel disruption due to industrial action etc. The cancelling of flights was in a different section.

Just fyi in case useful . Easyjet cancelled our flight last week and I had to book Vueling flights last minute at about 4x the cost. Easyjet have confirmed they will refund the Vueling cost and pay the required £220 pp compensation too. No argument of extraordinary circumstances.

The easyjet cancellation email suggests the only options are refund, voucher or swap to another Easyjet flight. However - if easyjet can’t offer an alternative flight within a certain window from the original time then they have to cover cost of alternative flights. They don’t publicise this though!!

Another interesting point - the Vueling flight I booked didn’t exist until a few hours after the easyjet cancellation. I think they created an extra flight knowing there would be huge demand. So if your flight does get cancelled, and you can’t find an alternative immediately, keep checking!

This is why comprehensive travel insurance is needed.

Mine is one of the most solid out there, they will pay out any costs incurred after ANY delay or disruption with travel. This could be a flight being cancelled last minute, or your airport coach getting stuck in traffic on your way there. You have to prove you left 'reasonable margin' but they really do cover any eventualities, and for most reasons, even weather.

I also chose to pay no excess and honestly, the price doesn't go up that much. I have an annual policy, valid worldwide including USA and Canada, unlimited medical coverage (very hard to find), and I have insured up to €2k per person per trip. I pay €100 a year pp, children would be cheaper. Found a similar deal when I lived in the UK. It takes a few nights of reading every single T&C's you can find, but it's worth it in the end.

@EileenGC would you mind saying the name of the company? I know you're not in the UK and neither am I. I have an annual policy that covers me but always on the lookout for anything better!
@minipie that's very useful, thank you! I already have several flights booked for this summer with accommodation booked separately and am reading these threads through my fingers (esp as one of the flights is with BA who I wouldn't usually touch with a bargepole but it's a voucher from 2020)

We're about to (hopefully) go on a golfing break with hotel and golf bought as a package but we bought our flights directly ourselves as we were also using vouchers from 2021 flights. So if our flight gets cancelled where do we stand?

If you don’t have travel insurance you will lose the cost of the hotel & golf package if you don’t arrive

@Geamhradh I’m with Allianz Travel. I know they can be found in most European countries so maybe they exist where you are too. I have different services insured with them in both Spain and Germany and their customer service is excellent. 24/7 hotline including an exclusively English-language number.

Thank you!
Yes, they operate here too. Good to know!

Could those with the relevant insurance policy, name the insurer? I've got a similar query and the policies I've looked at so far don't seem to cover costs of accommodation for cancelled flights.