1 in 4 holidaymakers disappointed with travel agents and airlines when cancelling due to COVID-19

More than one in four UK holiday makers who had their travel plans disrupted by COVID-19 were disappointed with the cancellation service they received from their travel agent. One third (34%) said they wouldn’t book a holiday with the same travel agent again.

Over a third (37%) of those responding to the survey, carried out by leading independent car hire broker Zest Car Rental, said that the service from their airline when cancelling flights was ‘poor’ or ‘unacceptable’.

In contrast, Zest Car Rental took the lead in customer service by automatically refunding all requests for cancellations for pick-ups from March through to the end of June. In addition, they have waived all cancellation charges and added functionality to their customer portal to enable customers to cancel their booking themselves online. Its customers can cancel a booking themselves, online, up to 48 hours before the start of the rental without incurring a cancellation charge.

The car rental company surveyed over 1100 of its customers for their opinions on the disruption they faced due to the pandemic and found that more than a quarter found the service they received from travel agents or airlines was ‘poor’ or ‘unacceptable’. In addition, 26% of holidaymakers would choose not to book with the same airline again although 18% conceded they would have no other option.