Thomas Cook is bankrupt - this causes uncertainty among hoteliers in many countries and leads to great frustration on holidaymakers. Hotel guests are said to have been forced to pay their own accommodation on site. The reason: Their hosts feared that the insolvent tour operator would not settle outstanding bills.
In order to avoid such conflicts over the payment of holiday accommodation, Zurich Insolvency Insurance now wants to additionally support Thomas Cook package tourists abroad.
On the basis of the booking information and without presenting separate invoices, the hotels in the holiday resorts are now to receive 50 percent of the outstanding payments, as a company spokesman said. "This applies immediately and on the condition that Thomas Cook travelers from these hotels from now on neither for the individual payment of hotel bills are requested or otherwise forced," said spokesman Bernd Engelien.
Travel canceled until October 31st
How many hotels are affected will be voted on Friday with the insolvent travel provider, said Zurich spokesman Engelien. According to data from Thursday were still 70,000 Thomas Cook package holiday from Germany on the road. Zurich Germany has secured holiday and return travel for Thomas Cook customers.
However, the now announced payments to hotels by Zurich insurance only help those travelers who are still on the move. For Thomas Cook customers, who still want to fly on vacation, it looks bad. Late Thursday night, the company said all trips through October 31st would be canceled. This also applies to those bookings that are already paid.
Travel could "not be started for insolvency reasons," the company said. This also affects Thomas Cook Signature, Thomas Cook Signature Finest Selection, Neckermann Reisen, ÖGER TOURS, Bucher Reisen and Air Marin bookings that have already been paid for or paid in full. As for traveling with start from the 1. November 2019 stands, the enterprise left open.
Thomas Cook in Germany had fallen into the maelstrom of bankruptcy of the British parent company and filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday. Bankruptcy trustees want to try to continue the three Thomas Cook companies in Germany and find a solution for the future.
What do affected people have to do now?
Thomas Cook wrote in a statement: "Affected customers can contact Kaera, the service provider commissioned by the Zurich Insurance plc branch in Germany, for information on how to proceed." (Phone: 06172 99761123, Website: www.kaera-ag.de). There is a form linked to the assertion of claims.
For all customers who have booked a package holiday with Thomas Cook, there is usually a bankruptcy insurance. This is proven by the security certificate, which the consumer receives when booking a package holiday.
Read all you need to know about the security certificate here :
