Package tours without down payment and with free cancellation up to six days before departure - only then is payment made: this is the new HolidayCheck Flex product. Holidaymakers can also cancel independently and easily via a self-service portal. The new HolidayCheck Flex option can now be booked exclusively via HolidayCheck’s own tour operator HolidayCheck Reisen.
Highly popular: maximum flexibility
Corona made it clear: flexible cancellation conditions are more important than ever. In recent months, many holidaymakers have been confronted with unfavorable travel conditions, non-refundable down payments or vouchers for trips not taken. Free cancellations are only possible in special cases and often involve a lot of effort. Currently, many holidaymakers therefore only dare to make new bookings at very short notice. Uncertainty and the fear of new travel warnings for the selected vacation destination dominate booking behavior.
"Especially in the current situation, holidaymakers want to remain flexible and decide for themselves whether they really want to take a booked trip," explains Vinzenz Greger, Managing Director of HolidayCheck Reisen. "Often it is not a question of a rational danger, such as increased Corona case numbers, but rather of a good feeling when traveling. If the customer decides to cancel the booking, he or she can easily do so himself or herself in the self-service portal at meine.holidaycheck.reisen.
Free of down payments and risk
Apart from unfavorable cancellation conditions, most tour operators require a down payment of more than 25 percent of the total cost of a package tour, and in some cases 90 percent must be paid in advance. With the new HolidayCheck Flex product, this cost item is completely eliminated, making it easier for customers to decide on a vacation trip. "Especially in the current situation, it is absolutely understandable that holidaymakers prefer to have their money in their own account until shortly before departure. When booking a HolidayCheck Flex trip, payment is only made six days before departure. Thus only then, if also the option on a free cancellation ran out, says Greger.
Transparency and self-determination for package holidaymakers
Even before the Corona pandemic, the desire of many holidaymakers for more flexible solutions in the package tour market was noticeable. Vinzenz Greger comments: "With the introduction of HolidayCheck Flex, we are meeting holidaymakers' expectations for more transparency and self-determination when booking package tours. We are convinced that it will have a comparable effect as the introduction of free shipping 20 years ago in online retailing. We think that in this way we will bring movement into the touristic competitive environment and make it more consumer-friendly. This is exactly in line with our vision of becoming the most holidaymaker-friendly company in the world".
The new product is available exclusively through HolidayCheck Reisen, the in-house tour operator of the rating and booking portal HolidayCheck. At present, trips to Turkey, Egypt and Spain are offered, and the portfolio is constantly being expanded to include further destinations. On holidaycheck.de/flex, holidaymakers will find thousands of offers for many destinations.