The ATOL renewal fears of many UK travel businesses came to light recently in the results of a survey by the business consultancy, FRP Advisory. In this survey set to analyse the year ahead in overseas travel, FRP Advisory garnered results from 250 UK travel businesses on their expectations of travel in 2022.
With the next ATOL renewal date coming at the end of March (with 40% of ATOL holders expected to renew) several businesses weren’t confident in the state of their financial conditions approaching renewal.
24% of respondents stated they were ‘not very’ or ‘not at all’ confident that they could meet the financial conditions required by the CAA to renew their ATOL.
Beyond this, 25% of respondents were not confident they would avoid insolvency within the following 12 months without the aid of additional financial support. 68% expect pressure from creditors and 19% expect ‘extreme pressure’.
There was also a dominating 95% stating their suppliers were demanding pre-payments, pay in full, or both, but 80% were certain of their suppliers’ financial survival through the following year.
In spite of these worries, 59% of respondents are expecting 2022 to be a record year for bookings. With the rise in consumer confidence and the relative settling-down of restrictions in many destinations, this is looking more and more like a year for a huge intaking of clients.
These concerns surrounding financial conditions are not wholly new over the past 12 months, but these concerns in the face of an already building influx of bookings could be concerning for many businesses who need to renew their ATOL at the end of March.
For many of these travel businesses for whom their state of financial conditions is a large part of their ATOL renewal fears, the demand for bond support could be at the crux of the issue.
It is for this reason that many travel businesses have turned to Protected Trust Services (PTS) for financial support obtaining or renewing their ATOL. Though this is just one of the many forms of support PTS provide for members, it is unquestionably one of the biggest reasons travel businesses initially turn to us for support.
Some travel businesses will have an issue with ATOL renewal due to the requirements of financial conditions. Even in some cases when a travel business is working through an alternate trust account system to Protected Trust Services (PTS), a bond may be required to provide complete financial confidence to the CAA when you’re obtaining a standard ATOL or small business ATOL (if you’d like to learn more about the different types of ATOL, check out our article).
However, when a travel business becomes a PTS member, they not only have the support of our ATOL experts to guide them through the process when they obtain an ATOL with us, but because we are an ATOL franchisee, our members don’t have to worry about financial condition concerns.
With the already assured confidence in our expertly run travel trust account system, PTS members don’t have to acquire a bond to support their ATOL. ATOL holders that are members of PTS work through our franchise ATOL or receive our support and financial security as a sturdy backing if they need to acquire a standard ATOL of their own.
Ensuring PTS members can focus on providing excellent service with complete financial security is at the core of PTS. We support our members in staying as protected as possible without stressing over your financial conditions, making ATOL renewal with PTS simple and giving our members confidence.
So, if you’d like to find out more about how our experts support PTS members with their ATOL, check out our page, or enquire today at 0207 190 9988 or email ask@protectedtrustservices.com.
