EU rules governing the definition of what constitutes package travel are in the process of being changed to adapt the relevant regulations in EU law to the realities of modern-day online booking systems. The Package Travel Directive, which has been in force since 1990, is now an outdated piece of legislation that does take into account the rapid growth in online travel arrangements (via for example e-booking sites), registered in recent years.
The European Commission is therefore proposing to amend and extend the definition of package travel to bring it in line with current market practices, namely internet-based travel booking solutions. A proposal for a new directive on package travel and assisted travel services will bring into its regulatory scope all those tourism services that can be combined by the consumer himself through an online travel agents’ website or that could be purchased through so called “linked online booking processes”. Such assisted travel services cover transactions carried out by consumers when booking a travel service online and are then redirected to another website allowing for the automatic transfer of the consumers’ personal booking data, while booking a complementary or related service. A typical example could be a transfer from a flight booking portal to a hotel booking or car rental service.
The new directive on package travel is bound to give rise to several concerns among business operators in the hospitality industry unless certain aspects of the draft legislation are improved. For instance, the Commission proposal extends the list of pre-contractual information that a package organiser should provide to the consumer. Another controversial aspect is the strengthening of the redress possibilities skewed to the expense of the commercial service provider. According to the draft rules, whenever a service is not delivered up to expectations, consumers will also be able to lay claim to any “immaterial damages” suffered, especially in case of a spoilt holiday.
From a Maltese hospitality industry perspective, the greatest concern derives from a confusing and incoherent introduction of the possibility for the consumer to withdraw from the contract at any time. This provision will create a dual legal system in which there is no such mandatory right of withdrawal for stand-alone hotel bookings, while incomprehensibly there would be a right of withdrawal for the same hotel booking when combined to other tourism services when jointly purchased online. The practical difficulties that will be faced by hotels when managing bookings carried out by third parties are amply evident.
The Maltese hospitality sector augurs that this legal inconsistency in the application of the right of withdrawal will be addressed once the draft Commission rules are deliberated at the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.
Mr Cutajar is the Permanent Delegate of the Malta Business Bureau in Brussels. For more information on EU business affairs contact the MBB on [email protected] or call 2125 1719.