In a policy paper published on Wednesday 22 May, the representatives of Europe’s restaurant and hospitality professionals, HOTREC, urge the EU’s co-legislators to address the issues of liability and enforcement, as well as to reduce the administrative burden on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
HOTREC supports the European Commission’s efforts to simplify the Package Travel Directive, a revision of which was presented in November 2023 (see EUROPE 13303/6). However, it feels that the current proposal fails to strike a fair balance between consumer protection and the economic viability of hotels. This could harm competitiveness and have a disproportionate impact on SMEs.
HOTREC’s main concerns are as follows: - the lack of clarity of the three-hour time limit; - the withdrawal of regulations on downpayments; - the seven-day deadline for hoteliers to reimburse cancelled services. According to the association, vouchers can be a viable alternative to refunds, but it is unreasonable to require an automatic refund after the expiry of the validity period.
Read the guidance document: https://aeur.eu/f/cch (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)