logo
Brits face cancelled holidays as holiday company loses license

Brits face cancelled holidays as holiday company loses license

Yahoo16-06-2025
Hundreds of British travellers may have their summer holidays cancelled after a UK travel provider lost a key license on Friday.
As of 13 June, operations by Great Little Escapes are no longer protected by an Air Travel Organiser's Licence (Atol).
The company's Facebook page says the brand formerly offered 'holidays to the most iconic cities in the world'.
A notice from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) confirmed that the company based in Sandhurst, Berkshire, ceased trading as an Atol holder on 13 June 2025.
The Air Travel Organisers' Licence is a financial protection scheme run by the CAA for package holidays sold by tour operators in the UK.
Under the scheme, if a firm goes out of business, your booking will be refunded.
According to Companies House, the travel provider has been operational since September 2002.
Great Little Escapes also traded under the names Your Holidays, Great Little Escapes, Tunisia First and websites themaldives.co.uk, yourholidays.co.uk, thecaribbean.com and greatlittleescapes.co.uk, said the CAA.
It added: 'We are currently collating information from the company and will update this page as soon as possible.'
Customers of Great Little Escapes are advised not to submit a claim before the CAA has finished gathering information.
The closure comes just two months after operations by Balkan Holidays shut in the UK, with 'all forward holiday bookings' cancelled after almost 60 years of trading.
The travel provider started operations in 1966 with summer holidays to Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Malta and northern Cyprus, as well as winter ski trips, on offer to travellers.
In March, Jetline Holidays ceased trading as an Atol holder, raising doubts on whether trip bookings – specifically cruises –would still be valid.
Princess, Cunard and Holland America were among the affected cruise holidays, most of which were cancelled due to a 'breach of contract' with the former travel operator.
The Carnival brand cruise lines said in a statement: 'We recognise how disappointing this news will be for affected guests and express our sincere apologies for the disruption caused. This decision was not made lightly.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Customers Reveal How Bad Service Has to Be to Leave No Tip
Customers Reveal How Bad Service Has to Be to Leave No Tip

Newsweek

time7 hours ago

  • Newsweek

Customers Reveal How Bad Service Has to Be to Leave No Tip

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Diners have taken to Reddit to share how bad the service has to be to leave no tip—or a "troll tip" meant to send a message. Reddit user Brandon (u/darkroot_gardner) took to Reddit's r/tipping subreddit to ask, "How bad does the service have to be for you to leave zero tip?" and users didn't hold back. With nearly 400 responses recounting long waits for a check to outright rudeness, customers detailed what pushes them from their usual tipping habits to a complete cutoff. Stock image of tipping in progress Stock image of tipping in progress Photo by AndreyPopov / Getty Images One user described being "eating alone for lunch and the server 'forgot' about me and spent all her time at a table with a large party". After finishing, they said they waited 20 minutes for a check and had to flag down another server. To that comment, another replied they'd tip "1 cent to make a point". For some, it's about the signal: "If service is bad enough for the tip to be zero, the server already knows they messed up. If not, they are in the wrong business," wrote one Redditor. Another agreed, adding, "If I leave a 5% tip, that's pretty much a message that says you suck." Frustration Over Inattention Many explained that inattentive servers were their main gripe. "If I have to wait 15 minutes for water, and 15 minutes for a check after asking for it in a non-busy restaurant... then my tip is going drastically down," wrote one user, who recalled once being the only lunchtime customer and still waiting a quarter-hour for the bill. The debate also drew contrasts between American and European dining. "In America, the servers just drop off the food and run... It ruins the dining experience; it's all about greed. I tip zero now because the system sucks," one user posted. A British commenter, however, shared the opposite complaint, noting that in the U.S., "a lot of servers wouldn't leave my table alone... Much prefer it in Europe, where they are not fishing for tips." Some people have hard lines, with one commenter writing, "The only instance I would tip nothing is if the person giving me service is rude/has an attitude." Another recalled tipping $0 after a server "'accidentally' ran my card for 50% more than my check and insisted that could just be her tip". 'A sort of social obligation' In a message to Newsweek, Brandon explained, "I am generally anti-tipping... While I wish for and advocate for tipping to end and the base wage to be increased to a living wage instead, I still always tip at full-service restaurants and bars, usually around 15%, mainly as a sort of social obligation. "Once or twice a year, I will tip generously (20-25%) when it is a special occasion and the service is excellent." He added, "I wanted to hear what approach others take towards tipping, especially since a 2023 Pew research poll suggested the actual quality of the service might not even be so critical for many people." A Growing Concern Restaurants across the United States often add automatic gratuities, especially for large parties, but these charges are legally distinct from tips. "They can't force you to tip if you make it optional," Bruce McAdams, an associate professor for the School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management at the University of Guelph, told Newsweek. "But if you state there is a service charge and add it to the bill, it is legal and the customer is required to pay." Tipping Fatigue Surveys show most Americans would prefer tipping to remain a choice. According to Newsweek, a September 2024 poll found that 73% of respondents wanted tipping to be optional, while only 22% favored making it mandatory. "Unraveling tip culture will be much more complicated than most people imagine," Mary King, editor of The Restaurant HQ, told the publication. Even with "tipping fatigue" on the rise, many service workers depend on gratuities for their livelihoods. As legal experts told Newsweek, mandatory service charges, though often viewed as tips, are considered revenue for the restaurant, not optional bonuses. That distinction is unlikely to end the debate among diners, who, as one Reddit commenter summed up, will "tip $0 by default nowadays," while others insist "outside of physical violence, you're getting at least 20 percent". To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, click here.

A data breach exposes thousands of Afghans who have settled in the UK and British troops

time7 hours ago

A data breach exposes thousands of Afghans who have settled in the UK and British troops

LONDON -- Thousands of Afghans, British troops and civil servants may have fallen victim to another data breach, according to a firm linked to the U.K.'s Ministry of Defence. The Jet Centre, which provides ground handling for flights, said late Friday that it suffered a data security incident which led to 'unauthorised access to a limited number of company emails." About 3,700 individuals are thought to be potentially affected by the incident, including Afghans who were brought to the U.K. Troops traveling to routine military exercises and journalists accompanying government ministers on official engagements are also among the potential victims. In a previous incident, some Afghans who fought alongside British forces before the Taliban swept back to power had their data leaked after an official released the details of 18,714 individuals 'in error' in February 2022. Afghans who had worked with Western forces as fixers, translators and in other roles have sought refuge outside their country. Britain set up a program, known as the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, or ARAP, to bring some to the U.K.

EXCLUSIVE: Net-a-porter Alums Raise $1 Million for U.K.-based Egg and Sperm Health Supplement Company Ova
EXCLUSIVE: Net-a-porter Alums Raise $1 Million for U.K.-based Egg and Sperm Health Supplement Company Ova

Yahoo

timea day ago

  • Yahoo

EXCLUSIVE: Net-a-porter Alums Raise $1 Million for U.K.-based Egg and Sperm Health Supplement Company Ova

Egg and sperm health brand Ova has secured a $1 million pre-seed from Era VC, Ventures Together and Syndicate Room and angel investors including Gemma Bellman, former director at Glossier and the British Beauty Council; Lisa Gordon, chairperson at Cavendish Capital; Stratos Chatzigiannis, chief executive officer of Ila Apothecary, and more. Ova, which is based in the U.K., currently offers four products, including Ova Her, a fertility and pregnancy support supplement that is the brand's bestseller; Ova Him, a sperm support supplement that is the brand's bestseller in-store; Ova Plus, a hormone support supplement, and Ova Omega, an omega-3 supplement formulated for reproductive health. More from WWD Report: Shoppers Spending $47 More Per Month Under Trump's Tariff Regime Les Tien Debuts First Los Angeles Store British Retailer Boden Set to Open First U.S. Store in Georgia 'Ova is tapping into a deeply underserved space in a truly differentiated manner,' said Claire Cherry, partner at Era VC. 'We know fertility is no longer solely a women's issue — it's a team effort, and Ova is leading the charge with a standout brand and real science. We're proud to back such an exceptional team.' Ova, which launched seven months ago, was founded by Net-a-porter alums Danielle Fox-Thomas and Kat Lestage, who were both experiencing their own fertility challenges which ultimately led to them building Ova while they each were pregnant. 'It was quite the challenge, but we like a challenge,' said Fox-Thomas, who was previously a health and beauty editor. 'I went through a round of IVF. Kat went through her own challenges, but was happily pregnant. Then I got pregnant quite quickly after my round, so we were essentially both pregnant as we were raising, giving birth and launching the brand.' She added: 'It just so happened [that] we created our own Ova babies, just to put the icing on the cake.' According to Lestage, going through this experience while raising capital allowed them to find investors who were the perfect fit. 'I do think some people probably might be and maybe were a bit intimidated by the fact that we're two women who are starting a business while at the same time growing and starting families,' said the former beauty and wellness buyer. 'For us, building a brand that is made for people who are starting and growing their families, it makes the most sense for the people who are leading that business to be going through that themselves. We wanted investors who believed in that vision.' Upon starting the brand, retailers were automatically interested given the opportunity within the category. 'Especially in the U.K., there was a lot of white space for there to be a brand that was speaking to a more modern consumer. Something as simple as our branding, is very straightforward. It is like, 'This is fertility [and] pregnancy. This is advanced sperm support. This is for your advanced hormonal support,'' Lestage said. 'We're not trying to be quiet. We're not putting babies on boxes.…It's something new and it's fresh, and we're talking to that modern consumer. That's what buyers bought into quickly.' Boots, in particular, brought on Ova before the brand had even turned on its direct-to-consumer shop. Now the brand is available in more than 900 doors with Boots, the largest pharmacy chain in the U.K., and Sainsbury's, one of the largest grocery retailers in the U.K., and will be expanding in Ireland. 'What this raise has done is allowed us to support our retailers in not going out of stock. We've expanded with Boots, moved into Republic of Ireland. We're going into more stores in Ireland in October,' Lestage said. 'Our growth with Boots has been crazy, and so this raise has really allowed us to continue to fuel that growth.…In addition to that, which we're very excited about, is we finally have been able to turn on paid ads for our DTC.' Fox-Thomas added that they are also beginning to discuss future product development. 'We're looking at PMS. We're looking at how we can best support those coming off birth control, how we can best support those with symptoms of PCOS and more regularity of cycle, and then looking at hunkering down on those who are going through assisted reproductive technologies,' Fox-Thomas said. 'We want to be known for reproductive health [and] fertility. We know this is not going away anytime soon. One in four of us will struggle or face challenges, but we want to lean to more positive, actionable products that really can help support.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store