It’s a common misconception that a travel company trust account is just for small or start-up businesses. But, actually the travel trust account option of complying with the financial protection requirements for consumers’ forward payments under the Package Travel Regulations 2018 and the ATOL Regulations 2012 is becoming increasingly favoured by larger travel companies as a means of providing a flexible, secure and simple means of financial protection.
The days of expensive bonding and unreliable insurance policies could be numbered as the Civil Aviation Authority can be seen to increasingly favour the travel company trust account route. They have already enforced this as an option for consumer protection by the country’s Accredited Bodies and during and following the Covid pandemic have been seen to encourage the larger online travel agents into considering it as an option. This is because they view it as a ‘safe’ option, without its susceptibility to overtrading and insurance policy exclusions. Trust account monies are held transparently and accessibly, and in the case of a travel trust account used to facilitate an ATOL, are held on trust for the trustees of the Air Travel Trust.
A Serenity trust can lend itself to any structure, large or small. It is a bare bones account, which utilises the extensive skills and experience of travel specialist lawyers as trustees. We work with our clients using the flexibility that is needed to integrate our trustee role with your cash flow and payment processing needs.