The travel agent denied responsibility for reimbursement in the event of trip cancellation. After a lawsuit supported by the VKI, Opodo finally gave in.

Who should I contact? - This is the question many consumers ask themselves who have booked their trip through a travel agent - such as Opodo - and are waiting for their refund, for example due to a trip cancellation. The travel agent sometimes refers to the booked hotel or airline, which in turn refers to the travel agent. Experience has shown that this leads to great frustration - as was the case with a family that contacted the Association for Consumer Information (VKI).

A consumer wanted to spend the 2020 summer vacation in Mallorca with his wife and two children and booked a flight and hotel at the beginning of 2020 through the agent Opodo. The corona pandemic thwarted these holiday plans: at the planned time of travel there was a travel warning for Mallorca, the hotel was closed and the flight was canceled by the airline. A year later, the airline finally paid back the cost of the flight tickets, but the hotel costs of 1.750 euros were still a long time coming. The hotel referred to Opodo as a contractual partner. However, contacting -Opodo turned out to be difficult and the company emphasized several times that Opodo only acts as an intermediary between the provider and the customer and that the refund primarily comes from the booked hotel. Only when the hotel makes the refund to Opodo can Opodo pass this amount on to the consumer. 

On behalf of the Ministry of Social Affairs, the VKI therefore supports the consumer's lawsuit against the company behind the Opodo brand, Vacaciones eDreams, based in Madrid - with success: Opodo paid the entire amount back to the family immediately after the lawsuit was served. There was therefore no judgement.

"It was particularly gratifying that not only did this family get their money back, but Opodo at the same time arranged a repayment in around 30 other cases that were before the VKI," informs VKI lawyer Mag. Verena Grubner. The lawsuit was directed against Opodo, since in this case there was a combination of hotel and flight and Opodo was therefore to be qualified as a tour operator. "In the case of a flight-only booking, on the other hand, we recommend contacting the airline directly," concludes the travel law expert.