Martin Lewis travel issues major holiday warning to all summer 2026 travellers
Martin Lewis has issued an urgent warning to sunseekers planning their getaways, cautioning that they could forfeit their hotel costs should their flight be scrapped, depending upon the manner in which they've arranged their travel. Appearing on his Money Show Live on ITV, the financial expert responded to an audience query which asked: "If my flight's cancelled due to no jet fuel, will you definitely receive all your money back, even for your hotel booking as well?".Martin Lewis clarified that holidaymakers stand to lose their accommodation payments if they had arranged their hotel separately from flights booked through airlines including Jet2, TUI, Wizz, Ryanair, easyJet - as they wouldn't benefit from consumer safeguards. He said: "No. And I think this is what people need to be very aware of. If you booked a package holiday where you booked everything in one, then under the package holiday regulations and rules and protections generally, if your flight went, you would get everything back."He continued: "And so actually at the moment package holidays give you a certain level of extra security that you wouldn't get if you did a DIY booking where you bought your hotel and flight separately."He elaborated that the hotel booking itself remains valid: "Because the point is if you lose your flight and you've DIY booked, there's nothing wrong with your hotel. The issue is you can't get there. Your hotel is still there. It's not faulty. It's not cancelling. So, you don't have those consumer rights."Should the hotel not be at fault, then guests might examine how they've made their reservation - though this avenue offers no solution either. He explained: "So, you would then say, 'What about using a credit card or debit card protection?' It won't work because there's nothing faulty. And that's just giving you the same replica rights that you would have with the retailer.", reports the Express.Ultimately, holidaymakers may look to their travel insurance for assistance. Mr Lewis revealed: "So, you' then say, 'What about travel insurance?' This is the bad bit. We were checking 40 travel insurance policies. Of those, only a few would have covered you for the knock-on eventuality of your flight being cancelled due to jet fuel and then your hotel costs."Only about three or four, and most of those were package bank accounts where it's linked to your bank account. Only one standalone provider. So we need to be blunt at the moment. There is a big risk in those circumstances. If you're booking, you want something with free or limited cancellation quite short before. So you could just cancel it. You should always talk to the provider."The reason this is important to know is if you are in that position, once you understand you have no rights and they say, 'Well, we'll give you a voucher, and you can come back in 6 months.' You suddenly realise you're doing well, not badly, right? If you didn't have free cancellation, this is going to be a problem if we get to that jet fuel shortage."Government are saying there isn't one at the moment and they're working on consolidating flights and doing things so there won't be one, but people's hotel costs if they book separately and other knock-on costs are potentially at risk."
