Neilson - warning

[buggybored]

We had booked our christmas ski holiday with Neilson but they've just told us they are cancelling their Swiss and North American ski programmes for the 2014/2015 seasons as they "won't make any money"... After initially saying they'd transfer our holiday to another operator at no cost it transpires that they can't and will only refund our deposit or charge us £800 for the flights and leave us to try and book land arrangements independently with no ABTA protection. Given it's Christmas week we can't find a similar holiday to book without incurring substantial extra expense - so have two very upset children...We'd deliberately chosen to book with a (supposedly) reputable large operator for peace of mind but have found out to our cost that doesn't mean much.

[Optimist1]

Sorry to hear your plans have fallen through. In fairness, Neilson are a long-established company specialising in ski holidays, so you didn't choose a dud.

I'd say this is an ideal opportunity to engage with a local, independent travel agent. Give them the brief and see what they come up with! Ask them about accommodation-only, too, and what protection they can offer if you decide to keep the flights that Neilson has booked.

[LIZS]

Where are the flights to ? Are there alternative resorts nearby as I guess they'd cost more than £800 to replace now? There have been issues in Switzerland regarding paying mw to chalet staff, driving up costs.

[slalomsuki]

Sorry to hear this

We have had Esprit cancel our Christmas holiday to Italy also but they have rebooked us and tried to compensate also.

Good luck, Christmas week can be difficult.

[MsHerodotus]

Sorry to hear this, but am not surprised. we had a similar experience with Neilson a few years ago. Just chalk it up to experience, and, like us, counsel others not to use Neilson.

[PuddleglumtheMarshWiggle]

Don't use Neilson! We once booked a holiday with them and turned up at the airport to find they had neglected to book us onto the flight. The air operators worked had to get us on and we were very grateful. Had a word with Neilson rep when we landed and asked for assurance that we were booked on return flight. He assured us we were. Don't know who he checked with as we had the same problem returning. When we asked for assistance at the airport he just shrugged and walked away leaving us. Flight operators again worked to get us home.
Complaints to the company were fruitless. They refused to take any blame for the situation and offered no apology.
Since then have always booked independantly and saved a fortune

[swantail]

I guess this I'd the problem with using a big company, unfortunately your business is just not important enough for them.
Christmas week is not nearly as busy as new years week. Flights don't tend to be as expensive either. So don't give up, you might still find a great deal!