Staycation vs Abroad: The Difference in Booking Protection

There are many ways that your holiday or staycation can be protected. Whether it’s a staycation and you’re trundling up to Snowdonia, or you’re going abroad for a beachy getaway in Benidorm (even if you’re just renting out a cottage for the weekend).

However, in most cases where we discuss holiday protection, we’re usually talking in the broadest span. Including all the ways your holiday is protected focuses most of all on going abroad. But if you’re keen on mapping out the beauty inside the UK, or you’re planning a rare holiday closer to home, what types of protection will you get?

Ensuring your holiday is well protected is key to complete peace of mind, no matter where you’re going. Even if you’re staying only a few hours from home, your holiday still deserves great protection.  

So, what protection can you expect when you book a staycation? How can you ensure your holiday is ready for excitement and free of stress?  

Book a Package Holiday

One of the most important ways your holiday can be protected is via the Package Travel Regulations. This is the UK government legislation that protects all package holidays booked with UK based travel businesses. Which is the convoluted way of saying, if you book a package holiday, you’re set!

Financial and legal protection are provided under this legislation. This includes whether your holiday is a staycation or set abroad.  

In saying this, ensuring you’re booking a package when you’re booking a staycation may be something you want to check. A package holiday is one that includes more than one item and is booked under one price. Items can include: 

• Flights 
• Car Hire 
• Accommodation 
• Activities 
• Transport 

When you book a holiday abroad, it is most likely that you are already protected. By booking a flight and accommodation, you have probably already secured this type of protection. If you want to check, you only need to ask your travel agent. They will be able to tell you what kind of booking you have.  

Booking a Staycation Package

But when you’re booking a staycation, there are a few key factors that you may want to keep in mind. Though flights are not necessary to make a package holiday, the following things could affect the status of your booking: 

• Package holidays must be over 24 hours or include overnight stay to be protected by the Package Travel Regulations.  
• If your booking is a business trip or is offered on a not-for-profit basis, it will not be protected by the Package Travel Regulations.  

If you’re calling it a staycation (and not a holistay, for some reason) then it’s most likely not a business trip, but if it is offered on a not-for-profit basis, then it’s important to secure other forms of holiday protection.  

The requirement for over 24 hours or the inclusion of overnight stay could have a bigger impact. If you’re going on a day trip, for example, that includes coach travel and a tourism activity, but no overnight stay, this will not be protected by the Package Travel Regulations.  

In this case, there are a few other ways that your holiday can still be financially protected. However, it is important to keep note that it will not come under the PTRs. 

Staycations will also not be protected by ATOL, which only protects packages including flights, but this is only important if you’re booking a flight.  

Get Travel Insurance

It may not seem like travel insurance is as necessary when you’re booking a staycation, but having good travel insurance is equally important whatever kind of holiday you’re booking. 

Travel insurance will provide protection and support in the case of medical concerns, cancellations, and accidents connected to your holiday. The specifics under these will vary based on the travel insurance you get. For example, Covid protection on holiday and extreme sports will vary. You can ask your travel agent when you book if they think there is anything specific you should look for. This will vary based on your holiday.  

Travel insurance protection doesn’t have to be expensive, but it is worth spending just a little extra if you need protection for precious luggage, thrill-seeking activities, or specific medical concerns. We also highly recommend booking your travel insurance as soon after you book your holiday as this protection doesn’t just cover the holiday, but the period between booking and travelling too.  

Book with a Credit Card

It’s not the biggest form of financial protection, but booking with a debit or credit card ensures that if anything goes wrong and it can’t be fixed with your travel business or travel insurance, then you can still get your money back.  

Often this service is not the easiest to acquire for travel businesses. But, when you book with a PTS member this service is readily available. So you can secure that extra financial protection for your peace of mind.  

This can also apply to all bookings, so if your staycation doesn’t fall under the Package Travel Regulations, you can still get an extra layer of protection through your card service. This is also an easy form of protection to ensure, with credit card payments protected under the Credit Protection Act. 

Book with a Protected Trust Services (PTS) Member

When it comes to financial protection on holiday, PTS are focused on providing the best for UK travellers. No matter what kind of holiday you’re taking, booking with a PTS members means that you will have some of the best financial protection in UK travel.  

PTS members are ensured to be 100% PTR compliant and are approved and trusted by the expert PTS team. This means that you can rest assured that you’re booking a holiday with a trusted expert in travel that is dedicated to providing you with a fantastic holiday and great protection to match.  

PTS members also work under the PTS travel trust account system. When you book a holiday with a PTS member, your monies go directly into the PTS trust account. No involved parties have direct access to this account. Your monies are only released from the trust account to pay for your holiday or provide you with a refund.  

So, if you’re looking forward to your next holiday, don’t wait, book now with a travel business registered with PTS for 100% financial protection through trust. Or, if you’d like assistance choosing one of the lovely PTS members to book with, you can contact PTS directly at 0207 190 9988.     

And if you’d like to learn more about your financial protection with PTS or how the Package Travel Regulations protect your holiday booking, check out our pages and Travel Advice.