Common Mistakes You’re Making in the Spring ATOL Renewals

So, it’s February. For travel businesses, that means a few different things: the end of peaks is beginning to come into sight, and the spring ATOL renewals deadline is fast approaching. Between the busiest time of year and the time that many businesses procrastinate, it’s starting to look a little hectic.  

Peaks is an exciting time across the industry. With so many travellers rushing to book their yearly get away, lots of travel businesses will set aside other tasks and nuisances in favour of raking in the bookings.  

For members of PTS, this doesn’t have too much of an impact. With most of their admin taken care of and in hand and their ATOL renewal made simple by our expert team, they truly can turn their laser focus to all the lovely travellers ready to escape.  

However, for the wider industry, this period can turn into dominos. First, it’s all those bookings, then it’s catching up with other priorities as they dwindle, and in a flash they’re late for submitting their ATOL renewal and rushing to keep their business on track. 

Let’s break the cycle this year, shall we? 

The Common Mistakes You May be Making for Spring ATOL Renewals 

While you’re probably getting it sorted every year, there are a few common mistakes for the spring ATOL renewals that, if we alleviate, could make your life in 2025 a whole lot less stressful.  

Waiting Until Too Late 

While the ATOL renewal period ends on the 31st of March, you should ideally be getting this all sorted in January or February. Though this is in the midst of peaks, it’s important to remember that the time it takes for your application to be processed will be longer as the deadline gets closer.  

Underestimating What You Need to Do 

Though it would make a lot of sense for renewals to be quicker than applying for the ATOL in the first place, that’s just too logical to be true. There is a lot of paperwork you’ll need to collate in order to submit your renewal, and it’s important to sort all this first-time round, otherwise there will be delays. Since it requires some reports from the past few months, it’s best to prepare these documents ahead of time as you get the information needed. 

Forgetting the Others Involved in the Process  

There are other parties involved in this process, including the CAA and your Reporting Accountant, while we would love to believe other people are just as efficient and organised as we are, a lot of factors can affect how long each stage takes, so it’s important to leave time for other parties to get their part done.  

Not Staying Updated on the CAA  

While many things probably won’t affect you specifically, it’s important to keep an eye out for any changes the CAA implements in this process. A little change in processing spring ATOL renewals, for example, could mean delays you weren’t anticipating.  

Not Renewing Your ATOL with PTS! 

By far the most outrageous mistake any business can make, for travel’s sake! (50% jest, we assure you.) But seriously, with a team of ATOL experts to support you through the process (and remind you the process has begun), renewing your ATOL with PTS is simple, quick, and leaves the ridiculously complicated parts to us, so all you have to do is keep your admin in order with our one-stop system and leave the rush of last minute renewals behind you.  

That’s it. Travel business affairs made simple.  

So, if you would like to learn about how your consumers’ monies are protected with Protected Trust Services (PTS) and how we support excellent travel businesses, check out our pages. Or you can contact the lovely PTS team by calling 0207 190 9988 or emailing us at ask@protectedtrustservices.com.