Transfer a package travel contract to another traveller: notice, costs and liability

A package travel trip does not necessarily have to be taken by the person who made the booking. Section 7 PRG permits a transfer to another person if that person meets all contract conditions and the organiser is informed on a durable medium in good time before departure. Departure, the replacement traveller, costs and outstanding payments must be assessed together.

A transfer is different from ordinary cancellation and from withdrawal because of extraordinary circumstances. The existing contract is intended to continue with a different traveller rather than end. This article addresses the transfer of a package travel contract before departure. It does not address travel non-conformity, linked travel arrangements or the separate booking of a flight or accommodation.

Under section 7(1) PRG, a traveller may transfer the package travel contract to a person who meets all contract conditions. The transfer therefore does not replace the package travel arrangement with an entirely new booking. The new person enters the existing contract and must comply with its terms.

The first point is to establish that the booking is in fact package travel. Keep the booking confirmation, the combined travel services and the contracting parties together. The overview of package travel and tour operators explains the distinction and the organiser’s role.

The right to transfer does not mean that every requested name change must automatically be accepted. The contract terms, the replacement traveller’s eligibility and the actual booking process remain relevant. Record who originally booked and who is intended to take that person’s place.

Notice must reach the organiser within a reasonable period before the package travel begins and on a durable medium. An email or another storable communication method can document the process if its content and delivery can be established.

Notice no later than seven days before the package travel begins is considered reasonable in any event under section 7(1) PRG. A later notice is not necessarily ineffective. The closer departure is, however, the more important clear wording, provable delivery and prompt clarification of the actual costs become.

State the booking number, the original traveller’s name, the replacement traveller’s name, destination and departure date. Save the sent version, attachments and delivery confirmation. A telephone note alone can make it harder to prove the necessary content and delivery.

The replacement traveller must meet all contract conditions. The relevant points depend on the package travel arrangement. They may be found in the travel terms, the characteristics of the booked services and conditions applying to the performance of the trip.

Do not check only the spelling of the name. A valid travel document, entry requirements, an age limit or specific conditions of a booked service may matter. The organiser must assess the replacement traveller against the existing contract and the actual trip.

This assessment should not be confused with a medical or governmental guarantee. Keep the information relevant to the particular booking and ask the organiser which evidence is needed for the transfer. That reduces the risk of an eligibility issue emerging immediately before departure.

The organiser may charge additional fees, charges and other costs caused by the transfer. The organiser must nevertheless inform the transferring traveller of the actual costs of the transfer.

Those costs may not be unreasonable and may not exceed the actual costs incurred by the organiser as a result of the transfer. A flat demand is therefore not made transparent merely by calling it a name-change fee or amendment fee. The relevant question is which costs actually arise from this particular change.

Section 7(3) PRG requires the organiser to issue a receipt for the additional fees, charges and other costs arising from the transfer. Ask for that receipt and compare it with the organiser’s cost statement. Keep the original booking confirmation and all price information as well.

The traveller transferring the contract and the person entering it are jointly and severally liable to the organiser for the outstanding balance of the travel price. This covers not only the cost of the change but also any unpaid part of the agreed travel price.

The same liability extends to fees, charges and other costs caused by the transfer. Assess the change only after listing amounts already paid, instalments still due and additional costs separately.

A clear payment overview helps everyone involved. Assign each payment to the booking number, record when outstanding amounts fall due and ask for confirmation of when the organiser treats the transfer and cost statement as complete.

Bring together the booking confirmation, standard information, travel terms, invoice and payment records. Mark the departure date, booked services, contracting parties and any notice about name changes or transfers.

Then create a short chronology: decision to change traveller, notice to the organiser, replacement traveller’s details, organiser’s response, cost statement, receipt and payment. For an online booking, also save the booking page and customer account with date and time.

The transfer is practically clear only when the replacement traveller, organiser, costs and outstanding price fit together. Do not infer a contrary decision or a cancellation from an unclear fee statement. The guide to documenting a package travel complaint shows how booking documents and communications can be organised chronologically.

A transfer is intended to continue the existing package travel contract with another traveller. Ordinary withdrawal ends the contract before departure and may allow the organiser to claim reasonable compensation under section 10(1) PRG. The two routes should not be mixed in unclear wording.

Withdrawal without compensation because of extraordinary and unavoidable circumstances concerns a different situation. The circumstances at or near the destination must significantly affect the performance of the particular trip or the transport to the destination. The article cancelling package travel because of extraordinary circumstances addresses that assessment separately.

A price change, a substantial change to a travel service and a travel non-conformity are also separate issues. If the trip is not being transferred but a service has changed or was not provided as agreed, the relevant rules must be assessed against the contract and the actual events.

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