Great Little Escapes Collapse: Your Rights & Refunds

Planning a summer holiday takes time, trust, and a fair bit of hope, but customers of Great Little Escapes LLP saw that trust broken when the travel agent ceased trading on 13 June 2025. Now, many holidaymakers are unsure about their rights and refunds.

Company name: Great Little Escapes LLP ·
Date of failure: 13 June 2025 ·
ATOL licence number: 5933 ·
Reported losses before bankruptcy: £77,000 (~$103,000 USD) ·
Customers affected: Unknown total, many holidays cancelled

A Berkshire travel agent that had been operating for more than two decades collapsed in June 2025 — the latest in a string of UK travel firm failures. Here is what we know so far.

What Travel Firm Has Collapsed?

Details of Great Little Escapes LLP failure

• Great Little Escapes LLP ceased trading on 13 June 2025, according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority (the official ATOL regulator). Its ATOL licence, number 5933, was revoked the same day.
• The company, based in Sandhurst, Berkshire, had been operating since September 2002 (The Independent). It traded under several names, including Your Holidays, Tunisia First, and websites such as themaldives.co.uk and greatlittleescapes.co.uk (ATOL).
• Reported losses amount to £77,000 (~$103,000 USD) according to a later filing covered by The Street. The full number of affected customers has not been confirmed, but many forward bookings were cancelled.

The implication: small travel agents with thin margins are particularly vulnerable. Customers booking with such firms should always verify ATOL protection before paying.

What Happens If a Travel Company Goes Bust?

ATOL protection eligibility

• The Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL) scheme, run by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), protects customers who book a package holiday involving flights sold by an ATOL-licensed company. Great Little Escapes held ATOL 5933, so eligible package customers can claim refunds or repatriation.

Steps to claim a refund

1. Do not submit a claim yet – the CAA has stated that claims submitted before further instructions will be rejected (ATOL). Wait for guidance on the ATOL website.
2. If you paid by credit card for goods/services over £100, you may be protected under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act (Money Advice Service). Contact your card issuer.
3. Check your travel insurance – some policies cover scheduled airline failure or company insolvency. Contact your insurer.

Alternative protection

For bookings that are not ATOL-protected (e.g., accommodation-only, or flight-only tickets issued by the airline), customers may need to rely on credit card chargeback, travel insurance, or direct negotiations with suppliers.

Why this matters: thousands of holidaymakers could be left out of pocket if they assumed ATOL covered every part of their trip. Always check the fine print.

Your Rights If an Airline or Travel Company Goes Bust

Consumer rights under Package Travel Regulations

• The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 (which replaced the 1992 version) require organisers to provide a refund if the package is cancelled due to insolvency. This applies to all package holidays sold in the UK, regardless of ATOL status (UK Government guidance).
• If the organiser is ATOL-licensed, the CAA handles refunds. If not, the customer may need to claim through their payment provider or insurance.

Airline failure vs. tour operator failure

When an airline fails (e.g., Flybe, Thomas Cook Airlines), ATOL only covers the package if a tour operator organised flights+accommodation. For standalone flight bookings, passengers must claim from their credit card or insurance. The CAA provides no direct refund for airline-only collapses unless the airline is part of an ATOL package (CAA airline insolvency guidance).

“The CAA is working to protect consumers who booked package holidays through Great Little Escapes. We advise customers not to submit claims until we publish further details.”

— CAA spokesperson, quoted by The Independent

The trade-off: airlines and tour operators are treated differently. A customer who books a flight-only ticket is far less protected than one who books a package — a distinction many travellers don’t realise until it’s too late.

How Do Travel Agents Make Money?

Commission structures

• Most travel agents earn 10–15% commission on the booking value from suppliers (airlines, hotels, tour operators). Some charge service fees; others rely purely on supplier commissions (Travel Weekly).
• A typical agent might make £50–£150 on a £1,000 package. But when the operator collapses, those commissions are never paid — and the agent may have already incurred costs.

Impact of collapse on agent commissions

In the Great Little Escapes case, the company itself was the tour operator (ATOL holder). Smaller agents who sold Great Little Escapes holidays will lose their expected commissions and may also face reputational damage. The £77,000 losses are likely to be spread across creditors including these agents (The Street).

“I paid £2,400 for a family holiday to Tunisia through Great Little Escapes. Now we have nothing — no holiday, no refund, and no idea what happens next.”

— Affected customer, speaking to The Mirror

The pattern: when a small operator fails, the pain is felt all along the chain — customers, agents, and suppliers. The industry’s reliance on thin margins means collapses like this one can ripple quickly.

What Should I Do Immediately If My Holiday Is Cancelled?

First steps

1. Do not rebook until you have claimed a refund or confirmed you won’t get one — you may void your right to compensation.
2. Contact the CAA ATOL helpline (0333 103 9693) or check the Atol failure page for Great Little Escapes for updates.
3. Gather all booking documents: email confirmations, receipts, invoice, ATOL certificate (if issued), and any correspondence with the operator.
4. Check your travel insurance policy for “scheduled airline failure” or “company insolvency” cover.

If you paid by credit card for a single item over £100, call your card issuer and ask to make a Section 75 claim. For debit cards, you may have chargeback rights under Visa or Mastercard rules, but these are not legally guaranteed. For British travellers, the bottom line is: do not rush, do not rebook, and document everything. The CAA will eventually open a claims window — but it may take weeks or months.

“The CAA is working to protect consumers who booked package holidays through Great Little Escapes. We advise customers not to submit claims until we publish further details.”

— CAA spokesperson, quoted by The Independent

“I paid £2,400 for a family holiday to Tunisia through Great Little Escapes. Now we have nothing — no holiday, no refund, and no idea what happens next.”

— Affected customer, speaking to The Mirror

These voices underscore the human impact of the collapse.

For UK holidaymakers who booked with Great Little Escapes, the immediate priority is to wait for CAA instructions and secure documentation. Those who paid by credit card have the strongest fallback. But the deeper lesson is hard to miss: the safety net of ATOL is only as strong as a customer’s understanding of what it actually covers — and many travellers remain in the dark. For the average family booking a package holiday through a small agent like Great Little Escapes, the choice is clear: verify ATOL coverage before you pay, or risk being left with a cancelled holiday and a long wait for answers.

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