‘I rearranged my wedding but the travel agent won’t move my honeymoon’

Kirsty Franks, a 27-year-old from West Sussex, faces a similar problem. She had been due to be married at the end of May but has moved the wedding to later this year.

She had booked a short honeymoon for the start of June through Hoseasons, a British holiday firm. The company has said it will reschedule or refund holidays due to take place before May 22 but anyone with a booking after this date must wait to find out their fate. 

James Daley, of consumer firm Fairer Finance, said while the hope is that travel companies will be flexible, not all will be. If travel restrictions have been relaxed by the time of an expected honeymoon, Mr Daley said couples are unlikely to be offered a refund or rescheduled trip and will either have to go on the holiday or lose their money.

Mr James said holiday companies were under significant pressure and were prioritising the soonest bookings. He advised waiting for the high number of enquiries, caused by panicking holidaymakers, to calm down. 

He added that rescheduling, rather than cancelling, is more likely to help negotiations with travel companies for bookings that are in question but not yet eligible to be moved.

“Holiday companies are looking at their profits and focusing on what they have booked for the future. If you can commit to the company and take the holiday at a later stage, I think there will be a lot more room for manoeuvre,” he said.

However, he warned that re-booking for next year, or for a more premium date, could be more expensive. Booking algorithms used by these companies will make it appear that there is huge demand due to the number of people trying to move their holidays.

“If you can wait a few weeks for this to calm down there should be better prices, or no cost for moving, as the flurry of enquiries will slow down,” he said.

Hoseasons and Direct Cuba did not respond to requests for comment.