The Dutch travel provider Travelbird is insolvent. The online portal was popular for its cheap offers. According to the latest information, the Secret Escapes Group will take over the company.
A message regarding the insolvency was published on the website of Travelbird on October 31, 2018. By now, the website is no longer available.
All further proceedings will be handled by the company SGR who is the Dutch guarantee fund for prepaid travel money. Consumers who booked a journey at Travelbird should be contacted by SGR soon. If not, we recommend to send them an e-mail.
On the website of SGR, consumers find several important questions & answers regarding the current situation. The information is available in Dutch, English and German.
Accordingly, the following applies:
- Customers who are currently travelling and encounter problems can reach out to TUI Netherlands (Tel.: +31 88-0885840, Mail:travelbird@tui.nl).
- Customers, who should depart until (and including) February 28th, 2019: SGR should inform you via e-mail whether your trip will take place or not.
- There are special conditions for travels to Malta. Please read the information on the respective site of SGR: https://www.sgr.nl/engels-malta/
- Customers who booked a journey including flights and should depart until (and including) February 28th, 2019: Please login to your Travelbird account and check whether there is a "reservation number" for your flight displayed.
- Flight reservation number available: Your trip should be carried out as planned. SGR takes over the responsibilites of Travelbird. Contact partner for any troubles is once again TUI Netherlands (see above).
File a claim at SGR:
- No flight reservation number: There are several options. If you didn't pay the full price for the trip before October 31st, it may be operated as planned. You should receive an e-mail with the respective information.
If you did pay the full price before the end of October 2018, but can't find a flight reservation number, your journey won't take place. You should receive an e-mail with instruction for the damage claim - please also check your spam folder! All information is also available here: www.sgr.nl/9720-2/. - Journeys without a flight will not be carried out. Those consumers should receive an e-mail of SGR regarding the further proceedings. All information is also available here: www.sgr.nl/9720-2/.
- Your journey got cancelled by Travelbird before October 31 and you didn't receive a refund of the travel price. Use the form on www.sgr.nl/9720-2/ to file your claim.
- You had expenses for accommodation before October 31: Use the form on www.sgr.nl/9720-2/ to file your claim.
Travelbird: Insolvency proceedings
Usually, if a company files insolvency, a liquidator is commissioned, who will then check the financial status of the company. If there are any financial resources left, a court proceeding will start. All creditors can register for these proceeding and will receive a refund according to a certain quota. Unfortunately, those are often very low.
SGR is not the insolvency administrator, but a travel guarantee fund. According to the terms of the SGR guarantee fund the compensation can be as high as the total price a consumer paid. It is neither limited to a down payment nor to a certain percentage. However, the limit is a maximum amount of EUR 12.500 per consumer per damage claim. Airline tickets which are not part of a package travel as well as vouchers are not covered under the SGR guarantee fund.
Claim damages that are not covered by SGR
If you are affected by the Travelbird insolvency, but your case is not covered by the offer of SGR (e.g because you only booked a flight or bought a voucher), you can file your claim at the official insolvency administrator. To do so, go on the following website where you can find all information regarding the administrator as well as the respective form: https://www.crediteurenlijst.nl/en/Insolvencies/Details/9086
(First published on 5.11.2018, last updated on 09.01.2019)
