Online booking is often cheaper than going through a travel agent, but what happens with your money in case of cancellations? EuroparlTV investigates.

Booking your trips online: is there a risk?

Travelling has become less expensive.  With the internet and online booking,

consumers no longer have  the same guarantees and protection

as for trips booked  through a traditional travel agent.

MEPs have clarified the rules of  a very competitive market. We investigate.

Géraldine and Bujar are off  on a romantic mini-break.

You have two seats together.  -Thank you.

We're going to Tunisia,  to the Hasdrubal Hotel in Port el Kantaoui.

We booked a package, a mini-break,  with a travel agency.

We return on Tuesday morning,  so we'll stay three nights.

And what would they do if their flight  was seriously delayed or cancelled?

Would they have to cancel their holiday  or lose the cost of the trip?

If the plane is a delayed, you can't  do anything about it, you have to wait.

you call the agency who will do  what's required to book another flight

and rearrange the hotel stay  or give a refund if it's not possible.

There's no problem. The plane is on time.  Next destination - sunshine.

This security is for package trips booked  through a tour operator or a travel agent.

But for travellers  who book for themselves online,

the European law from the 1990s  doesn't protect them.

New rules more friendly to consumers using  the internet have been approved by MEPs.

the obligation to give clear  and transparent information to consumers

so that the consumer knows before booking

and, in case of problems, who will be  held responsible and who to contact.

Even today some players  are profiting from loopholes in the law.

Isabelle Chuffart has bitter experience.

She wanted to fly to Venice from Belgium  with a low-cost airline.

I went on their site  and I saw I could book the flight,

take out insurance -  I took out the most expensive insurance,

book transfers from the airport  to Santa Lucia Station,

because my hotel was  near Santa Lucia Station,

and also car parking  for the five days of my trip.

That was all booked on their site,  paid for in a single payment,

and debited to my credit card the same day.

But the flight was cancelled  a few days later.

The new times offered by the airline  didn't suit Isabelle.

She therefore asked for a refund  of her costs.

I was very surprised when I got the refund.

I only received a refund for the flight,

no refund for the insurance  taken out on the site,

no refund for the transfer  from the airport to the station,

The situation is completely blocked  because they won't give me a refund.

They say their conditions are only  to refund the cost of the flight.

Isabelle is prepared to go to court  to get a refund.

the airline would have been obliged  to refund all the elements

since Isabelle booked through one website  and made one payment in under 24 hours.

You can only phone them on a premium  number costing one euro per minute.

For the couple on holiday in Tunisia,  their trip is going much better.

Everything is in the package, including  the airport transfers and even an excursion.

With a package, the tour operators  also have contracts with the hotels.

I think if I'd booked it all separately,

with the taxi, etc,  I'm not sure it would have been cheaper.

And there's also the security.  -No surprises when you get here.

Tour operators and travel agencies  still talk about unfair competition

These sites don't have to subscribe  to insurance covering travellers.

The travel agency has to pay premiums  calculated according to turnover and risk.

In comparison to someone selling on  the internet without all these restrictions,

it's clear there's an impact on the final cost.

And among the guarantees  offered by travel professionals

which wouldn't necessarily be covered  with a hotel reservation on the internet.

apart from making a claim against  the management of the hotel,

unless we looked for another hotel  ourselves for the rest of the stay.

MEPs have yet to convince  the Member States

of the usefulness of these new rules.  It's a long-awaited law.

If Géraldine and Bujar had booked  the elements of their trip on the internet

and there had been  a problem with the flight,

they might have found themselves back  at the airport with no solution or refund.