The luxury tour operator itravel is in an insolvency crisis. Many holidaymakers are threatened with high costs for trips they have already paid for. 

The renowned itravel Group, a German luxury tour operator, is deep in the insolvency crisis, as “Stern” reports. Since managing director Axel Schmiegelow’s pre-trial detention began in April, the rumor mill has been churning: What will happen to the amounts customers have already paid?

Since last summer, there have been increasing complaints from customers who had paid several thousand euros in advance for their luxury trips, only to discover on site that the company had not yet paid for the hotels they had booked. The Cologne District Court reacted to these grievances and appointed an insolvency administrator for Inspiring Travel Club Family GmbH, a subsidiary of the itravel Group.

According to “Stern”, the insolvency administrator, lawyer Philip Schober, has already examined the company’s financial situation. What is particularly interesting is that the company itself has to pay the insolvency administrator. However, the process has not yet started. As long as it is running, managing director Schmiegelow needs the approval of the insolvency administrator for decisions regarding the company’s assets. If it turns out that there is not enough money, the company could be liquidated without an official procedure.

There is good news for worried customers: in the case of package tours, they are protected from the organizer’s bankruptcy by a security certificate. But there is a catch here too: itravel Luxembourg S.à.r.l. is on the invoices of itravel customers. based in Luxembourg. The security certificate only applies if exactly this company is classified as insolvent.

The situation is therefore complex and opaque. There is great uncertainty among customers and hope for a positive solution is dwindling. It remains to be seen how the situation will develop and whether customers will get their money back.

The original for this article “Luxury tour operator itravel in the insolvency crisis” comes from chip.de.