Welcome Sunshine1 .. all I can tell you is that we have had lots of accounts registered here at Holidaytruths by people at Global Travel Group, who then go on to pose as satisfied customers of companies within the group.

David

Global Travel Group is basically a franchise operation, with the likes of Sunmaster, Holiday Gems (I think) etc., operating as the "companies". Like all franchise operations, some of the franchisees are better than others - we booked last summer through Sunmaster, and they were spot on, although, to be fair we didn't have any major problems for them to solve. Some of the other franchisees may not be so good, especially if things go wrong. Remember, they are NOT offering package holidays as defined by the law, but t what are being called "dynamic packages" in that they book the flights & hotel separately on your behalf, often meaning you save money, but it is not a true package holiday. Only you can decide if you are comfortable with that idea or not.

Global also have a lot of independent agencies under their umbrella. The agency I worked at was a member for quite a number of years. They are protected by the ATOL (where applicable) held by GTG to sell package holidays. This offers greater flexibility as regards choice of flights and accommodation. As far as I am aware, as long as the 'package' they sell is at an inclusive price (ie a total price for flight and accommodation) then it is a package holiday. Your contract is with them, as they become the principal (tour operator). If the elements are priced seperately (ie you are aware of how much each component costs) then it is not a package and they act as agents for the individual component providers.

Thanks for the advice, I have been looking at hols on Sunmaster. My main concern is if they go into liquidation as they arent ABTA bonded would I be covered, or would my own holiday insurance cover this?

You will be covered by your credit card if all goes terribly wrong,but, to be honest you are better off searching online for the hotel of your choice and contact them direct for a quote for the stay,then choose your airline,that way you know both are paid and your holiday is safe,afterall that is all the travel agents are doing on your behalf,but with the risk of going bankrupt and you having no holiday and waiting for your money to go back into your account.

As the are ATOL bonde you should be covered under that scheme which is run by the CAA.
If you look at going down the independant route make sure you have the correct travel insurance. You might need scheduled airline failure, depending on the airline and also you really need independant traveller cover.