A manager at a Thomas Cook hotel in Menorca locked Brits out of their room and demanded they paid for their holiday again or be kicked out on the streets, it has been claimed.
A total of 12 Brits had their rooms at the Hotel Cabot Pollensa Park Spa in Menorca ‘held to ransom’ after the travel company went bust this morning.
Furious families returned from morning trips to find key cards had been deactivated with all their belongings locked inside.
When they questioned the hotel manager he demanded they ‘pay up or get out’.
Cath and Harvey Hurst flew out from Manchester to Menorca last Friday along with friends Susan and Daryl to celebrate their joint Golden Wedding Anniversary.
The Hursts, from Oldham, paid £2,800 for the two-week stay at the hotel.
Cath, 71, said We went out to the beach this morning and when we returned at midday we went to find out what the transfer situation is for our return flight Friday and were told ‘your room is locked and you can’t get into’.
The manager told us we had to pay £2,145. I explained that we didn’t have the money and he said ‘pay it or else you will have to leave the hotel’.
“There are seven rooms affected with 12 people involved including a baby.
“We’ve been in a meeting with the rest of the people involved. We’ve tried to explain that we’re with with ABTA and the holiday is ATOL protected and that they would pay but he wasn’t interested.
He said he wanted the money up front because he was saying they wouldn’t pay him.
“I feel like we’re being held hostage here.
“He did eventually say he would reopen the room until noon tomorrow and then if he hasn’t been paid by us or the others then he’s going to kick us out.
“It makes me feel sick. It’s absolutely disgusting. We are supposed to be celebrating our wedding anniversary and he has ruined it.
“We’re going to be homeless on holiday if we can’t find another hotel to stay in. We’ll be either on the streets or in the airport.”
New mum Grace Buckley, 31 and her husband Alexander, 30, are among the 12 guests affected.
They flew out to Menorca for their first holiday abroad with baby Theodore who is eight months old.
The couple, from Frome, Somerset, booked the holiday so that Grace was nice and relaxed for her return to work after maternity leave.
She said: “We woke up to the news but were reassured that we would be able to stay in the hotel and not to worry – so we didn’t.
“We went out for the morning and took in the local sights.
“When we came back we found our room was locked and our key card didn’t work. We went down to reception and then other people in the same situation started gathering.
The manager came down and we asked why are our rooms had been locked. He said it was because we were Thomas Cook customers and the hotel were getting no money.
“He told us to pay up or go. There were people that needed medication from their rooms. I needed baby stuff for Theodore.
“He said it didn’t matter. He didn’t have a care in the world.
“He was holding our room to ransom. He just didn’t care.”
Engineering consultant Grace aded: “After a two hour negotiation we were allowed back into our room until noon tomorrow. We’ve given advice from CAA not to pay anything and the manager has been told to let us stay but he’s ignored that.
“It’s really upsetting. We totally understand it’s a difficult situation and that staff have lost their jobs but there has been no empathy towards Thomas Cook customers from hotel staff and a complete lack of concern from the manager of the hotel.”
The collapse of Thomas Cook put 20,000 jobs at risk, including 9,000 in the UK, and resulted in all of the company’s flights and holidays being cancelled.
Last-minute talks to try and save the world’s oldest travel firm failed last night as more than 600,000 customers were on trips abroad.
The CAA will work with the Government to bring the 150,000 Brits currently overseas with Thomas Cook back to the UK.
The repatriation process will take place over the next two weeks, from September 23 to October 6, with the help of a fleet of aircraft from around the world.
Customers who booked a package with Thomas Cook , will get their money back thanks to ATOL protection.