STA Travel

Last updated

STA Travel Holding AG
Type Private
Industry Youth travel
Founded1979;44 years ago (1979)
DefunctAugust 21, 2020 (2020-08-21)
Headquarters Zurich, London, Australia
Area served
Global
Key people
Casper Urhammer, Chief Executive Officer [1]
ServicesTravel Agency
OwnerDiethelm Keller Holding (DKH)
Number of employees
Almost 2,000 [2]
Website www.statravel.com

STA Travel was a Travel Supplier supplying travel products and service to the general public through their 200 retail travel agency stores located globally. It was owned by Diethelm Keller Holding (DKH), with headquarters in Zurich and London. [1] It had almost 2,000 employees working in over 200 stores worldwide. [2]

Contents

In August 2020 the Swiss parent company filed for insolvency. [3] The UK, Australian and New Zealand subsidiaries also entered administration in the same week.

Originally an acronym for "Student Travel Australia", the company was later branded as "Student Travel Association" and later branded itself as a retronym "Start The Adventure". Under the BUNAC brand, the company arranged working holidays and volunteering.

History

STA Travel was created in 1979 when Edward Keller of Zurich purchased the business of AUS Student Travel (AUSST) using Stewart Moffat Travel as the vehicle in order to expedite the sale.

AUSST was created in 1971 by the Australian Union of Students (AUS). Prior to this it was a department of AUS and before that a department of the National Union of Australian University Students (NUAUS) which was established in 1937 which had as one of its goals facilitating student travel.

in 1977 AUSST went broke but continued to trade under a scheme of arrangements approved by the Victorian Supreme Court until the business was sold and a new entity created Student Travel Australia which subsequently traded as STA Travel.

These facts can be verified by reference to the NUAUS/AUS/AUSST Archive Collection at the Australian National Archives and the proceedings of the Victorian Supreme Court.

The CEO for almost thirty years was Richard (Dick) Porter, who founded STA Travel alongside Gregor Macaulay, and then as CEO, grew the organisation and brand from its early creation to become the leading global student travel agency. In recent years the growth in the concept of a “gap year” to travel has been attributed to Dick Porter and his work building STA.

In August 2010, the company acquired Bridge the World, targeting an older and more affluent demographic. [4] In November 2012, John Constable became chief executive officer of the company. [5]

In June 2013, the company signed a marketing deal worth NZ$1.2 million annually with Tourism New Zealand to promote travel to New Zealand. [6] In September 2013, the company signed a similar marketing deal with Tourism Australia worth £6 million over 3 years. [7]

In May 2014, the company stopped offering escorted tours that offer elephant rides. [8] In November 2018, the company produced a video featuring Skinny Living that showcased travel destinations in the United States. [9]

2020 Insolvency

On 20 August 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic that heavily affected the travel industry, STA Travel Holding AG, the Swiss parent company, filed for insolvency. [3] STA Travel UK entered administration and ceased trading on 21 August. [10] [11] In the UK the administration affects 52 shops and around 500 jobs. [12] The Australian business, STA Travel Pty Ltd., [13] and New Zealand Business, STA Travel (NZ) Limited [14] also entered external administration with Deloitte. The Australian business was put into liquidation. The liquidators have received Court approval to pay customer refunds received, less cancellation fees and liquidators fees, to the clients who cancelled travel prior to 21 August 2020. [15] On 24 August 2020 the South African business closed. [16]

Controversies

In May 2019, the company initially refused to assist a couple who missed their long haul flight home due to a delayed domestic flight on Air India, costing their customers an extra £2,900. Their initial refusal to assist their customers was despite the United Kingdom's Package Travel Regulations 1992 and STA Travel having issued to their customers a certificate under the ATOL regime when they purchased their holiday. After negative publicity in The Independent newspaper, [17] the next day the company admitted their error, apologised and reimbursed their aggrieved customers. [18]

In April 2020, the company was forced to pay AU$14 million as a result of a complaint brought by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission that the company misled consumers who purchased the MultiFLEX Pass by advertising that they would not have to pay anything further for date changes to their flights. [19]

Related Research Articles

Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd, operating as Jetstar, is an Australian low-cost airline headquartered in Melbourne. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas, created in response to the threat posed by airline Virgin Australia. Jetstar is part of Qantas' two brand strategy of having Qantas Airways for the premium full-service market and Jetstar for the low-cost market. Jetstar carries 8.5% of all passengers travelling in and out of Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crystal Cruises</span> American cruise line

Crystal Cruises is a cruise line now headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, USA. It was founded in 1988 by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and sold to Hong Kong-headquartered conglomerate Genting Hong Kong in 2015. Following insolvency in 2022, the Crystal Cruises brand and two cruise ships were bought by A&K Travel Group, to recommence operations in 2023. The new company has announced major refurbishments and enhancements for the two ships in a Fincantieri shipyard in Trieste, Italy including increasing the number of butler suites and reducing guest capacity, with plans to resume service in June 2023 with shore excursions curated by Abercrombie & Kent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liquidation</span> Winding-up of a company

Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistributed. Liquidation is also sometimes referred to as winding-up or dissolution, although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation. The process of liquidation also arises when customs, an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties, determines the final computation or ascertainment of the duties or drawback accruing on an entry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travel agency</span> Retailer that provides tourism-related services

A travel agency is a private retailer or public service that provides travel and tourism-related services to the general public on behalf of accommodation or travel suppliers to offer different kinds of travelling packages for each destination. Travel agencies can provide outdoor recreation, arranging logistics for luggage and medical items delivery for travellers upon request, public transport timetables, car rentals, and bureau de change services. Travel agencies can also serve as general sales agents for airlines that do not have offices in a specific region. A travel agency's main function is to act as an agent, selling travel products and services on behalf of a supplier. They are also called Travel Advisors. They do not keep inventory in-hand unless they have pre-booked hotel rooms or cabins on a cruise ship for a group travel event such as a wedding, honeymoon, or other group event.

Royal Tongan Airlines was the national airline of Tonga until liquidation in 2004. It was a government agency and operated interisland services and international routes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insolvency</span> State of being unable to pay ones debts

In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company (debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be insolvent. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet insolvency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ABTA – The Travel Association</span> Travel and holiday companies of the United Kingdom

ABTA Ltd, operating as ABTA – The Travel Association and formerly known as the Association of British Travel Agents, is a trade association for tour operators and travel agents in the United Kingdom.

In law, a liquidator is the officer appointed when a company goes into winding-up or liquidation who has responsibility for collecting in all of the assets under such circumstances of the company and settling all claims against the company before putting the company into dissolution. Liquidator is a person officially appointed to 'liquidate' a company or firm. Their duty is to ascertain and settle the liabilities of a company or a firm. If there are any surplus, then those are distributed to the contributories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin Australia Holdings</span>

Virgin Australia Holdings Limited is the holding company that owns and operates Virgin Australia, Virgin Australia International Airlines and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines. It previously operated Pacific Blue Airlines, Tigerair Australia and joint-venture airline Polynesian Blue which were absorbed into Virgin Australia in December 2011. Its head office is located in South Bank, Brisbane. After being placed in administration in April 2020, it was purchased by Bain Capital in August 2020.

As a legal concept, administration is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions, similar to bankruptcy in the United States. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry on running their business. The process – in the United Kingdom colloquially called being "under administration" – is an alternative to liquidation or may be a precursor to it. Administration is commenced by an administration order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Cook Group</span> Former global travel group

Thomas Cook Group plc was a global travel group, headquartered in the United Kingdom and listed on the London Stock Exchange from its formation on 19 June 2007 by the merger of Thomas Cook AG — successor to Thomas Cook & Son — and MyTravel Group until 23 September 2019, when it went into compulsory liquidation. The group operated as a tour operator and airline, and also operated travel agencies in Europe. At the time of the group's collapse, approximately 21,000 worldwide employees were left without jobs and 600,000 customers were left abroad, triggering the UK's largest peacetime repatriation.

Kuoni Travel is a tourism company, operating various services including charter and scheduled passenger airlines, package holidays, cruise lines, and hotels in destinations around the world across nine different geographic regions.

Kleenmaid is an Australian owned domestic appliance brand that was originally established in 1984. In 2009 it was acquired by the private equity group Compass Capital Partners who relaunched it to the public in 2012 with a newly developed Black Krystal range of appliances and a new logo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flight Centre</span> Multinational retail travel agency

Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) is an Australian travel agency. It was founded in 1982, and is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia.

Australian insolvency law regulates the position of companies which are in financial distress and are unable to pay or provide for all of their debts or other obligations, and matters ancillary to and arising from financial distress. The law in this area is principally governed by the Corporations Act 2001. Under Australian law, the term insolvency is usually used with reference to companies, and bankruptcy is used in relation to individuals. Insolvency law in Australia tries to seek an equitable balance between the competing interests of debtors, creditors and the wider community when debtors are unable to meet their financial obligations. The aim of the legislative provisions is to provide:

Jet2holidays is a British package holiday provider and tour operator. It was formed in 2007 as a subsidiary of Dart Group PLC, and a sister to Jet2.com, the third-largest scheduled airline in the UK. As of 2023 Jet2holidays is the largest tour operator in the United Kingdom, by ATOL licenses in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helloworld Travel</span> Australian-based travel agency

Helloworld Travel is an Australian-based travel agency specialising in Retail, Corporate and Wholesale travel products and packages. Helloworld Travel is the retail travel business of Helloworld Travel Limited (HLO), with fully branded travel agencies and associate agents located throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Global Work & Travel is an Australian travel company. The company was founded in 2008, and provides working holiday, teaching abroad, volunteer, au pair, and student internship packages and helps travellers with travel insurance, flights, and travel visas. With three offices in Surfers Paradise, Vancouver and London, it operates primarily in five countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. As of 2018, the company had organised gap-year trips for over 40,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Cook Holidays</span> Package holiday provider

Thomas Cook Tourism (UK) Company Limited, known as Thomas Cook UK, is an Anglo-Chinese package holiday provider which offers 'Flight + Hotel' packages and Hotel only bookings. The company was launched in 2019, when Chinese firm Fosun International purchased the brand from the insolvent Thomas Cook Group, and began trading in September 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand</span> Pandemic in New Zealand

The global COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the New Zealand economy. New Zealand has a mixed economy – a free market with some state ownership and control. In mid-March 2020, the New Zealand Government imposed a four-tier alert level system, which placed much of the country's economy into lockdown with the exception of "essential services" such as supermarkets. Due to the success of the Government's elimination strategy, lockdown restrictions on various economic activities were progressively lifted between April and June 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 "Diethelm Keller Group – STA Travel".
  2. 1 2 "Our Story". STA Travel. Archived from the original on 28 April 2020.
  3. 1 2 "STA Travel's Swiss parent company files for insolvency". Travel Weekly. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  4. "STA Travel acquires Bridge the World brand". Travel Weekly (UK) . 9 August 2010.
  5. "The Scan: Dohop relaunches and more travel tech news". Phocuswire. 1 November 2012.
  6. "Tourism New Zealand and STA Travel Join Forces To Boost Youth Travel With $1.2m MOU". World Youth Student and Educational Confederation. 16 June 2013.
  7. "Tourism Australia strikes £6m deal with STA Travel". Travel Weekly . 16 September 2013.
  8. Davies, Phil (16 May 2014). "STA Travel drops animal attractions". Travel Weekly .
  9. Hayhurst, Lee (25 April 2018). "STA Travel and Brand USA collaborate on Skinny Living interactive video campaign". Travolution .
  10. "STA Travel Limited ceases trading – advice for customers". ABTA. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  11. "Coronavirus forces STA Travel out of business". BBC News . 21 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  12. "STA Travel falls into administration affecting 52 shops in the UK". Evening Standard. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  13. "STA Travel in administration - advice for affected consumers | Mirage News". Mirage News. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  14. "Letter to Creditors, Employees, and Customers" (PDF). Deloitte. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  15. "In the matter of STA Travel Pty Ltd (In liquidation) - NSW Caselaw" . Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  16. Botha, Petrus. "Closure of STA Travel SA leaves clients with questions over their holidays". ewn.co.za. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  17. Calder, Simon (2 May 2019). "TRAVEL FIRM ABANDONS COUPLE IN INDIA BECAUSE THEY 'HADN'T BOOKED A PACKAGE DEAL'". The Independent .
  18. "Bridge the World caught out under new package regulations". Travel Weekly. Travel Weekly Group. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2020. Package Travel Regulations state transport and accommodation, sold at an inclusive price, is a package and a travel company providing a package is responsible for the damage caused by any failure by its suppliers, such as a delayed flight. A spokeswoman from the company said: "Bridge the World has carefully investigated the situation involving the Gowers and the issues they experienced on their return from Kerala. As a result of this investigation, Bridge the World will be offering the Gowers a full refund for the alternative flights purchased and sincerely apologises for any inconvenience and upset caused."
  19. "THE FEDERAL COURT HAS ORDERED STA TRAVEL TO PAY $14 MILLION IN PENALTIES FOR MAKING FALSE OR MISLEADING CLAIMS WHEN ADVERTISING ITS MULTIFLEX PASS PRODUCT". Travel Weekly . 24 April 2020.