Can I Get My Money Back from Loveholidays? Your Guide to Refunds for Last Minute Trips

Getting your money back from loveholidays isn’t always simple, especially when you’re dealing with last minute bookings. Maybe the hotel closed its doors, your flight vanished from the schedule, or you just had to cancel because life happened. So, what’s actually possible—and what’s just wishful thinking?

First things first: Loveholidays is a travel agent, not a direct provider. That means your airline or hotel’s policies drive a lot of what’s possible with refunds. Sometimes you’ll qualify for a full refund, sometimes only partial, and in a lot of cases, you might be looking at travel credit or vouchers instead of real cash back. Knowing the basics ups your odds of success, especially if you’re acting fast on a last minute holiday hiccup.

• When Are You Entitled to a Refund?
• How to Start Your Refund Request
• Loveholidays Refund Timelines and What Delays Them
• What If Your Flight or Hotel Gets Cancelled?
• Tips for Faster, Stress-Free Refunds

When Are You Entitled to a Refund?

So, here’s the main thing everyone wants to know: can you actually get your money back from loveholidays when your plans crash? The answer depends on why you’re cancelling or if the trip fell apart because of your provider. Let’s break down the most common situations.

• If loveholidays cancels your whole booking (like if the hotel or flight is totally off), you’re usually offered a full refund or an option to rebook. That’s pretty standard.
• If your airline cancels your flight after you booked through loveholidays, you’re eligible for a refund for the flight part. The same basic rule applies if a booked hotel closes or can’t honor your reservation after you paid.
• If you want to cancel yourself, that’s where it gets tricky. Most last minute holidays are non-refundable or only part-refundable. It depends on the terms you agreed to when booking, so it’s worth double checking your confirmation email and the “Manage My Booking” page.

Another important detail: package holidays (when you book flight and hotel together) are usually covered under UK Package Travel Regulations. This gives you a bit more backup if the travel company goes bust or your trip can’t go ahead for reasons outside your control.

Take a look at some example scenarios:

If your last minute holiday deal included “free cancellation” (it will say this clearly on your confirmation or during booking), you’ve got way more flexibility and can usually cancel for a full refund as long as it’s before the stated deadline.

But for most cheap last minute deals, the rules are tight. That’s why people often end up with a voucher or credit, not actual money back, especially if they change their mind close to the travel date.

How to Start Your Refund Request

If you’re already asking, “How do I get my money back from loveholidays?”, you’re not alone. The first step is figuring out exactly which part of your booking—flight, hotel, or both—you want refunded. The process works differently, and it helps to have your booking number ready before anything else.

You’ll need to use the Manage My Booking section on the loveholidays website. There’s no magic number to call that instantly sorts your refund; the company handles the bulk of holiday issues through their online system. Here’s what you should do:

1. Log in to your loveholidays account and go to Manage My Booking.
2. Select the booking you need help with. Click the option for refund or to report an issue.
3. Fill in the cancellation or refund form as accurately as possible. Attach proof if you’ve got it—like an airline cancellation email or hotel message. Details speed things up.
4. Check your email for a confirmation. Loveholidays usually sends an auto-reply to say they got your request. Hold on to this for your records.

Most communication will come via email. Don’t expect instant responses—during busy seasons, replies can take days or even longer. If your case is urgent (like your holiday is this week), say so in the notes of your request and follow up via the web chat tool during UK business hours.

If you’ve booked separate flight or hotel services, you may need to contact those providers too. For example, Ryanair and easyJet usually require direct refund requests, even if you booked through loveholidays. Double check your paperwork and emails for who to contact.

Here’s a quick look at how long each refund step can take on average, based on real customer experiences:

If you ever get stuck, try using the social media channels—sometimes a public nudge on Twitter or Facebook gets faster results. Stay patient, keep your records close, and don’t let the maze wear you down. And remember, the clearer your request, the faster you’ll see your money back.

Loveholidays Refund Timelines and What Delays Them

This is where things get annoying for a lot of people. If you’re hoping to get your loveholidays refund fast, brace yourself—sometimes it’s quick, sometimes you’re waiting weeks. According to loveholidays themselves, most refunds should take about two weeks once everything’s approved, but plenty of travelers say it can stretch much longer. It really depends on who actually cancelled (you, the airline, the hotel) and how your booking was set up.

Here’s what usually happens behind the scenes: loveholidays needs to confirm things with airlines or hotels before releasing your money back. If you booked a package (flight and hotel bundled), that means double the checking. For flight-only or hotel-only bookings, the timeline follows the slowest party. Some airlines – especially budget ones – can drag their feet for weeks.

This table gives you a ballpark idea of what to expect:

Now, what actually delays your loveholidays refund?

• Third Party Hold-ups: If your hotel or airline is slow with paperwork or approval, loveholidays can’t move faster.
• Payment Method: Bank cards can take days to process refunds. PayPal might be a bit quicker, but not always.
• High Demand: Around big holiday periods or after major disruptions (think strikes or mass cancellations), loveholidays has a flood of refund requests. That slows everything down.
• Incorrect Details: If your bank info or email address on your booking is wrong, your money back could get lost in the system.

If you haven’t seen your refund after what feels like forever, don’t just sit and wait. Reach out with your booking reference, keep your emails short and clear, and ask directly where things are stuck. Sometimes a little nudge does speed things up, especially if it’s been more than the timeline shown above.

What If Your Flight or Hotel Gets Cancelled?

This is one of the most stressful situations when you’re dealing with last minute holidays. Loveholidays might not run the airline or the hotel, but they do have a responsibility to help you sort things out when something goes wrong. Your rights depend a lot on who cancels and why.

If your flight gets cancelled, UK and EU law (like EU261 and UK261) says you’re owed a choice between a full refund, a new flight, or travel credit if the airline cancels. Here’s the catch—if you booked a package (flight + hotel with loveholidays), they’re supposed to step in and sort out a solution for the whole trip, not just the flight. If it was just a flight-only deal through loveholidays, you may have to go direct to the airline yourself.

For hotels, if the hotel closes or can’t honour your reservation, loveholidays should be offering you an alternative, a refund, or a voucher. This is actually in line with UK package travel rules. During COVID, loads of hotels shut their doors overnight, and loveholidays ended up refunding thousands of trips, but the timing wasn’t exactly quick for everyone.

"Travel agents like loveholidays have to offer a full refund if your package holiday is cancelled by the provider," according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority.

So what do you actually do in the moment?

1. Contact loveholidays right away. Use their emergency chat if you’re at your destination and stuck.
2. Save evidence—screenshots, emails, any messages from airlines or hotels confirming the cancellation.
3. If you paid by credit card, you might want to talk to your bank about Section 75 protection if the refund drags on.
4. Keep an eye on your email—including your spam folder. Loveholidays often sends update links there.

The main thing: stay on top of it and don’t let things slide. The squeaky wheel gets the grease here. And if you feel like you’re being ignored, you can escalate to ABTA (if loveholidays hasn’t resolved your refund) or even make a claim through your credit card if needed. Using these steps, your loveholidays refund odds are a whole lot better.

Tips for Faster, Stress-Free Refunds

Waiting months for your loveholidays refund is pretty much everyone’s nightmare after a last minute holiday plan goes off track. But there are ways to speed up the process and dodge headaches (and hours stuck on hold).

Here’s what actually works based on hundreds of real traveler experiences:

• Have all your booking details ready. You’ll need your booking reference (it’s that long code in your original email), each traveler’s full name, and proof of payment. Missing info easily delays everything.
• Use the online chat or refund request form. Loveholidays’ phone lines are infamous for mega wait times, but people report much quicker results with their online self-service options—especially for straightforward cancellations that fit policy rules.
• Act fast. For some airlines and hotels through loveholidays, you can only get money back within a specific window—sometimes as little as 24-48 hours after canceling. Don’t wait.
• Keep every email and message. Screenshot chats, save confirmation emails, and jot down dates. If anything drags out, this history backs up your case with customer support.
• Escalate if stuck. If you’re past the promised refund time (currently around 14 days for most cases in 2025, but can be longer for flight-only deals), reach out on social media. Loveholidays is way more responsive on Twitter/X than email.
• Check your payment method. If there’s no progress after weeks, contact your bank or credit card and ask about a chargeback. For UK bookings, Section 75 protection sometimes covers you for credit card payments over £100.

Here’s a quick breakdown of common refund wait times from loveholidays, based on 2024-2025 traveler reports:

Chasing a money back claim on a last minute booking can be annoying, but knowing the shortcuts actually gets you answers faster. Don’t just sit and hope—they’ve got systems, and you want your case at the top of the pile.