Thomas Cook UK and Ireland’s two bed banks Hotels 4u and Med Hotels are the first to leave ABTA following the decision to force them to adopt liability for bookings.

Sales and marketing director Teresa Walsh said Hotels4u, which owns the hotels4u.com and medhotels.com, is no longer a member of the association.

The move comes following a recent vote by the association’s members to enforce all bed banks with ABTA membership to accept liability for customers bookings should an agency fail. Walsh said: “We can confirm that Hotels4u has resigned from ABTA with immediate effect. We feel that ABTA membership is now incompatible with our current trading model.”

Thomas Cook Group director of government and external affairs Andy Cooper said: “The Thomas Cook UK & Ireland business remains 100 per cent committed to remaining an ABTA member, providing it continues to offer good value to its members.”

ABTA chief executive, Mark Tanzer, said: “We are disappointed that Hotels4U has felt it necessary to take this step. The resolution, which was overwhelmingly supported by ABTA members, restates a fundamental principle of agency law, in that any company, agent or principal, that sells via an agent is deemed to have taken receipt of the customer’s money at the point of sale. We do not believe that the step we have taken is prejudicial to any particular business model. It demonstrates the board’s commitment to consumer protection, and recognises the value of the ABTA brand in maintaining consumer confidence. “