Online travel company winds up

A LIQUIDATOR will be appointed within days to one of the country’s largest online travel firms which closed at the weekend with the loss of 14 jobs.

One of MyguideIreland’s directors, Cormac O’Neill, declined to discuss its levels of debt and said it had been a very difficult decision to make.

MyguideIreland, which was founded in 1998 and which employed up to 50 people at its peak, sold holidays in Ireland to the US, British, Canadian, French, Japanese and German markets.

It has offices in Skibbereen, Co Cork, and Boston in the USA and received some 500,000 page impressions per month.

But in a statement on its website on Saturday, it said it lost key merchant account facilities — the type of bank account that allows businesses to accept payments by debit or credit cards — which had an impact on its cashflow.

“During the past few months, the company has been in negotiations with interested parties with a view to securing a new merchant provider and bridging finance,” the statement said.

“Management deeply regret that they were unable to get these negotiations concluded in a timeframe that would allow the company continue trading.

“Therefore, the directors have the taken the decision to cease operations and a liquidator will be appointed in the coming days.”

Staff were on duty in its Cork office yesterday answering queries on a voluntary basis. Around 500 people are currently on holidays with the company in Ireland and it is expected that they will all be able to travel home.

However, the firm said that around 50 people may have other segments of their trips affected and that it’s doing everything it can to help them.

It is not clear how many bookings the company had, or if those who have already paid for holidays will get their money back.

In its statement, the company said customers who had made credit card payments to MyguideIreland should contact their credit card company.

It said bookings with its suppliers should still be held but that suppliers should be paid directly.

MyguideIreland was established in 1998 as 1 2 Travel by three Irish friends — Mr O’Neill, Conor B Buckley, and Conor Buckley.

They had spent four years working and studying in Philadelphia and returned to Ireland via a round-the-world trip booked through a travel agent they found on the Internet. Realising the potential for Internet-based travel services, they set up an online travel company.

MyguideIreland is bonded and licensed in accordance with Irish and European law. The company has established a freephone helpline on 1800-927313.