Hurb: government orders suspension of sales of flexible packages – 05/29/2023 – Market

Senacon (National Consumer Secretariat) of the Ministry of Justice determined that Hurb (formerly Hotel Urbano) suspend the sale of flexible packages —which do not have a date set for the trip, nor the definition of the airline or the places of accommodation. The ban has no fixed term.

The company can still negotiate packages with a defined date.

Hurb told the report that it was not notified by the secretariat and that, for legal reasons, it will not comment on the process. “We are available to the authorities to provide any clarification,” he said in a statement.

The suspension will be maintained until the company presents a concrete resolution plan for the contracts in force and proves that the identified flaws have been corrected, says the national consumer secretary, Wadih Damous.

“Hurb must demonstrate that it is fulfilling the contracts and that it has the financial conditions to enter into new contracts”, he says.

The travel platform met with Senacon on the 12th and committed to adopting measures to ensure respect for consumers and transparency in the products offered. This would be detailed in a plan delivered by Hurb to the secretariat on the last 22nd.

“The document did not bring enough and consistent information. So that there is no further damage to consumers across the country, we decided to issue a precautionary measure to prevent Hurb from continuing to sell packages”, says the secretary.

Understand the Hurb Crisis

Hurb has been going through an image crisis because of reports of non-payment for hotels and inns, which led to the cancellation of reservations and affected thousands of people.

At the end of April, Senacon notified the company, asking for explanations about its financial situation and the estimated contractual fulfillment of the packages. After requesting an extension of the deadline, Hurb sent the answer this week, which is being analyzed by the technical area of ​​the agency under commercial secrecy.

At the same time, the company is the target of an administrative process, also opened by Senacon, for disrespecting the rights of consumers who bought packages with the platform.

According to data from the agency, there were 11,000 complaints against the company in the first quarter of 2023, a level that approaches the 12,000 complaints registered throughout 2022.

Last month, the crisis at Hurb was exacerbated by the resignation of the then CEO, João Ricardo Mendes, after the executive threatened and cursed customers on the internet. “It’s risky for someone to hit your shitty house,” he told a customer who did not have airline tickets issued by Hurb, according to a video posted on Instagram.

In the resignation letter, Mendes admitted mistakes, sought to disassociate his attitudes from the company’s image and even quoted a song by American rapper Eminem that talks about overcoming obstacles and willpower.

Customers who bought travel packages on the platform try to get their money back or confirm their reservations. In social networks, groups of consumers who were harmed by the crisis in the company bring together thousands of participants.