Thomas Cook has upset hoteliers across Europe and in the Caribbean by announcing that it will be slashing five per cent off of all invoices for accommodation for August and September.

The travel company said the move was necessary because of revenue shortfalls during a disappointing year for tourism. The move means that hotels which supplied accommodation to Thomas Cook customers will be getting five per cent less than the agreed room rate.

The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association said it would not accept Thomas Cook’s proposal and promised to take a stand against the move. The Hoteliers Association in Benidorm and Costa Blanca said it would take the matter to the courts if the travel agent attempted to go ahead with its threat.

Manuel Moncada, a representative of the Spanish association, said the proposal was completely unacceptable. He added that he was astonished that Thomas Cook thought it could reduce costs across the board on something that was already a done deal. He went on to say that in his 40 years in the travel business he had never known a company the size of Thomas Cook to make such a decision.

Thomas Cook said it was talking to hoteliers in order to come up with a solution. A spokesman for the travel company said it had already had discussions with hoteliers in popular tourist destinations such as Egypt and Turkey and had been encouraged by the reactions. Most of the feedback from Spanish hoteliers has been extremely positive, he added.