--- title: "Company Tells Customers Who Paid $13,500 for Glamorous Yurts That It’s Bankrupt, the Yurts Are Unavailable, and Refunds Are Impossible" description: "Well-heeled festivalgoers shelled out for Glastonbury \"glamping\" yurts — and then the company they paid went out of business." date: "2025-05-25" modified: "2025-05-25" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/yurt-rental-glastonbury-bankruptcy" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "camping" - "festivals" - "glastonbury" - "yurts" --- # Company Tells Customers Who Paid $13,500 for Glamorous Yurts That It’s Bankrupt, the Yurts Are Unavailable, and Refunds Are Impossible ![Well-heeled festivalgoers shelled out for Glastonbury "glamping" yurts — and then the company they paid went out of business.]() *\Image: Jim Dyson / Redferns via Getty / Futurism\* In the lead-up to the United Kingdom's famous Glastonbury festival this summer, well-heeled partiers shelled out for fancy "glamping" yurts — those [tent-like dwellings with ancient origins]() in Central Asia that have been appropriated by hippies [in recent decades]() — and the people who took their money are now telling them they're out of luck. As the [*Times of London* reports]()[,]() customers who booked Glastonbury tickets and exotic accommodations through Yurtel, a purported pioneer in the yurt rental space, were informed that their expensive reservations would not be honored for the June festival because the firm was going out of business. The company told its buyers, who each spent a minimum of $13,500 for packages that included the rounded tents, chauffers, and tickets, that "any ticket and accommodation bookings" they'd made through Yurtel would not be fulfilled because it shuttered on May 8 due to insolvency and was in the process of liquidation. "Tickets to enter the festival," Yurtel said in its customer email, "have not been purchased on your behalf." Unlike a more legitimate business, these yurt hawkers admitted that the company "did not hold customer monies in trust" because all those expensive customer registration "formed part of the company’s operating capital." In other words, Yurtel took these glampers' cash, and until claims are filed and processed, it won't be returning any of it. In an interview with the *Times*, 32-year-old Yurtel victim Alice, of Lancashire, said that she and her partner had used the company last year and had a "fabulous" experience. A 10-year Glasto veteran, the woman said her father had paid more than $54,000 for three yurts and six festival tickets — and now, either she or her daddy will have to pay that much again. "\[We\] need to get in touch with Glastonbury and see what alternatives they can offer," the Lancashire woman told the newspaper. "Apparently, Glastonbury has asked other glamping sites to make additional accommodation available for people affected... but we would have to pay again, roughly the same price." In a statement to the *Times*, a Glastonbury representative expressed their apologies while reiterating that there wasn't much to be done for the people left holding the bag. "Anyone who has paid Yurtel for a package including Glastonbury 2025 tickets will need to pursue any potential recompense available from them via the liquidation process as outlined in their communication to you," the statement noted. "We are not able to incur the cost or responsibility of their loss or replacement." As for the company's finances, it's unclear where all the money went — and because it was such a small business, Yurtel hadn't been audited. The mystery behind those missing monies, as the Brits would call them, will surely come out in the wash, but those who spent an arm and a leg for their fancy lodgings are now going to pay double or go without seeing Neil Young, The 1975, Olivia Rodgridgo, or any of the [festival's other acts](). **More on festival fails:** [*Fyre Fest 2 Is Already Crumbling Into Embarrassing Chaos*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()