22 Apr Industry Experts on Summer & Fall Travel
Like many travelers, you may be wondering if you should cancel or postpone your summer or fall travel plans. You may not know when to change your plans in order to recoup the most amount of money or allow for the most flexibility. A very helpful article on MSN Lifestyle shared the opinions of three travel industry experts on this topic.
Read below for everything to consider when it comes to postponing and rebooking your plans for summer and fall travel.
Do your due diligence to understand when you need to rethink your summer and fall travel plans
Unfortunately, the best timing for postponing your summer and fall travel plans depends on who you book with and what their terms and cancellation policies look like. Discuss your options with your travel agent for your specific trip booked with Enchanted Travel. Take note of any deadlines for rebooking and figure out when you need to take action. If you have time, force yourself to be patient and wait it out.
Why stay patient as long as possible? “Generally speaking, it’s better to be canceled on than for you to cancel on a discretionary basis,” says Gary Leff, the author of ViewFromtheWing.com. This is especially true with airline reservations as these may not cancel until the scheduled departure time.
Jack Exon, a global travel specialist and founder of Embark Beyond, advises clients that they should anticipate postponing their travel for trips into early summer. “For anything from mid-June and beyond, we’re encouraging people to wait and see,” he says. “That June date is fluid, but that’s what it looks like today. It’s important to keep revisiting that, and remember things are changing at lightning speed.” That all said, Ezon’s team still has plenty on the books for July and August. “As long as there’s no [financial] penalty to wait, and you’re not being asked to place additional deposits or put more money on the line, there’s no reason to cancel [right now].”
Discuss your options with your Enchanted Travel agent before you need to postpone
“Have a conversation with the person you’re working with,” says Leff. “Don’t just read the agreements and assume those are the options you’re currently facing. The person on the other end doesn’t want to lose your business, so they might give you greater flexibility. They’re also going to want your business when things return to usual.”
Ezon continues to explain that if you booked through a travel specialist or third party, let them go to bat for you. That’s exactly what our dedicated travel agents at Enchanted are there to do. “Having a transparent discussion navigated by a travel advisor can be extremely helpful and mutually beneficial,” says Ezon. Not only do our travel experts have the experience to work with tour operators and hoteliers, but they also have a collective power that is extremely useful to travelers.
If you can afford to, consider postponing your trip instead of canceling altogether. You might be able to negotiate something more favorable for when you do take the trip later on, and, you’ll be supporting travel providers in a time of need. “In general, our philosophy is we’re all in this together,” says Ezon. “We’re an advocate for our travelers first and foremost. But we also need our vendors and suppliers to stay in business, not just for moral reasons, but to sustain this business. If there are no small tour operators and beautiful boutiques [left], our clients won’t get to experience those things when this is all over.”
Discuss what insurance will cover with your Enchanted Travel agent
Most travel insurance plans do not cover pandemics. However, there are ways to navigate existing plans to meet your current needs. “There is still covered if you contract the virus, or if you’re quarantined. There’s also coverage for the financial fallout from this, say employment layoffs, or financial default of the provider,” says Moncrief.
Travel agencies get paid AFTER you travel, if you do not travel – we do not get paid. Many clients think the travel agency is who keeps their deposit and cancellation penalty which is completely false with our agency. We do not charge service fees or non-refundable deposits – those come from airlines and hotels.
So please keep in mind, we are on your side. If you do have to cancel or postpone we will go to bat for you and obviously we want you to get back as much money or credit as possible – Our business is built from personal relationships and we want to keep those personal relationships solid. Overall we want you to travel so we get paid and you enjoy your vacation and keep coming back to Enchanted Travel for all your travel needs!
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There is much to consider when planning a trip to the Maldives! Call us today and let one of our travel experts assist you. You can reach us at 402-390-9291 or get started here.