Post Covid No Refund Blues and Future Travel

[MissTravel]

Hi, I am relatively new to disboards.

I proactively cancelled a trip. The travel company initially (not ABD,) would not cancel or agree to reschedule. They assured me that their people on the ground knew the situation and were monitoring events. The rep also told me via telephone that if anything happened, they would assist me if I were to get stuck. Eventually, with encouragement, they did offer a partial credit.

The day I would have landed, the airport closed and I would have been stuck on my own nickel; travel insurance never covers pandemics.

I am aware many companies would not even bother to offer me a partial credit since I was proactive; and yes I am aware they are fighting for their financial solvency. However, this has left a bad taste in my mouth for group travel via a company. I am deciding whether I would even be willing to use my credit (worth thousands).

Is anyone else discouraged from future group travel?
In retrospect, should I have held on to the last possible moment (I canceled 2 weeks before travel) to force them to cancel it themselves? Would they have even done so?
I have never cancelled a trip -- was a partial credit reasonable under these circumstances?
Which, if any, tour companies (including ABD) have enhanced their refund policies to encourage travel? Can anyone briefly provide details?
Which tour companies have had great refund/cancellation practices even before Covid times?

I hope I do not sound too whiny. I still have my health, my job, and personal safety. The loss of funds hurt, but I am perfectly solvent and able to afford future travel. I am aware not everyone is able to say these things at this time. However, I have always booked group travel because I thought it would be safer and better managed than what I could do on my own. I am thinking lately this is not necessarily the case.

Thanks to all of you (and DISboards) for providing me space to discuss.

 

[RogueX]

I never use travel companies for when I travel, but that comes from having been a travel agent years ago. I tend to piece together my own adventures for my family.

As far as your particular situation, some of that may depend on the fine print in the company itself. With everything, it's always the fine print.

As for using the partial credit that you have, that really does depend on how you feel about whether it's worth giving the company another shot.

 

[TXTransplant]

Hi, I am relatively new to disboards.

I proactively cancelled a trip. The travel company initially (not ABD,) would not cancel or agree to reschedule. They assured me that their people on the ground knew the situation and were monitoring events. The rep also told me via telephone that if anything happened, they would assist me if I were to get stuck. Eventually, with encouragement, they did offer a partial credit.

The day I would have landed, the airport closed and I would have been stuck on my own nickel; travel insurance never covers pandemics.

I am aware many companies would not even bother to offer me a partial credit since I was proactive; and yes I am aware they are fighting for their financial solvency. However, this has left a bad taste in my mouth for group travel via a company. I am deciding whether I would even be willing to use my credit (worth thousands).

Is anyone else discouraged from future group travel?
In retrospect, should I have held on to the last possible moment (I canceled 2 weeks before travel) to force them to cancel it themselves? Would they have even done so?
I have never cancelled a trip -- was a partial credit reasonable under these circumstances?
Which, if any, tour companies (including ABD) have enhanced their refund policies to encourage travel? Can anyone briefly provide details?
Which tour companies have had great refund/cancellation practices even before Covid times?

I hope I do not sound too whiny. I still have my health, my job, and personal safety. The loss of funds hurt, but I am perfectly solvent and able to afford future travel. I am aware not everyone is able to say these things at this time. However, I have always booked group travel because I thought it would be safer and better managed than what I could do on my own. I am thinking lately this is not necessarily the case.

Thanks to all of you (and DISboards) for providing me space to discuss.

You've provided a lot of food for discussion, but I am going to address specifically what I bolded above - personally, I think this is true only in VERY specific circumstances.

Don't get me wrong, I love group travel, including ABD. My Nat Geo trip to Alaska was officially cancelled yesterday. If I were to ever travel to Japan or China or even Australia/New Zealand with my son, I would most definitely book group travel.

But, just to put it in perspective - Nat Geo has $14k of my money. I made the final payment of $13k the first week of March. I never even considered cancelling because I did not want to lose my deposit, and I was actually hopeful the trip might go after we rescheduled to July. They have said I will get a refund in 2-3 weeks, which is fine.

Along with Nat Geo, I had purchased airline tickets for this trip with United, Delta, and Alaska. I had also booked a hotel in Seattle, and an Airbnb and rental car in Anchorage.

The Airbnb had a very lenient cancellation policy, and my credit card is already processing my refund. It is my standard practice to only book Airbnb properties with cancellation policies that are favorable towards guests. This is just something I do to protect myself.

I also almost exclusively book fully-refundable hotel rooms - which is what I did in this case. I actually had not even paid a deposit for the room in Seattle, but I was able to cancel it with no penalty.

I will be able to cancel my rental car with no penalty.

I've already been refunded by Delta. United is withholding a refund that I am entitled to by DOT rules (but worst-case, I still get a voucher good for 2 years), and I haven't contacted Alaska, yet (I still have a few weeks to get that sorted out).

I will probably be out about $100 and some Chase points for the Alaska reservation, only because I will not be able to rebook with them within their timeline (assuming they haven't changed it in the past couple of weeks).

I'm spelling this all out because, had I booked our entire trip to Alaska on my own, based on my own habits/"best" practices, I would have been able to get my money back on my schedule, rather than having to wait for Nat Geo to cancel.

However, it would have meant a lot more hours on the phone and just overall hassle for me.

Similarly, we did an on-our-own trip to the Canadian Rockies last summer, and if we'd had to cancel, I would have gotten my money back there, too (at least for the major costs, like hotel and rental car).

My point in sharing all of this, is I really don't think group travel offers great advantages and/or protection for ALL trips, particularly those in the US/North America. In fact, I think most US/North America trips are VASTLY overpriced compared to what you can book on your own (and this is true for all of the big providers, not just ABD). And I certainly wouldn't feel any SAFER traveling with ABD or Tauck or Nat Geo in the US or Canada than I would just traveling with my son.

When you turn over your vacation planning to a travel agent and/or group travel company, you are losing a lot of control over how your money gets spent. However, there is a convenience factor associated with that. How much anyone is willing to pay for that "convenience" is an individual decision.

For me personally, that convenience is worth more when traveling to far-flung or remote locations that may have language and/or cultural barriers to overcome. In the case of Alaska, I just really didn't want to plan the itinerary myself, and I didn't want to do all that driving on the trip.

This 8-day Nat Geo trip, however, would have BY FAR been the most expensive single trip we've ever taken, including trips to Germany, Italy, two trips to Hawaii, and a trip to the Canadian Rockies. I still want to visit Alaska, and I still want to do it with Nat Geo, but the high cost is a factor that does give me pause.

As a side note, I'm trying to find a "substitute" plan for my son and me so at least we get to do ~something~ this summer. We live in TX, so basically the only realistic options are to drive somewhere in-state. I have been looking at Airbnb houses in the Austin area (preferably with a pool and on the lake), and they are CRAZY expensive with ridiculously strict cancellation policies and very high non-refundable "service fees". I just can't pull the trigger and booked a few nights at a resort in San Antonio instead (fully refundable up until the day before we are supposed to check in).

It's just really hard to cough up a few thousand right now for travel, knowing you are beholden to someone else's very strict terms and conditions.

 

[sayhello]

My point in sharing all of this, is I really don't think group travel offers great advantages and/or protection for ALL trips, particularly those in the US/North America. In fact, I think most US/North America trips are VASTLY overpriced compared to what you can book on your own (and this is true for all of the big providers, not just ABD). And I certainly wouldn't feel any SAFER traveling with ABD or Tauck or Nat Geo in the US or Canada than I would just traveling with my son.

I kind of have to disagree with this. The protections you have are if things go wrong during your trip. If for some reason plans have to change (transportation, lodging, tour providers, whatever) your group travel operator will take care of those things, and *not* charge you a penny extra. It *is* a bigger deal on really complex, foreign trips, but it could be true of any trip. A fire in the chunnel, so that the trains are all stopped for days? ABD arranged a bus and a ferry to get folks from London to Paris. Tsunami in China or Japan? ABD re-arranged flights, extended hotel stays, came up with alternative activities, etc. And none of the Guests had to spend a minute on the phone arranging it, or pull out a credit card to pay for last-minute plans. I think those kinds of protections are well worth the extra money.

It is hard to make plans these days with the uncertainty. I, personally, have no travel plans for the foreseeable future, partially because I just *don't* want to deal with all this uncertainty again. But I think it was seriously hard to cancel all of the stuff I arranged for my pre-days, because some of them, I *did* have to play "chicken" with, and hope they cancelled before the date of the tour. (They all did, eventually).

Hi, I am relatively new to disboards.

I proactively cancelled a trip. The travel company initially (not ABD,) would not cancel or agree to reschedule. They assured me that their people on the ground knew the situation and were monitoring events. The rep also told me via telephone that if anything happened, they would assist me if I were to get stuck. Eventually, with encouragement, they did offer a partial credit.

The day I would have landed, the airport closed and I would have been stuck on my own nickel; travel insurance never covers pandemics.

I am aware many companies would not even bother to offer me a partial credit since I was proactive; and yes I am aware they are fighting for their financial solvency. However, this has left a bad taste in my mouth for group travel via a company. I am deciding whether I would even be willing to use my credit (worth thousands).

Is anyone else discouraged from future group travel?
In retrospect, should I have held on to the last possible moment (I canceled 2 weeks before travel) to force them to cancel it themselves? Would they have even done so?
I have never cancelled a trip -- was a partial credit reasonable under these circumstances?
Which, if any, tour companies (including ABD) have enhanced their refund policies to encourage travel? Can anyone briefly provide details?
Which tour companies have had great refund/cancellation practices even before Covid times?

I hope I do not sound too whiny. I still have my health, my job, and personal safety. The loss of funds hurt, but I am perfectly solvent and able to afford future travel. I am aware not everyone is able to say these things at this time. However, I have always booked group travel because I thought it would be safer and better managed than what I could do on my own. I am thinking lately this is not necessarily the case.

Thanks to all of you (and DISboards) for providing me space to discuss.

I don't think you're being whiny. You can be grateful and disappointed at the same time.

To answer your question, under normal circumstances, a partial credit for a trip that you cancelled on your own would be a very good outcome. Most group travel companies have cancellation policies where after a certain date, your trip is completely nonrefundable.

Of course, these aren't normal circumstances. Some group travel companies have been more pro-active about cancelling trips than others have. At first, ABD was extremely bad about this, cancelling trips on people who had already arrived at their destination for the ABDs, stranding people in those countries. And those people had been in contact with ABD before hand, and been assured the trips were a Go. They have, as time has gone on, gotten much better about this. They have allowed people within certain parameters to re-book trips. They are being more liberal about how they are handling deposits. They are cancelling entire month's worth of trips in advance now. But the one thing they aren't doing is any sort of retroactive compensation for people who proactively cancelled a trip themselves that ABD ended up cancelling later.

Anyways, this experience has not totally turned me off from group travel. It has, however, made me much more cautious about booking it. I'm far less likely to book way in advance. I will likely wait longer to book airfare.

Sayhello

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Hi, I am relatively new to disboards.

I proactively cancelled a trip. The travel company initially (not ABD,) would not cancel or agree to reschedule. They assured me that their people on the ground knew the situation and were monitoring events. The rep also told me via telephone that if anything happened, they would assist me if I were to get stuck. Eventually, with encouragement, they did offer a partial credit.

The day I would have landed, the airport closed and I would have been stuck on my own nickel; travel insurance never covers pandemics.

I am aware many companies would not even bother to offer me a partial credit since I was proactive; and yes I am aware they are fighting for their financial solvency. However, this has left a bad taste in my mouth for group travel via a company. I am deciding whether I would even be willing to use my credit (worth thousands).

Is anyone else discouraged from future group travel?
In retrospect, should I have held on to the last possible moment (I canceled 2 weeks before travel) to force them to cancel it themselves? Would they have even done so?
I have never cancelled a trip -- was a partial credit reasonable under these circumstances?
Which, if any, tour companies (including ABD) have enhanced their refund policies to encourage travel? Can anyone briefly provide details?
Which tour companies have had great refund/cancellation practices even before Covid times?

I hope I do not sound too whiny. I still have my health, my job, and personal safety. The loss of funds hurt, but I am perfectly solvent and able to afford future travel. I am aware not everyone is able to say these things at this time. However, I have always booked group travel because I thought it would be safer and better managed than what I could do on my own. I am thinking lately this is not necessarily the case.

Thanks to all of you (and DISboards) for providing me space to discuss.

In my experience during these events, it's not just group travel that left guests in this cancellation/refund/credit situation. I am now wary of any travel that has a non-refundable deposit or requires a balance to be paid months ahead of time. I, too, had a choice, with ABD, to PIF and wait it out, but I honestly couldn't handle the stress of thinking about the trip anymore. I think the partial credit was, perhaps, a good compromise in this situation? But I totally understand that it left a bad taste in your mouth. I am in a similar situation with a resort in Riviera Maya Mexico. We were supposed to go there March 13 - March 20. I had up until 21 days prior to check-in to cancel and get out money back. In late February, there was zero indication, at least in my state, that stay-at-home orders were imminent or the border would be closed. About a week before we were supposed to go, the writing was on the wall (particularly when my DS12's school said he may have to self-quarantine for 14 days after we got back) and I called the resort to cancel. Their written policy was to give me a credit, which they did (and acted like they were doing me a favor) and then they put a date restriction on it (which was not written in the initial terms and conditions). The reservationist at the resort really couldn't understand why I would be cancelling . . . meanwhile, our DS12's school was shut on March 12, on March 16, our state went into stay-at-home and, on March 21 (one day after we were supposed to return), the US/Mexico border shut. And to top it all off, that resort is now closed . . . . Am I happy I have a credit - no!! But did they follow the letter of their terms and conditions? - kind of. In the future, I will book travel with more lenient cancellation policies. Most likely, not a lot of group travel or cruises!

 

[RSM]

I think one of the interesting things will be what happens to those inexpensive, but non-refundable rates for hotels, excursions, transportation, etc. In many cases we have booked these rates and really haven't saved a lot relative to the cost of a trip. Going forward, for the sake of an extra $10 or $15 a night, I think we may be more inclined to not book a non-refundable hotel room.

 

[TXTransplant]

I kind of have to disagree with this. The protections you have are if things go wrong during your trip. If for some reason plans have to change (transportation, lodging, tour providers, whatever) your group travel operator will take care of those things, and *not* charge you a penny extra. It *is* a bigger deal on really complex, foreign trips, but it could be true of any trip. A fire in the chunnel, so that the trains are all stopped for days? ABD arranged a bus and a ferry to get folks from London to Paris. Tsunami in China or Japan? ABD re-arranged flights, extended hotel stays, came up with alternative activities, etc. And none of the Guests had to spend a minute on the phone arranging it, or pull out a credit card to pay for last-minute plans. I think those kinds of protections are well worth the extra money.

I agree with you on complex, international trips. That's why in my original post I even said that, if I were traveling to Japan or China or even Australia/New Zealand, I would opt for group travel.

I just think on domestic and North America trips, though, the extra benefits don't necessarily add up to the higher cost, especially since there is no language/cultural barrier and no significant currency difference. I think on these trips, you are mostly paying for "convenience". That's not to say convenience isn't nice...I just think the tangible value for the much higher prices on domestic trips is harder to quantify.

Not to mention, you're giving up a lot of flexibility, especially when it comes to cancellations and/or changes.

 

[Mathmagicland]

Going forward, for the sake of an extra $10 or $15 a night, I think we may be more inclined to not book a non-refundable hotel room.

This can also end up saving money, sometimes pretty significant savings, as you can rebook when lower rates pop up. I’ve sometimes rebooked a reservation 4 or 5 times, as rates dropped closer to arrival date and hotels look to book unsold rooms.

 

[StephHow83]

You've provided a lot of food for discussion, but I am going to address specifically what I bolded above - personally, I think this is true only in VERY specific circumstances.

Don't get me wrong, I love group travel, including ABD. My Nat Geo trip to Alaska was officially cancelled yesterday. If I were to ever travel to Japan or China or even Australia/New Zealand with my son, I would most definitely book group travel.

But, just to put it in perspective - Nat Geo has $14k of my money. I made the final payment of $13k the first week of March. I never even considered cancelling because I did not want to lose my deposit, and I was actually hopeful the trip might go after we rescheduled to July. They have said I will get a refund in 2-3 weeks, which is fine.

Along with Nat Geo, I had purchased airline tickets for this trip with United, Delta, and Alaska. I had also booked a hotel in Seattle, and an Airbnb and rental car in Anchorage.

The Airbnb had a very lenient cancellation policy, and my credit card is already processing my refund. It is my standard practice to only book Airbnb properties with cancellation policies that are favorable towards guests. This is just something I do to protect myself.

I also almost exclusively book fully-refundable hotel rooms - which is what I did in this case. I actually had not even paid a deposit for the room in Seattle, but I was able to cancel it with no penalty.

I will be able to cancel my rental car with no penalty.

I've already been refunded by Delta. United is withholding a refund that I am entitled to by DOT rules (but worst-case, I still get a voucher good for 2 years), and I haven't contacted Alaska, yet (I still have a few weeks to get that sorted out).

I will probably be out about $100 and some Chase points for the Alaska reservation, only because I will not be able to rebook with them within their timeline (assuming they haven't changed it in the past couple of weeks).

I'm spelling this all out because, had I booked our entire trip to Alaska on my own, based on my own habits/"best" practices, I would have been able to get my money back on my schedule, rather than having to wait for Nat Geo to cancel.

However, it would have meant a lot more hours on the phone and just overall hassle for me.

Similarly, we did an on-our-own trip to the Canadian Rockies last summer, and if we'd had to cancel, I would have gotten my money back there, too (at least for the major costs, like hotel and rental car).

My point in sharing all of this, is I really don't think group travel offers great advantages and/or protection for ALL trips, particularly those in the US/North America. In fact, I think most US/North America trips are VASTLY overpriced compared to what you can book on your own (and this is true for all of the big providers, not just ABD). And I certainly wouldn't feel any SAFER traveling with ABD or Tauck or Nat Geo in the US or Canada than I would just traveling with my son.

When you turn over your vacation planning to a travel agent and/or group travel company, you are losing a lot of control over how your money gets spent. However, there is a convenience factor associated with that. How much anyone is willing to pay for that "convenience" is an individual decision.

For me personally, that convenience is worth more when traveling to far-flung or remote locations that may have language and/or cultural barriers to overcome. In the case of Alaska, I just really didn't want to plan the itinerary myself, and I didn't want to do all that driving on the trip.

This 8-day Nat Geo trip, however, would have BY FAR been the most expensive single trip we've ever taken, including trips to Germany, Italy, two trips to Hawaii, and a trip to the Canadian Rockies. I still want to visit Alaska, and I still want to do it with Nat Geo, but the high cost is a factor that does give me pause.

As a side note, I'm trying to find a "substitute" plan for my son and me so at least we get to do ~something~ this summer. We live in TX, so basically the only realistic options are to drive somewhere in-state. I have been looking at Airbnb houses in the Austin area (preferably with a pool and on the lake), and they are CRAZY expensive with ridiculously strict cancellation policies and very high non-refundable "service fees". I just can't pull the trigger and booked a few nights at a resort in San Antonio instead (fully refundable up until the day before we are supposed to check in).

It's just really hard to cough up a few thousand right now for travel, knowing you are beholden to someone else's very strict terms and conditions.

We’re from Texas too and canceled Caymans and Peru summer trips! We also looked at AirBnbs around Austin with pools and my goodness I can stay at a 5 star resort for cheaper!! We also have a stay booked at JW Marriott Hill Country...waiting time see how things go between now and then!! We’ve also thought about renting a RV or taking a road trip and going up to Mount Rushmore and Jackson Hole...and if Glacier is open by then maybe there as well!! Good luck!!!

 

[TXTransplant]

We’re from Texas too and canceled Caymans and Peru summer trips! We also looked at AirBnbs around Austin with pools and my goodness I can stay at a 5 star resort for cheaper!! We also have a stay booked at JW Marriott Hill Country...waiting time see how things go between now and then!! We’ve also thought about renting a RV or taking a road trip and going up to Mount Rushmore and Jackson Hole...and if Glacier is open by then maybe there as well!! Good luck!!!

I booked La Cantera for the third week of July today. They had a great rate special, no deposit, and cancel with no charge up to the day of arrival. I booked in the villas, which is away from the main hotel, and has its own pool (plus use of the main pools) and golf carts to drive around the property. If their pools and spa aren’t open by our travel dates, I’ll cancel.

I am just not a big road trip fan, and since my son only has a permit, he can’t really help me with the driving. Texas is so frustrating because you can drive all day to the west or north and still be IN TEXAS! I feel so captive living here!

 

[StephHow83]

I booked La Cantera for the third week of July today. They had a great rate special, no deposit, and cancel with no charge up to the day of arrival. I booked in the villas, which is away from the main hotel, and has its own pool (plus use of the main pools) and golf carts to drive around the property. If their pools and spa aren’t open by our travel dates, I’ll cancel.

I am just not a big road trip fan, and since my son only has a permit, he can’t really help me with the driving. Texas is so frustrating because you can drive all day to the west or north and still be IN TEXAS! I feel so captive living here!

We’ve been there before and it’s awesome!! And my goodness I feel ya on Texas being big...we drove to Grand Canyon...most was the time traveled was Texas as we are in East Texas on the state line!!

 

[TXTransplant]

We’ve been there before and it’s awesome!! And my goodness I feel ya on Texas being big...we drove to Grand Canyon...most was the time traveled was Texas as we are in East Texas on the state line!!

Mile marker 880!

 

[Sakura1017]

I think it's a mix of both. I would prefer to book my own on airfare and transportation.The trip itself I would book with a reputable tour group. Unfortunately, no one could predict a pandemic would occur so I would definitely get trip insurance but not with the tour company itself. Since majorities of tour companies will give you credit for a future trip, and I would rather have monetary amount in case you are not able to travel within that time frame.

Booking with a tour group does have advantages that if something goes wrong, they know how to connect and make sure you get to your destination safely. In addition, if you are in a country that you don't speak the language that is helpful as well.

I think you were lucky as well that you got a partial amount back for canceling on your own. I know it's frustrating that potentially if you waited you may have had a full refund. Yet, you got to make that decision in case they decided not to cancel, and it seems like you did the right thing at the time.

In terms of future booking, join or look at the other forums for the other tour groups and find out how they handled the COVID situation. I was supposed to be going on my first trip this year, and I definitely am not happy with how Disney has handled the situation. (i.e. pushing back paid in full) Unfortunately, I also booked another trip for next year during opening day pre-covid so that was also another mistake.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Hi, I am relatively new to disboards.

I proactively cancelled a trip. The travel company initially (not ABD,) would not cancel or agree to reschedule. They assured me that their people on the ground knew the situation and were monitoring events. The rep also told me via telephone that if anything happened, they would assist me if I were to get stuck. Eventually, with encouragement, they did offer a partial credit.

The day I would have landed, the airport closed and I would have been stuck on my own nickel; travel insurance never covers pandemics.

Not all travel insurance companies exclude pandemics. I had a policy with AIG and they covered pandemics until March 11th, when they issued an endorsement excluding them for all policies written from that date forward. I was very cautious with the policy I paid for to ensure that I had the broadest coverage available.

I am aware many companies would not even bother to offer me a partial credit since I was proactive; and yes I am aware they are fighting for their financial solvency. However, this has left a bad taste in my mouth for group travel via a company. I am deciding whether I would even be willing to use my credit (worth thousands).

I have never cancelled a trip -- was a partial credit reasonable under these circumstances?
Which, if any, tour companies (including ABD) have enhanced their refund policies to encourage travel? Can anyone briefly provide details?
Which tour companies have had great refund/cancellation practices even before Covid times?

Thanks to all of you (and DISboards) for providing me space to discuss.

I will speak from personal experience. I had a trip booked to Russia and Norway (departure was supposed to be this weekend) and had paid a large deposit to Scott Dunn. Even though their terms and conditions stated that they would refund me in full if they had to cancel the trip (which they did), they refused to refund me. To me this is unacceptable. I was not interested in a future travel credit for the reason that I will not be booking any sort of group or individual travel that requires deposits upfront until there is an effective vaccine for COVID-19. If I were in your shoes I would be trying my hardest and pursuing all avenues to get my deposit back.

 

[MissTravel]

Not all travel insurance companies exclude pandemics. I had a policy with AIG and they covered pandemics until March 11th, when they issued an endorsement excluding them for all policies written from that date forward. I was very cautious with the policy I paid for to ensure that I had the broadest coverage available.



I will speak from personal experience. I had a trip booked to Russia and Norway (departure was supposed to be this weekend) and had paid a large deposit to Scott Dunn. Even though their terms and conditions stated that they would refund me in full if they had to cancel the trip (which they did), they refused to refund me. To me this is unacceptable. I was not interested in a future travel credit for the reason that I will not be booking any sort of group or individual travel that requires deposits upfront until there is an effective vaccine for COVID-19. If I were in your shoes I would be trying my hardest and pursuing all avenues to get my deposit back.

That's horrible. You have a legal leg to stand on. Scott Dunn actually broke their contract with you.

My situation seems different. Our contract was that I couldn't cancel this late and expect compensation. However, they broke the implied warranty in their product (and I believe there are legal precedents for this): they would provide expertise to provide safe, enjoyable travel. I do not think they exhibited "expertise" if I was able to assess the situation better than they even if I did not have "assets on the ground" like they did. It is only the cynic in me who thinks they were trying to avoid giving me a 100% credit or refund that makes me feel bad about the compromise we reached of a partial credit.

At the suggestion of others in this thread, I have been looking around at the changes in policy many travel companies have implemented. I think the changes I am reading about are not drastic enough to make me want to put money on an expensive, organized trip. The one exception I would make is G-adventures. Their change/cancellation policy would encourage me to travel with them again. ADB, TB, TFA, etc all need to be more enticing before I will bite again.

Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful responses.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

That's horrible. You have a legal leg to stand on. Scott Dunn actually broke their contract with you.

My situation seems different. Our contract was that I couldn't cancel this late and expect compensation. However, they broke the implied warranty in their product (and I believe there are legal precedents for this): they would provide expertise to provide safe, enjoyable travel. I do not think they exhibited "expertise" if I was able to assess the situation better than they even if I did not have "assets on the ground" like they did. It is only the cynic in me who thinks they were trying to avoid giving me a 100% credit or refund that makes me feel bad about the compromise we reached of a partial credit.

At the suggestion of others in this thread, I have been looking around at the changes in policy many travel companies have implemented. I think the changes I am reading about are not drastic enough to make me want to put money on an expensive, organized trip. The one exception I would make is G-adventures. Their change/cancellation policy would encourage me to travel with them again. ADB, TB, TFA, etc all need to be more enticing before I will bite again.

Have you tried disputing the charge with your credit card company? I have friends who are doing this with a good degree of success. Just a thought. Would you mind sharing who the company is that you used? They should be offering you a 100% credit at the very least.

I am with you -- I don't want to have any trips booked for next year that require an upfront deposit. Not until I know that there is a vaccine. I did book hotels and airfare to Singapore (5 nights), the Maldives (7 nights) and London (6 nights) next April / May. No deposits required and all can be cancelled up to 24 hours before travel with no penalty. When the time gets closer I will use Tours by Locals to book day tours in Singapore. As an aside we had a few tours booked with Tours by Locals in Norway and Sweden this summer and they refunded my deposits in full without any issue. I would definitely use them again and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

 

[MissTravel]

Have you tried disputing the charge with your credit card company? I have friends who are doing this with a good degree of success. Just a thought. Would you mind sharing who the company is that you used? They should be offering you a 100% credit at the very least.

I am with you -- I don't want to have any trips booked for next year that require an upfront deposit. Not until I know that there is a vaccine. I did book hotels and airfare to Singapore (5 nights), the Maldives (7 nights) and London (6 nights) next April / May. No deposits required and all can be cancelled up to 24 hours before travel with no penalty. When the time gets closer I will use Tours by Locals to book day tours in Singapore. As an aside we had a few tours booked with Tours by Locals in Norway and Sweden this summer and they refunded my deposits in full without any issue. I would definitely use them again and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

I called the credit card company to ask if I can invoke my travel insurance. I got a flat no. I think if I tried to dispute the charge, the travel company would just claim I was at fault for cancelling. Then I would have to argue that they were putting me in danger by not cancelling the trip, etc. That could really get drawn out. I have thought about calling them out on social media, but I would really have to be willing to burn those bridges.

The issue, the company claims, is that they too were stiffed by tourism vendors they work with. They said they couldn't get the full credit back, so they are also not able too offer it to me. That does not really make sense to me -- I had cancelled some other events/trips at the last minute that was supposed to occur before that trip with no problems -- with a full refund. I don't really know how to force someone to give me money that I have already turned over that they claim to no longer have and have no way of retrieving. Gives me a headache just thinking about this.

In the future, I may just directly contact tour companies in that country rather than going through an american travel company. This would seem to require more research.

 

[sayhello]

I called the credit card company to ask if I can invoke my travel insurance. I got a flat no. I think if I tried to dispute the charge, the travel company would just claim I was at fault for cancelling. Then I would have to argue that they were putting me in danger by not cancelling the trip, etc. That could really get drawn out. I have thought about calling them out on social media, but I would really have to be willing to burn those bridges.

The issue, the company claims, is that they too were stiffed by tourism vendors they work with. They said they couldn't get the full credit back, so they are also not able too offer it to me. That does not really make sense to me -- I had cancelled some other events/trips at the last minute that was supposed to occur before that trip with no problems -- with a full refund. I don't really know how to force someone to give me money that I have already turned over that they claim to no longer have and have no way of retrieving. Gives me a headache just thinking about this.

In the future, I may just directly contact tour companies in that country rather than going through an american travel company. This would seem to require more research.

Yes, I believe that for most of the people I know (myself included) that successfully disputed with our credit cards, it was for tours where the touring company had cancelled, but they offered only a credit and not a refund. I successfully got a refund for my pricey local tour that way. But it took a serious case of playing chicken with the tour operator as to who would cancel first.

Sayhello

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I called the credit card company to ask if I can invoke my travel insurance. I got a flat no. I think if I tried to dispute the charge, the travel company would just claim I was at fault for cancelling. Then I would have to argue that they were putting me in danger by not cancelling the trip, etc. That could really get drawn out. I have thought about calling them out on social media, but I would really have to be willing to burn those bridges.

I would definitely file a dispute with your credit card company if I were in your shoes. You cancelled because they were not acting in your best interest. It's worth a shot. And I'd fight them if they tried to deny the dispute.

The issue, the company claims, is that they too were stiffed by tourism vendors they work with. They said they couldn't get the full credit back, so they are also not able too offer it to me. That does not really make sense to me -- I had cancelled some other events/trips at the last minute that was supposed to occur before that trip with no problems -- with a full refund. I don't really know how to force someone to give me money that I have already turned over that they claim to no longer have and have no way of retrieving. Gives me a headache just thinking about this.

Any issues they may have with their vendors isn't your concern. You need to feed your family and put clothes on your back, so you need to preserve and protect your capital.

I think realistically if the vendors have a reasonable expectation that this company will book with them again they will refund their money. Especially if it's a big US company.

I believe many frequent travelers, myself included, are taking note of how companies are treating their customers during these unprecedented times. The companies that act as "heroes" I won't hesitate to use again (Hilton, Chase travel portal, Air Canada, Tours by Locals) and those acting like "zeroes" (looking at you WestJet, Scott Dunn, Quark) will never see my business again. On the fence about British Airways since they took over 2 months to refund me $864.00, but since I have over 350,000 Avios with them I'll definitely use them again.

 

[MissTravel]

I've learned a lot from this experience. I would definitely play the chicken game if it came up. Better yet, for now I will avoid all travel until a vaccine has been developed and tested to be a success. That seems to be 18-24 months into the future, so not until the Spring of 2022. Until then, my $$$ stays in the bank (or gets used to boost my local economy).

If anyone has had a better experience, please let me know who the other "heroes" are. I'll make it a point to work with them in the future.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughtful responses. Be well!