We are now in the process of cancelling three trips that we had booked and planned to take by June.
There was a month travelling to Europe which we cancelled early in the coronavirus crisis. This was replaced with an Easter status credit run to New Zealand and a May trip to central Australia.
I can’t believe that just three weeks after booking these I now have to cancel them all. Not just to New Zealand but even to other parts of Australia.
We booked accommodation with major brands and independent hotels. Some of these were booked directly and others through third party sites. These were a combination of points, prepaid and cancellable bookings.
Our flights were a combination of points, cheap business class hacks, cheap economy purchases, and a business class points run during a Qantas Double Status Credit promotion. There were domestic and international flights with different carriers.
The learning from hotel and airline bookings are identical.
In this post:
Book Direct and Reduce The Hassle
The biggest problems we have had with bookings are the ones we booked using third parties.
When we booked directly with hotels such as Sofitel So Singapore they were very accommodating even though we had prepaid. Initially they agreed to move our booking however as things have got worse they are now providing a full refund.
Qantas Hotels on the other hand have gone into meltdown. They provide bookings for hundreds of hotels and previously they have been well priced, particularly when combined with a voucher they often send out with flight bookings. I have bookings with Novotel and Peppers in New Zealand. I called both hotels and they said they are happy to provide a refund, but you have to go through our booking agent.
A major problem is Qantas Hotels have turned off the phone, stopped doing web chat and only allow you to send an email that doesn’t get acknowledged
The same concept has also worked for airlines. KLM has been the best offering a full refund early in the crisis. Singapore Airlines are slower but the staff were helpful, they don’t provide a travel credit but allow you to push your bookings out. Qantas tried providing a travel credit which I find super frustrating. More on that later.
We used our $450 travel credit with Amex to book some business class flights to New Zealand. We called them twice and experienced a two to three hour wait time. It was only once the flight was cancelled that we could get a full refund…which brings us to our next tip.
Don’t Rush To Cancel Anything
Our experience with Qantas and the Sofitel is don’t rush to change your bookings. As the COVID-19 crisis unfolds, companies’ policies are changing and many are becoming more flexible. The travel industry as a whole is recognising that it will be months before people are able to travel, given the number of countries with outright travel bans at present.
This is so much easier when you book directly. We now have a full refund from both Qantas and Sofitel as a result of not accepting their original offer.
Prepay As Little As Possible
We made a number of bookings via the IHG app which were fully flexible and we cancelled through their very easy to use website. I am a big fan of IHG, they have good hotels across all price points. The rewards program is good and redemptions are easy.
We were also able to cancel our car rental in Italy very easily.
This current crisis has confirmed why you should never prepay, no matter how good a bargain you are getting. Milton has been saying this for years.
Use Points Whenever Possible
We have used points for hotels and flights. With hotels you can cancel very late and get all your points back, usually up to 48 hours before check in.
Frequent flyer redemption flights often have a small cancellation fee but much lower compared to a paid fare. Milton covers this off here.
Being The Organiser Has Its Pitfalls
I hate to say this one, however as the person organising the booking you often are responsible to clean up the mess. I am still chasing down some accomodation in Italy for our group, as a result of booking a non refundable direct booking.
This is not as bad as my friend’s daughter who organized for a group to fly TigerAir and now has Tiger Air credits equivalent to four one way flights to Adelaide!
If All Else Fails Dispute Your Credit Card Transaction
We have ended up disputing credit card transactions where we are getting no response from the hotel. It’s messy and slow but can be used as a last resort.
Summary
While we are yet to see any money back in our bank account we have the comfort that our trips are being cancelled by airlines and travel bans, so we should be seeing refunds in the coming weeks.
