Covid-19

What is happening in the travel industry?

The travel industry has never experienced anything like Covid-19 in history before. Since its classed as a force majeure or act of God, the usual policies and insurances do not apply because no part of the system has failed, nobody is at fault. This means every company large and small is in new territory and doing their best to follow guidelines that are only just being written as we go along. At the same time most are working with fewer staff due to illness and social isolation, just like every other sector. This means us and every supplier are having to deal with bookings in date order to prioritise fairly, and help everyone in a timely manner on top of our usual work.

I’m worried about my holiday later this year, should I cancel it now?

We understand that many people are concerned about losing their holiday and hard earned money.  International guidance on isolation and travel is currently changing daily so nobody can say with great certainty what the situation will be in a few weeks or months time, it is best to wait until your balance payment is due, in order to make an informed choice.

Some clients are approaching us now regarding holidays booked for August, September, and even December 2020 onwards, hoping for answers that we are simply unable to give, including some people who are considering cancelling.  Remember it costs you nothing more to wait.

Please be assured that as your final balance payment date approaches we will contact you with all up to date information and all the options available to you, something we simply cannot do far in advance. So far suppliers and airlines etc alike have been extremely fair and flexible, offering to rebook existing holidays *due within the restricted travel dates* within a generous time period, on the most part with no extra fees involved, or at worst only charging extra where a higher cost is applicable on the new dates, or charging a modest cancellation fee per person where appropriate. Please be aware that any fees that are incurred are the supplier’s choice and right, and do not come from us personally and are not within our control.

It would be a terrible shame to lose your holiday and deposit unnecessarily. Happily, so far we have managed to find a suitable resolution for everyone who has a holiday booked through us within the current travel ban duration.

Where do The Awesome Adventure Co. fit in?

Ultimately, although rebooking is best for everyone and might just help save the travel industry as a whole, some cancellations are inevitable. There seems to be some confusion about this.

We are a family run business currently working late including weekends, doing our very best.

We do not get paid out of non refundable deposits, nor any suppliers’ fees, and we have chosen to work with no admin fees on Covid 19 affected bookings during this difficult period. 

As an independent travel agent all our commission is lost with a cancellation. That means every aspect of booking and cancelling your holiday from our very first message contact with you to our very last telephone conversation, every time we are on hold for 2 hours calling a supplier on your behalf, all the research, payments, and paperwork we handle, the hours of time and effort is 100% for free. We consider it an investment in our future relationships with you and part of the service we choose to offer. We are happy to do it, and mostly the positive feedback and reviews and the uplifting reactions when we’ve managed to rebook each holiday is well worth it.

What do I need to do?

Nothing.

As your date approaches and we have worked through the bookings before yours, we will contact you and carefully explain all the options open to you at that time, liaise with suppliers on your behalf and seek the best resolution for you that is available.

How can I help you to help me?

-It would be very helpful if you would please not contact us about existing bookings more than 16 weeks in advance (with the exception of urgent non Covid-19 amendments/Disney dining reservations) as we cannot act on those at this time and it delays our progress working on bookings that are urgent and upcoming.

-If you are happy with the service we have given you it would be helpful to write a review for us on Facebook which will filter through to our website.

-We are still taking new bookings for 2021 and it would be great to help you with any future holiday plans.