Tales From the Travel Desk: April 2022
Lately, I've been busy booking trips for new clients (hooray and welcome!). I love planning detailed itineraries that I want to go perfectly for all of my travelers. But, as many of you know, travel doesn't always go smoothly. I want my clients' experiences to be as stress-free as possible, so when things go awry I step in to help smooth things over as much as possible.
In this post, I wanted to share one of my recent tales from the travel desk to show another side of what I do.
The situation:
A multi-generational family of 10 was traveling from the west coast to Washington D.C. for spring break. They had a layover in Austin, TX, and their next flight gets delayed...then it gets delayed again...then they hear that is won't be as delayed as they originally thought...then it gets very delayed...and finally it cancels.
They weren't the only ones this happened to on this particular weekend. Severe weather in Florida threw many airlines for a loop, and then their airline also suffered from some unnamed "technical issues." Hundreds of flights were canceled, just on their airline alone. It was not the way anyone had planned on starting their spring break.
The client got in touch with me to let me know what was going on: they weren't going to make it out of Austin that day...or the next day. They were going to have to spend two nights there (paid out of their own pockets) before getting on a plane. Instead of flying directly from Austin to DC, now they also had to fly through Chicago. To add insult to injury, they were going to miss their private guided walking tour of the National Mall. Yikes.
How I helped:
The first thing I did was to hop on my computer to see if there were any other flights from Austin to DC that day or the next. There were a couple of less-than-ideal options, but because they were last-minute tickets they were cost prohibitive.
As soon as I knew the clients weren't going to be arriving in DC on their scheduled arrival day, I called the hotel to inform them. I wanted to ensure that they didn't consider my clients "no-shows" and cancel their reservations. The hotel made a note of their updated arrival date, but informed me that they would still need to pay for the full number of nights--any changes or cancellations would have to have been made 48 hours in advance.
Next, I contacted the tour company that would be leading them on their walking tour of the National Mall. I knew that they wouldn't be able to get their money back on this either, so our only hope was rescheduling. After making a few calls, I was able to ensure they would still be able to take their tour--yes! This felt like a win. I also offered to help secure hotel rooms, but one of the clients had already booked rooms at the hotel he often stays at for work trips.
While the clients were disappointed--and exhausted--they recognized that there wasn't much they could do to fix their dilemma, so they made the most of their time in Austin. It's not a bad city to have to kill some time in!
Lessons learned:
There are some airlines that play well with others, and some that don't.
The clients were part of the loyalty program for this particular airline, and wanted to book their flights with them. I didn't see any problem with this--after all, I also fly with this airline often and without incident. While I knew that this airline didn't partner or code-share with any other airlines, I didn't realize that they would not re-book passengers on other airlines in the event of cancellation. This is something that most other airlines will do when their own flights cancel. They don't like it, but they do it. But no--this airline likes being a lone-wolf. While this usually isn't a problem, it wasn't ideal in this situation. Moving forward, I'll encourage clients to fly with airlines that are more likely to help them out in a pinch--and, personally, I'll only be flying this airline when I can make it a nonstop.
Travel insurance is a good idea.
I'll be honest with you--I've been thinking of travel insurance in relation to COVID for so long, that I lost sight of why it's a good idea all the time. The clients did not get travel insurance for any part of their trip. I think everyone was thinking that if they needed to cancel their trip before departure, they wouldn't end up losing a lot of money--therefore, they didn't need insurance. Right?
Maybe. If they had had (and used) certain credit cards that provide some coverage for unexpected travel expenses--like their hotel rooms in Austin--they would have been able to recoup some of their money, but likely not all of it. If they had a travel insurance policy with the right coverage, they could have been fully reimbursed for the Austin hotel rooms. The policy likely would have also covered the cost of the tour they missed, in the event they weren't able to reschedule.
Expect the best, but prepare for the worst.
This experience was a good reminder that there are a lot of things outside of our control. Do you need to be somewhere important on a certain date? Let's pad your arrival by one day to give you some peace of mind. Did you make it to your destination before your bags did? Let's make sure you remember to pack a change of clothes in your carry-on (especially if you're headed someplace where it might be more difficult to grab some replacements). Having some contingency plans in place, and having someone to help you get things back on track, are always a good idea. That's what I'm here for!
What are some ways you “prepare for the worst” when you travel? Let me know in the comments!
