Hello lovely,
After talking to friends I’ve realised there are two types of travellers. Those who would rather pay a little extra for a fully refundable booking, and those who want to save a few dollars and roll the dice.
Long before Covid times I belonged to the former group. I liked knowing that if circumstances changed I could get out of the booking without paying a cent, and though it did cost more I’d always choose the “FREE cancellation before…” option on Booking.com.
Now that we’re living with unpredictable border closures and lockdowns it makes even more sense to do it that way. I’ve heard too many stories of people losing their hotel or holiday home money because a Covid cluster popped up and they couldn’t take the holiday they’d planned to have.
With things so tough for some hotels and holiday home owners I can understand why they’re not able to give a full refund, though of course it’s nice if they’re able to help a traveller out. But I don't ever want to be in a position where I need to ask them for that anyway.
And so I’ll pay a bit more if I’m using a hotel booking site. Or if I’m planning to book an Airbnb I’ll ask the owner if we have any wiggle room if travels have to unexpectedly change.
When I stayed at the lovely Cobhearthome in Maleny in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast hinterland I spoke to the owner first to explain that I was living in NSW, so while I wouldn’t change my plans if the borders closed I wouldn’t be able to come.
And while she couldn’t offer a refund she did say that if that happened she’d happily change my dates to any other time. And that’s all I needed to know.
In the end the borders were fine for that trip, and it ended up being a magical stay that I can’t wait to repeat sometime.
But how have you fared in the last year or so? Have you lost any of your holiday money to unexpected changes, or have you managed to avoid that by simply reaching out to people before you booked?
You can either hit reply on this email or come and let me know over on Instagram at @TheAmandaWoods or @sustainable_airbnbs.
And as I send this out I’m off to plan my next trip. A road trip to places I’ve never been before in NSW. And you just know how I’m going to be booking ;)
xA
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