Canceling your reservations free of charge in 2021 is as difficult as planning a 100% guaranteed vacation. Airlines, hotel platforms, Airbnb or Gtes de France … Who is proposing what at the start of the year uncertain about the consequences of the epidemic. MoneyVox goes around the world round the default question …
Airline ticket prices are down for almost all of the most popular destinations in 2020, with discounts of up to 10% off normal, says the travel search engine Liligo. While the government remains cautious about the rest of the health crisis in France and in Europe, should we crack for a vacation soon, skiing or in the sun? We take stock of cancellation and refund conditions in force.
What the law says?
Currently, no specific legal framework is in force, unlike the first containment in March and May. Clearly, an operator is free or not to reimburse you if you cancel your trip because you are sick with the Covid or if you cannot move due to traffic restrictions decided by the authorities. During the first confinement, for contracts signed between March 1 and September 15, 2020, the travel agency, the airline or the cruise line could offer you a instead of a reimbursement in order to avoid managing massive reimbursements of a stroke.
At present, each company is free to offer its own conditions to reassure and insure its customer. In this context, if non-refundable flights and fixed dates are a means of savings, better to take precautions. When booking your flight or accommodation, choose bookings that have flexible change and cancellation policies.
Who does what?
SNCF has set up a specific system linked to Covid. For tickets between January 5 and March 7, the exchange and refund terms have been relaxed: up to 3 days before departure, tickets are 100% refundable, writes the company on the reservation page.
At Air France, any trip booked up to the end of September 2021 can be changed (destination, dates or both) free of charge. If the flight is canceled due to the outbreak, you will be reimbursed. Airlines always, EasyJet waived all change or cancellation fees up to 14 days before departure. Any canceled flight can be exchanged for a voucher valid until 2021. Ryanair waived its flight change fees for new bookings until March 21, 2021. Finally, Transavia, the Air France subsidiary, explains that if you do not wish to travel, you can request the postponement of your trip until October 30, 2021 inclusive without any modification costs. You can make this modification up to 2 hours before your flight. However, a price difference may apply if the price of the new flight is higher.
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Most companies offer Covid insurance but they are chargeable. Typical search engines Lilige and Opodo rely on broad information for their customers and apply the policy of each company.
On the hotel reservation platform Booking, a long message that sums up the general position and invites caution: For reservations made from April 6, 2020, we advise you to take into account the risks related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) as well as the measures put in place by the different governments. If you don’t book a flexible rate, you may not be able to claim a refund. Your cancellation request will be processed by the establishment, depending on the conditions you have chosen as well as the laws relating to consumer rights, if applicable. In this uncertain time, we advise you to book an option with free cancellation. If your travel plans are subsequently changed, then you will be able to cancel free of charge until the end of the free cancellation period.
Do I need to take out Covid insurance?
About twenty countries ask French travelers to present travel insurance, specific to Covid-19, guaranteeing coverage of medical and hospital costs. Why? The French are well covered by social security and their complementary health in France. But abroad, the probability of spending 50,000 euros on medical costs is not zero, explains Quentin Poizat, Commercial Director Leisure and Tourism at the insurer Allianz Partners France in Figaro.
The price of the contract depends on the destination, the duration of your trip and the age. According to Tourdumondiste.com, prices fluctuate from 36 to 70 euros per month for a 27-year-old traveler, outside the United States and Canada with insurers such as Ava, Allianz or AssurTravel. However, the country visited must not have been advised against by the authorities before departure. In addition, confinement, the closure of a border or quite simply the renunciation of travel for fear of traveling, remain excluded from insurance.
And when is your bank card insurance? If those included in conventional bank cards are limited, high-end bank cards such as Visa Premier or MasterCard Gold offer superior guarantees, almost equivalent to market insurers, for healthcare costs 頻, Explain Le Figaro. However, the difference will be made on the cancellation guarantee. While it is triggered in all cases with the main insurers, it is more difficult to activate on high-end cards. Bank card insurance followed the post-Covid movement in terms of the scope of coverage, but more limited, especially on the cancellation guarantee. For example, they do not cover accommodation costs in the event of quarantine, nor last-minute cancellation due to the airport fever. In general, they are less reactive and will take longer to reimburse, because travel insurance is not their primary business, underlines Geoffroy Bonnet-Eymard, director of Chapka Assurances, interviewed by the daily.
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For his part, Airbnb offers a 50% refund in the event of cancellation due to Covid (illness but also confinement). The remaining 50% is at the discretion of the tenant who may or may not lower the rigidity of their refund policy. In Gtes de France, we want to be optimistic and we no longer raise the question of a possible cancellation. Since December 15, our owners can welcome you again in their accommodation. You can stay there in complete safety thanks to the health protocol in place since May 2020, writes the site on its page dedicated to Covid-19. If you cannot honor your stay, the usual cancellation conditions apply for hotels or campsites. At Gtes de France, for example, in the event of a cancellation between the 7th and the 2nd day inclusive before the start of the stay, 75% of the amount of the rent and of the amount of services directly linked to the stay will be retained. In the event of cancellation the day before or on the day of arrival initially provided for in the contract or of no-show, there will be no refund.
The case of travel agencies
If you have booked your stay through a travel agency and you cancel your stay because you test positive just before departure, nothing is specific: We are in the context of a classic trip cancellation, which is accompanied by penalties provided for in the contract. The trip remains possible but the customer cancels the Covid for personal reasons in this case. The Agency cannot be held responsible. (…) Everything depends on the travel insurance contract, says Tourist Echo, lawyer Emmanuelle Llop, from Equinoxe Avocats. In most cases, travel agencies and tour operators offer the customer to take out travel insurance … In general, it is always best to take out comprehensive insurance (cancellation, medical assistance and repatriation) with his trip, with or without transport. You should also check the coverage offered by your bank card if you think that it may be sufficient, because there are often surprises when declaring a claim, the insurer of the card, specifies the lawyer. at Figaro.
What about my car reservation?
Carefully check the general conditions of sale in the case of a reservation through an intermediary. It is generally possible to cancel free of charge up to 48 hours or 72 hours before the scheduled date of the rental (note: each company has its own rules and different cancellation periods). Request the cancellation by telephone but above all in writing (email and / or contact / cancellation form provided for this purpose on the intermediary’s website), indicates the European Consumer Center. The procedure is similar in the event of a reservation directly with the lessor.
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