Much Better Adventures stance on the ongoing Coronavirus situation
Between COVID-19 and the supposed “Killer Asteroid” coming to wipe us all out any minute now, it’s been a bit of a grim 2020 for all us global citizens hasn’t it?!
There’s not much we can do about the latter (giant trampoline maybe...) but regards the former, we want to provide an update and some reassurance. We know lots of you have questions about Coronavirus and its impact on bookings and your trips. We’ve tried to answer as many of these questions as possible below.
You can also read the letter on Coronavirus our founders sent to our adventurous community, here. This sets out our position on Coronavirus to our customers and answers many of the FAQs our customer support team are receiving at the moment.
What is Much Better Adventures using to monitor Coronavirus?
We rely on the travel advice from the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) to inform our approach to Coronavirus, and for consistency we encourage all our partners to do the same.
Other useful resources include;
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World Health Organisation (WHO).
What impact is Coronavirus having on bookings on Much Better Adventures?
Bookings in January and February were over 100% up on 2019. We have seen a significant slowdown of bookings in March however.
We are continuing to market pro-actively and monitor demand carefully. We will keep you updated as the situation evolves, but expect trading to be slow until the situation eases globally.
We expect there may be an increase in demand for 2021 bookings - which we will try to encourage - so if you haven’t already, please do send us your dates to hosts@muchbetteradventures.com. This could help us all to negotiate the possible downturn in 2020 bookings.
What are Much Better Adventures telling customers about Coronavirus?
We have created this help page on our website and are directing all customers to this.
Our position to customers in a nutshell is:
Unless the FCO advice changes your trip will be going ahead and the cancellation policy found on your booking will apply.
What should I do if a customer asks me about Coronavirus?
As part of our service to you, and to ensure consistent responses to customers, MBA will handle all customer communication about Coronavirus.
Please ask the customer to contact our customer support team and point them towards our Coronavirus help page.
We will contact you to agree your individual / company position as required, but will handle all communication with the customer.
Can customers cancel or postpone their bookings?
We are telling customers that if the FCO does not advise against travel, and they have not been told otherwise, their trip is going ahead as planned and the cancellation policy found on their booking will apply.
If their trip is due to start in more than 60 days, most cancellation policies include the option to postpone their trip to a later date. The cancellation policy you currently offer is summarised in your company profile area.
We emailed all hosts details of a temporary set of customer terms that are more flexible, which we encourage all hosts to adopt. Head here to confirm you wish to adopt them.
We will process all changes and cancellations on your behalf as normal.
Being able to show understanding and flexibility to customers goes a long way to build positive relationships, loyalty and word of mouth. It may also protect you from having to cancel lots of trips and give refunds.
I'm based in the EEA, what happens if FCO advises against travel to the destination my trip takes place in?
As a business based in the EEA selling to UK and European citizens you will hopefully be aware of your obligations under the Package Travel Regulations (PTR). This essentially means that, should the FCO advise against 'all but essential travel' to your destination, the supplier (you) need to offer an alternative, postponement or cancellation with a full refund.
We act as an agent on behalf of bookings with you and will assist you through the process. If you have a trip starting within the next 28 days MBA will:
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Contact you immediately to discuss the next steps.
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Send a holding statement to all booked customers.
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Contact customers with your postponement or cancellation options and process their requests. In keeping with industry norms, we think this should be confirmed to customers at least 21 days prior to their trip.
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Follow FCO advice and keep you updated of the ongoing situation until it is resolved.
As part of our service to you, and to ensure consistent responses to customers, MBA will handle all customer communication about Coronavirus.
I'm based outside the EEA, what happens if FCO advises against travel to the destination my trip takes place in?
As a business selling to UK and European citizens we have to assume certain obligations under the Package Travel Regulations (PTR). This essentially means that, should the FCO advise against 'all but essential travel' to your destination, the customer must be offered an alternative, postponement or cancellation with a full refund.
As we act as an agent on behalf of bookings with you we will assist you through the process. If you have a trip starting within the next 28 days MBA will:
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Contact you immediately to discuss the next steps.
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Give customers the option to postpone, or cancel with a full refund and process their requests. In keeping with industry norms, we will confirm options with customers at least 21 days prior to their trip.
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Follow FCO advice and keep you updated of the ongoing situation until it is resolved.
As part of our service to you, and to ensure consistent responses to customers, MBA will handle all customer communication about Coronavirus.
If the FCO advises against travel, will I get paid?
As above, under the Package Travel Regulations introduced in 2018, in the event that the FCO advises against travel and you are forced to cancel a trip you are obliged to offer an alternative, postponement or cancellation with a full refund.
In the event customers chose to cancel their trip and get a refund unfortunately neither MBA nor you will be paid. Our aim in this scenario is therefore always to encourage customers to postpone their trip, and to make sure we are all well prepared for the impact of any cancellations/refunds.
What happens if FCO advice changes once my trip has started?
Official advice from the FCO to travellers in this scenario is: if you are able to leave, you should do so.
It is your responsibility under the Package Travel Regulations to facilitate this as soon as possible; we will support you through this process as much as we can.
What else can I do to prepare for Coronavirus affecting my future trips?
As always, the best advice is to prepare for the worst, and then hope for the best. We recommend you:
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Get informed and stay up to date on the current situation by following legitimate sources of information such as:
• World Health Organisation
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office or your National Government's equivalent.
• Centre for Disease Control and Prevention or your National Government's equivalent.
• National Travel Health Network and Centre or your National Government's equivalent. -
Contact your partners (accommodation, transport etc.) and clarify your cancellation policy with them. Try to plan ahead together for the potential scenario of cancellations and refunds needing to be issued and work out how you will manage that.
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Contact your insurers and find out if you have any cover to assist you through this period.
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Plan ahead for some worse case scenarios just to make sure you and your team are fully prepared for any eventuality, such as what to do if a customer catches coronavirus on a trip, if customers need to be quarantined or repatriated home.
We hope the information provided here offers you clarity on the unfolding Coronavirus situation and how we can work together to get through it. As the situation remains very dynamic, with advice changing on a daily basis, we will keep you informed of any updates to our position via email and this help page.
Despite what the news may make it feel right now, COVID-19, just like SARS, Ebola and Zika before it, will abate - hopefully sooner than later, and we know our customers are in good hands.
As with any event that impacts tourism, we know that it’s always the adventurers who are the most resilient and always the first to help the industry recover, recoup and rebuild. We hope that our adventurous community will keep on exploring where and when it’s safe to do so, and we’ll do everything we can to make that happen.
As for the massive asteroid, assume the brace position.
Cheers,
Alex, Sam Guy and the Much Better Team
P.s. please note, the Coronavirus and travel situation is evolving rapidly, so this email is for guidance only. Advice may change at any time and may not apply in some circumstances.