INDONESIA - 2021 Cancellations Ahead, is your booking at risk?

[Blackcrusader]

Well, now we are down to the key consumer issue. Yep, it is those guests 'who already paid' and are expecting services for their hard-earned money paid out to ops. Imagine that, a bunch of consumers who expect to get what they paid for - a novel idea isn't it. Foolish weren't they?

The consumer didn't cause the virus and the resulting tourist lockdown, they can't cure it and surely have no control of the situation. Maybe some are restaurant owners and are bearing the same crushing burdens that INDO ops are?

Without a doubt, INDO ops are in a tough spot. Some won't make it. Many consumers are likely to lose their deposits. It is a lousy situation for both the ops and their customers.

Yup I had paid for resorts in Bali and Flights with EVA and was supposed to arrive last week of March. Well Indonesian government cancelled inbound travel without a visa and Wuhan Virus test and flights were duly cancelled. I live in Taiwan. EVA Airlines refunded me in full within 5 business days. One resort In Bali refunded me in full. Another said nah we are keeping 50% cause it's your fault for not coming. Not even a well we keep your deposit and you can put it to rooms when you do come. Oh no, feck off. Well when I do come I will stay at the resort close by with my travel companions and let them know about it. Hell I may even protest with signs in front of their entrance for the hell of it.

My wife and I also own a guest house. We get customers from Japan and other close by countries. We refunded all customers in full when Taiwan stopped inbound tourism. We don't use a customers money until they have finished their stay. We didn't say hey it's too bad it's not our fault you cannot enter Taiwan we are keeping your money.

I know a lot of people fly from North America to Taiwan to Bali or Manila or Cebu or Jakarta as also good airlines and good prices from Taiwan. Far better than US airlines in comfort, food, and quality of service. You do not need to book an airline 9 months ahead that's BS

 

[Blackcrusader]

Me - attaching a moral judgment? Hardly. Just facts. And while I am not familiar with Indonesian consumer protection laws ...

Fact is you will spend more money than what you lost on chasing what you won't get back.

The operators know this so tell people to get stuffed. The resort that refused to refund me changed their refund policy after the Indonesian Government stopped people flying in claiming the policy is retro active lol. In other words we are stealing your money so feck off.

 

[Carlos Diver]

I have a booking in Sept 2021 for the Ring of Fire. What will happen? I honestly do not know. Hopefully 8 months from now we are in a different spot globally.

What I do know if we are seeing a major break in trust between consumer and companies. People pay money and expect services in return. They do not expect to pay money and be left empty handed. I understand that resorts and LOBs still have expenses, and without an income stream, they will be using whatever cash on hand (deposits) they have. It explains the rigidity in the companies for refusing to give back what money they have in refunds. They are stuck in a balancing act. Refuse a refund, and lose the costumer forever, or refund the money and possibly be out of business forever by June. In the U.S. Air BNB was playing that game this past spring with travelers and refunds.

I'm currently stuck in that limbo with an upcoming Maldives trip. My flights have been cancelled several times, and now the company and the booking agency have gone silent to my emails.

The internationally tourism industry is hanging by a thread. The next few months will be very telling. If enough people have their trips cancelled with no refund (or simply told you can rebook (maybe) at a later date and you pay the increase in fare (if we ever open again), people will start to second guess booking trips months in advance and taking 24-hour flights into areas of the world with little to no recourse or support once you are there.

 

[aquabluegreg]

I'm currently stuck in that limbo with an upcoming Maldives trip. My flights have been cancelled several times, and now the company and the booking agency have gone silent to my emails.

I'm curious about your problems with the Maldives. I am aware of the split stay restrictions and the approvals required. I have some clients who have had fights changed but not canceled. The flight change did require a layover out of country long enough that a PCR test was required before leaving the Maldives. Nothing has been a deal breaker.

 

[drrich2]

What I do know if we are seeing a major break in trust between consumer and companies. People pay money and expect services in return. They do not expect to pay money and be left empty handed. I understand that resorts and LOBs still have expenses, and without an income stream, they will be using whatever cash on hand (deposits) they have. It explains the rigidity in the companies for refusing to give back what money they have in refunds. They are stuck in a balancing act. Refuse a refund, and lose the costumer forever, or refund the money and possibly be out of business forever by June.

Yes, and it's affecting 'good' businesses, not just 'bad' ones. If a company couldn't use income stream for future trips to meet current expenses, I suspect getting a business started, or maintaining would, would be much harder...in many cases not workable. So this is a bit off-putting, it is what it is. Not unlike how Social Security works in the U.S., or how banks borrow and loan money (hence the 'run on the banks' danger). Guessing a would-be business owner instigating a 'start up' in a 'not 1st world' area might have a different experience from somebody in the U.S.?

So, a company caught in this pandemic can...

1.) Refund what it can, run out of money, bankrupt the business and leave some people unpaid and many trips cancelled (which may mean further losses from booked airfare, which the dive op. won't refund).
2.) Just plain quit, declare bankruptcy, etc... 'Take the money and run.'
3.) Tell people no refunds but rescheduling is allowed, and we'll jointly make the best of an unplanned crappy situation. Tick off some customers, but hope to make it on the strength of those left and new customers.

If those are the options, and I think they are, option 3.) looks like, as Sherlock Holmes once described a couple of people, 'the best of a bad lot.'

 

[Carlos Diver]

I'm curious about your problems with the Maldives. I am aware of the split stay restrictions and the approvals required. I have some clients who have had fights changed but not canceled. The flight change did require a layover out of country long enough that a PCR test was required before leaving the Maldives. Nothing has been a deal breaker.

First flight jumped from Miami. They cancelled the Miami flights, no change, cancelled the ticket. Second was out of JFK. Cathay cancelled all flights to the Maldives. Flights cancelled. Third was out of ORD through Columbo. Qatar cancelled flights through CMB, ticket cancelled.

 

[hilljo88]

Any news on the Velocean? I’m with a group scheduled for October 2021.

 

[billt4sf]

Latecomer to this thread.

We recently booked the Solitude Adventurer for Dec 2021. I think they still have plenty of room. Although we don't have a lot of info on it, we chose that boat because they have very low deposit requirements (at least if you book through Blue Water Travel, it was 5%) and also because they are a catamaran and my wife gets seasick extremely easily.

We booked Sorido Bay resort because they also have a low deposit requirement (10%) and we have been there before.

Anyway, the point for THIS thread is that we wanted very low deposit requirements because we wanted to be in the position of choosing for ourselves when to go to Raja, rather than relying on, say, the Indo government or maybe the WHO. And if they go belly-up, we won't lose a bundle. At the same time, we wanted to get booked for Dec 2021 because that is the estimate of responsible people (Dr Fauci, Dr. Francis Collins) on when things should be back to "normal".

And I know one thing: Once the doors open, there will be a MAD RUSH to travel. For that reason, I plan to do what we can to make travel plans into 2022 as well.

- Bill

 

[Indah]

Latecomer to this thread.

We recently booked the Solitude Adventurer for Dec 2021. I think they still have plenty of room. Although we don't have a lot of info on it, we chose that boat because they have very low deposit requirements (at least if you book through Blue Water Travel, it was 5%) and also because they are a catamaran and my wife gets seasick extremely easily.

We booked Sorido Bay resort because they also have a low deposit requirement (10%) and we have been there before.

Anyway, the point for THIS thread is that we wanted very low deposit requirements because we wanted to be in the position of choosing for ourselves when to go to Raja, rather than relying on, say, the Indo government or maybe the WHO. And if they go belly-up, we won't lose a bundle. At the same time, we wanted to get booked for Dec 2021 because that is the estimate of responsible people (Dr Fauci, Dr. Francis Collins) on when things should be back to "normal".

And I know one thing: Once the doors open, there will be a MAD RUSH to travel. For that reason, I plan to do what we can to make travel plans into 2022 as well.

- Bill

I really wonder if the mad rush will happen. Would be great for us (tourism industry in Indonesia). But the recent developments are not giving me much hope yet. Three questions are still to be answered. Can people be infected and be infectious to others after the recieved the vaccinations? It would mean they can bring Covid back as a souvenir from their trip. Only acceptable if all people in their own environment are protected. How long will the vaccines offer protection? And the third, not answerable, what if the virus mutates to new variants continously? Will there be more very abrupt closures of borders as happens now, because nations want to delay the entrance of a new variant? For Indonesia it will take a long time before we reach herd immunity by vaccines and previous infections. As it looks now this will not happen before the end of 2022, if ever. https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe...l-need-to-be-quarantined-20201229-p56qk3.html

 

[Centrals]

I would not book anything if full refund is NOT guaranteed. How about if the business turns turtle? That is another story.
Travel fund with some airlines is NOT good enough.

I am prepared to wait and let all the dusts settled. Uncertainty is not my cup of tea.