Suffice it to say that Jennifer Doncsecz—a romance specialist and top producer for a slate of major all-inclusive Caribbean resort companies—is in the midst of a daunting couple of weeks. “We have had a lot of switches of destinations that we took care of last week,” said Doncsecz, president of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based VIP Vacations. “We have had the domino effect this week of Miami canceling a lot of connecting flights to the Caribbean, too. Even if an island was spared, flights through Miami were canceled.”
Doncsecz, however, has found a bright side to the Hurrican Irma situation. “It has been crazy, but that’s why consumers should use an agent – we deal with the airlines and resorts to save them the stress of having to do it themselves,” she said. “I think hurricanes can sometimes shed light on how wonderful travel consultants are for their clients.” Furthermore, VIP’s suppliers have been very proactive in helping the agency’s travel advisors rebook clients whose travel plans scuttled by the storms. “Sandals actually allowed us to move couples to different destinations. We moved clients to St. Lucia, and they said, ‘We wanted to go there but the costs were too high,’” Doncsecz said. “It was a pleasant surprise to have clients not annoyed with a change – especially for a honeymoon. “I am truly so amazed at how many cruise lines and resorts have stepped up to aid other destinations hit by these storms. I feel blessed to be in such a giving industry!” Looking ahead, Doncsecz said it’s difficult to predict how the hurricanes will further impact clients’ travel plans: “The ripple effect will be in the next few weeks as we see how quickly islands can rebuild.” Meanwhile, other agents say the hurricanes have had little to no impact on their businesses. “We currently have no clients in harm’s way,” said Angela Turen, president of Naperville, Illinois-based Churchill & Turen. “We choose not to place our guests in the Caribbean during the hurricane season. Global weather trends have supported this position.” It was a different story for Turen’s home and branch office in Naples, Florida. “We did need to evacuate family from Naples, and we’ve set up a Churchill & Turen pop-up office at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando,” she said. Similarly, Judy Nidetz of Travel Experts in Northbrook, Illinois, said that, although virtually none of her bookings were impacted by the storms, the same could not be said for her home in Florida: “I’m a little on edge, as we have a home in Bonita Springs, and we haven’t been able to get any information on the state of our house." One of Nidetz’s clients did miss her connection to Europe because of delays caused by Irma. “I spoke with her several times to get her set for the following day, called the hotel in Prague and let them know that she would be delayed by a day and explained to the client what the insurance she had purchased would cover and advised her to save every receipt to use for filing a claim,” she said. “I did have a few calls from clients who will be visiting affected areas this season, and I explained it’s just too soon to tell what impact the storm will have on future travel.” Claire Schoeder of Atlanta-based Century Travel noted that the lion’s share of her clients vacation in Europe. “I had a family leave [three nights ago] – cutting it close out of Atlanta,” she said, adding that she is waiting to see if the Caribbean resorts she’s booked for the Thanksgiving and the Christmas holidays have been affected by the hurricanes. For its part, San Francisco-based Ambassador Tours sells very few Caribbean vacations during August and September, said Gary Pollard, CTC, president and CEO of Ambassador Tours: “Most of our clients are in Alaska or Europe, so we were fortunate. Those clients who were forced to change [plans] did so with few challenges – and the airlines and cruise lines worked hard to [provide] good customer service.” Echoing the sentiments of VIP Vacations’ Doncsecz, Pollard said he has been extremely impressed with the way suppliers have with dealt clients impacted by the storms: “For the first time I can recall the cruise lines and airlines took a proactive approach in keeping us and our clients informed. The ability to get up-to-date information was very, very helpful. I was even more pleased to hear about how the cruise lines were taking care of their staff shore side and aboard ship. "Now they are helping those in need in the Caribbean, as well.” by Claudette Covey Source: http://bit.ly/2wYyeZ5
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February 2020
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