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Coronavirus Impact on Travel


idigTexas

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On 4/11/2020 at 1:18 PM, South Austin said:

We had to pull the plug on our Rosemary Beach trip with two other families.  Our house was booked the week of May 31, but it was just too close to know whether things would be back to "normal" in Florida, i.e, beaches and restaurants open.  The only option we had for this same house was early August, but it didn't work out for all three families, so we rebooked for 2021 and the owner gave us $1,000 of the total.

So now I'm booking a hypothetical long weekend in San Francisco sometime mid to late July.  I have no idea what San Francisco will look like then, and whether any of the restaurants on my draft itinerary will be re-opened or will have shut down for good.  But it's at least giving me something to look forward to and cure the boredom.

Fuck you, COVID-19.

Probably the right call. Rosemary and Seaside have locked their beaches down and obviously the restaurants are closed. A couple weeks ago a decent number were doing take out only but now most have closed.
 

Walton County initially closed public beach access only, deeded access was fine. Beginning of last week private access was closed and now there is a lawsuit fighting that. I can tell you that beach closures were not enforced unless there was a significant group. We were stopped once during the last couple weeks and asked to leave. 
 

As far as I know Florida has canceled all rentals for the last few weeks. Not sure how that would have affected your deposit assuming cancellations are extended but 2021 will hopefully be here before we know it. 

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So, I am optimistic that I will get to take a vacation in October (I have 8 weeks, and our company changed its vacation policy in light of COVID-19, so it is use it or lose it).  

I am planning a 3 week trip to France.  We shall see.  Have not booked anything, nor will I until closer to time.

That being said, since we had to cancel Spain for Easter, we are planning on going in 2021.  Oh yeah, fuck this WuFlu.

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I got 3 different refunds tonight from 3 different airlines.

I had to cancel a trip to Europe 3 weeks ago, that I was supposed to go on last week.  United initially just gave me a travel voucher, I called again today and asked for my 60,000 points back and they obliged, plus a refund on the $150 taxes I paid.

Had another domestic flight at the end of this month on American and Delta.  Called them this evening and got refunds back to my credit card from both airlines.  Delta I had actually cancelled 3 weeks ago and they gave me a voucher at the time, I asked for a refund tonight and got it.

Airlines are being quite accommodating at the moment it seems. 

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38 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Waiting on Norwegian to refund a cancelled flight to Paris for May.  We requested it a few days ago, so I'm going to give it a couple of weeks probably.  Hoping I don't have to call them.

I doubt that Norwegian survives.  They were in some trouble before, had some potential hope, but this may be a killing blow.

We're going to lose so many players in the travel industry.  It's going to be a bloodbath.

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Called AA today about a trip I booked with miles that I had to cancel. They took care of it quickly and refunding all fees associated as well. If you have not seen AA (and likely others) have extended statuses through 2021 and also lowered re-qualification. It also looks like AA miles earned by CC can be used toward million miler status this year which is a bonus.

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Flight to LA in June was cancelled earlier this week.  SWA gave us 'store credit' and our AirBnB was able to refund our money.  Sucks to wait a year to take a honeymoon trip and have to postpone it further.  All things considered, really can't complain.

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1 hour ago, kurioster said:

Flight to LA in June was cancelled earlier this week.  SWA gave us 'store credit' and our AirBnB was able to refund our money.  Sucks to wait a year to take a honeymoon trip and have to postpone it further.  All things considered, really can't complain.

if you divorce now, you can save money by not ever having to take the trip.

$profit$

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1 hour ago, kurioster said:

Flight to LA in June was cancelled earlier this week.  SWA gave us 'store credit' and our AirBnB was able to refund our money.  Sucks to wait a year to take a honeymoon trip and have to postpone it further.  All things considered, really can't complain.

That sucks.  If you wait any longer you might not even get a blowjob on your "honeymoon."

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Anyone ever do airpass?

 

Through June 30, 2020, American Airlines is allowing fliers to join AirPass for as little as $5,000 per person, down from the usual $10,000. Those funds become your available balance to book travel during a one-year membership term. While still a significant investment, the price may be easier to justify for those who were on the fence about joining. And it still comes with the full range of benefits, including instant elite status.

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15 hours ago, Deej said:

Fuck. Round-trip from Austin to Auckland, New Zealand for a six week sojourn July/August was quoted for $615. Might risk it 

even if they opened up the businesses in their country by then, i could see them restricting people coming in from other countries.

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17 hours ago, Deej said:

Fuck. Round-trip from Austin to Auckland, New Zealand for a six week sojourn July/August was quoted for $615. Might risk it 

If you end up going and plan on flying around in country or to Australia let me know.  I have $650 credit on Virgin Australia I'll give you a deal on.

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2 hours ago, po elvis said:

even if they opened up the businesses in their country by then, i could see them restricting people coming in from other countries.

Yeah. Huge guess there.  I could see international travelers still having to self quarantine 

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8 minutes ago, VABuckeye said:

I would love to start thinking about booking a trip or two but it just doesn't feel like I can pick a timeframe that seems safe to do so yet.

Most flights and hotels are pretty flexible with their terms right now. What's the actual risk in booking something as long as you know it might get canceled or delayed?

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2 hours ago, Js1 said:

Yeah. Huge guess there.  I could see international travelers still having to self quarantine 

I'd gladly self-quarantine in NZ for the first two weeks of a six-week trip. Just drop off beer and fish and chips at my door. 

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24 minutes ago, VABuckeye said:

I would love to start thinking about booking a trip or two but it just doesn't feel like I can pick a timeframe that seems safe to do so yet.

I have to or ill go insane without something on the horizon.  Like Wild mentioned I'm booking with a combination of hotel booking sites like Agoda or Amex or Chase travel and all the hotels for Oct allow cancel upto September.   I'm getting some great deals locked in.   Everything is half price or more.  

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14 minutes ago, kevwun said:

I wouldn't count on any international trips this year.  I think we are going to do some Texas trips with friends if we can and maybe 1 or 2 domestic flights later in the year if things settle down.

How I feel too

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I’m still planning to go to Jackson Hole for three weeks at the end of June. 
 
One concern is if the national parks will open up at all by then. Won’t really matter though since the main reason to go is to get out of the humidity.  

We are scheduled for Jackson in mid-June. Our VRBO pushed back 100% refund till
5/17 (month out) and everything else is refundable. The one thing I read today is we would have to buy a annual fishing permit for $110 a person instead of a day pass for $14. We have a fly fishing day planned, but not sure I’m into a $900 trip for one day.

I’m going to give it till Mid-May before I pull the plug. The wife said it’s done but I’m still holding out hope.
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10 hours ago, Beef said:


We are scheduled for Jackson in mid-June. Our VRBO pushed back 100% refund till
5/17 (month out) and everything else is refundable. The one thing I read today is we would have to buy a annual fishing permit for $110 a person instead of a day pass for $14. We have a fly fishing day planned, but not sure I’m into a $900 trip for one day.

I’m going to give it till Mid-May before I pull the plug. The wife said it’s done but I’m still holding out hope.

I'm holding out on my June trip to Africa.  But I'm not optimistic.

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I'd like to take a trip to San Francisco in late July or thereabouts, but I'm not seeking any indication or speculation about when things might be back to normal there.  And even if it's technically possible to fly to and book a hotel room there, I don't want to spend the money if half of the restaurants haven't re-opened and places like Alcatraz and the modern art museum are still shut down. 

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23 hours ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

Wife just canceled trip to Disneyworld that was scheduled for mid-June.  She and the kids are depressed now.

June in Orlando?  Pretty much everyone would have covid symptoms after a day at Disney.   Sweats, fever. headache, fatigue, etc

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