Travel Cancelation Due to COVID or Medical Emergancy

LKevinrsteele on 13/05/2022 - 20:25

Has anybody had experience with travel bookings to Fiji (airfare and hotel) having to be cancelled due to either COVID or health reasons.

I had a holiday booked for Fiji and the fine print had the words no cancellation or refund.

Prior to the holiday, my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and we advised the booking coy that we could not go on the holiday as my wifes chemo will take 12 months.

I asked the booking coy (Expedia) if on compassionate grounds could the Airline and the Hotel (Raddison Blu) either make a refund or provide a credit voucher.

The hotel replied they could not. The Airline (Fiji Air) at least gave us a 12 month voucher.

I would have thought there would have been many COVID cases and sometimes a medical emergency that would lead to the hotel having a heart. But no they

are sticking to the original rules.

Have anyone been successful in getting anything from Raddison Blu or is there any other avenue for a refund/voucher credit.

Does anybody know if there is a head office that I can appeal to?

Thanks

Travel COVID-19

Comments

  • Clear on 13/05/2022 - 20:40
    +2

    I was in your situation recently with domestic travel. I need to go interstate for treatment and had to cancel flights + accommodation due to COVID. I chose a hotel that I knew had a flexible cancellation policy and they refunded no questions asked. Virgin however couldn't refund anything when I tried online. I called their customer service and explained the situation - full refund given plus no cancellation fees.

    Obviously this being domestic it's different to international and when it comes to hotels you're much more limited. It might be worth trying again with Expedia as you may get a more compassionate support person. Though I feel you might be out of luck.

  • dizzle on 13/05/2022 - 20:44
    +4

    Sorry that the family is going through this.

    Firstly, do you have travel insurance and does this cover it?

    Secondly, there's no reason asking about covid exceptions if your cancellation is not due to covid. You are after a goodwill gesture on medical grounds.

    While what is happening to you is devastating, I can understand that these tourist places have alse been devastated for the last couple of years. So I can understand if they have tightened up on refunds especially for people that can't travel due to medical reasons (mostly covid). Your best bet is to push for the credit and hope you get someone more sympathetic.

    And that's why you get travel insurance.

  • oscargamer on 13/05/2022 - 22:17
    +3

    Your only hope is the travel insurance you took out for this trip after you paid for this trip…..

  • garetz on 13/05/2022 - 23:01

    That what travel insurance is for, hope you got it.

  • sonicentropy on 13/05/2022 - 23:17

    I have a similar issue with jetstar flights to wa. One our party has tested positive and our trip is time sensitive. I spend 3 hours on online chat, two calls. Even looked at upgrading our fares to flex so I could cancel them but t hey have an exemption if you didn't get flex with the original booking. Wishing I had purchased travel insurance but looks like that $1300 is gone. Hope you have better luck…

    • trapper on 14/05/2022 - 00:33
      +1

      Just fly anyway, why are you cancelling?

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