Smart Cancellation Policies: Support Today & Protect Tomorrow

Here are some tips for adventure companies on how to re-think, refine and communicate about your adventure company’s cancellation policies in the context of this unprecedented coronavirus pandemic that is disrupting us all on two fronts:

1) Human health – with varying levels of risk from mild to fatal (and that range can be within the same family)
2) Financial – with partial to total disruption of income earning abilities (from hourly workers to business owners.)

Let’s just pause to recognize that our individual and collective fear factor here could not be greater. Health and financial well being. These things support life as we humans know it.

In the midst of this, we can make clear-eyed and proactive assessments and decisions about how to move forward with cancellation policies that support our customers and our businesses. (And our staff, so that they have future trips to lead and operations to run.)

Our Cancellations Policy Goals Are To:

  • Reassure Guests
  • Demonstrate Warmth + Competency
  • Share the Current Context for Your Company
    Tell the story of what’s going on right now, what we have control over, and what we don’t.
  • Frame Your Company within the larger Travel Industry
    Help travelers understand that your policy is actually even more reasonable than standard, accepted global practices. Hint – use the airlines.
  • Calmly Convey the Actual Impact of Postpone vs Refund
    Let guests feel really good about how postponing their travel during the coronavirus epidemic “more than doubles their positive impact”, without any donations required.

    • Postponement means: staff get paid, company doors stay open, lines of credit don’t blow up (beyond typical preseason levels), communities can pay rent/mortgages, AND guests STILL get the amazing adventure that they had booked, at a later, safer date.
    • Help travelers realize that they could unwittingly cause the adventure company they love to go bankrupt.  Instead of moving their trip to 2021, there could be no trip at all.
    • Add facts: Adventure travel companies are small to mid-sized businesses with limited resources. 67% report they can’t survive more than 3 to 6 months without operating their trips or getting assistance. (Stats are pulled from this 3/19/20 America Outdoors survey)
  • Create No-Fail System & Process for Documenting Postponed Trip “Vouchers”

    • Get your accountant to help make sure these trips are reflected on your books and in your reservation system. This is unearned revenue and a liability for your company until the trip is completed.
    • Work with your reservation system’s functionality or outside of it in an email program, to set up no-fail communications to these guests. Consider an automated email series to support maximum trust and loyalty for your guests, and let you sleep at night since your system and process will do all the heavy lifting:
      • Series 1 Automated Email: confirming their postponed trip, and indicating whether or not they have a new booking date yet. If not, restate how long they have to decide on a new date.
      • Series 2 Automated Email: A friendly reminder that their voucher is safely in your system, is valid for (1,2 or 3 years – your call)  and you can’t wait to see them when they are ready to rebook. Be sure to send the reminder once a quarter. Remember: Warmth + Competency!
      • Series 3 Automated Email: If you have an end date for their rescheduled trip, this reminder should go out several weeks or months before, depending on if its a day trip (easy to get to and plan) or a multi-day adventure (longer planning timeframe and maybe flights to buy. Pro tip: 2 months out on flights ideal, and 21 days out to still get best rates.)
  • Spread Out Cash Flow Impact
    Make sure your timeframe for postponed trips supports your cash flow – over 1 or 2 or even 3 years.

    • For example: If you reschedule all your multi day, fully paid, postponed trips into a few months of 2021, – can your cash flow handle that?  It may be better to move those trips out over several months and at least 2 years. You will know best what your company can handle.
    • Another example: Group rafting trips in the spring.  Can you handle all those groups with no revenue (if they are fully paid up at this time), and still pay your guide staff and rent next spring at this time? Better to get a mix of voucher groups and new paid groups, at any given time, and spread those groups across spring, summer and fall if possible.
  • Preserve Cash
    Minimize refunds to less than 10%. Why that number? Because specific goals enable specific results.

    • Your % goal may be different. Aim for what you want, not what you think you can get.
    • Why preserve cash? To stay in business.
    • If coronavirus goes on longer than 3 months, many of us are in jeopardy of closing our doors.
  • Optional: Educate about Trip Cancellation Insurance:
    You may want to give guests information about trip cancellation insurance for multi day trips.

    • This is an opportunity for a good blog post that demonstrates your warmth and competency with lessons learned by travelers from COVID-19, along with information on different travel insurance companies, and what insurance typically covers.
    • “Cancellation for any reason” insurance is not typical, but is available for greater cost.
    • In the case of the coronavirus, trip cancellation insurance did not cover guests who cancelled out of concerns, but before an actual trip was cancelled or flights were disrupted, etc.
    • Some outfitters offer trip cancellation insurance for day trips, too, so customers can cancel easily and the company is protected. You might want to explore that for your company, if you don’t have it in place already. It’s a reassurance to guests and protection to your company.

Example Cancellations Policy Communication:

Below is a modified example of a customer communication we created for one of our international clients. It’s always easier to edit than write from a blank page – please feel free to adjust and edit this template for your company’s needs.

This communication can be used in four ways. This ensures maximum coverage to customers using various channels and even automates your Warmth + Competency response that works for you 24/7. This can help free up your staff to handle those customers who will want special exceptions or have more questions.

  1. Send out in a personalized email (first name personalized in subject line and/or body of email) to all booked customers.
  2. Add to a new website landing page – for booked customers.
  3. Link that landing page to a new FAQ post on Cancellations due to COVID-19 on your Facebook page.
  4. Create a new automated FB messenger response with a warm message and the link to your website landing page for detailed information.

Cancellations Communication Template You Can Use

Dear [Company Name] Guests, (for your  landing page)

Or 

Dear [First name],  (for your emails)

We know you have a lot of questions about your [trip name] that you have booked with [company name] for 2020. I want to reassure you in the midst of this unprecedented, extraordinary COVID-19 pandemic that we are here to support you, and help you with how to still make your [location/trip type, etc.]  adventure dream come true with a variety of flexible options. None of us could have ever imagined what is happening now throughout the world. We are working very hard to respond to the overwhelming number of phone calls, emails, Facebook messages and live chats that we are getting daily. We are committed to personally working with each of you, prioritizing your safety, the safety of our [company name] staff, and the safety of the communities where we travel/work. We greatly appreciate your patience as we navigate these uncharted waters. 

Here are the facts as we know them today:  

(Examples here to demonstrate Current Context, Framing, Postponement Impact. Your details will be different.)

[FACTS] – (yours will be different)

  • The [country] government proactively closed the country’s borders in a declaration of a state of emergency, effective March 16 through March 31st. This follows what is happening in other much harder hit areas of the world. As of this time, we do not have any information on whether the border closure will continue past March 31st.   
  • As of today, if your [trip] is in April or beyond, you can keep your current date.
  • The most effective way to try to immediately slow and stop the spread of COVID-19 is to minimize travel and minimize groups of any size.

[CONTEXT] – yours will be different

  • The Peru government is being flexible and allowing us to change permits, but not cancel them. 
  • The Peru government will not reduce or eliminate tour company taxes on March trekkers, despite the fact that no tours can run. 
  • The railroad company that transports all guests to Machu Picchu who are not hiking in directly via the Inca Trail through the Sun Gate, will not refund any tickets already purchased for March treks, or any other dates.  

[FRAMING] 

  • The standard cancellation policies of most airlines worldwide do not refund plane tickets as rule, ever. They do refund travelers who have purchased the premium-priced, refundable tickets.  In the event of a need to cancel that is not the fault of the airline, they usually charge change fees, and only waive them in exceptional circumstances. 
  • At this time, we understand that airlines are allowing travelers to cancel their tickets without any changes fees incurred when they rebook later dates, due to COVID-19.  Travelers have a year to rebook the ticket, for travel at any time. 
  • Airlines in the United States have so far asked the US government for a $50 billion emergency disaster bail out package. 
  • Adventure company operators like [company name] have not asked the government for a bail out package.  
  • We are exploring all appropriate resources for disaster support, and increasing our debt leverage is a last recourse for us, if at all possible. 

Like you as travelers, small tour companies like ours are caught in the middle of these extraordinary circumstances. This is made all the more difficult and anxiety-producing for us all because of tremendous uncertainty of how long the COVID-19 epidemic will last, and when travel restrictions will ease and where. 

  

Here are our flexible cancellation policies to help you continue your dream of doing your [trip] :

Postpone Your 2020 Tour Date and Use Reschedule it Anytime Before 2023. 

  • You can postpone your 2020 trip/tour, whether it’s in March, April or May or anytime in 2020, and we’ll move your deposit to a future, TBD date.
  • You don’t have to even decide right away on whether you want to postpone your 2020 trek date.  As long as you contact us more than [x # of days/weeks] before your current tour is supposed to begin, we can change your trek.  For example: If you have a May 3rd trip start date, you can tell us on April 15th about wanting to postpone. (Note this works for rafting trips, but not for tours with third party prepaid logistics, obviously. You will know what to put in here – you run a great adventure company after all!)
  • You can reschedule for later in 2020, anytime in 2021, or anytime in 2022. 
  • You don’t have to know your new dates of travel until you are ready to travel, but availability may be limited, and future bookings will be granted on a First Come First Serve Basis, (as they are now).  (If you have the ability to ensure them a spot on a new waiting list by trip and by year – offer that up!)
  • Take whatever time you need to figure out when you want to come to [Country/Place/River trip, etc], especially when right now, it’s hard to make any travel plans at all in the face of such uncertainty.
  • Of course, to get your preferred travel dates, due to the limited number of spots on our tours/trips, you are encouraged to reserve your top 3 date choices early. (add something this if its true for your business)
  • We want to be way more flexible than the airlines’ policies, with us you can use your 2020 cancelled trek booking for any dates in 2020, 2021, 2022, and book anytime you want to. You don’t have to schedule your trip within one year if you aren’t ready to do so.

Transfer Your 2020 Tour/Trip to a Friend or Loved One For Any Date Through 2022

  • This is wonderful opportunity. Unlike plane tickets that are not transferable at all, ever, you are welcome to transfer your [trip/tour name] to another person for any time in 2020, 2021 or 2022. 
  • Give your [trip/tour name] to a friend or loved one and let us know their name and email and we will get all their details to transfer the booking. 
  • Take your time to figure out when works best for your schedule and let us know and your deposit and booking will be moved accordingly.

We hope that you stay safe and healthy, get outside for fresh air, and that no one that you love is impacted by this virus. It’s incredibly scary right now for us all, and we know that together we will get through this. 

Let us stay home today, so we can adventure together tomorrow.

Warm regards,

First name signature (scan and paste your actual signature – Warmth), 

First Name Last Name (printed)
Owner and Founder, Company Name
“Company Tagline or Inspiring Quote for the times” 

NOTE:  Please do NOT make the mistake of not signing this from a real person, and we strongly recommend this comes from the company owner, or customer-facing director of your trips. 

Want more tips specific to adventure companies during this period of disruption?