Travel Management
Published
5/11/23

How to organize your trip cancellation ?

Tom Bengaouer
Responsable Communication & Marketing

Whether you are used to traveling or not, it always takes time to organize transportation, accommodation and activities. It is also necessary to plan a budget for your stay and hope not to face any unforeseen event. But what if this happens and you find yourself with a trip cancellation to deal with? Are you entitled to compensation? Will you find a backup solution or do you simply have to abandon your travel plans?

It's not easy to figure out how to handle a trip cancellation with transportation, lodging and advance deposits. So here are some tips to help you know how to handle a trip cancellation.

What are your rights in case of trip cancellation?

You are probably wondering what your rights are in case of a trip cancellation, but it will depend on who is behind it. Indeed, you may have to cancel your trip at the last moment because of a personal problem, but it may also happen that a professional cancels his service because of a problem.

Generally speaking, if a professional cancels his or her commitments to you for the planned trip, he or she must notify you with an acknowledgement of receipt. For example, a travel agency must reimburse the deposit and add an indemnity provided for in your contract.

However, there are certain situations where the agency will not be required to pay certain benefits.

  • Exceptional circumstances: a natural disaster for example.
  • Too few participants: this will be indicated in your contract but in case of an insufficient number of participants.
  • Replace with another trip: If you agree to switch to another trip, you will not be charged for your trip cancellation.

It is also possible to have your flight cancelled without being able to offer you another connection. In this case, you can choose between a refund or a credit note from the airline. You will have to choose according to your travel plans and dates, which may lead you to supplement the credit note with an investment if the tickets are too expensive.

Some specific situations will allow the airline not to pay compensation, so take the time to find out how to manage your trip cancellation.

  • If you are informed of your flight cancellation at least 2 weeks before departure.
  • In case of proposal of another flight in similar conditions to the initially planned trip (for schedules).
  • For exceptional situations such as a strike or natural disaster.

It will not always be easy to receive compensation for your trip cancellation. We advise you to be well informed about your contract to know your rights and make the right requests in time.

Unfortunately, it is also possible that you will have to cancel your own stay, and this will require another organization.

How do I cancel my trip without any charges?

So how to make a successful trip cancellation? It can happen that you have to cancel your trip and in this situation it will be very difficult to ask for a refund from your airline or your hotel.

However, it is possible to have rights on this subject depending on your contract and especially if you have chosen to subscribe to a cancellation insurance. It is possible that you will not be able to recover the payment of your deposit and the terms of reimbursement will depend on the reason for your cancellation.

Indeed, if you just inform the airline that you no longer wish to travel, this will not be a valid reason to obtain a refund. On the other hand, certain reasons will give you the right to a partial or complete refund depending on your contract.

  • In case of unexpected illness
  • Dismissal or other force majeure event
  • Deaths

Whatever the reason for your trip cancellation, you should notify the organizations as soon as possible to start the reimbursement procedures and save costs. We also advise you to look at the conditions of cancellation and reimbursement for transportation and accommodation to make the right requests without wasting time.

So if you want to protect yourself in case of trip cancellation, think about taking out insurance. It may not seem necessary today, but you won't regret your choice in case of unforeseen events to limit the costs related to your cancellations and deposits paid!

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