Putting an End to Wind Blown Vacations

For the show "Paint Your Wagon," Lerner and Lowe wrote a sweepingly beautiful song titled "They Call the Wind Maria." But you can bet that when travelers want to paint the town red on vacation (and maybe even fall off the wagon) they've got another name for it when the hurricane force winds kick up. They are not calling these high winds Maria -- they're calling them vacation killers.

With proper planning, research, and a little flexibility, savvy travelers are avoiding ruined vacations due to bad weather. Travel management firms are filling the role of consultant, and affecting the decisions travelers make when planning their jaunts.

So while tourists can't control Mother Nature, they can rely upon the expertise of an experienced travel advisor and count up on them for assistance should tragedy strike. Peter Klebanow, CEO of Ultramar Travel Management, comments on how simple it is to avoid a bad situation altogether as he says, "Hurricane season is pretty predictable. I think the first responsibility of any good travel management firm is that they make sure visitors understand the risks of places they are going. There are lots of places to go that aren't in the clear shot of hurricanes. Why have it looming? The second piece is to make sure there is trip interruption insurance that comes to the aid of someone where it becomes impossible to travel or plans are interrupted."

Effective advisors are well versed in helping clients before, during, and after a vacation. There's nothing worse for a vacationer than saving up all year for a sun swept beach vacation and instead fining getting trapped in the room watching the rains come down, or worse, being evacuated.

Luxury tour operator Island Destinations protects their clients with two optional programs. The Peace of Mind program, which starts at $59, enables travel agents and travelers alike to rest easy knowing that vacationers are able to cancel or change their plans, for any reason, anytime prior to scheduled flight departure without additional penalty. Previously the plan required notification within a minimum of 24 business hours for cancellations or changes. “While business is rebounding and our numbers are on the rise, we are finding travelers more apprehensive about planning a trip, or booking last-minute to avoid various uncertainties. The Peace of Mind Plan will help to ease worries and reverse this trend,” said Maurice Bonham-Carter, president of Island Destinations. “We revised our Peace of Mind Plan so that travelers no longer have to worry about astronomical charges for changed or cancelled plans and agents can rest easy because their commission is safe regardless of what happens with their client’s travel plans. It is a win-win for everyone!” The complimentary post-departure program covers a wide variety of scenarios including:*

Travel Protection including trip interruption ($10,000 per person) and trip delay ($300 per person, Baggage Protection including theft, damage and loss ($500 per person) and delay ($100 per day, Medical Protection including accident and sickness ($5,000 per person) and, Travel Accident Protection ($10,000 per person).

Some travelers may balk about paying a service fee for travel insurance but oftentimes, this low, one-time rate eliminates headaches, heartaches, and hard earned dollars in the long run. Recently, finance executive Jacob Kessler found himself stranded in an airport where all flights had been cancelled due to summer storms. Fortunately Kessler had invested in American Express's travel protection program when he bought his ticket. For this trip it meant that the car he had to rent to get home cost him nothing more than the nominal $40 fee he had added to the cost of his ticket. Says Kessler, "The best thing of all was that there was no hassle. I just called and explained the situation and American Express told me I was covered to rent the car to drive home. I just wish the airlines had been at least half as helpful."

Stories like that are the norm it seems with American Express' travelers who take advantage of the extensive company's travel protection programs that are available when booking through any of the company's 2,200 travel service offices in 140 countries. American Express travel agents will notify customers before they travel if there are storms, warnings, delays or cancellations that affect a customer's plans and if there is a cancellation, American Express agents will help re-arrange/re-book the trip. In the case of inclement weather that occurs while a customer is on vacation American Express Travel specialists are there for their customers. In 2005, when Hurricane Wilma hit Mexico, American Express Travel got money to stranded travelers and got them out of the region.

Getting a traveler out is the most helpful thing an advisor can do as personal safety trumps everything. Accessing a global network and surrounding a client with resources is the difference between a weather interruption and a total disaster. But once out of the eye of the storm a traveler's thoughts turn to the ruined vacation. In some cases event hat can be salvaged. Says Klebanow, "Travel management companies have the great relationships and more often than not we can reach out to a place on behalf of a client with the ability to book without incurring extra charges. There is lots of leverage at a decent sized firm and the ability to use their relationships to undo or re-do something can be very helpful.

Kessler and his fellow travelers during this time of year may not be affectionately referring to trip interrupting high winds as Maria, but they are singing the praises of travel advisors who make hurricane travel a breeze.