By now, you’ve probably heard all about COV-19, known as the novel coronavirus (or “coronavirus” for short, although there are different strands of coronavirus). Outbreaks and worries of a global pandemic have caused disruptions all around the world. No one knows if we are already at the worst point or if it will get even worse. It’s also a possibility that the virus has mutated — and if it has, will it mutate again to become even more aggressive?
While school closures in Japan have led to free manga reading and anime watching, it’s also led to a lot of uncertainty about the 2020 Olympics. Here in the US, many conventions and gatherings have dealt with changes and cancellations, like Sony and others pulling out of PAX East or Seattle’s Emerald City Comic Con pushed back until this summer. So what should you do if you are worried your big con trip will turn out to be a bust?
Keep an eye out for free cancellations.
While you often have to pay a fee to have transportation tickets refundable, because of outbreaks, many companies are relaxing their rules. Delta Airlines, for instance, is offering no change fees on all tickets purchased during the month of March with a travel date by February 25, 2021. Emerald City Comic Con offered refunds for attendees, altering their normal policy. Most hotels allow you to cancel for any reason as long as you cancel 48 hours in advance, so you may want to pay more for a hotel versus dealing with casual rental options like AirBnB. The same goes for other travel-related expenses — a little more money upfront may be worth the peace of mind.
Keep an eye on the Center for Disease Control’s COV-19 page for updates about outbreaks and warnings. If, in the worse case scenario, major spread starts occurring in certain cities, more companies may be willing (or forced) to offer free refunds and/or exchanges.
Whether it’s their standard policy of if they’re being flexible, keep a close eye on dates and rules for your bookings so you don’t miss out on free opportunities to back out. Sign up for alerts so you are ready to make changes as soon as any announcements are made.
Spring for top-tier traveler’s insurance.
Traveler’s insurance is great if you are worried of a sudden event preventing you from going, but they still usually have rules about getting refunds. However, there are options where you can buy coverage to allow you to back out of travel expenses for any reason (CFAR), although those can be 40 to 60% more than base plans.
If you’ve already bought tickets a while back, buying insurance now likely won’t help. But if you are worried about spring/summer plans, this can help get a large portion of your money back. Make sure you ask any questions before purchase about different scenarios and how much you would get back.
Use a good credit card.
Some cards offer free traveler’s insurance if you use their card for travel-related expenses. Here is one list that breaks down what’s covered. Putting everything on one card also makes it easier if you need to look up any details regarding your trip. But if you don’t have one of these cards already, you are going to either have to balance the hit on your credit to open a new line or ask to borrow a card. (Although if you go with the latter, write down your agreement so that there’s no arguing over how fast you are going to pay them back — don’t ruin a relationship over money!)
Look for cheap options.
Right now, travel companies are taking huge hits because of canceled or delayed trips. In the US and Canada alone, it could be a $21 million loss for airlines alone. So many travel industries are very interested in countering this huge slide. Use tools like SkyScanner, Google Flights, Expedia, and Trivago to look for low-priced flights and hotels.
Of course, you are going to want to check their cancellation policy. But in some cases, if you can score a cheap booking, it might be better to take the loss if you can’t go versus paying for insurance or dealing with limited exchange dates. Depending on your destination and travel dates, you could score a round-trip domestic flight for around $100. I know select flights from the Midwest to Tokyo and back were going for around $350!
Yes, if you went with a bargain-basement plan with no cancellations, it would stink to lose out on the money you laid out if you can’t go. But even with good traveler’s insurance, you are still going to be out money anyway. If you find cheap accommodations like the $100 flights, you might actually be out less than with insurance! However, companies are likely aware if conventions and events are going on so that it may be hard to find the dirt cheap options, but perhaps you can plan your dates so you arrive slightly before the event and/or slightly after so that you have more options for non-prime days.
Enjoy your trip anyway.
Even if a con is canceled due to coronavirus concerns, likely, some other people are still going to be headed to town. After all, the virus is mostly dangerous to older adults (senior citizens) and those with severe chronic issues or preexisting conditions. Otherwise, it’s mostly similar to the flu. So if you are healthy and are going to try to avoid exposing yourself to the at-risk crowds until you know you aren’t going to pass the virus around, you may want to continue with your trip. Perhaps you can connect with some of your online friends. There might be some gatherings in hotel lobbies, nearby parks, or anime/geek stores. Or just enjoy the sights!
Depending on the city, there might be rules about the size of crowds or delays as workers try to keep their location sanitized. So be prepared for any changes to your already-changed plans.
Remember to not blame the workers.
Many employees have a little wiggle room to bend the rules. But sometimes, they can’t. But if you are yelling or blaming them, agents definitely won’t want to help you out. Companies may try to resist offering refunds, and there is a difference between letting people know of these policies versus going with a scorched-earth approach that hurls abuse at the poor customer service and social media agents or celebrities who can no longer make the trip.
And for those in charge of these events, I’m sure they struggled heavily with their decision whether to cancel or not. Sometimes, things happen, and this was something no one expected a few months ago. Health is more important than money, and kindness goes a long way as we navigate this epidemic/pandemic.