The debate about refunds and cancellations continues, with private group operator, Paul Coetzee, providing a practical example of how he is affected.
I am a small private group tour operator. Like all of us, I have had all my booked tours cancelled from March 6 onwards. Let me outline just one case.
A group of seven foreign travellers booked for a six-day tour. They cancelled 24 hours before the tour. I had to give the client 100% refund (they had booked through an online travel agent).
All the accommodation that I booked for them (35 bed nights) was pre-paid and confirmed. Of that, I lost R33 200 (€1 650). An amount of R19 920 (€990) I can recoup as the hotels have given me a one-year re-booking voucher.
The balance was not refunded. If I do not get a booking for the same hotels that I was given vouchers for, I will lose that too. Add to that the expenses listed as per yesterday’s letter and time lost due to the booking process it is quite a lot of money for a small business.
And now for the punch line. The client wrote to me to tell me he was grateful for his refund. In fact, he told me that he had put in a claim with his insurance for his entire 24-day South African tour. So he actually made a nice profit while I am busy applying to various institutions for COVID-19 financial assistance.
