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Hibiscus Coast travel agents estimate that local travellers could still be owed $15 to $20 million in outstanding travel refunds.
But they say that money could be in jeopardy if local travel stores close.
Owner/operators Dennis Payne (House of Travel), Kiri Martin (You Travel) and Tony Page (Helloworld Orewa) say a lot is riding on a meeting in Wellington on August 24 between their representative body, the Travel Agents Association of NZ, and the Government.
The industry is asking the Government to recognise that travel agencies will not survive without continued wage subsidies for their staff, and assistance with leases and IT costs. If they go under, so will a lot of the refunds.
“We have worked for five months getting New Zealanders home and negotiating very complex refunds with zero income,” Kiri says. “We’re trying to survive so we can continue to get these refunds.
“Yes, we have all pivoted to domestic tourism, but it is like asking a sports store to make a living selling only shoelaces. We have months of work ahead of us with absolutely no way of funding it.”
Across the Coast, the Flight Centre in Orewa has closed, while the branch in Silverdale is working reduced hours with reduced staff. Staff at the House of Travel in Whangaparaoa are working from home and the Orewa office has reduced staff by half, from 10 down to five. You Travel operators have also reduced staff and hours.
Dennis Payne says agents can’t turn their backs on their clients and just walk away.
“Many of these people are loyal customers who we know well. They are people who live in our community and many have become friends,” he says.
“The reality is that if Covid continues overseas many of us will have to eventually close shop, but none of us want to do that until our customers have their refunds. We need Government assistance to at least achieve that.”
The agents estimate that locally, about 40 percent of requests for travel refunds are still outstanding.
“We’re not talking about flights to Sydney – some people are owed a lot of money,” Dennis says.
He estimates the average refund is around $20,000.
Tony Page says he is working with one couple who is owed $220,000.
“We aren’t talking about wealthy people who perhaps can afford such a loss. Many of these travellers are retired couples who had saved for many years to take the trip of a lifetime,” Tony says.
Dennis says he had a couple who flew from Auckland to the Bahamas via London to board a cruise boat which would eventually dock in Instanbul.
“They got to the Bahamas only to find the cruise was cancelled. We got them back two days before NZ went into lockdown, with cruise credits and refunded airfares. We didn’t get a cent and I honestly don’t know what sort of refund the couple would have got if we hadn’t been working on their behalf.”
The agents explain that the process of getting refunds for airfares, cruises, hotels and tours can be extremely complicated. It can involve multiple suppliers with multiple refund policies and processes, often in countries that still use manual banking services. The refunds are coming back in increments.
“We’re getting cheques from places like Manila and Guatemala which don’t even show who the refund is for. It’s long-winded and it’s a bloody nightmare,” Dennis says.
Initially, customers were happy to take a two-year credit for cruise bookings, but the longer the Covid situation continued, the less attractive the credits were becoming.
The agents say that they can understand the peoples’ frustration.
“We’re copping some of that frustration, but by and large, people have shown a lot of kindness and appreciation. It’s what keeps us going.”
When booking with an agent counts
When John and Jocelyn Windle (pictured) found themselves stranded in Barbados in March, as the Covid-19 pandemic spread around the globe, their first thought was to call Orewa travel agent Dennis Payne.
“We forgot about the time difference – it was 2am in NZ!” they said. “We don’t know what we would have done without him.”
The couple was in Barbados to start the cruise of a lifetime but just hours before they were due to board, they learned it had been cancelled because of Covid-19. There were five cruise ships in port, so they were among thousands of stranded travellers.
“Dennis got us on the second-to-last flight out of Barbados and followed us every step of the way until we arrived back in NZ. He was absolutely brilliant.”
The couple says that it is also thanks to Dennis that they got a full refund on all their travel expenses.
“The insurance paid out nothing – it is all thanks to Dennis’ negotiations with the cruise company, airlines and hotels that we got a full refund including the extra $10,000 for flights home.”
The couple, aged in their early seventies, first connected with House of Travel Orewa when they lived in Tindalls Bay. Although they have since moved to Cambridge, they continue to book their travel through Dennis because they say they can rely on his advice.
The abandoned trip in March, which included a 49-day cruise from Bridgetown in Barbados to Rome, was to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. In the end, they spent the time in 14 days of self-isolation followed by lockdown.
