The Sounds of Silence 

  by Bruce Bishins, CTC
  President and Chief Executive Officer
  Association of Retail Travel Agents - Canada

Neither the public nor the travel retailer accepts the all-too thin alternatives provided by Canada’s tour operators to deal with the thousands of angry travellers whose trips to Mexico were abruptly cancelled due to swine flu concerns. No one is suggesting that the tour operators did not take reasonable action, out of an abundance of caution, to cancel these Mexico departures.

The tour operators cancelled trips to Mexico not because they were forced to, but rather in voluntary accord with Canadian authorities which recommended holding-off on all non-essential travel to Mexico. There was no government mandate nor government order not to travel to Mexico, and Canada’s tour operators elected to make their own respective decisions to either continue or not with their scheduled departures.

The Right to a Full Refund

Those consumers whose trips were cancelled by the tour operators have been given constrained and time-limited options to travel to other destinations or to travel to Mexico at a later time. While some travellers may find these alternatives acceptable, there are many travellers who simply cannot or will not accept these alternatives. What is nothing short of outrageous is that the tour operators, with the exception of WestJet Vacations, refuse to refund any consumer who rejects the alternative destination/date option.

In most all cases, the refusal by the tour operator to offer a full refund is likely a legal breach of the tour operator's published terms and conditions which stipulate that in the event the tour operator cancels a departure, and if the traveller rejects alternative travel arrangements, then the traveller has a right to a full refund of the amount originally paid.

Alright, I confess to not being a lawyer, but I can read. The tour operators seem to be preying on the confusion of both travellers and retail travel agents that the Mexico situation warrants unique and special treatment. The fact is that it does not. Read the tour operator's brochure or web site and locate the terms and conditions section dealing with “Changes to Travel Services” or “If We Modify Your Booking” or “Cancellation of Services” or similar section titles. They most all offer the option of a full refund if the tour operator itself cancels the departure and the traveller chooses not to accept alternative arrangements.

Five Steps to Take

Here are some steps to take to increase your client's chances of a full refund from the tour operator:

1. Contact the tour operator and refer to the section of the brochure/web site which outlines the right of a traveller to a full refund when alternative arrangements are rejected. Keep careful records of the name of the person with whom you spoke, the date/time of the call, and their response. If needed, ask to speak with a supervisor or management person and keep records of that conversation as well.

2. If the tour operator fails to provide a full refund, and your payment was by credit card, contact the credit card company to request a reversal of the charge for non-delivery of the contracted travel services. Most credit card companies have a service guarantee program. If the credit card company agrees to the reversal, the tour operator will receive a chargeback, as well as a chargeback fee. Not only will this have a negative impact on the tour operator’s bottom line, but it also will place the tour operator under scrutiny by the credit card company in terms of merchant holdbacks and future processing conditions.

3. If you paid by cash or the credit card company refuses a reversal, and you booked through an Ontario, BC, or Québec-registered wholesaler, file a formal written complaint with TICO, the BPCPA, or the OPC. While the regulators seem to be ignoring or defending the tour operators' refusal to provide refunds, the important aspect of filing a formal complaint is to be on record and to refer to the tour operator’s failure to comply with its published terms and conditions.

4. While it is our position that travel insurance should not be necessary to cover situations where the tour operator’s terms and conditions already cover instances where the trip is cancelled by the tour operator, if the traveller has insurance, contact the provider to ascertain whether reimbursement will be made.

5. Contact a local attorney. ARTA Canada will do all possible to assist legal counsel with information about how our industry functions and our position that travellers have a right to a complete refund in this situation.

ACTA and CATO: Missing in Action

With all the huffing and puffing by ACTA and the Canadian Association of Tour Operators (CATO) in defense of TICO’s handling of the Conquest demise, and ACTA’s new mission to expose all the hotels which strong-armed travellers to pay up again or be prevented from returning to Canada, one can only wonder why both ACTA and CATO are completely silent when Canadian tour operators are holding travellers’ monies hostage to a “use it elsewhere or lose it entirely” regime.

Well ... it’s no surprise to me! Every one of these tour operators belongs to ACTA, in fact, they are among ACTA’s largest members. Does anyone really think ACTA will go after some of its biggest members regardless of the fact that every reasonable and ethical consumer policy has been ignored in this matter?

Travel retailers often ask why Canada needs an agent-only trade association like ARTA Canada. As is the case with our U.S. counterpart for more than 45 years, ARTA Canada also does not accept suppliers or any other non-travel retailer as members. It is simply impossible to advocate effectively for the retail agency sales channel if we have to also be beholding to the supplier community.  

If you’re waiting for ACTA to come to your assistance and take these offending tour operators to task, don’t hold your breath. It's not going to happen. The code of silence is already in place.

Another Black Eye for Retail Travel

As retailers are still trying to recover from the Conquest failure, yet another debacle is laid at our agents’ desks by the wholesale tour industry. What could have been a handled as a caring and compassionate decision by tour operators to protect the traveling public has spawned a perception of greed, arrogance, and utter insensitivity in the packaged tour business. The sad reality is that the retail travel agent bears yet again the brunt of traveller anger and suffers another black eye as our industry struggles with the economy, the downturn in travel, and consumer guardedness. It is nothing short of shameful that the tour operators could not have taken the “high road” and do what was right and decent. WestJet Vacations certainly found a way; why couldn’t others?

Future Tour Sales: The Power of Choice

There is nothing which sends a more powerful message to a travel wholesaler than moving marketshare to tour operators which not only respect the travel retailer, but also understand the retailer’s frontline position vis-à-vis the traveller. You can remind the offending tour operator's account executive of that the next time they ask why sales support for their products isn’t as robust as it used to be.

There are plenty of options to choose from when selecting a tour operator. Make your voice heard with your booking choices.