By BRYCE MORRISON
More than twenty years ago, I ran a small shop onboard the USS San Jacinto. We had just completed six months at sea and the team had been working hard. So hard, in fact, that I sent them all home before 10am to spend some much-needed time off with their families. Ten minutes later, the first of the team came through the door asking me for orders. A junior officer had determined, simply based on the time of day, that nobody should be able to leave yet.
Long story a little less long, the team was still able to go on liberty with just a few minutes delay. This was made possible by a leadership that understood what was truly important…morale.
Morale is important in travel too. Think of the junior officer and the upper echelon that ultimately corrected the situation as the travel providers of today; companies that provide transportation between locations, tour operators, cruise lines, airlines, etc. My team are the more than one billion travelers yearly. Ultimately, these companies can make or break your morale if you happen to be one of those travelers.
That has never been more apparent than it is during this crisis. A quick google search will bring up all the negative. This editorial is not about the junior officers (online travel agencies, warehouse clubs, etc.) that only work on travel part time and have ruined countless vacations and cost people far too much money.
We are here to talk about the true leaders. Those that are in travel because they are passionate about it. The providers that understand how hard you worked for that once-in-a-lifetime trip to Hawaii. The companies that would rather sacrifice short-term profits than risk losing your respect. The best part? In travel, there are far more of the upper echelon than there are those junior officers.
Since this began, Americans have gone from being concerned with a few minor inconveniences on the other side of the world to the disappointing reality of a complete ban on world travel. With these developments comes the unpleasant realization that, in many ways, they have little control once they have purchased travel.
When a cruise ship encounters a storm, the captain alters the itinerary and the cruisers enjoy either additional days at sea or completely different ports of call. When you purchase the cruise, you acknowledge this to be a possibility.
The same is true if the ship is turned away from a port by the island’s health minister. The cruise lines are not required to provide compensation. However, during these unprecedented times, there are anecdotes of on-board-credit, actual refunds, and even future cruise credits.
Hotels have last minute cancellation fees. It is challenging, particularly for independent hoteliers, to survive without these fees. They count on them to ensure maximum possible occupancy. Companies that create travel packages will bundle these hotels with flights and other transportation. They too have fees.
Many of the larger hotel companies have waived these fees during our current travel environment. In some cases, the bundlers have even provided travelers with future travel credits. This, despite being required to cover the hotel’s cancellation fees.
Then there is travel insurance, which is often underappreciated. Whether its compensating you for lost luggage or covering the upwards of a $1,000,000 medivac off the cruise ship because you needed emergency surgery for your acute appendicitis, travel insurance provides safety and security during uncertain times.
However, every major policy has exceptions. One such exception is for, you guessed it, epidemics. Most policies also do not generally cover fear. Even before the travel bans started, many travelers were already asking to cancel.
Though these company’s contracts fully protect their profits, at least one insurance provider made the extraordinary decision to reverse many of their policies for this event. This came after strong encouragement from many of their partners, including one of the largest travel agencies in America.
It is also important to note some of the health safety measures these travel companies have adopted. Ahead of temporarily ceasing normal operations, cruise ships began taking passengers’ temperatures and conducting medical screenings before allowing them to board. Buffets in casinos and cruise ships have chosen to add servers with gloves, require guests to wash and/or sanitize, and are even requiring a new plate for every section.
Now that the cruise lines have ceased normal operations, many have turned to caring for the morale of their crews. From the ships that are supplying free internet and organizing crew talent shows all the way to providing balcony cabins to the entire crew.
Carnival is now supplying ships to be utilized as floating hospitals. Disney is donating food to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. They are also paying employees during down time. Some of the travel vendors are working to ensure travel advisors are paid even during cancelations.
It is not likely any vendor responded perfectly during this crisis; this is a truly unprecedented event. However, having witnessed so many other industries respond poorly to crises, I have been pleasantly surprised by just how far the travel industry will go to retain the favorable opinion of both their colleagues and their clients.
Bryce Morrison is a Navy veteran, Travel Advisor, and owner of a Cruise Planners franchise. Traveling internationally since age 5 and partnering with the 25-year-old Cruise Planners, Bryce finds the best for travelers by land or by sea, anywhere in the world. Bryce can be reached at bryce.morrison@cruiseplanners.com or www.foodandwinecruiseplanners.com
