2020 Tours Update - COVID 19

Dear Friends,
 
These are certainly unusual days we are all dealing with. We hope you’re staying healthy and well.
 
We are sad to announce that due to numerous cancellations by clients and low numbers for our trips we were still planning to take to Arkansas, Yellowstone, and Canadian Rockies, we have cancelled all of our group tours through the end of July. We are still hopeful that our tour to Nova Scotia at the end of August will still go, along with our fall motor coach tours. 

If you purchased travel insurance through us, you do not need to contact the insurance company. We will submit a list of clients with travel insurance for each tour to Allianz requesting that your premiums be refunded. 

Please be aware that due to the volume of refunds that everyone in the travel industry is dealing with along with limited staffing challenges, there could be longer delays than normal. This includes the insurance company as well as our office. It is realistic to expect your refund within 30 to 60 days and not before. This is not our normal mode of operation and we apologize for the inconvenience but unfortunately, these are not normal times we are working in. 
 
Changes in Travel
The health and safety of our clients is our top priority. As the country works towards restarting the economy and people begin traveling again, we wanted you to know of the extra precautions and policies we are implementing for these first trips on the road after the stay-at-home orders are lifted, until further notice.

1. Each passenger’s temperature will be taken with no-touch thermometers by our guides each morning before boarding the bus. For the health and safety of our group and our guides and bus drivers, anyone with a temperature of 100.4 will be considered to have a fever and will not be allowed to travel any further with the group. Our office will assist with travel arrangements to get the passenger home but the expense of returning home early will be the passenger’s responsibility.
   
   
2. Our motor coach will be wiped down and cleaned multiple times each day with disinfectant wipes and spray. Passengers are strongly encouraged to bring personal face masks, Kleenex and hand sanitizer and to practice good sanitary habits and frequent hand washing. Hand sanitizer is available in the restroom on board the motor coach.
   
   
3. All hotels we are staying at have assured us they are taking the utmost precautions in terms of cleanliness and wellness for their staff and their guests. Housekeeping staff are utilizing masks and gloves for room cleaning and intentionally delaying room cleaning and maintenance until 3 hours after a guest has departed which is creating a 24-hour or longer gap before the next guest takes the room.
   
   
4. Everyone who travels with us until further notice will be required to sign a travel liability waiver and submit it to our office before the day of departure. Anyone without a signed waiver on file will not be allowed to travel with us.
   
   
5. Everyone who travels with us is strongly encouraged to purchase travel insurance. Anyone declining travel insurance will need to sign a travel insurance waiver. Anyone without a signed waiver on file will not be allowed to travel with us.

How we are handling final payment deadlines and cancellations:
If you change your mind about a trip, you must cancel before the final payment deadline in order to receive a refund. If you cancel after the final payment deadline, you must have travel insurance to receive a refund - and the cancellation reason must be a covered reason by the insurance company.
 
If you are traveling with us, please go ahead and send in your final payment by your tour's final payment deadline. We will hold your payment until 30 days before the tour when we will make our final decision on whether the trip will still go. As more areas open up and restrictions are loosened, this may change in the fall.
 
Insurance and cancellations:
Should we as an agency decide to cancel the trip and you have not already cancelled with us, you will receive a full refund and we will request that the insurance company return your insurance premium.

PLEASE NOTE: if you cancel your reservation after the final payment deadline but before our agency cancels a tour, you will have to file an insurance claim in order to receive a refund, and you will not be eligible to get your insurance premium back. 
 
If you do not purchase insurance and cancel after the final payment deadline, you will not receive a refund. In the past, we have made many exceptions for clients who found themselves in this situation, but we are unable to do this going forward. You are strongly encouraged to purchase travel insurance.
 
We hope these additional steps will help alleviate concerns you may have for traveling as we look towards departing for our fall tours. Of course, all of our tours are contingent upon state and federal government guidelines, and a decrease in COVID-19 cases. We will be in touch with any updates or changes as we get closer to our tours departing.
 
Please submit your travel liability and travel insurance waivers (enclosed) with your final payments which you will receive in the mail from us as we get closer to each tour. We must have these on file in order for you to travel with us. You may mail them, or scan them and email them if your payment has already been made.
 
Thank you for your business. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, you can contact us at the office at 225.654.9210 during our limited office hours from 9am-12 noon Monday through Friday or by email at ztc@zacharytravel.com.