Corona Virus UpdateTemporary Flexible Policy
The corona pandemic has caught everyone by surprise and put us in uncharted territory. The implications for travelling cannot be underestimated: some have to not only cancel their dream holiday but also make financial losses for the costs made. The local community here depending on the tourism has had no income for weeks and some already struggle to take care of their families. Tour operators will have to fight against bankruptcy.
We hope that these difficult times will bring the best out of us as human beings, that we show solidarity and understanding towards each other, and that our personal frustrations about the pandemic does not turn us against each other. Therefore, to ease the issues that travellers face amid the corona pandemic, we have temporarily eased our cancellation policy.
Our standard cancellation policy
As a reminder, here is our standard cancellation policy which is applicable for any cancellation beyond the control of Local Guides (including force majeurs such as flight cancellations, sickness, natural disasters or now the corona crisis):
- Deposit is 100% refundable for cancellations more than 3 months prior to tour start
- Deposit is 50% refundable for cancellations more than 2 month prior to tour start
- Deposit is non-refundable for cancellations within 2 month prior to tour start
- The outstanding balance does not need to be paid under any cancellation circumstances
The temporary flexible policy means that next to the standard policy you’re also allowed to rebook your tour for free. See below.
What to do if your tour starts within 3 months?
You can temporarily rebook your tour for free – we do not need any proof that your rebooking request is related to the corona pandemic.
Your original booking form is your voucher. If you wish to make use of this option, please contact us 2 days before the start of your tour by replying to your booking confirmation email; you do not need to tell us about your new date yet (you can do that at any later time). The price corresponding to your new date will eventually apply to you.
What to do if your tour starts more than 3 months from now?
In this case you will get a full refund upon cancellation. While the Indonesian government permits us to provide vouchers instead of a cash refund to support the dramatically hit tourism sector, we have decided not to apply this for our customers.
However, in case you can afford it, it would help us tremendously if you are willing to accept a voucher instead. Our bookings have dropped with 100%, and at the same time we are trying to help the local communities with the financial catastrophe they are subjected to, so it would help us tremendously if we can postpone any refund through a voucher.
What if you still plan to go ahead with your holiday amid the corona crisis?
In case your flight is not cancelled and you are still considering to go ahead with your holiday in Indonesia, please check with our local representative to your destination to what extent the tour can still go ahead and what the local Corona policies.
Final Words
We realise that the corona pandemic has probably ruined your holiday plans. With our temporary flexible terms we hope that you will have one concern less. But we also realise that these terms may not accommodate everyone’s unique situation and we are very sorry for that.
Finally, we hope that you and your family are safe and healthy. Hopefully soon we can pick up the travelling again and experience also the beautiful sides of Mother Earth.
Stay safe, stay healthy,
Local Guides Team
Our Standard Refund Policy
As a fair travel organization we do not only put energy in providing comfortable tours with local professionals, but we also have a fair cancellation policy so that you can be assured that for whatever reason you need to cancel your tour we will be here to help out.
So, how do we do that?
It starts with our confirmation policy. Clients only pay a fraction of the total tour price in advance (“deposit”) for the confirmation process. The vast majority of the tour price (“outstanding balance”) is only paid upon arrival.
In case clients would like to voluntarily pay also the outstanding balance in advance (usually so that they do not need to carry so much cash with them), this outstanding balance is fully refundable under any circumstances. Please do let us know timely so that we can reduce the costs on our side.
“The Outstanding Balance is Fully Refundable – No Questions Asked”
However, even if the client doesn’t show up without any announcement, we will fully refund the paid “outstanding balance” (no questions asked) as we understand that usually there are good reasons that the client has not been able to inform us about the cancellation.
The mandatory deposit payment is however not always refundable because of the costs made:
- Deposit is 100% refundable for cancellations more than 3 months prior to tour start
- Deposit is 50% refundable for cancellations more than 2 month prior to tour start
- Deposit is non-refundable for cancellations within 2 month prior to tour start
“The mandatory deposit payment is not always refundable”
The above holds for all cancellations that are beyond the control of Local Guides. This also includes force majeur events beyond the control of the clients e.g. flight cancellations, travel restrictions, natural disasters, etc.
So make always sure that you have a travel insurance!
In case you have any specific questions about our cancellation policy, please let us know.
