What to Do If You’ve Booked a Trip to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics
The Summer Olympics were to be held in Tokyo, Japan, starting July 24. On March 24, the International Olympic Committee announced that the Tokyo Games would be postponed until July 23, 2021. The Paralympic Games will also be postponed and will begin on 24 August 2021. This leaves people with flights and / or accommodation for the Tokyo Games. 2020 interesting: what are they doing now?
If you’ve already booked a flight to Japan
If you have booked directly with your airline, you have two options:
- Exchange the original ticket for an airline credit or voucher for the amount you originally paid for the flight.
- Reschedule your flight without a change fee.
But can you get a refund in cash ? Travel Fairness Now CEO Kurt Ebenhoch strongly believes your chances of getting a refund for your flights to the Olympics “depend on the carrier.”
Ebenhoch adds:
Previous policies don’t always pay off as we find that companies want to keep money.
Airlines are rapidly changing and revamping their policies due to ongoing border closures and travel restrictions. While policies such as free changes and cancellations are now clear, it cannot be said if airlines will adjust their policies in their favor to save some of the money they lost to the pandemic.
Who should cancel?
It is better to wait for your airline to cancel the flight than to do it yourself, provided that you do not want to reschedule your booking. If the flight is canceled, the airline must refund the money, according to the US Department of Transportation . But if you cancel your flight, you may not receive compensation and risk losing the entire fare value.
In addition, airlines may not inform in advance about the possibility of a refund. It is more than normal to ask for cash refunds instead of a flight voucher – the voucher will expire and there may be a reservation, including blocking dates during which you cannot book your trip (usually on holidays). When talking to customer service, be polite but firmly state that you are the customer and cause the inconvenience.
What if you booked your flights through a third party?
The best way to get a full refund is directly through your credit card. Most credit card companies will do their best to contact a third party on your behalf in order to receive a full refund. However, there is no guarantee that this will work.
Third party services have different policies, so it’s important to carefully review their rebooking or cancellation policies – ideally, you did this prior to booking.
For flights booked for July / August 2020, Expedia does not offer any changes or adjustments unless you travel within the next 72 hours. Once your booking is within those 72 hours, you can call Expedia directly to cancel or change it, provided the airline has not already done so by then.
The more information you have associated with your flight, including booking numbers and purchase date , the easier and faster you will receive answers.
How to get money back for accommodation
It really depends on whether you booked through a hotel or Airbnb. Let’s deal with this.
Hotel reservations
It is best to contact the property directly, unless, again, you have booked through a third party website. For third-party sites, check out their apps: Expedia, TripAdvisor, and others offer mobile apps that allow you to make changes or cancel reservations, and you can also chat with customer support.
Marriott International Hotels have developed a policy specifically tailored to COVID-19, which states:
For guests with existing bookings for any future arrival date, including reservations with prepaid rates, which are generally more restrictive, we will allow full change or cancellation without penalty up to 24 hours prior to arrival * subject to change or cancellation before June 30 2020 year. Please note that any changes to existing bookings will be subject to availability and any rates.
With regard to this asterisk, it indicates the usual caveats: “Certain exceptions may apply. May exclude special event periods or peak demand weeks. Please see the hotel’s rate information for applicable conditions or exclusions, if any, when booking or modifying a booking. ” At the end of the day, it is always best to contact the administration directly to see what can be done in your particular situation.
If you’ve booked your property on Airbnb
Airbnb has created a page on its website for anyone forced to adjust their travel due to COVID-19. In my own experience, I recently (March 24) made a reservation with the host and he subsequently canceled the reservation. I immediately received an email from Airbnb saying that I would receive a full refund and $ 36 credit – and I received both within 48 hours of canceling. This is surprisingly effective for Airbnb and bodes well for those forced to abandon their Olympics plans.
Their policies now only mention arrival dates from March 14 to May 31, rather than after, which means they won’t include the weeks of the now-postponed Olympic Games. However, it also says:
Guests who cancel their booking will have a variety of cancellation and refund options … Airbnb will either refund or provide travel credit, which includes all service charges for covered cancellations. To cancel under policy, you will be required to prove facts and / or provide supporting documentation for extenuating circumstances … Cancellations will be processed in accordance with extenuating circumstances coverage in effect at the time of filing.
On the Travel page on Airbnb, go to your specific booking to learn about the cancellation and refund policies applicable to your booking.
It is important to note that the Olympic Games have been scheduled for July and August, and most airlines and hotels are in a tailspin as they work to change policy for the near future. We predict more companies will adapt their policies over the long term, including the timeline that the Games are included in, and we will update this post accordingly.