As the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the globe and shut down most travel, companies that provide travel services responded in different ways. We had a number of trips planned that we had to change or cancel, and the companies we interacted with fell on a wide spectrum from pleasant and supportive to evasive, dishonest, and unhelpful. We assigned them grades based on their stated policies and our experiences.
These grades are assigned from the traveler’s perspective. We recognize that companies in the travel industry have been particularly hard-hit by the economic consequences of the pandemic. We realize that they’ve been overwhelmed with customers calling to cancel, change, and complain. But some companies handled the deluge much better than others. These grades are based largely on how easy it was to get a refund or change plans disrupted by the pandemic. This list is by no means extensive as we have not dealt with every company – these are the ones we had plans with.
Airlines
Aeroméxico: F
We won’t ever fly Aeroméxico again, no matter how good their deals are. Their hold times have been interminable; their customer service reps have been rude, unhelpful, and condescending; and they’ve refused to offer refunds for canceled flights (a violation of U.S. Department of Transportation policy). From start to finish, Aeroméxico has provided one of the worst experiences of any travel company during COVID.
Alaska Airlines: A–
Alaska provided flexibility to travelers, permitting passengers to change their travel dates or cancel and receive credit for future travel. The airline also extended elite status, but it did not lower qualification requirements during 2020. We booked a flight on Alaska during late March. Our flight was canceled, and none of the alternatives worked with our travel plans. It was easy to call Alaska, and the airline refunded the airfare to our credit card.
LATAM Airlines: D+
We’d planned a vacation to Peru during what turned out to be the height of the pandemic. Our flights were on LATAM Airlines, which is based in Chile. When Peru closed its borders, our flights were canceled. The airline’s initial emails to affected customers offered no-fee changes or travel credit. However, we weren’t sure we’d ever fly on LATAM in the future, so we wanted a refund for the canceled flights. LATAM’s customer service phone lines had extremely long wait times (we also tried Tweeting at them, which sometimes produced faster responses), but we eventually discovered that the airline was offering refunds; it just hadn’t advertised this option.
We were directed to an online form to apply for a refund. The form didn’t work at all at first. When it finally did, we requested refunds to our credit cards, the original form of payment. Instead, LATAM provided us with travel vouchers, good only for future travel on LATAM. Buried in small text at the bottom of the emails regarding the vouchers was a link to another form to request a cash refund. Again, LATAM’s form didn’t function at first, but after a few days of trying, we were able to submit the requests. For some reason, LATAM wouldn’t provide the refund to our credit cards, instead offering only to provide a bank transfer. We weren’t thrilled about providing our bank account information, but the refunds eventually did come through—the only reason LATAM doesn’t get a lower grade.
Southwest Airlines: A–
Southwest never charges change or cancellation fees; if you need to change a flight, Southwest will only charge you any fare difference, and if you need to cancel, you can easily get credit for future Southwest travel good for a year. Due to COVID-19, Southwest extended vouchers set to expire between March 1 and September 7, 20020, by a minimum of two years, to September 7, 2022, much more generous than most other airlines’ one-year expiration. Southwest also extended its elite status (“A-List”) and “boosted” customers accounts with elite-qualifying points and segments. Until recently, Southwest has also kept middle seats empty to keep its passengers safer. We’re hugely disappointed by the airline’s decision to start packing middle seats beginning in December, so we’re giving them an A-.
United Airlines: B
Say what you will about United, but their handling of COVID-19 was quite good. United offered no-fee changes and cancellation (travel credit) for passengers who booked flights affected by the pandemic. It also extended elite status and halved qualification requirements for 2020. We had to call United several times due to canceled flights, and once to cancel a flight and rebook using the travel credit. Hold times were short, and the airline’s customer support was pleasant and helpful.
There are two reasons they don’t get an A. First, they have been cancelling a lot of flights at the last minute. One of us had several United flights during the pandemic that went off without a hitch; a couple actually got in quite early. However, We had several flights cancelled at the last minute and eventually had to call and ask in frustration which one they actually expected to go. A colleague had similar problems with multiple last minute cancellations. It would be much better if they could decide which flights they expect to go and get them booked, then add flights as needed as opposed to cancelling at the last minute.
Second, United hasn’t been as good as Delta, Southwest, or Alaska at keeping passengers safe. While Delta, Southwest, and Alaska have all kept middle seats open to maintain space between passengers, United hasn’t. Indeed, we were on a United flight in September where the seat map showed an empty middle seat between one of us in the window seat and the aisle. But at the last minute, United cleared a standby passenger and assigned her to the middle seat, making the transcontinental flight uncomfortably dense.
Lodging
Airbnb: A
Airbnb responded swiftly and decisively to the COVID-19 crisis. It offered full refunds for guests who’d booked trips on or before March 14 for travel between March 14 and June 15. We understand that this policy was unpopular among hosts, but we think it was the right way to handle the situation. Additionally, we booked a stay near Shenandoah National Park that wasn’t covered by Airbnb’s COVID-19 cancellation policy. Shortly after we booked, Virginia issued a stay-at-home order, and Airbnb was told to stop operating. We were able to get a refund without a problem.
Marriott: C
Marriott has adopted appropriate policies to keep guests safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve stayed at a few Marriott properties during the pandemic, and we’ve felt pretty safe. However (like many other travel companies) Marriott has significantly reduced benefits and amenities. But Marriott also provided one of the worst experiences we’ve ever had with any travel company during the pandemic. As a result, we can’t give them higher than a basic passing grade.
VRBO: D
Unlike Airbnb, VRBO didn’t issue any firm policy regarding bookings affected by the pandemic. Instead, VRBO issued nonbinding, unspecific, and unhelpful “guidance” to hosts. Initially, that guidance merely encouraged property owners to issue credit applicable to future bookings. It has since been extended to encourage “at least a partial refund for situations in which a flexible credit cannot be accommodated.” VRBO did not offer any way to request a credit or refund, telling guests to contact the property owner directly, nor did it provide any means for mediating disputes or disagreements. Predictably, the result was confusion and chaos.
Our experience with VRBO was disastrous. In early February we booked a trip to Albuquerque, including a stay at a property rented through VRBO. Our host offered us future credit for our stay, good for one year from the original date of booking. However, we had a large group that included multiple medical professionals whose schedules were inflexible and unpredictable. We could identify only one weekend we knew would work for the entire group during the next year. However, the property management company told us that that weekend overlapped with a major festival in Albuquerque and insisted on a five-night minimum stay (we’d booked three) and increasing our nightly rate by about 150%. Thanks to VRBO’s unhelpful policies, our only option was to continue to attempt to negotiate with the host or lose our money.
Travel Agencies and Booking Services
We usually try to book directly with carriers and providers. This makes it easier to change or cancel plans, and provision of status and benefits is usually simpler. But sometimes third-party agencies and booking services offer such attractive discounts that we can’t resist. Unfortunately, COVID-19 reinforced the drawbacks to this approach; as bad as some carriers and providers were at responding to the pandemic, our experiences with agencies and booking services were even worse.
Kiwi: F
As part of our trip to Peru (referenced above in the section on LATAM Airlines), we’d booked internal flights through Kiwi, a Czech-based travel company. Kiwi offered some great deals, but their response to the COVID-19 pandemic was one of the worst in the industry. Kiwi offered customers two options: 1) Kiwi.com credits for “a variable amount depending on the route selected and the amount paid for the ticket” or 2) an “assisted refund,” in which Kiwi would seek a refund from the carrier. If you chose the assisted refund option, Kiwi would deduct €20 from any refund.
These options weren’t appealing to us; we weren’t sure we’d ever book through Kiwi again, so the Kiwi credit was useless to us. The €20 charge for the “assisted refund” represented up to 30% of the ticket value in some cases, so that option wasn’t viable, either. We called Kiwi several times and experienced extremely long holds, sometimes even getting disconnected after waiting for hours. When we finally got through to a customer service representative, she was pleasant and apparently helpful. She told us Kiwi would get refunds from the airlines and pass them on to us. That sounded great. Then Kiwi sent us a confirmation email regarding the refund.
The confirmation email from Kiwi informed us that they were charging us their insane €20 fee, despite the fact that the customer service representative didn’t mention it at all. Additionally, the email said that the refund might take up to six months to process, and might not even be for the full amount of the flight. Needless to say, we’re still waiting for our refunds, and we won’t be booking through Kiwi ever again.
Tours by Locals: A
We had several local tours booked with this agency and they were quite accommodating in terms of options – cancel and refund vs change dates. We feel bad for the local tour guides who are out of work and hope they are being treated well by Tours by Locals – from our stand point they treated us well.
Booking.com: B
Booking.com gives you a lot of options when booking and while it may cost a bit more, it’s not a bad idea to pick options that can be cancelled / changed. As such we had not too many problems with lodging booked through them. For the few places that didn’t have generous cancellation policies, it was fairly easy to contact the properties but a bit chaotic figuring out what was cancelled / changed and the help from Booking.com was generic.