COVID-19: Travel Updates

July 2nd 2020

COVID-19 Cancellations, Force Majeure, and Closures

Right now the world is living through an unprecedented moment and we are aware that the travel community has been hit hard.

In the best interests of the whole industry and travellers themselves, we have declared a global ‘force majeure’ (subject to regular revision or extension, depending on how the situation evolves) for:

Arrivals from March 17th 2020 (or March 18th 2020 in APAC, due to the time difference) until July 15th 2020.

This policy will allow any traveler who wishes to do so the option to cancel their reservation – without facing a cancellation charge – for both refundable and non-refundable bookings with the following exceptions (for the time being):

Destinations excluded Arrival dates (inclusive) Date cancelled (inclusive)
Domestic North and Latin America March 17th – March 31st March 17th (March 18th APAC) to March 18th (19th in APAC)
Domestic Nicaragua March 19th – March 31st March 19th (March 20th APAC) or later
April 01st – April 15th March 23rd or later
April 16th – May 15th April 01st (April 02nd APAC) or later
May 01st - May 15th April 17th or later
May 16th - May 31st April 28th or later
June 01st - June 15th May 19th or later
Domestic Guatemala, Domestic Mexico and Domestic Cuba March 19th – March 31st March 19th (March 20th APAC) or later
Domestic Mainland China April 16th – May 15th April 01st (April 02nd APAC) or later
May 01st - May 15th April 17th or later
May 16th - May 31st April 28th or later
June 01st - June 15th May 19th or later
  • The ‘force majeure’ does not apply to bookings where the traveller has already arrived at the destination.
  • Domestic bookings for Guatemala, Cuba and Mexico cancelled before April-01.

Please note:

  • ‘Domestic’ refers to bookings where the both the source country where the booking was made and the destination country are the same.

  • Bookings cancelled prior to 17th March where a local force majeure was already in place (such as Italy and Spain) will still be processed and fees waived.

  • However, bookings cancelled when the FM was not applicable will be subject to the approval of the supplier and will be processed in due time (please consider that currently there is a backlog, understandably).

  • Due to local government measures and guidelines put in place by individual hotels to protect travellers through social distancing measures, it is likely that guests may find that facilities normally available at the hotel – for example the swimming pool, gym area, or buffet halls – will understandably not be available. We apologise for any inconvenience this unavoidable change may cause.

  • Please be aware that local government measures and guidelines put in place by individual travel services providers – including hotels, transfer, car rental, theme parks, tours, events and other ancillaries – are leading to social distancing measures to protect travellers.

    Therefore it is likely that hotel guests may find that some facilities – for example the swimming pool, gym area, or buffet halls – will understandably not be available; equally travellers with tickets for theme parks, tours and other activities might find some elements have been adapted or removed; and in the case of multi-day tours different restrictions could be imposed by different local authorities (nonetheless we will endeavor to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information).

    We apologise for any inconvenience these unavoidable changes may cause.

    Additionally please note that it is the responsibility of the traveller to choose the most appropriate rates – whether that be flexible or non-refundable – when booking hotels, transfers, car rentals, theme parks, tours, events and other ancillaries, according to their needs in view of current COVID-19 travel restrictions. Therefore for new bookings created as of or later than June 1st, cancellations will be processed according to the applicable terms & conditions of the booking.

Confirmation of Country Closures

In addition to the above force majeure, we would also like to notify that we have adapted our systems for those countries whose governments have taken action to force the closure of hotels.

In that sense, we are no longer showing availability at the affected hotels and will be proactively cancelling all accommodation and ancillary services (transfers, car rental, activities & theme parks) bookings.

For the moment this includes the following countries and periods (subject to revision and extension):

Country Arrival from Arrival to
Aruba May-28 Jun-15
(Australia) Hamilton Island Mar-22 Jul-31
Austria Apr-16 May-29
(Brazil) Bonito Apr-01 Apr-15
(Brazil) Buzios Mar-23 Jun-30
(Brazil) Goias Mar-23 Apr-04
(Brazil) Praia de Pipa Mar-31 Jun-30
(Brazil) Santa Caterina Apr-01 Apr-07
Bulgaria Mar-20 May-13
Cuba Apr-14 Jul-31
Curaçao Jun-15 Jul-15
Cyprus Mar-21 Jun-08
Czech Republic Apr-01 May-25
France Apr-20 May-11
Germany Mar-25 May-18
(Germany)Baden- Würtemberg, Berlin, Brandenburg, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Bayern, Bremen, Sachsen May-19 May-26
Greece Mar-23 May-31
India Mar-25 Jun-07
Ireland Apr-20 Jun-28
Italy (all bookings) Mar-25 May-03
Italy (domestic bookings excluded!) May-04 May-18
Malaysia Mar-27 May-27
Malaysia (domestic bookings excluded) May-28 Aug-31
Malta Mar-27 May-31
Mauritius Mar-27 Apr-02
(Mexico) Yucatán Apr-06 May-31
(Mexico) Acapulco (Guerrero-Mexico) Apr-15 Jun-30
(Mexico) Ciudad de México Apr-15 May-30
(Mexico) Guadalajara (Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima-Mexico) Apr-15 May-17
(Mexico) Guanajuato Apr-15 May-17
(Mexico) Huatulco Apr-15 May-17
(Mexico) Ixtapa (Guerrero-Mexico) Apr-15 Jun-30
(Mexico) Los Cabos Apr-15 May-17
(Mexico) Manzanillo (Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima-Mexico) Apr-15 May-17
(Mexico) Mazatlán Apr-15 May-30
(Mexico) Puerto Escondido Apr-15 May-17
(Mexico) Puerto Vallarta (Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima-Mexico) Apr-15 Jun-01
(Philippines) Rest of Luzon Island Mar-31 May-15
(Philippines) Cebu Mar-31 May-31
(Philippines) Metro Manila & Laguna Province Mar-31 May-31
(Philippines) Aklan Province (including Boracay Isl) Mar-31 May-31
Portugal (all bookings) Mar-26 May-02
Portugal Mainland (domestic bookings excluded) May-03 May-15
(Portugal) Madeira & Azores May-03 Jun-30
Reunion Island Mar-27 Mar-31
Scotland Jul-04 Jul-14
Seychelles Mar-27 Apr-15
Singapore Apr-07 Jul-31
South Africa Mar-26 May-01
Spain Mar-26 May-10
Trinidad and Tobago Jun-01 Jul-15
Thailand (domestic booking excluded) Jun-01 Jun-30
(Thailand) Khao Lak, Krabi, Koh Lanta, Phi Phi Island, Pattaya and Kanchanaburi Apr-06 Jun-15
(Thailand) Koh Samui Apr-08 Jun-15
(Thailand) Phuket Apr-04 Jun-15
(Thailand) Prachuap Khiri Khan (incl Hua Hin - Thailand) Apr-08 Apr-31
United Kingdom Mar-25 Jul-04
(United States) Florida Keys (Monroe County including Key West, Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon) Mar-22 Jun-01
(United States) Fort Lauderdale Mar-23 May-08
(United States) Hawaii Jun-02 Jul-31
(United States) Miami Mar-23 May-19
(United States) Nevada Mar-19 May-15
Wales Jul-04 Jul-12
Zanzibar Mar-21 May-15
Zimbabwe Apr-01 May-03

How to modify or cancel bookings

We strongly recommend using the website to cancel and/or modify your bookings with us.

If possible, please avoid calling the customer relationship centre (CRC) as we will process requests for refunds based on closures AND / OR the force majeure within 10 days, however refunds can take up to 30 days to process, due to external dependencies (increased volumes at banks and merchant suppliers).

Remember: all cancelations must be made before the guest arrives – otherwise we cannot guarantee a refund.

How to contact our call centre for urgent inquiries

Please be aware that we are experiencing very high levels of calls in our operations centres. We have put in place additional staff and extra shifts to cope with the demand; nonetheless understandably it is taking longer than usual to attend to inquiries and we are a truly grateful for your patience.

If you need to contact the support centre, only do so for bookings with arrival in the next 72 hours. This allows us to prioritise our resources on the more urgent cases – something that is in everyone’s interest.

For bookings with arrival NOT in the next 72 hours: wherever possible we would like to ask you to hold back on contacting our call centres at the moment and use the website instead to modify or cancel your bookings.

This is a situation that none of us could ever have imagined or prepared for and understandably we appreciate the significant impact of these developments and your patience.

We value your partnership and would like to thank you for your understanding and support.

Hotelbeds Group Logos