How to Travel Safely During the COVID-19 Pandemic

It's been a while since most of us have traveled by air and now that regional/provincial borders are opening up and restrictions are slowly being lifted, the lakwatsero and lakwatsera in us can no longer be tied down. Yung totoo, you've started searching for cheap flight,  looking for discounts in that resort you've been eyeing since forever and researching about the travel requirements but you are also worried about your safety. You've been asking yourself is this trip really worth the risk? Can't I just wait a little longer when it's safer? Basically, how can I ensure my safety and my family's?

I've been asking myself the same questions. Since the pandemic began, my family and I have rarely gone outside of our home, not even to do our groceries. Everything has been done online. We haven't even met with relatives and close friends. But now that the cases are going down, we have decided to grab this window of opportunity to travel again. We've discussed between ourselves how we can ensure our safety and I would like to share them with you. Promise, I'll try to be detailed but concise.

GET VACCINATED FIRST!
This is the most basic requirement before even thinking of traveling. It's not just for your own safety but for others as well, and not just for whoever you're traveling with but also for those people that you'll be getting in contact with such as hotel staff, airline staff, etc. I sort of understand why others are hesitant to get vaccinated but unfortunately, you also won't be able to travel without the jab. 

GET TESTED BEFORE YOUR FLIGHT
I know this is no longer a requirement in some provinces among those who have been fully vaccinated. I know you're thinking why will I waste money when it's no longer needed? Vaccination doesn't automatically mean you won't get infected. You still can and as a safety precaution, especially if you're traveling with others, it's just wise to get tested. And wouldn't you have more fun traveling when you have peace of mind that when you take off that mask when you enter your personal spaces or when you dine out, that you won't be infecting others? If you have enough budget for this, you can go with RT-PCR. Philippine Red Cross' Saliva RT-PCR is the cheapest and least invasive test there is. You can book yours here: PRC Saliva RT-PCR Test. If you don't have enough budget, you can also opt to choose antigen swab test although make sure that this is accepted in the LGU, hotel or resort that you will be going/staying.

PLEASE FOLLOW PROTOCOLS
I've seen lots of travelers not following instructions, no matter how loud or how repetitive airport, airline and hotel staff say them. Wear your face masks and face shields properly and observe social distancing, it's not that hard. Even if you're vaccinated and you got yourself tested before your flight, you still don't know what you're going to get during your flight or while you're traveling.

SUBMIT ALL REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
I guess this one is not something that you can dodge. Before flying, the airline check-in staff will need to see these requirements before they even let you board the plane. When you arrive at your destination, all these documents will need to be shown before you leave the airport or check-in at your hotel/resort.



Now, answering the most important questions amidst this COVID-19 lockdowns and travel bans.

Am I able to refund a non-refundable Agoda booking due to travel bans?
Most definitely yes. Since you are unable to travel to the destination country or leave your home country due to government restrictions, your hotel or Agoda has to refund your money. 

But what if the destination country or my home country is not on lockdown but I have decided not to push through with the trip?
Now, this highly depends on your hotel. Our trip to Vietnam was supposed to happen 2nd week of February and at that time, there was no lockdown in Vietnam or the Philippines but we decided not to push through. Here are the steps that we took to be able to get a refund even without the government restrictions. Note that these steps can be taken for non-refundable bookings which have already been paid (whether Pay Now or Pay Later bookings):

  1. Before changing anything to your booking, contact the hotel directly. See below ways to contact your hotel.
  2. Indicate your reasons for cancelling and ask for their kind consideration.
  3. Once they have agreed, ask them to put this on email for documentation.
  4. Contact Agoda and send them a copy of your communication with the hotel showing that they agreed to a refund or rescheduling. See below ways to contact Agoda.
  5. Wait for a few days for Agoda to be the one to change your booking. Important: Do not make any changes to your booking and let Agoda make the changes themselves.
  6. Wait for your refund. 
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If my booking is non-refundable but says Pay at the hotel, do I need to take the same steps?
Just to be sure, yes. Since it is non-refundable, my apprehension is that Agoda might charge this to your credit card if you are unable to pay at the hotel. It will be the same process as the previous one.

  1. Contact your hotel and ask if you can cancel your booking for free. Based on my experience, they would always say yes, given valid reason, because you haven’t paid anything yet.
  2. Ask the hotel to put this in writing.
  3. Contact Agoda and request for cancellation and send along a copy of your email exchanges with the hotel as proof that they are allowing you to cancel for free.
  4. Wait for them to cancel your booking.
  5. Regularly follow-up Agoda until you see the bookings under your Cancelled list.
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What do I do if the hotel does not agree to free cancellation?
I actually experienced this with one of the hotels that I booked in Laguna and to make things worse, this happened during the lockdown. Obviously, we are unable to push through with the trip even if we want to since we are no longer able to leave Metro Manila. The booking was on a Pay Now basis and was non-refundable. Instead of cancelling the trip and forfeiting , we opted to request to rebook our 2-night stay to August 2020. At least this way, you don’t lose your money entirely. Here are the steps that we took:

  1. Just in case they do not agree to cancellation, ask them for a free rescheduling.
  2. Once they have agreed, ask them to put this on email in case you are on a call with them.
  3. If you already have this conversation on Facebook Messenger or on email, you can screencap the conversation and send to Agoda. See below ways to contact Agoda.
  4. Wait for a few days for Agoda to change your booking. Again, do not make any changes to your booking and let Agoda make the changes for you. Sometimes, this takes a while but shouldn’t take more than a week.
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How many days before the trip should I be contacting the hotel?
Just to be on the safe side and if possible at all, do this a few weeks before your trip so these changes are made before the date of your stay in the hotel.
 
How do I apply for refund if I am still within the free cancellation period?
If you have already paid for your hotel booking but have decided to cancel within the free cancellation period, you can just go straight to your Agoda app and cancel the booking from there. This process is much more straightforward and you don’t have to contact your hotel for any confirmation. Here is the process:

  1. Go to your Agoda app.
  2. Click on Bookings.
  3. Click on the booking that you would like to cancel.
  4. Scroll down and click on “Cancel booking”.
  5. Enter a reason for cancellation and click “Continue with cancellation”.
  6. Agoda will return your money through your credit card.
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How do I contact my hotel to request for a refund?
There are several ways to contact your hotel, depending on where they are available:
 
  • Email. This is my preferred way where everything is formal and documented. You should be able to find your hotel’s email address on their website or their social media accounts.
  • Website contact form. Sometimes these hotels do not share their email addresses anywhere but instead have a contact form on their website.
  • Social media. This is second best way since most of them are responsive here than email. This is also documented but less formal. You can try Facebook or Instagram.
  • Phone call. This would be the last resort. My hesitation with phone is that it won’t be documented unless you request that they send an email. 
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How do I contact Agoda to request for this refund?
Once your hotel has agreed to refund or rebook, then you can try contacting Agoda through these ways:

  • Phone. You may call Agoda through their 24/7 hotline numbers here: https://www.agoda.com/info/contact.html
  • Agoda app. This is the easiest way for me but this can be more complicated for others so bear with me as I show you the steps.
    • Click on the three-dash or sandwich icon at the bottom left which says “More”.
    • Scroll down and click on “Booking Assistance”.
    • Select “Accommodation Booking” for the first box and then select “I’d like to cancel my booking” in the second box.
    • In the third box, select the hotel booking that you are referring to
    • Click on “Show more options” at the bottom
    • Scroll down and click on “Email us”
    • Fill in the form that will appear.
  • Agoda website. This is very much similar to the app but click on “Help Center” at the bottom and follow the same steps above for Agoda app.
  • Email. You can also email Agoda directly at [email protected]

If my Agoda booking is refundable or says free cancellation, how do I cancel?
If this is the case, then you can proceed to cancel through the app’s self-service option without the need to contact Agoda’s customer service or the hotel.
 
How long will my refund take?
To be honest, I still haven’t received my refunds until now. It would really depend on how quick it will be processed by the hotel and by your bank. But based on their responses, the processing time takes about 2-3 banking cycles which means 2-3 months from the day it has been processed.
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