DeputyDan
Contributor
This thread will need a sticky - cause it will be much researched 4/5 years down the road.
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United refunded me the miles (360,000 for both my wife and myself) but charged me a $250 cancellation.
I just emailed Ambai to pull my booking from 29th Oct to 9th Nov 2021.
Thanks @outofofficebrb for the details. I am very disappointed for all of you that they continue to be so unreasonable. Strangely enough I was looking at them very seriously for a Banda Sea trip last year. I had a DM on my Socorro trip who had spent 6 years in Indonesia and when I asked him about Wallacea he said simply "they aren't good".... your experience unfortunately puts this into sharp relief. They will never have my business.
Which honestly should make the life of these online liveaboard travel agents come to an end soon. At this point, what’s the benefit of using one? They haven’t shown any ability to be helpful and seem much more likely to hurt you than improve your situation...
Our agent is helping to soften the blow by offering us a 10% discount on the new/rescheduled sailing and other financial incentives for future bookings if we decide to take the deal. We'd still owe hundreds of dollars for a trip that is shorter by 1 day next year as well. A chargeback is possible as we all paid with credit card but our agent's agency would then take the hit and they are NOT the problem.
Below is what our group put together for our agent to communicate to them and they still refused. Please feel free to use any of these points for your own negotiations with whoever you are having issues with.
Facts:
Rebuttal/Talking Points:
- The divers have each paid for their trip 100%.
- None of the divers are requesting a refund. They are asking for a reschedule without additional payment.
- The April 12 sailing next year is 1 day shorter and less expensive by a couple hundred dollars. None of the divers are requesting the difference, just a reschedule.
- Raja Ampat Marine Park closed which did not allow Wallacea to sail. As a result, Wallacea had to cancel the trip.
- The closure is due to COVID, something that is out of Wallacea and the guests’ control and an unforeseen circumstance.
- Wallacea is only offering 80% of the trip cost value towards a reschedule and is requesting the divers pay an additional amount ($774-$1,471 USD per person depending on cabin).
- Almost all other liveaboards and resorts are offering 100% credit or rescheduling without requiring extra payment.
- Assuming ¼ of the trips are filled by “non-paying customers” - Wallacea has already collected 100% of our trip cost and is not sailing. There was no expenditure of fuel or food now for our sailing. We are effectively giving Wallacea a 1-year $30,000 unsecured 0% interest loan. The customer is not asking for any money back, even with the sailing being over 1 year away. Wallacea is spending less in the immediate future by not sailing. That should balance itself out next year when Wallacea sails.
- Dive travel is likely to be substantially reduced for several years due to COVID restrictions and economic fallout. This means that there will be more spots on boats than divers to fill them.
- A boat that's full is better for Wallacea’s crew vs. half full (same fuel costs, half the tips).
- Dive operators who can't fill their boats in advance have to offer the remaining spaces at significant discounts. The loss of income from that far outweighs the 20% gained by giving partial rescheduling credit at 80% as proposed - if Wallacea can fill the boat at all.
- The reduced number of divers means customers can pick and choose operators who have the best reputation for how they handled this year's cancellations. Currently, this is not Wallacea.
- The events are beyond both parties’ control but the concessions are being requested (additional payment) from the divers yet the divers are not requesting a refund or credit for the difference in the trip cost between 2020’s trip and 2021’s trip.
- The price of diesel fuel has dropped by 20% since the start of the year and is likely to stay low. Wallacea will make more profit on our rebooking in 2021 than they planned for the April 2020 trip (or the currently quoted 2021 rates)
- If Wallacea insists on only offering 80% of the trip cost that has been fully paid, they will have more to worry about next year than ¼ of the trips being filled by reschedules. It will lend itself to bad publicity and they may see a significant reduction in bookings due to this policy. It speaks volumes about Wallacea when every other resort and liveaboard in the world is offering an even reschedule at no additional cost. This group has some frequent Indonesia travelers (2X per year for multiple weeks at a time) and an instructor, both with a very large group travel network and social media outreach.
- New customers will choose operators who took care of their existing customers, particularly since no one knows what the status of COVID restrictions will be next year.
- If some of us file a chargeback or dispute over payment, the travel agent/agency will lose thousands of dollars. No travel agent/agency will want to take a risk on Wallacea when they have plenty of other boats to choose from.
- Wallacea is likely to lose a lot of existing reservations. According to the current policy, anyone with an existing reservation 121 days out can cancel and only lose $100. Considering the discounts and better cancellation policies that other operators are offering, customers could pay less overall *and* be at less risk by cancelling their existing reservations with you and booking with someone else. It’s better for the customer to cancel and just lose $100 now than potentially lose $800-$1500 if Wallacea has to cancel those charters as well and only offer customers a partial credit of 80%
- Publicity works both ways. By taking care of its existing customers, Wallacea will have a good reputation as one of the dive operators that it is safe to book with in an uncertain world. This will help Wallacea fill boats in the long run
- Fixed costs: As mentioned, these are fixed. These should be budgeted and planned for all the time regardless of what happens with the business because they are continuously occurring. It is independent of whether a boat sails, whether there are a lot of bookings from customers or no bookings from customers. COVID should not affect these costs. These are the costs of running a business; these are also the overhead costs.
- Salaries and marketing - These are usually fixed in normal times but in the world of COVID, many of Wallacea’s customers are also experiencing pay cuts, layoffs, and furloughs. The customers (the divers) do not make that Wallacea’s problem and ask that Wallacea extend a discount on a replacement sailing or a trip they have already agreed to take, nor do they request to refund any money, either. Running a business, Wallacea should either have a cash flow that allows them to continue paying their perceived fixed costs or reduce salaries and marketing budgets accordingly by adapting to the environment and business situation.
- Boat maintenance/yearly mandatory dry docking and fuel: This occurs regardless of whether the boat sails or not or whether COVID ever happened. Wallacea has already accepted 100% of our trip cost yet the boat is not sailing. Fuel and regular maintenance is actually a variable cost. If Wallacea is not sailing, Wallacea is not using any fuel. Diesel is probably the largest expenditure each week when the boat sails. If the boat is not sailing, there is also less wear and tear. Routine maintenance costs will theoretically be lower than usual. Mandatory annual dry docking fees occur regardless of COVID or whether the boat sails and happens on an annual basis so COVID/not sailing/park closure should not have any effect on these costs.
- With the boat stuck in port, the crew can use this time to take care of any pending maintenance. This will increase boat uptime and decrease this risk of cancellation due to mechanical difficulties when charters resume.
- Continuing to pay employees: This is admirable. However, if that is Wallacea’s goal and desire, Wallacea should instead ensure their business model and financial position puts them in a cash flow position to do this. It is not the responsibility of the divers/customers to finance this and be used as a reason to ask for more money. This is a reflection of poor business planning for a “rainy day” and is shifting this desire and its resulting responsibility to the customer. Again, Wallacea has already received 100% of our trip costs. The offset of not sailing should yield some savings in variable costs from fuel/food, etc.. That can be used to pay staff. The divers are not requesting for any type of refund.