UPDATED MARCH 16TH

Why a Travel Advisor is Important
Personalized travel is what Esplanade Travel has always arranged and will continue to do. In light of the current COVID-19 news, a trusted travel advisor is more important now than ever. We provide expert advice, point you to unbiased resources to weigh your options, and provide maximum support regardless of what travel decision is made. We are here as you sort through the deluge of often-conflicting information and provide regular updates on the latest trusted sources. Ultimately, a travel advisor is your best resource.

We’re Here to Keep You Informed
We’re staying informed to keep you informed so that your travels go off without a hitch. We are monitoring information from the CDC, State Department, WHO, and more, as well as working with our partners around the world to ensure you have the trip you planned. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, or check out the links at the end of this post for up-to-date information.

How to Stay Healthy While Traveling
Every traveler has an individual risk tolerance, which is tested in times like this. When traveling, make sure to wash your hands consistently and keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in your bag. Bring a few sanitizing wipes onto the plane with you to wipe down armrests, trays, and touch screens. Try to avoid touching your face and get a window seat for fewer interactions. When waiting in line to board, give yourself some space from others and don’t crowd around – you’ll all arrive at the same time, anyway!

In your daily life as well as traveling, make sure to:

1. Wash your hands often
2. Cough into your elbow, not your hands
3. Try not to touch your face
4. Stay 3+ feet away from others when in public places
5. Stay home at any sign of illness

Postpone, Don’t Cancel
If, after weighing your options, you would like to postpone a trip already booked, we will be as flexible as possible getting new dates and transferring monies already paid. You can count on us to advocate for you with all suppliers so that you can reschedule your trip with as few cancellation fees as possible.

The general advice for travel is to reschedule your trip rather than outright cancellation. This will give your travel consultant the best chance of avoiding cancellation fees and keeping your full trip value. Everything is evaluated on a case-by-case basis and Esplanade will do all we can to ensure a positive outcome for all involved parties.

Travel Insurance
In these unprecedented times, it is difficult to predict how insurance companies will handle claims. Keep in mind that claims will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Before making an insurance claim, work with your travel consultant to first contact the airlines and ground agents/suppliers to see if they are able to refund monies paid or keep them as credit toward a future trip.

Once all potential avenues to recover funds have been explored, you may be able to make a successful claim with your insurance company.

Esplanade Travel’s insurance partner, Travel Insured, has expanded coverage in light of these extraordinary circumstances:

If the government of a country that you are traveling to is requiring all travelers to the country to be quarantined for a period of time upon entry into the country, you may be eligible for trip cancellation coverage if the quarantine is still in effect within 14 days of your departure date. Or, if you have already departed on your trip but have not yet entered the country that is requiring all arriving travelers to be quarantined, there may be coverage for trip interruption if the quarantine is still in effect 14 days before you will be entering the country. As this is an extension of the normal trip cancellation and trip interruption coverage, all claims would need to be thoroughly reviewed to verify what costs are eligible to be reimbursed, and all related documentation would need to be submitted in order to ensure eligibility.

If you are quarantined as a result of COVID-19, you should be covered under the Trip Interruption/Curtailment benefit, subject to the terms and conditions of your insurance policy.

Helpful Resources

Centers for Disease Control and Protection

U.S. Department of State

World Health Organization