1. WHY WAS I CHARGED AN IRRECOVERABLE COST?

When a booking is cancelled or suspended due to the unforeseeable circumstances, according to your booking terms and conditions (clause 14), the fees imposed by third-party suppliers will apply. These fees include but not limited to the non-refundable payment we have submitted to the airlines, hotels, local land operator and etc. The amount of irrecoverable cost varies per booking.

2. CAN EXPEDITION EXCLUSIVE WAIVE THE IRRECOVERABLE COST?

The irrecoverable cost is not a fee charged by Expedition Exclusive, therefore we are unable to waive such cost. However, the irrecoverable cost only applies when the booking is cancelled due to the unforeseeable circumstances and it will not apply to a postponed booking. If you are willing to change your booking to an alternative product or travel date, please do not hesitate to contact us and find out the available options.

3. CAN I HAVE THE BREAKDOWN OF THE IRRECOVERABLE COST APPLIED TO MY BOOKING?

The amount of irrecoverable cost varies per booking. Please email us on info@expeditionexclusive.com.au to request the breakdown of the irrecoverable cost applied to your booking.

Photo by Kwasi Kyei

Dear valued customers,

We wish to advise that our office will be closed on Monday, 8th June 2020 thanks to the Queen's Birthday long weekend.

Our office will re-open at 9am (AEST) on Tuesday, 9th June 2020.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon

There has been a lot of debate recently on why travel credits are being issued rather than refunds and when refunds are being issued why they are taking so long to be processed.

In this video, the the Council of Australian Tour Operators' Chair, Dennis Bunnik tackles those questions to provide some insight and answers around:

• The size and complexities of the travel and tourism 'ecosystem'.
• Why travel credits rather than refunds are so important.
• Why credits and refunds are taking so long to be processed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                             

 

 

Source: https://cato.travel/news/8992807 

Cover Photo by geralt--9301

A Message From Expedition Exclusive Australia

Dear our valued customers,

The COVID-19 situation, of governments implemented statewide lockdown, compulsory quarantine and social distancing restrictions and enforced immediate border closures is like no other situation we have, nor any business in Australia has experienced before. We are doing our utmost to protect the interests and safety of our customers and team members.

To that end, our head office in Melbourne has been closed for public walk-in and our team members have been working remotely from home over the last few weeks. To ensure that our customers' concerns and enquiries are attended to promptly, we have activated the online chat service via our website as an additional way of communication. The online chat service is available for our customers to reach us during the working hours between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM on weekdays.

Our management team has been proactively cooperating with the Australian authorities such as the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) to ensure that we always provide the booking solutions and advices strictly under their guidance and requirements.

Our focus on the solutions is to provide our customers with an open and transparent communication, accurate information and practical option/s to navigate our way through this together.

Please understand that we are an Australian, healthy and privately held company. We share your burden and concern during this unique and unprecedented situation. We are very optimistic about our future and excited about the travel opportunities we are going to bring you when the world reopens.

We wish all our customers and agency partners a safe outcome to this dreadful pandemic and look forward to a time in the nearest future when we can all return to travelling.

Warm regards,

From the team at Expedition Exclusive Australia

Photo by aj Vaishnaw

1. WHY HAVE YOU SUSPENDED ALL TOURS UNTIL THE END OF NOVEMBER?

Due to the ongoing global impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) and the likelihood of international borders remaining closed for an extended period of time we have had no choice but extend our suspension of tours until at least 30 November 2020. We are monitoring the situation very closely and will continue to provide updates on our website if the suspension periodis to be extended further.

2. MY TOUR HAS BEEN SUSPENDED WHAT HAPPENS TO MY BOOKING NOW?

If you were booked on a tour that has been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, you will automatically receive a credit voucher of 100% of monies paid directly to us of your deposit or full payment. This excludes the flights, insurances, credit card surcharge and any service fees as they are irrecoverable, or they will have their own booking conditions.

You do not need to contact us to confirm your credit voucher as it has been automatically applied to your Expedition Exclusive booking file. Simply contact us when the time comes that you are ready to re-book. You can visit the Credit Voucher FAQs and Credit Voucher Terms and Conditions for full details.

3. I BOOKED MY TOUR VIA A TRAVEL AGENT, WHAT SHOULD I DO?

All of our travel agent partners have been notified of their customers who have been impacted by the suspension of tours up until 30 November 2020. We recommend you contact your travel agent directly for them to assist you with your booking and future travel arrangements, as some agencies may have different booking conditions and should already have all of your information on file.

4. MY TOUR IS BOOKED TO DEPART AFTER 30 NOVEMBER 2020, WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?

At this stage, all tours departing from 1 December 2020 have not been suspended and are scheduled to depart as planned. We are monitoring the situation very closely and if your tour is suspended you will be notified directly by our service team or your travel agent as soon as possible. If you choose to cancel your tour booking departing from 1 December 2020, the cancellation terms and conditions at the time you booked are still applicable. In addition, you have the option to receive a 100% credit of monies paid (land portion only excluding flights and insurance) to use towards an alternative tour with a later departure date.

5. CAN I GET A REFUND FOR MY BOOKING?

To request a refund for your booking, please email your request to info@expeditionexclusive.com.au and  we will review your case in line with the standard Booking Terms and Conditions.

In most cases, the fees or conditions imposed by third-party suppliers will apply. Unfortunately, we can't waive fees or conditions that airlines and other third-party suppliers impose, and nor can we control the speed at which they process and return your funds. However, our people are working closely with these suppliers to negotiate better outcomes and faster turnaround times.

6. HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO RECEIVE MY REFUND?

We are processing refund requests in order of the date of booking departure, so that all of our customers are treated as fairly and reasonably as possible in the current circumstances. In normal circumstances refunds can take up to 12-26 weeks, as we are reliant on receiving the funds back from the supplier before we are able to pass them on to you. Please note that the time to issue a refund varies per supplier.

Please refer to the refund process and timeframe here.

7. WHAT ARE THE CANCELLATION FEES?

Any applicable fees imposed by third-party suppliers will apply if you wish to receive a refund on your booking. Supplier policies are changing constantly and vary widely. In many cases, they are also reasonably short-term in application. This means that if you do have longer term bookings, you may not yet have clarity around final amendment or cancellation positions and it may be in your interests to wait for further updates from the travel service provider at this time.
 

8. WHY IS EXPEDITION EXCLUSIVE ASKING ME TO TAKE CREDIT VOUCHER FOR MY BOOKING?

People love travel as it is not only the best way to explore the outside world, but also the journey enriches life. However, travel used to be expensive and hard to manage, especially when you are planning to a foreign country with different culture, language and etc.

The establishment of Expedition Exclusive is inspired by the dream of making the travel to the world more affordable and accessible for everyone. To achieve this, every single member in our team is dedicated to providing the best quality, value, and service to meet our customers' needs. Expedition Exclusive, the company has never been motivated by money for money sake, and we are offering all our guests credit voucher for the best benefit of your good.

Please allow us to explain how.

Payments
For us to create the tour at a great value (sometimes it is up to 50% cheaper than the normal market price), we will make upfront deposits and full payments to airlines, hotels, and our suppliers to secure the reservation for our guests. These payments apply to all tour relevant elements, including but not limited to the flights, accommodations, local transports, tour guides and optional extras. During the coronavirus crisis, many of our suppliers have decided to offer credits instead of refunds, and for those suppliers who agreed to refund (less the cancellation fee), the refund process may take up to 6-8 months. However, we understand how important to our guests to be guided on what will happen to your booking with us and the long wait of the booking update is painful. Therefore, we moved quickly and settled the largest portion of each booking value the tour cost with more than 95% of all our guests while we are yet to receive the funds from the suppliers. We are offering the credit voucher so our guests can have the option of not be penalised on the supplier's cancellation fee and experience the long wait of the refund process.

Continuous Support from Expedition Exclusive
During this unprecedented time, all of us are struggling to navigate the impact COVID-19 is having on our work and live. Expedition Exclusive is committed to doing our part and to keep people in our offices and destinations employed so we are here to provide continuously support to all our guests. By taking the credit voucher and keeping your trust in Expedition Exclusive, you will help us get back on our feet when the COVID-19 crisis is over, and it will enable us to offer you the best service and tours when the world opens up again.

Further Product Development
While travel aboard is paused due to COVID-19, our team has not stopped developing and enhancing our products. We are proud to announce the new destinations including Australia, Japan and India will become available soon. On top of the touring service, we will facilitate retail reservation team and assist you with flight and hotel bookings. So, when you are ready to travel again, you will have more products and flexibility in using the credit voucher with us.

9. OTHER USEFUL LINKS AND GUIDELINES

• Credit Vouchers FAQs
• Smart Traveller
• ACCC advice on event and travel cancellations due to COVID-19
• ACCC COVID-19 information for customers
• AFTA COVID-19 Industry Update

Image Credit: PngItem.com