We understand there is a lot of uncertainty around the situation with COVID-19 which may affect your business travel plans.
Our number one priority right now is assisting the high volumes of customer requests we’re receiving as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Looking to change or cancel an upcoming trip? You can do so from the trip list, just follow these instructions.
For everything else, we’ve prepared this guide to help you understand and navigate your options during this time.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why haven’t I received confirmation of my cancellation request yet?
- The airline has flights scheduled in the coming month. What should I do if I don't want to travel anymore?
- I have decided to continue with my scheduled flight. What do I need to know?
- The cancellation policy on TravelPerk is not in line with what the airline is communicating. Why?
- The airline has canceled my flight. What are the next steps?
- How do I modify or cancel my own trip on TravelPerk?
- Will my hotel refund my booking?
- My hotel is closed—what do I do?
- I’m flying to an area that is under a travel ban. Will my plane ticket get refunded?
- Where is the best place to get updates about coronavirus policies?
- What steps can I take to ensure travel is managed efficiently and safely during the coronavirus outbreak?
Why haven’t I received confirmation of my cancellation request yet?
Due to the exceptionally high volume of cancellations at the moment, we are prioritizing cancellations based on trip start dates. If your flight is leaving in more than 24 hours, there is no need to follow up with Customer Care. You will receive a notification that your request has been received, and your cancellation will be dealt with in due course.
The airline has flights scheduled in the coming month. What should I do if I don't want to travel anymore?
The status of flights is changing daily based on recommendations from the World Health Organization and government initiatives. If you have upcoming trips, you have the following options:
- If you have FlexiPerk, you can cancel your trips at any time to get the majority of the trip cost refunded.
- Cancel or reschedule trips via the “Modify / cancel” link in the TravelPerk platform. Customer Care will process the request based on the most up-to-date cancellation policy from the airline. See Forbes' list of all international airline coronavirus travel policies.
I have decided to continue with my scheduled flight. What do I need to know?
Each airline, airport, or country will have its own set of rules and safety measures. For example, it may be mandatory to wear a mask at the airport or during the duration of the flight. Please check with your respective airline and check the travel policies of your destination city/ country before flying to minimize issues during your trip.
The cancellation policy on TravelPerk is not in line with what the airline is communicating. Why?
Airline cancellation policies are changing daily, and our teams are constantly checking all airlines’ policies for the most up-to-date guidelines. As such, you may not see the most up-to-date travel policies on our platform. But, if you request a cancellation or modification, our Customer Care team will honor the most recent guidelines from the respective travel provider.
The airline has canceled my flight. What are the next steps?
If your flight has been canceled due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions, please contact us as soon as possible. Our Customer Care team will advise you on the next steps according to the airline’s current cancellation policy, taking into account any exceptions that airlines are making related to the coronavirus situation.
How do I change or cancel my own trip on TravelPerk?
TravelPerk is currently experiencing high volumes of cancellations and changes due to the coronavirus situation. To change or cancel your trip, please follow these steps:
- Sign in to the TravelPerk platform
- Go to the Trips tab and filter by Upcoming trips
- Search for the Trip ID
- Click the Manage trip link
- Follow the steps to complete your change or cancellation.
Changing or canceling your trip from the platform allows our Customer Care team to automatically prioritize tickets by departure date.
Please note that the team is prioritizing cancellations for trips departing within 48 hours. So, if your departure date is more than 48 hours away, please bear with us—we’ll get back to you soon!
Will my hotel refund my booking?
Cancellation policies for hotels and rentals during the coronavirus outbreak vary widely depending on the status of the region you are traveling to. If the region is undergoing a travel ban, hotel providers are offering more flexibility for cancellations and modifications. If there are no specific travel guidelines, then it will be at the provider’s discretion. If you are concerned about your hotel booking, please contact our Customer Care team and they will help you.
My hotel is closed—what do I do?
If you arrive at a hotel to find that it's closed or does not have your booking, please try not to panic. While, unfortunately, this is entirely out of our control, we do have a clear protocol in place to get you rebooked in an equal or better quality hotel as soon as possible.
See full instructions in our article: I arrived at my hotel and it's closed—what do I do?
I’m flying to an area that is under a travel ban. Will my plane ticket get refunded?
Where can I get updates about coronavirus policies?
As the global status of coronavirus is changing daily, we recommend checking the World Health Organisation and CDC websites regularly, as well as the airline or hotel website.
Forbes has also compiled this useful list of all major international airline coronavirus policies, which is updated daily.
What steps can I take to ensure travel is managed efficiently and safely during the coronavirus outbreak?
Consider a stricter approval setting
At times like this, you may wish to restrict business travel to only the most necessary trips. To add an extra element of control, we recommend that you switch your settings to have every trip require approval during this period. You can change your settings here. (Only users with Admin permissions can manage approval settings.)
Duty of Care
When an employee has a problem overseas, there are a number of things that you may suddenly need to think about. Medical costs, repatriation, interpretation, translation and other factors suddenly come into play. You can be prepared for all of this with a Duty of Care provider, like our partner ISOS. They will help you know where your employees are at any point in time, as well as caring for them, and bringing them home should anything happen. Head over to our Duty of Care page to read more about the services that ISOS provides.
Be flexible on every trip
More than ever, it's wise to look carefully at the fare conditions on every trip. Sometimes the conditions and restrictions in the small print can leave you without an alternative flight or the opportunity to claim a refund. There are two ways to counter this.
First, you can purchase flexible fares (you can filter to find these when searching on TravelPerk) or you can choose to sign up for FlexiPerk, which will cover not only your flight bookings but trains, hotels, and any other service as well.
All our customers who have FlexiPerk added to their travel have peace of mind as we guarantee you an 80% refund on all purchased trips, no matter the conditions of the selected fares. At the moment, FlexiPerk is available in the UK, US, all 27 EU countries, and Switzerland. We're looking to expanding to other regions in the future.
From the data we’ve seen, the price of flights and hotels are trending low at the moment, so, if you're willing to take the risk, you could choose to purchase trips for later in the year, now. But this comes with the risk of not knowing how the current situation will progress.