It seems a lifetime ago when back in March we were all blindsided by COVID19 - a virus that none of us could have imagined would impact and change our lives (and in particular our business here at Lifestyle Travel), so dramatically.
Fast forward 9 months and finally our amazing country will be reunited with most domestic borders opening throughout December. This is such great news for anyone who has not been able to visit family and friends, or holiday interstate. We know that many of you are planning to book flights as soon as possible!
Like so many others, we as a team have been riding the rollercoaster of emotions throughout 2020. We've felt devastated having had to navigate thousands of refunds and credits for you all - our wonderful understanding clients and still find ourselves frustrated liaising with certain suppliers.
Our beloved Travel Industry has suffered greatly from COVID19 with both Australian Domestic and International borders closed which resulted in mass cancellations on a scale never seen before. Travel was never designed to be ‘undone’ and the implications of unravelling multiple bookings from flights, to hotels, car hire, trains, tours, cruises has been indescribable.
Despite all the pain and loss endured throughout these challenging months, there have (as always) been many positives and lots of learnings along the way. Our Lifestyle Team have continued to develop our skills, our knowledge, and our resilience and our main focus has been to support and care for each other - checking in to make sure everyone is ok and ensure we are rested and energized for rebuilding once our runway arrives and we can all travel again.
All year, we have been working on an exciting project called ‘Lifestyle Fresh’ which has involved analysing all aspects and areas of our business. This has allowed us to identify and implement processes and ideas to help us be a ‘Fresher & Better’ version – ready for our recovery and ready to get back to doing what we love – creating amazing travel experiences for all of you.
PART 1
The first part of our 'Lifestyle Fresh' introduces you to our big why and the reason we're committed to creating more than just exceptional travel memories for you and your loved ones. We’ve also developed our Client Care Promise which further demonstrates our commitment and what you can expect from us as a business and team when you choose to work with us.
PART 2
The second part is centred on the physical refresh and changes to our office space. This is all about the Five F's - Fresh, Focus, Freedom, Flexibility and Fun!
You can watch the video we've created for the full details below but here's a snapshot of the changes we’re implementing:
1. Fresh: Our beautiful Greek Islands mural when you first walk into the office.
2. Fresh: New plants and decor in waiting area
3. Focus: Our 100 Days of Gratitude display and 100 Lifestyle Legends Wall of Fame
4. Focus: New and exciting places to visit that are close to home
5. Freedom: New opening hours from 10am-3pm. This gives our team valuable time outside of these hours to get the nuts and bolts of your travel locked in so we can sprinkle our bit of magic to create your perfect trip.
6. Freedom: A relaxed dress code for the team - no more uniforms.
7. Flexibility: New ways to meet with us with your choice of face to face or online appointments.
8. Flexibility: New and easier way to make payments with a new system coming in Feb/March 2021.
9. Fun: Celebrating every step and all the little wins as travel begins to recover.
10. Fun: Celebrating with you - our Lifestyle family of adventurous travellers as we gain a whole new appreciation for our beautiful world once travel resumes.
We truly believe that all that was lost in 2020 will return in much brighter and more amazing ways and we'll all be able to see and experience travel life again through fresh and focused hearts and minds.
PART 3
Our third and final part goes into detail about our new and improved booking process.
When our travel world came crashing down in March and all borders were closed, we experienced mass cancellations which was 100% of all our bookings. It was something we could never have imagined or prepared for.
The entire Travel Industry here in Australia and worldwide have been working hard all year, taking into consideration all the learnings and insights gained to implement a better understanding and protection for all involved – particularly for you, our travellers. Here in Australia, our AFTA (Australia Federation of Travel Agents) have been working tirelessly with the ACCC to ensure that moving forward - all parties are well informed and prepared should such an event occur ever again (Please God never ever, but at least knowledge is power!)
NEW PROCESSES TO COME INTO EFFECT FROM 1st of FEBRUARY 2021
Moving forward, we are now required to inform you of all Terms & Conditions for the various Airlines, Tour Operators, Cruise Lines, Accommodation, and the like, alongside our own Lifestyle Travel Ballarat Terms & Conditions. When you decide to work with us to book your travel, you’ll be required to sign off that you have read and understood these terms & conditions and accept them, and we’ll need to keep your signature of acceptance on file for future reference, should it be required.
We too have to make some changes to ensure our long-term sustainability and continued success as a recognised leading travel business, and to stay at the forefront of travel innovation for years to come.
The below link will bring you to our diagram clearly explaining the process of ‘Working with Us’ from the minute you first enquire, to the final stages of managing your booking.
There are three important points for you to know:
1. Redeemable Planning deposits will be new to some of you. We have been doing this for quite some time (but not every time) so it’s time to have a formal, standardised process.
2. Before any payments are made to the various airlines & suppliers contained in your trip, you will need to sign & return to us, the confirmation & acceptance of these Terms & Conditions.
3. Our Travel Advisory & Booking Service, should you need to cancel, is non-refundable.
Back at the very beginning of the COVID crisis, I explained in a blog post how we - as Travel Professionals - are paid a subsidy or commission by our suppliers to manage bookings on behalf of you, our clients. This enables us to offer you amazing deals that quite often include extra bonuses not available by booking online. When you engage with us to assist with your travel arrangements, we combine our advisory service and expertise, with management of the booking process as part of our overall quote – hence why it is not shown as a separate cost item.
However, in the case of cancellation, there is a cost basis for the purpose of us retaining our earnings for work completed before the commencement of a trip. Under normal circumstances, cancellation occurs for unforeseen reasons that is generally covered by Travel Insurance, and our Travel Agent earnings/commission/fees can be claimable under most valid policies. This means you will be able to claim our costs, along with any other supplier cancellations fees should you need to in the future with relevant travel insurance.
We hope you find this information clear and helpful and we want to ensure that all travellers understand the information and elements of the booking process prior to locking in future travel bookings and making payments.
Whilst we haven’t been able to explore this beautiful world as we hoped this year, we hope that booking with a travel professional continues to give you the peace of mind, expertise and personalised options you need to have an enjoyable travel experience. Please don’t hesitate to contact me personally if you have any questions about the above changes and we look forward to a brighter and better 2021 ahead!
Best Wishes,
Leonie