Hurricane season halts some travel, experts say not all trips are lost
ST. LOUIS – If St. Louis’ wet weather has you dreaming of fun in the sun, even the best laid plans might need to be paused during hurricane season.
“It’s a very stressful decision for a client to cancel a vacation. They could have had it planned a year, two years in advance. To have the help of a travel advisor really makes that decision a little easier,” Abbey Meyer, co-founder and CEO of Sky High Travel, said.
She says the first storm of the Atlantic hurricane season created conflicts for some clients, reinforcing the importance of insurance.
“We’ve cancelled several trips that were landing day of impact that was projected. The great news is a lot of our cancellations policies and our insurance providers that we work with allow as close as two hours prior to departure. In some of the instances that we had to postpone or cancel trips because of Hurricane Beryl, and they had travel credit, then they just shift their dates, and that money gets moved to the next trip for a lesser cost. It’s all about providing options and letting them choose what fits their situation best,” Meyer said.
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Beyond insurance, booking through a trusted travel advisor is the best way to ensure your travel plans are in good hands, according to her.
“We work hand in hand. We get emails, we get calls from not only the resorts but people. Locals, colleagues of ours who are in these destinations. Clients that are in these destinations, constantly checking in. We get live details about what actually is going on and what it looks like on the ground,” she said. “These islands rely on tourism, so while they’re kind of conflicted on whether or not to go, I can assure you usually these islands are wanting this tourism to stay up and running and this is par for the course for them.”
With this hurricane season projected to be one of the worst on record, preparation is the key to planning your vacation.
“Hurricane season is June 1 to Nov. 30; that’s six months. You’re not going to write off half the year to take a vacation because of the potential for that. We remind people to plan, hope for the best, book with a trusted advisor and we’ll guide you if things happen like Hurricane Beryl,” Meyer said.
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