Suppliers Earn High Marks From Travel Agents Post Hurricanes Harvey and Irma

Despite back-to-back hurricanes, hotels and other suppliers are winning praise from travel agents for their service.

“The hotel community has really pulled together, being proactive in reaching out prior to the storm and afterwards,” said Eric Altschul, chief executive officer for ABC Global Services. “Usually, we hear pretty soon if customers have complaints and issues. Even wholesalers have been flexible and responsive.”

Altschul specifically praised Hilton Hotels & Resorts and Intercontinental Hotels Group.

“They’ve had great communication with the agency community, got ahead of the storm in terms of cancellations and changes.”

“Everyone has been wonderful and very kind,” said Emily Rawlins, owner of Merriway Travel in Sacramento, Calif. “It’s always nice to see the travel community come together and help.”

“The suppliers I can tell appreciate the patience and kindness as well, as we have all been working very hard to manage the influx of work. I see the travel agent community and the suppliers working in harmony.”

“I have been working with most of the Caribbean destinations, and I have found the suppliers have been very responsive,” said Ana Larson, manager and travel agent at Cruises Travel and Tours in Front Royal, Va.

“I had two wedding groups where many guests were suppose to fly out of Houston the week of Hurricane Harvey.  While I was able to reroute most of them out of Dallas some were stranded at their home due to flooding and couldn’t get out,” said Terrah Van Meter, a travel consultant at Legacy Travel in Dallas.

“I worked with the airlines, ground operators, suppliers and hoteliers to get them fully refunded…It feels good to be a voice of reason with those who are stressed and seeking help.”

Van Meter said that hold times still are long, and “refund processes are backed up, but we are all doing our best.”

“The resorts, airlines, cruise lines and wholesalers have all been very understanding and helpful.  It’s an amazing thing to see our travel industry come together for the greater good.”

Tammy Parsons Peterson, founder of Retreats Unlimited, is working with resorts where she has retreats scheduled for later this fall, and has found that with some travelers concerned about the state of their island destinations, the resorts she works with have been able to help her clients cancel.

“I have two retreats in Turks & Caicos, pending in October. It’s hard. You put so much work and effort, and then something like this happens, and it’s gone. You could tell people a thousand times that everything would be okay, but they have their concerns, and all of us are doing our best to understand those concerns.”

This experience is particularly hard on Parsons Peterson because she has spent the bulk of her travel career living and working in the Caribbean, including the British and United States Virgin Islands, St. Barts and Peter Island.

“It’s hard seeing how so many friends and colleagues took such a huge hit,” she said. Parsons Peterson does have one large booking for a resort in the Bahamas, so she is doing her best to salvage the summer/fall season. She’s hopeful that the travel industry will rally, rebuild and rebound.