Calling the whole thing off

When should you call a trip off?

Just after Sept. 11, 2001, one-third of the business travelers surveyed told pollsters from YPB&R, the Orlando, Fla.-based marketing company, that the threat of a new terrorist attack would make them change their plans.

How about a war? A survey by AAA found that more Americans postponed their trips after the start of Gulf War II. Bookings during the first week of the conflict in March 2003 were just 76% of year-before levels.

And sickness? More than half of corporate travel managers said the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Asia precipitated a fall in travel (and, presumably, some cancellations), according to the National Business Travel Association.

Beyond that, there are the more personal reasons for staying put, such as jury duty, a death in the family or a business emergency. They’re perfectly valid grounds for canceling, but it’s difficult to know how often they’re used because there are no reliable surveys on the subject.

Still, what should you consider a legitimate reasons for actually picking up the phone and calling your travel agent to cancel?

If you ask the travel industry, you may be disappointed. Under the airlines’ “no waivers, no favors” policy, there’s almost no valid reason to cancel a trip, unless you’ve booked a more expensive refundable fare. Not for jury duty. Not for sickness – even with a doctor’s note. And not for terrorism fears. Even during the last war, most airlines would only let your reschedule your flight without a penalty, but didn’t offer a refund.

(On a side note, that’s why trip cancellation insurance is so important nowadays, particularly when you’re paying thousands of dollars for a single itinerary. Your reasons for calling the whole trip off are rarely good enough for an airline or hotel.)

You have your reasons for not going. Here are mine:

When the reason to go is gone. If a trip is rendered pointless because of circumstances, then why travel? For example, I had planned a trip to visit a client in California a few months ago. It was an old but high-maintenance customer, and I intended to address some of the long-standing problems in the hopes of resolving them. Well, events overtook me, and we decided to go our separate ways before I took off. So I canceled the trip. That was easy. Why follow through with your itinerary when the reason for going in the first place no longer exists?

When I’m too sick to travel. If you don’t feel well, it can affect your entire trip (never mind the people you meet – and infect – while you’re away on business). “I only cancel a trip when I am sick,” says Christina Stock. She ought to know; Stock is a tour guide and travel counselor based in Roswell, N.M. This is twice as true if you have an infectious disease and you’re planning to spend hours in a plane, where you can easily make half the cabin sick. Stay home and rest up – if not for your sake, then for the sake of your fellow air travelers.

When my family needs me. This certainly includes the death of a family member or close relative, but is not limited to that. Sometimes it’s difficult to keep what we do as frequent travelers in perspective. This is to say, there are more important things than traveling – and making money. I came to that realization as a young business traveler about a decade ago. A hurricane was barreling toward us during the middle of the summer, but I was determined to take a trip to Albuquerque, N.M, anyway. As I stood at the checkout counter at Miami International Airport, it occurred to me that I was about to leave my family at home in the path of a Category 4 storm. What was I thinking? I called my travel agent from the airport and told her the trip was a bad idea. Talk about an understatement.

When I can’t afford to go. When business slows down, a trip doesn’t just become impractical, but also unaffordable. For many of us, the months after 9/11 and the first Gulf War were disappointing in terms of revenue. I count myself in that group. If it doesn’t make financial sense to travel, I cancel. And I’m not alone. “When my bank statement comes in, and it’s even worse than I thought, I call a trip off,” says Marcella Martinez, a communications consultant in New York. She knows what she’s talking about: Martinez’ consults to the travel industry.

When it’s too hazardous. Let me be clear about this final reason: I’m referring to a specific danger to me, such as the SARS virus that has caused so many to become ill in Asia, not a vague threat about terrorism or hostility toward Americans. For instance, the attacks of Sept. 11 weren’t enough to stop my travels unless I’d been scheduled to visit the Pentagon or the World Trade Center. “I only cancel a trip if the city I am scheduled to be in no longer is there,” says Ron Goltsch, a manager for a technology company in Randolph, N.J. “A little thing like a Code Orange alert would not scare me away.” An extreme view? Hardly. Anyone who has traveled on business knows that if you allow your itinerary to be taken hostage by rumors and nebulous threats, you might as well take a desk job.

I’m not saying these are the only reasons to call a trip off, or even that they are the best reasons. But hopefully my list will help you develop your own criteria for canceling – criteria that weigh the needs of your business against personal circumstances, finances and the conditions at your destination. What you need to do is strike the right balance.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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