When Things Go Sideways...

If you have been paying attention to the news today (Tuesday, July 2, 2024), Hurricane Beryl is bearing down on Jamaica and other Caribbean islands. There are many people vacationing in that area who have never experienced such a weather event. It is a scary thing, and people do have every reason to worry about what is going to happen. Will they be able to get home? What will happen if they have to hunker down in the hotel?

In many of my travel groups, agents are scurrying to allay the fears of their clients who are in the path of the storm. Some are sharing information to other agents about charter flights they secured that have open seats and are leaving before the island airport gets shut down at midnight. Another with a connection to American Airlines announced that flights were being added to the schedule so more people could leave the island. Information sharing in instances like this is very welcome in our industry. It means more people can get help in the chaos.

Our jobs are not done once the tickets are sold and reservations are made. We are there to help you when things go sideways. We can be that familiar voice telling you what to do and how we are trying to help. There are a few things you as a traveller need to know BEFORE you travel, and we will remind you of these things during the booking process.

1. Hurricane season is about 6 months: June through October/November. Tornadoes do happen outside of the traditional "Tornado Alley". Snow and ice storms can close an airport or cut off any exit from a ski resort or mountain lodge. Even very strong rains can flood an area or cause travel delays or cancellations. Being prepared and nothing happening is better than not being prepared and something happening. Here's what you need to do to prepare.

2. Notify family and/or friends of your travel dates/times and your hotel/flight information. If you are driving, let your people know along the way during your trip. In cases of emergency, they will have the pertinent information to be able to identify you as a traveller in the disaster area to give to officials.

3. Put all your travel documents when not in your hand during the trip into double Ziploc bags. This means paper tickets, passports, passport cards, copies of any health insurance cards, travellers insurance paperwork. Keep them on your person in a backpack or purse that is with you all the time. If you have electronic tickets, keep one cell phone that has access to the tickets in that bag too.

4. If you are in a storm-prone area, ask the hotel front desk staff what their protocols are for evacuation or shelter-in-place. Since these types of storms happen there frequently enough, each hotel will have a protocol on what to do. If such a storm happens, there will be staff to direct you and announcements being made over the speaker systems. Make sure you and your family/travelling group read the protocols and ask any questions.

5. Buy Travellers Insurance!!!! This isn't some upselling by your travel agent. This is protection for you and your belongings. This insurance will also help avoid some fees if tickets need to be rebooked quickly, possibly refund the balance of lost vacation time, and many other things. Policies vary, so make sure you read everything your travel agent gives you about what is available. Like homeowners and car insurance, you hope you never have to use it, but glad you have it if you do need to use it.

I'll leave you with my own storm story. I was about 14 years old when my family was visiting my grandparents in Pompano Beach, Florida. If you've never been there, it's a great community near the Atlantic near Fort Lauderdale. We were really enjoying ourselves with family and doing touristy stuff when my dad, aunt, and grandfather went into my grandfather's office and started making phone calls. The next thing I knew, we were packing our stuff up again. My dad said we had to go home two days early from vacation because the cats needed us. I wasn't dumb. I watched the news and read the Sun Sentinel every day after my granddad was done with it. I knew what was coming. By the time we landed in Pittsburgh, my grandparents with my grandma in a wheelchair were installed at my aunt's house more inland in Florida. The next day, Category 5 Hurricane Andrew hit Homestead, Florida. It had been bearing straight down on Broward County and Ft. Lauderdale before taking a slight southern turn to hit Dade County. My grandparent's house was fine and so were my family, but it was scary to think what if...

Until we meet again...