Should I Stay or Should I Go
Posted on September 5, 2008
Last weekend I was faced with the question of Should I Stay or Should I Go. You see I had a trip planned to New Orleans for the long weekend and I had been looking so forward to visiting one of my favorite cities. But there was a problem, a BIG problem.
Hurricane Gustav was heading straight for the city and there was bound to be an evacuation. So what was I to do? Stay in Birmingham or keep my Friday afternoon flight?
I was booked on Southwest and I knew if I canceled my flight I could use the money for a future trip so that was not a problem. I still had time to make my advance notice for the hotel cancellation so no penalties there. But I really wanted to go and there was a chance that the storm would not hit. What to do?
Fortunately I was meeting a traveling companion who was driving over separately from my flight. So I had a way home if there was an evacuation. I cleared that. And, if there was an evacuation my hotel would not charge me early check out. My decision to make was – did I want to go bad enough to possibly fly over, stay one night and leave the next day due to mandatory evacuation.
I chose to go. I did so because I weighed my options early enough and I made sure I had a safe back up plan. I also kept in touch with the weather via mobile phone while I was out on the city and I made sure we were ready to leave at a moments notice. The car had a full tank and I brought plenty of cash.
It is simply responsible travel. But you would be surprised at how many people do not travel responsibly. Since returning I have read post after post on FlyerTalk about people who were upset because the hotels would not let them cancel without penalty until an evacuation order was called. You have to know what the rules are in advance. While I was there I heard stories of people who were stuck because their hotel was closing the next morning and they could not get an earlier flight out. Everything was booked - they waited too late. They did not have a back up plan.
So the next time you start thinking about a trip here are some good responsible travel tips.
- Make sure you have your Medjet membership current so that if you become sick or injured you have a way home to your hospital of choice and your family support system
- Read your hotel’s cancellation policy and know when you have to cancel before penalty
- If you think you are headed into a potential evacuation situation due to a hurricane or other natural disaster then weigh your options and make sure you feel comfortable with your decision
- If you have a lot of money invested in the trip get trip cancellation insurance – it is worth it, www.insuremytrip.com is a great place to start if you are interested
- Make sure your health insurance covers you where you are going and if it does not then purchase a travel health insurance policy
- Always keep cash on hand – when the power is out or if you are stuck in a remote or underdeveloped area you will need cash – that little plastic card is going to do you no good
- Keep your cell phone with you and if you have Internet access then monitor any potential situations
- If you are traveling by air then make sure you have reservation information and the airlines’ phone numbers handy – most airlines have a 24 hour cancellation policy so if you think you might need an earlier flight then be smart and hold one before they are all gone
- If you are in a car make sure you’re filled up with gas and ready to go and don’t wait for the contraflow you will be in a mess if you do
The World Wide Will
MedjetAssist -Take Trips, Not Chances
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