COVID-19 and your Honeymoon…what to do?
This week’s ramblings are centred around a subject that is very close to my heart, COVID-19: how is it impacting your honeymoon, and what can you do about it?
As I’m sure you know by now, Alex and I are due to get married in August 2020. When Coronavirus hit, we hadn’t booked our honeymoon, but we knew we wanted to go to South Africa in January 2021 and were in discussions with our travel consultant about potential itineraries.
Like so many couples, we are now facing the fact we may have to move our wedding to 2021. This left us wondering what to do about our honeymoon…do we delay that too, or do we potentially honeymoon before our wedding?!
After some back and forth, we decided we would take the plunge and book the honeymoon anyway!
Our dream honeymoon in South Africa is now booked for January 2021, and if we have to postpone our wedding to summer 2021, then so be it, we will be honeymooning before our wedding…but so what?
For us, we wanted something positive to look forward to in what is a fairly dark time, plus we may already have to delay our wedding so why delay our honeymoon and life plans further? The time of year we want to go would mean delaying to January 2022 and that just feels too far away, so we may be a little unconventional and end up doing things back to front, but that’s okay for us. For other couples, this wouldn’t be their preferred way of doing things, it’s a personal choice and a confusing time for us all (to say the least!).
So, to help give you find your way through this, I have roped in two amazing, independent travel consultants to answer some Covid-19 honeymoon questions that may be running through your mind.
First things first, who are these consultants?
Sarah, Hedge Travel
Hedge Travel
Hi! I’m Sarah and I am a Personal Travel Consultant. My business is Hedge Travel and I am a franchisee of Not Just Travel.
What I do is help my clients plan and book the holiday and in many cases special honeymoons that they deserve. I offer advice and expertise as well as trying to understand what my clients really want to get out of their holiday. I have been running my business for nearly 3 and a half years now and have experienced lots of different situations and sent my clients on all sorts of holidays. I am not just a regular travel agent, my service is personal and I am always there to answer any questions or help make decisions.
Quality Travel
Gail, Diana & Sally, Directors at Quality Travel,
Hello, my name is Gail, I’m a director at Quality Travel. Quality Travel has been offering a bespoke travel service to discerning clients for over 30 years. The company has grown over the years by forging close relationships with clients who in turn recommend their friends and families to get in touch with us.
We believe our forte is our enthusiasm, experience and, most of all, the ability to create truly special travel memories that will last a lifetime for our lovely clients.
Just like the rest of us, both of these lovely ladies have felt the impacts of Covid-19, “it was all new territory for the whole industry, never have we seen such a disaster that has impacted the whole travel industry worldwide. We have seen airlines collapse and certain destinations being banned due to natural disasters but never have we had a total ban on travel.” says Sarah, and that’s exactly it; new territory that we’re all trying to navigate together .I know on many occasions over the last few weeks I have found myself looking for someone, anyone, who can give me some much needed answers in times of such uncertainty, and I feel that from my couples too, so some words of wisdom from these experts is much welcomed.
What advice can you give to couples that are worried about their honeymoon, whether it’s already booked, or they’re thinking of booking?
Photo via Hedge Travel
Whilst what is right for one couple may not be right for another, there is definitely some reassurance in knowing what other people are doing, what the industry norm is at the moment and understanding what is still within your control (that’s right, some things still are!)
When I asked both Sarah and Gail what their top piece of advice was for couples at the moment, they both said the same thing…”speak to us”.
Talking through your options definitely helps; Sarah points out that many companies are allowing reschedules and booking amendments without fees at the moment, so moving the date to suit your new schedule may be a possibility, she also advises it’s important not to panic if your honeymoon is later in 2020 or 2021, “no one can predict the future” so whilst everything seems a little daunting at the moment, there may still be time to get back to ‘normality’ before your honeymoon.
From personal experience, chatting everything through with someone in the know, makes a worrying situation feel so much better. We booked our honeymoon with Gail; she spent time understanding the concerns we had around booking in the midst of all this and put things in place for us to take away some of that worry. Once we understood the options available to us, and knew the key decision/payment dates, our decision to proceed with the booking became a lot easier – we felt excited about it all again! If we hadn’t of picked up the phone to have those conversations we would probably still be sitting on the sofa dilemmering about whether to book a honeymoon now or not!
When do most of your couples honeymoon? Straight after the wedding, or several months later?
Having spoken with both Sarah and Gail it seems the answer to this question is that there is no right time to go on your honeymoon, it depends what works for you and what you have in mind. Gail advises “decisions are mostly driven by weather and specific destinations, especially for those looking for more of an experiential honeymoon” an approach to which Sarah points out has several benefits, “it’s nice for the couple to have something to look forward to in future rather than doing everything all at once, spacing out the celebrations and also giving them more time to afford a luxury honeymoon they aspire to”.
This was our view. I speak with brides, grooms and newlyweds, all day every day, and I can assure you, the ‘wedding blues’ are a real thing. Having had the wedding to look forward to for so long, there can be a bit of a come down afterwards (and no, I don’t mean that marrying the love of your life is an underwhelming experience), many people miss the planning and the build up, so to have a honeymoon a little while later is a good solution to this.
Of course, with all the reshuffling that is going on at the moment, timelines are a little higgledy-piggledy for a lot of people, but that’s okay. Traditionally couples jetted off on their honeymoon straight from the wedding, or as Sarah says ‘2/3 days after the wedding so they get a change to take the wedding day in, relax, repack then head off for an amazing trip” and in recent times this has changed to bigger holidays a few months after the wedding, but perhaps we’ll now see numerous couples enjoying their honeymoon before they’re even married, but does that actually matter? No…you will still have the memories of a lifetime, but if this still doesn’t sit well with you, then Gail points out a lot of couples now book a ‘mini-moon’ immediately after the wedding for 3-4 days; a perfect solution to a topsy-turvy honeymoon agenda if you do have to postpone your wedding but not your trip? I think so!
Photo credit: Helen Cawte Photography
We need to postpone my honeymoon due to Covid-19, in these instances, what experience have you had with airlines and hotels that you work with?
I have had my fair share of experience with hotels and suppliers within the wedding industry, and I can honestly say everyone has been amazing. I’m pleased to say, it sounds like the travel industry has the same attitude.
Gail says “We work closely with specialist operators who have long standing relationships, contracts and specific rates with airlines and hotels. As you can imagine these special relationships have proved invaluable during this unprecedented situation. Most of our clients have chosen to reschedule their holiday plans for next year without having to pay any penalties”.
Sarah has had similar experiences and offers some useful advice, especially for couples who have booked directly rather than through a travel consultant “Always check the terms and conditions and policies as there could be limits as to when you can move the dates until.” This links back to my earlier comments about understanding your options and regaining a sense of control, if you know when you need to make decisions by it can take away that overwhelming feeling of panic!
We want to book our honeymoon but are scared to do so with everything going on, what advice can you give?
This is a feeling I know all too well!
Photo Credit: Helen Cawte Photography
Sarah reminds couples “Honeymoons are probably one of the most special holidays you will go on and on average cost 2/3 times more than a regular holiday. If you are unsure, don’t rush into something. Make sure you are booking with a reputable company who will be able to assist you and give you the best advice. If you are looking to book for 2021, I would say book earlier rather than later as people are rescheduling and flights and accommodation is going to fill up faster than it would normally and therefore prices will start increasing. If you can secure with a low deposit and pay off the balance over many months then that’s a great way to secure good rates and spread the cost.”
Availability issues are also being experienced in the wedding industry, pretty much all of 2020 is being moved to 2021…weddings and holidays. When booking with an independant consultant you’re more likely to be offered unique guest houses and boutique hotels, rather than larger, chain hotels. More personal, intimate accommodation options come with huge plus points, but they also have fewer rooms and will inevitably book up sooner. With this in mind, Gail advises “to book as soon as possible in order to secure the best airfares and accommodation choices.” If you’re still worried about the financial outlay at this time, she also adds “our suppliers are fully aware that a greater degree of flexibility is required during these challenging times and we can discuss these fully with couples wishing to book their honeymoon. All the honeymoons we book are protected by ATOL.”
Is there any final advice, tips or comments you’d like to give couples at the moment?
Sarah: “With Covid-19 battering the travel industry, agents like myself can’t wait for the skies to open up again and for our clients to be able to take the holidays and honeymoons they well and truly deserve.”
Gail: “ We are resilient and believe our clients will appreciate the bespoke service we offer even more once the world opens her doors to travel once more”
What a positive note to leave it on! Huge thanks to Sarah and Gail for their invaluable advice, if you would like to contact either one to discuss your honeymoon plans then you can do so via the below details:
Sarah: E: sarah.heduan@notjusttravel.com P: 07747651697 W: hedgetravel.notjusttravel.com
Gail: E: gail@qualitytraveluk.com P: 01737 226522 W: qualitytraveluk.com
Happy Honeymoon-ing Lovers!
