- With confinement, trips must be canceled. If some, like SNCF or Airbnb, reimburse their customers automatically, this is not the case in all situations.
- Airlines and hotels only reimburse if they have canceled the service themselves.
- In the case of package tours (with tour operators), it is up to the professional to take charge of the reimbursement.
With the containment linked to the Covid-19 epidemic, many vacationers in March and April had to give up their plans. However, many had already booked their plane, train, bus, hotel or Airbnb tickets.
Unfortunately, you have to cancel. In which cases can we be reimbursed?
Can I get reimbursed for my train tickets?
Without doubt one of the simplest cases. From March 13, SNCF announced on its website that all train, TGV, Inoui, Intercités, or Ouigo tickets until April 30 are refundable or exchangeable at no cost. To do this, it is possible to go to the OUI.sncf site, to an approved travel agency (not the best solution currently), to the station, to self-service kiosks or by telephone. Attention, for Ouigo, it must be requested at least an hour and a half before the departure of the train.
The SNCF website even specifies that it will be possible to make this type of request after the trip.
TER tickets are also affected by this offer and reimbursement can be requested up to 60 days after the end of stage 3 of the epidemic, on the regional TER site concerned, at stations and SNCF counters.
Can I get my coach tickets refunded?
The two long-distance coach companies operating in France, Flixbus and Blablabus, have announced that their activities are suspended until further notice to comply with the containment decree published on Tuesday, March 17.
The two companies will reimburse all tickets without cancellation costs by sending a voucher for the amount of the ticket to the email address indicated during the reservation.
Blablabus also indicates on its website that it is possible to request a refund by bank transfer by contacting its customer service.
Can I get reimbursed for my plane tickets?
It is a question of clearly differentiating the cases.
As part of a “dry” flight (booked directly with the company), if the company cancels a flight due to the epidemic due to the coronavirus, the situation is then classified as “extraordinary circumstance” and the ticket is fully reimbursed. . Baptiste Lo-Presti, legal manager at Air Indemnité, specifies on this subject: “The airline company cannot in any case impose a postponement or a credit note. But it is possible for the customer to request a re-routing, if the company accepts it. "
However, if the flight is maintained, the airline company has no obligation to reimburse. Baptiste Lo-Presti advises travelers to wait for the cancellation or to “contact the company to obtain, at a minimum, a commercial gesture. According to him, the professionals are "inclined to this period". Air France, for example, offers people who booked a ticket before May 31 to postpone it at no additional cost.
For plane tickets booked with a tour operator, “package travel”, the role of the provider is quite different. "The travel agency has a greater responsibility, we are talking about exceptional and inevitable circumstances", assures Baptiste Lo-Presti. He refers here to article L214-14 of the tourism code, which stipulates that the professional is obliged to reimburse the traveler in full for the payments made, within fourteen days of cancellation. The official site service-public.fr specifies however "that in agreement with the professional, you can postpone your stay to a later date or choose another destination". An interesting option for those who have found tickets at unbeatable prices.
Can I get my hotel reimbursed?
For hotels, the same two cases arise.
For a reservation directly with the hotelier, “it is on a case-by-case basis,” says Marcel Benezet, of the GNI-Synhorcat syndicate. In fact, the Covid-19 epidemic does not automatically result in the cancellation of a reservation. It is then necessary to read the general conditions of contract, and thus check if penalties can be applied. Marcel Benezet advises to contact the professional in order to try to find an arrangement: “The hotelier may not be able to return the deposit already paid, but he must take care of his customers if he wants to see them again. He will surely be in favor of postponing the reservation. On the other hand, the UFC-Que Choisir site specifies that if it is the professional who cancels his commitments, he must reimburse his client.
In the case of a package travel reservation, as for airplanes, it is up to the agency to take responsibility and ensure reimbursement to the client. This requires highlighting the exceptional circumstances of the coronavirus epidemic at the place of destination, the health risks and the risks of transmission. UFC-Que Choisir also advises to mention the travel restrictions put in place by the authorities.
Can I get my Airbnb reimbursed?
Airbnb communicated on the current circumstances on March 13 on its site. Thus, all reservations made before March 14 for an arrival date between March 14 and April 14 can be canceled before the arrival date. Full reimbursement of advanced costs will be automatic.
Hosts can also cancel "at no cost or affect their Superhost status and Airbnb will reimburse all service charges".
However, the press release specifies that reservations made after March 14 are not covered by the policy relating to force majeure, unless the traveler or host is currently infected with COVID-19.
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