In a bit of good news for travel-related businesses, a new survey shows that travelers overall have been satisfied with the industry's response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Research conducted by J.D. Power shows that 60 percent of travelers agree hoteliers, cruise lines and airlines have demonstrated concern for the health and safety of the traveling public.
The survey also found that more than half of the travelers surveyed believe travel suppliers are meeting or exceeding expectations on cancellation policies. Furthermore, a large majority of travelers (65 percent) believe that travel suppliers have provided a good level of information about cleaning procedures.
"Travel suppliers have done a good job showing they are not tone-deaf to travelers' concerns," said Andrea Stokes, practice lead for hospitality at J.D. Power. "While the large hotel chains and airlines have focused on communicating messages of reassurance, the policies each sector has implemented are somewhat inconsistent and downright confusing. This is especially true for cancellation policies."
Michael Taylor, practice lead for travel at J.D. Power, encourages companies to show compassion to customers during this unprecedented outbreak.
"This is not the time to nickel and dime customers on issues like refunds, penalties and waivable fees," said Taylor. "Our advice is to keep these policies straightforward without exceptions and qualifiers. This will go a long way in generating trust among customers once the pandemic wanes and travel is permissible again."
J.D. Power notes that, during other times of crisis and "black swan" events, suppliers who score high on customer satisfaction will be the first to see their clients return as pent-up demand drives travelers to return to the marketplace.
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