How One Advisor Acted Fast in a Race Against Time to Get Her Clients Home
byDaine泰勒/
With the effects of coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak still being felt all over the world, and international travel effectively shut down worldwide, this seems like a good time to look back at how advisors have helped their clients during one of the most tumultuous periods the industry has ever faced.
For the clients of Alexis Sherry of AS Travel Pro, having an advisor on their side made all the difference when it seemed like the entire world was shutting down around them all at once.
Sherry had arranged an 8-day itinerary for a family of four to the Dominican Republic in mid-March. Despite the emerging reports of travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 outbreak, her clients decided to risk the trip, but about halfway through their vacation, things began to take an abrupt turn.
The family was about five days into their trip, when they were suddenly approached by the General Manager of the hotel, warning them that the country was shutting down the Punta Cana airport.
雪莉说:“通用汽车于那天早上大约4点来到他们身边,说‘我刚从我们的总统那里听到他们明天要关闭机场,您今天需要离开机场。’
“这有点疯狂。我什至没有关于机场关闭的任何信息。新闻中没有什么,没有任何人的通知。在这一点上,他们叫我疯狂,我平静下来,开始检查飞机以便他们回家。”
“我检查了他们从蓬塔卡纳出发的任何航班,但没有回到纽约。然后,我检查了美国任何地方的蓬塔卡纳,仍然什么都没有。我检查了将家庭分开的,[配对]成年人和孩子们……什么都没有!从字面上看,那天晚上什么都没有,第二天早上什么也没有。”
一家人担心在国际锁定正在进行中被困在国外。真正的旅行噩梦迅速成为现实,但雪莉(Sherry)利用她的联系来为客户安排私人航班。
“So after I checked everything, the only option if they didn’t want to be stuck there for 30 days, was to get them out on a private flight.”
Sherry managed to find a private aircraft heading out of DR that day. “My clients just had to make a fast decision, so I told them ‘let’s just get you on the private flight the least expensive way back to the U.S.”
客户在凌晨4点打电话给雪利酒PrivéJets,私人空气和喷气式包机服务,并安排了整个返回旅行。“我打电话给一堆[运营商],但我迅速打电话给我的联系[Privé],大约有一个小时的周转。到5点钟,我已经签订了合同……周转令人难以置信。”
这架飞机已经到达,在酒店通知他们关机后仅六个小时就接人了。到10点钟,他们正乘坐飞往迈阿密的私人航班,在那里他们能够使用JetBlue积分来乘飞机从劳德代尔堡(Fort Lauderdale)到纽约。
“They just wanted to be back in the U.S., and I’m just happy that I acted fast and stayed on my toes, and it worked out in their favor. At this point I’ve heard they’re sending the military to get people, but there are people who are still just stuck there. I feel like we just got really lucky to be honest.”
“My client told me ‘we literally wouldn’t have known what to do, and we would’ve been stuck there if I didn’t have you to call.’”
Sherry believes situations like this are exactly why people need travel advisors, and that although travel has been restricted for now, when the crisis passes there will be even more demand for advisors as people realize the value of having someone in their corner while they are traveling abroad.