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2020 Alpine Road Trip


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Hi All,

Not being alarmist, but if the trip was next week, it would be cancelled.  With border closures in place for Swiss, Austrian, Italian routes and the EU about to announce Schengen border closures, it would be impossible to carry on.

So that is now, but what will be the situation in June is very hard to say.  Those restrictions may still be in place, meaning a trip is impossible.  The peak may have passed in Italy etc and movement may be reinstated.  Similarly, the UK could have got past the worst or we could be right in the middle of the peak predicted by govt to be 10-14 weeks away. So even if Europe is open again, we my be the CV19 laggard and effectively banned from spreading.  Who knows.

With all that in mind, if anyone decides to cancel now, that is completely understandable and you should make arrangements.  People do and will increasingly have personal and family needs that obviously take priority over a holiday.

My personal view is wait and see.  I currently have little cash at risk having only paid the fairly minimal deposits required except for the last night I have paid in full.  I have no idea what the travel insurance position is.

Stay safe!

 

 

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Likewise  Will just wait and see.
 

I have only £100 and something pounds committed for three hotels and have until 22April to cancel At no cost so will take stock in 6 weeks. Even then I’ll probably hang it out.
 

Just been sent home as office is now closed until further notice. 🙄

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i'm not rushing to cancel anything. This thing could all blow over by May (like every previous version of bird flu!)  Its only the media prophesying apocalyptic gloom to suit their own agendas. I don't understand why they are already cancelling summer events (like Euro 2020), give it a few weeks at least!. China has already seen vast improvement since its initial outbreak....or so they tell us <_<

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On 3/18/2020 at 8:49 AM, MarkJ said:

China has already seen vast improvement since its initial outbreak....or so they tell us <_<

Chinese authorities went door-to-door checking people and then taking them away if they had high temperatures or sealing them in their houses. 

Western countries will never be able to suppress transmission in the way or the speed that China did. Setting expectations as to  the speed that the rest of the world can achieve by looking at the results in China is misguided. 

Edited by GaryH
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FYI, earlier this morning I emailed all the core hotels and just let them know we are "wait and see" for now and asking if a move to September would be possible. Also expressing my solidarity for want of a better expression, hoping they are staying well and hoping we can stay with them in due course and in the future.  

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31 minutes ago, Richard Bernau said:

FYI, earlier this morning I emailed all the core hotels and just let them know we are "wait and see" for now and asking if a move to September would be possible. Also expressing my solidarity for want of a better expression, hoping they are staying well and hoping we can stay with them in due course and in the future.  

Thanks Richard :) 

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3 hours ago, Richard Bernau said:

FYI, earlier this morning I emailed all the core hotels and just let them know we are "wait and see" for now and asking if a move to September would be possible. Also expressing my solidarity for want of a better expression, hoping they are staying well and hoping we can stay with them in due course and in the future.  

A very sensible approach, & well done Richard for all your sterling work!

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If it turns out to be September, may I make a plea for it to be in the second half of September?  (I realise this might be the view of just one participant (well, two, actually) and we will bow to a majority view if that doesn't suit others.)

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9 hours ago, GimmeShelter said:

If it turns out to be September, may I make a plea for it to be in the second half of September?  (I realise this might be the view of just one participant (well, two, actually) and we will bow to a majority view if that doesn't suit others.)

Naturally, I woke up thinking about this.  Actually, cancel that request (above) because in the past I have known it to snow on the high passes in late September.  To say we've been looking forward to this trip woud be an understatement, so if the trip falls in early September, we'll just have to see what we can do.

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As much as I found the CV19 chat quite useful, informative and even positive for my mental wellbeing, and its not like it isn't the biggest thing on the planet right now, I embrace the message of staying positive.

I mentioned that I had added a personal note in my emails to the hotels and that has been very well received.  This is a hard time for hospitality.  My new best friend Nathalie at Hotel Bergheimat sent me the message below (unedited).  If you feel like sending something positive and supportive to the hotels, then I can promise it will be welcomed.  Little things do matter - eg., we decided yesterday to pay our 2 Hungarian girls who clean for us every week regardless of them being unable to do so.  We paid them a month in advance as others are just cancelling.  They can't go home and can't work, so every little bit helps.  And back to Nathalie -

Dear Richard,

it is always a very happy feeling to read your mail.
And of course- it is absolutely understandable for us, if our guests are scared or not sure to take their travel.

We offer all guests at the actual situation to cancel for free- but also we are positive minders and very much in hope, that our hotel can be opened as planed on May 30th.

If this will not be the case, we let you know of course.
So for sure, if you want to change your trip with your friends, we will find another date in summer or autumn.
I would say, we leave the rooms as planned for now- and will see what happens in the upcoming weeks.
Is that ok for you? Except the 1 room…

And also your personal note is absolutely heartwarming for us- THANK YOU so much for these kind words,
it really means a lot to me and my family.
I hope you are still fine too- we do now have plenty of time to spend in the nature in front of the house, time together with family and yes, that’s a little point, which is positive for us, but anyway- the situation is more than strange and unhappy.

For now, dear Richard, all the BEST and – in which case ever- I do look very much forward to seeing you again J

Lovely regards
Nathalie

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very nice, well done Richard. Can imagine some of those mountain hotels feel a bit desperate now. :(

Cant remember but think some of the hotels insisted on payment up front (either full or deposit). Do you think it likely they will allow this to be re-used for alternate dates?  I haven't contacted any yet (being an optimist), nor will I do for a month or so.

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2 hours ago, Richard Bernau said:

My new best friend Nathalie at Hotel Bergheimat sent me the message below (unedited)

Nice work Richard - I hope you get to meet Natalie at some point and you can share a drink and a laugh.

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I have - she greeted us on arrival in September. She is a lovely and engaging young woman.

If anyone feels jaded and needs to refresh their faith in humanity then spending some time in this kind of small family run hotel in the Alps is a good start.  Pretty much all the hotels I have interacted with in the course of planning this trip have been so helpful and engaging.  I am going to be beyond gutted if we end up having to cancel.  

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2 hours ago, MarkJ said:

very nice, well done Richard. Can imagine some of those mountain hotels feel a bit desperate now. :(

Cant remember but think some of the hotels insisted on payment up front (either full or deposit). Do you think it likely they will allow this to be re-used for alternate dates?  I haven't contacted any yet (being an optimist), nor will I do for a month or so.

I think they are all refundable up till end of April and some end of May, but I haven't actually checked.  They are all showing flexibility, to move the bookings but its harder in September as lots of the grey hair crew in Germany go to the Alps for September walking holidays, so the hotels do long block bookings.

Stick it in the diary for 4 weeks from now and we can review again.

Edit - the only good thing is that most of the mountain hotels shut down shortly and reopen again end of May, much like they close around end September and open again at Xmas.  Some have told me they have had to shut 4 weeks early, but at least its not a loss of 3 months bookings.  Still, certainly hard for them right now.

Edited by Richard Bernau
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