How to Game Black Friday Travel Deals During a Pandemic

Deals with pandemic safety nets

Some deals take on that giant hurdle to travel — Covid-19 — with safety net provisions.

For bookings made in November, the Moorings, a charter yacht company operating in the Caribbean and French Polynesia, will include travel insurance for up to two guests. The policy, valued from $171 a person, would cover trip interruption and medical expenses up to $10,000 if a traveler is diagnosed with Covid-19 during the sailing. Charters booked before Dec. 31 for travel until Nov. 1, 2021, will fall under the company’s flexible booking policy, which gives travelers the option to reschedule without a penalty fee or receive a credit to rebook within 12 months of the original departure date. Weeklong charters in the British Virgin Islands start around $4,700.

Provenance Hotels, a collection of 13 boutique hotels across the country, is offering up to 50 percent off prepaid rates Nov. 25 to 30, with no fees or rate adjustments for booking changes throughout 2021. Discounted rates start at $59 a night at the Hotel Preston in Nashville, $70 a night at the Revolution Hotel in Boston and $239 a night at the Villa Royale in Palm Springs, Calif.

As full-scale cruising begins the long voyage to resuming service sometime in 2021, many cruise lines are extending their flexible booking policies, including Hurtigruten. Through Dec. 2, the expedition line is offering select itineraries at up to 50 percent off and requiring a $500 deposit rather than the normal 20 percent of the trip cost. Bookings made through December qualify for the line’s flexible cancellation policy, which provides a refund, including the deposit, within 90 days of departure for sailings through Sept. 2021, and 180 days for trips October through December 2022. Deals include 2022 sailings that circumnavigate Iceland, starting at roughly $3,880 a person, after the discount.

The luxury tour operator Abercrombie Kent is meeting the social-distancing moment by putting its Private Escapes on sale during cyber week, Nov. 30 to Dec. 4. These are private itineraries that often include airport greetings and transfers, private guides and sightseeing excursions, hotels and some meals. With the deal, a seven-day trip in Croatia in 2021 that is normally $3,395 is $1,995 a person, and a nine-day journey in Egypt is 50 percent off, at $3,195. Changes for Covid-19-related reasons are allowed up to 15 days before departure.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/24/travel/black-friday-deals-virus.html