Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
Ariella Kimmel and Mandi Johnson were grabbing a bite to eat in Vienna, when their August trip was spent in the Austrian capital.
The Canadian duo had traveled to the city to see Taylor Swift in concert only to learn that her shows would be canceled due to two men plotting to launch an attack on fans outside the venue, Ernst Stadium Happel.
While Kimmel and Johnson were disappointed they weren’t going to be able to see Swift perform, they made the most of the rest of their tour. However, the experience is buyer beware for Canadians who are considering jet setting to see their favorite artists or teams.
“If you’re traveling to these concerts, it’s very difficult to protect yourself,” said Kimmel, a Toronto-based vice president at a public affairs firm who had previously traveled with Johnson to see Swift in Las Vegas. Nashville and Stockholm.
Such tours can make lifelong memories when they go off without a hitch, but event cancellations and rescheduled events are common due to artist illness, poor ticket sales, security threats, inclement weather and natural disasters.
In the past year alone, Jennifer Lopez and the Black Keys explored tour plans after tickets went on sale, while Bruce Springsteen, Usher and Pink had to tell fans they couldn’t take the stage just hours away before show time.
Between airfares, hotels, travel costs and tickets, last-minute cancellations can leave globe-trotting attendees hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars out of pocket.
“Unfortunately, unpredictability has always been a reality for the industry but it is increasingly common that there could be things that are going to interrupt your plans, especially plans that you are very excited about, ” says Jenny Kost, the global director from Calgary. of strategic sales initiatives at Corporate Traveler Canada.
“It’s a difficult one because the airline or hotel understands the reason behind your travel but the likelihood of it happening or not happening is a little outside their realm.”
Because Swift was known to power through shows even when she was sick, Kimmel never imagined that a concert she had attended would be cancelled, but she always booked plane tickets and hotels that could rescheduling or refunding them – a move he recommends to others traveling for events.
“It’s like common sense, you never know what’s going to happen,” Kimmel said.
However, making use of the rescheduling and refund options had not been an option for Kimmel to book her hotel and flight tickets this time because she had already been in Austria for a few days and very little of her a stay that was left when Swift cancelled.
If the show had hit before Kimmel left home, the flexibility given in the bookings would have been useful, although Kost said such arrangements are not cheap.
“There is a cost associated with that which is not insignificant,” he warned, estimating that these types of orders can add hundreds of dollars to your bill and have many quirks in the fine print.
The best bet is travel insurance, says Kost. It’s often cheaper than flexible pricing and hotel reservations and can reimburse customers for accommodations and flights they have to drop or change when an event is canceled or an emergency strikes.
Kost opted for such insurance when he traveled to Paris to see Swift over the summer and bought it again in a cab on his way to Mexico for a wedding. The insurance cost her about $150 for a week, but when she had to extend her stay because she fell ill, it covered the cost of all her accommodation.
She doesn’t encourage people to wait until the last minute to buy the insurance like she did because buying it early can provide some recovery when an event you’re traveling to is canceled well in advance.
Travel costs aside, people going out of town for events that are winding down and canceled also have to consider whether they will get the money they spent on entry fees and tickets in back.
In the case of Kimmel and Johnson, they paid Ticketmaster about $300 per seat. They learned right after the cancellation that they would be refunded — but not for an $85 transaction fee they were charged when purchasing the tickets.
“We paid $85 not to see her but I guess in the grand scheme of what we were going to pay, it’s not much at all,” Kimmel said.
They did not choose to purchase insurance on their tickets, which Ticketmaster offers through Allianz Global Assistance for $8, plus tax. Allianz vice president of marketing and insights Dan Keon said the insurance offers up to $1,000 per ticket.
In addition to offering refunds if an event is canceled by a venue or promoter, the coverage can provide a refund for a variety of situations. These include if you are facing a serious medical issue or death, have a family member with a life-threatening condition, are called up by the military or are delayed in reaching the location due to common shipping carrier.
If you’re going to opt into the insurance, Keon said review the terms beforehand, so you understand exactly what scenarios you’ll be covered for.
The insurance cannot, for example, be used in the event of a pandemic, war or natural disaster.
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on September 19, 2024.
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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