- When President Uhuru locked down Nairobi and four other counties in March , people who had planned to travel had to cancel their plans.
- The Standard Gauge Railway(SGR) has suspended refunds until further notice.
Holiday makers and seminar organisers are counting losses on disrupted travel despite the reopening of the country, as most hotels and transport providers are not offering refunds.
When President Uhuru Kenyatta locked down Nairobi,Kiambu, Machakos, Kajiado and Nakuru in March just ahead of the Easter holdiday, those with travel plans had to cancel them.
With the reopening on May 1, hotels and transport providers including airlines and SGR are mostly offering rescheduling but no refunds.
“I had planned to go to Shanzu , Mombasa in April and had already paid a deposit for the Airbnb I was to stay in, with the lockdown I couldn't and will not get a chance to travel again till the late months of the year,” said Ivy Njeri.
Njeri is now counting a loss of Sh10,000, as the Airbnb owner only gave her an option to reschedule till June, then cancel the whole booking.
The Standard Gauge Railway(SGR) has suspended refunds until further notice. The only available option is rescheduling 48 hours prior to the preferred travel time before August 2021.
The firm has however waived rescheduling fee for tickets purchased before May 2, 2021.
“I can only be able to travel again in April 2022, can you please refund the ticket I had purchased to use in April 2021?” Peter Limo tweeted to Kenya Railways(KR).
KR reverted saying that the only option available at the moment is rescheduling of the affected tickets, therefore Limo lost his Sh2,000, for the tickets to and from Mombasa.
Another Twitter user Lynn Kaduri was also enquiring on the refund option as she also could not travel soon, but was also hit with the disappointing news of no refund.
According to budget carrier,Jambojet, one can opt to cancel their reservation and get credit which can be used for future travel or postpone travel to an alternative date as the tickets are non-refundable
For hotels, though some are not offering refunds one can get a credit note to be able to use at another time.
Sylvester Mbandi, general manager at the Baobab Beach Resort, told the Star that they have been encouraging those who were affected by the lockdown to reschedule before July but if they are unable to they will refund the money.
“Majority have rescheduled, for those who are not able to we are doing the refunds,” said Mbandi.
Chris Komen, Manager, Bontana Hotel Nakuru said currently refunds is not an option due to poor business adding that they do not even have funds to refund those who had made bookings during the affected period.
He however said that they are allowing rescheduling for conferences and seminars which are their main forte at the hotel.
Pride Inn Hotels General Manager, Ann Peggy said they gave their affected clients credit notes to use at anytime of their choice.
Peggy noted that if they chose to travel at periods like December which is high season , they would need to top up the amount.