Summer is here, vacation time for many families around the country.
So all season long wake up is bringing you tips
and advice to get the best value for your dollar.
We all know travel mishaps can happen any time.
But with the right tools,
it doesn't have to be a disaster here to help you troubleshoot your vacation.
We're joined by travel expert and author Sarah.
Welcome Sarah. Thanks for having me.
So this is stressful when something goes wrong on your vacation,
the smallest things and change of plan can be stressful.
It can be emotional.
What's your advice for handling those moments?
We've all gone through them super simple.
Don't panic. Don't
I know it's,
it's really hard I get it because next thing you know
your brain is going and you're trying to like plan.
Ok. What's the next step? What do I have to do? What am I missing out on?
But really take a breath.
Don't panic because in, when you're panicking,
it's so much harder to try and figure out what's gonna be the smartest move.
Now, I also get it too because let's say you find out.
Ok, I'm not gonna miss the wedding or I'm gonna miss this talk that I'm gonna go to
if you need a moment to kind of like let it go do. So
that's
ok.
That's ok too.
But do so in private and don't,
and don't put it on other people have that moment and then once you're like, ok,
let's be strategic about this and move forward when you're calm.
That's definitely the first thing to do. Ok, so you calm down.
What do you do if your flight is canceled? Ok,
get in touch with somebody right away. Now, what's really interesting about this?
I know that seems like common sense but know the different ways
that you can get in touch with people at the airline.
So yes, it might make sense to go stand in line. I recently had a flight canceled on me.
I saw the line. It was really long.
I knew I had status so I ended up calling the airline as well as texting the airline.
So I was hedging my bets on who I was going to get
in touch with first because now I'm reaching out on three different platforms,
the standing, the standing in front of somebody being on the phone.
And because ultimately the faster that you can kind of get to the front of the line,
the better options you're gonna have.
If you have to rebook, there's so many questions these days.
Well, how can people find out what rights they have when their flight is canceled.
So this is really interesting.
The Department of Transportation actually came up
with this um really cool platform and it
only came out at the beginning of the
year because every airline has different rules,
regulations, what they're gonna give you.
But the main thing is what was a controllable situation and what was
uh something that was not in their control so very basic like weather,
let's say it's a horrible thunderstorm.
It might not be wise for them to take off in the middle of that.
So understanding what's controllable versus not controllable.
We've seen a lot of things recently, for example, with staffing pilots timing out.
So obviously, if that's the case,
that is actually um on the onus of the airline and so know that different
things like covering your meals or maybe if you have to even stay overnight,
for example, they'll even cover your hotel.
So definitely go and ask and be be aggressive,
not overly aggressive but or maybe be assertive in what you're asking for.
I always wonder about this travel insurance worth it or not always worth it really.
Yes, it's worth it because again, it's for the peace of mind and,
and right now travel insurance has really done a whole thing where they've,
they've changed their,
their model so that you can really piece together the best travel insurance for you.
So it's, it's far more specific,
you're not necessarily paying for something that doesn't apply to your trip.
So definitely get the travel and also by the way, book,
get your travel insurance when you book your flight or your hotel.
So get travel insurance at the moment of booking for maximum coverage in 20 seconds.
I know that's not a lot of time. Anything else people should know.
I always like to say, think like a concierge be proactive, you know, have options,
know that if, if something doesn't happen this way,
this might be a different option or route that you might be going.
Great advice, travel expert, Sarah and a
Thank you so much. Thank you.