Innovative New Refundable Bookings Initiative To Navigate Cancellations Sweeps New Zealand Tourism

A new Refundable Bookings system introduced to support New Zealand’s strained tourism sector has seen unprecedented uptake by both businesses and travellers.

Since launching to accommodation operators initially, almost 20 per cent of eligible travellers have chosen to upgrade their bookings to be fully refundable. This has made possible through landmark initiative introduced by tourism marketing company, Tomahawk.

Tomahawk has partnered with UK-based Protect Group to offer all sectors of tourism, and their customers, protection from financial losses when travel plans are disrupted. Under the upgraded booking terms, travellers will receive a refund if they can’t proceed with their plans while the tourism providers retain any payments already made.

At a time when cancelled bookings and changing travel plans have become commonplace, the initiative is touted as a ‘win-win’ for both tourism businesses and their customers as it uniquely also includes cover for a wide range of situations related to COVID-19.

The Refundable Bookings initiative was first offered in 2021 through an integration with ResBook, which is owned by Tomahawk. After an incredibly successful implementation, Tomahawk invested further to launch a new portal enabling any type of tourism business to take up the initiative, including tour and activity operators, Inbound Tour Operators and travel agents.

Tomahawk Director John Hayson says that the idea was the result of a deep dive into how travel has changed since the emergence of COVID-19, and how more support could be offered.

“One issue that keeps coming up is that of uncertainty… Uncertainty from accommodation and tourism providers when it comes to cashflow and capacity and uncertainty from travellers as to whether their plans would change for reasons outside of their control,” says Hayson.

“Refundable Bookings were introduced to minimise the financial risk for all parties and to help give travellers the confidence to start booking holidays again.”

Accommodation provider Kim Rae from Stay Waiheke enthusiastically recommends the initiative.

“Refundable Bookings has been amazing for our business. It allows us to take bookings with confidence and provides our guests with a great level of protection during these crazy times. Guests have been able to get their money back, and we haven’t taken the huge hits in cashflow with cancelled bookings.”

Tomahawk has a strong focus on ensuring success for their customers and the success of the visitor economy. This is what drives innovation like Refundable Bookings which provides confidence, certainty and revenue for tourism operators.

For more information about Refundable Bookings, visit https://www.tomahawk.co.nz/products/refundable-bookings

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