Coronavirus Cancellation Policy (update) - May bookings and later

It has been over a month since we published our first blog post regarding the emerging Coronavirus situation and guests’ requests for cancellations and refunds. You can read that blog post here.

At that time Coronavirus was becoming a nationwide pandemic and local, state and federal authorities were putting into place measures to help stop the spread of the virus. Such measures included frequent hand washing, “social distancing” (staying at least 6 feet away from each other), wearing face masks in public, stay-at-home orders including limiting non-essential travel, closures of non-essential businesses, closures of public spaces, parks and beaches and cancellations of large-group events such as sporting events, conventions, concerts, etc.

Our decision to refund canceled bookings in March & April was based upon our desire to support the efforts being implemented by the authorities to mitigate the spread of Coronavirus.

Looking forward to the coming weeks and months our decision about how to handle cancellation/refund requests will be based upon the conditions in the location of each of our properties and what orders are still in place at the time of the booking.

Fort Walton Beach, FL Coronavirus Update as of 4/25/20

In Florida the beaches have been closed and the Governor has issued a “stay at home” order until April 30, 2020. He also executed an order that bans all short term rental bookings until April 30, 2020. Additionally there are orders in effect until May 9 for anyone arriving in FL from the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Louisiana to self-quarantine for 14 days after entering the state. These deadlines can of course be rescinded or extended.

On April 21, 2020 the Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners voted to reopen the beaches in Okaloosa County beginning May 1, 2020 on a limited basis: from 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily, with all beach activities permitted.

Summit County, CO Coronavirus Update as of 4/25/20

All short-term rentals (stays that are 30 nights or shorter) must cease taking new reservations from April 21- May 31.

If you currently have a booking with Rogers Vacation Rentals and are considering cancelling we would like to take a “wait and see” attitude. If we’ve learned anything these past few weeks it is that things can change quickly so what is true today may not be true tomorrow.

If by the time your booking arrives the property’s local restrictions are still in force we will make a decision at that point about what options are available for your booking.

But if by the time your booking arrives the property’s local restrictions have been lifted and things seem to be getting back to normal and we are able to offer our property to you as contracted then our normal cancellation policy will apply. In other words, no refunds or rescheduled bookings are available if you make a personal decision not to take the trip if we are able to offer the property as contracted and the local restrictions have been eased or lifted in such a way that do not prevent you from enjoying the property or the area.

Our cancellation policy is as follows:

“Full refund (less $100 fee) if guest cancels more than 60 days prior to arrival date listed above. Full refund (less $100 fee) if guest cancels 60 days or less prior to arrival date listed above FOR ONLY THOSE DATES that the PROPERTY IS RE-RENTED – If we are unable to re-rent the property, no refund will be due. (We are too small of an operation to write off cancellations.)

Guests who stay with Rogers Vacation Rentals are always encouraged to consider purchasing travel protection insurance in case of unexpected cancellations. We are happy to be able to offer one such option: Travel Protection by Rental Guardian. They offer two policy options: Standard Travel Protection (7.0% x trip cost) and Cancel for Any Reason Travel Protection (9.8% x trip cost). The Cancel for Any Reason Travel Protection policy covers 100% of covered trip cancellation and interruption reasons & covers 60% of any trip cancellation reasons not listed in the policy.

If you are not willing to wait and see what the situation is by the time your booking arrives and decide to cancel your reservation now then our normal cancellation policy will apply.

Rogers Vacation Rentals values our guests. We hope you are all taking very good care and will stay healthy in the coming days.

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