Dear partners,
Since Coronavirus is still spreading in Europe and the US, below are some of the most common concerns from you that I have collected in this document with answers from our side.
The change of our policies below is the consequence of negotiations with the accommodation included in the trips we sell you.
We are un a different world today and we all need different policies for our common guests.
FLIGHTS TO EUROPE FROM THE US AND CANADA:
We do not know when Americans will be allowed to enter different countries within Europe. For the past months, only essential travel has been allowed.
WHAT HAPPENS IF SOMEONE SIGNS UP FOR A TOUR AND THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO ENTER YOUR COUNTRY BECAUSE THE COVID19?
Bike Italy updated the usual policies adding the following cases:
· Italy government doesn’t allow to citizens from your country to come to Italy for travels of pleasure
· Your government doesn’t allow people to leave the country or/and travel to Italy
· The guests are certified Covid 19 sick
Therefore, the cancellation policies for the entire 2021 will become:
CANCELLATION AND REFUND CONDITIONS FOR 2021
· Free cancellations and total refund up to 14 days prior to departure
· Free rebooking for same trip to a later date up to 7 days prior to departure
I guess this is a good compromise within the reasons of the guests and the accommodations, please connect with us if you have any specific need.
HEALTH REGULATIONS IN ITALY
Some airlines are talking about providing Covid tests to passengers, but we are still uncertain when Americans and people from European countries will be able to travel freely in Italy and if they need to quarantine once in Italy or back home.
In this moment there is a ban for US travelers to come to Italy for pleasure and the overall situation in Europe is frozen too.
Once the ban will be removed. Bike Italy will update you about the situation of our country
In addiction you can find news about restrictions to come to Italy and the government measures, at this following link: https://infocovid.viaggiaresicuri.it/index_en.html
TRAVEL INSURANCE:
Travel insurance companies in the US do not provide any coverage for the Covid pandemic. US guests are worried about getting refunds if they are not able to go on their tour due to Covid restrictions in Italy.
How do you think we (operator and Bike Italy) can manage this?
Bike Italy uses an insurance based in Italy, there is no possibility for an Italian insurance company – as European provider – to offer coverage to a citizen resident outside of Europe.
However, regarding to the ground services in the tour package: we have agreement with our hotels that in case people are not able to come on tour because the Covid, they will release the booking with no penalty as per the policies above.
TRIP PAYMENTS AND REFUNDS:
For all 2021 Bike Italy kindly asks you to pay the new bookings 14 days before the trip departure instead at the confirmation of the booking as usual and applies the revised cancellation and refunding policy as per the section above (CANCELLATION AND REFUND CONDITIONS FOR 2021)
SAFETY DURING THE TOUR:
You as operator in touch with your guests, need to notify your customers in advance about any local and national health regulations they will be required to follow - any mask ordinances, daily curfews, lockdowns, etc.
Bike Italy will update you about the situation of our country by a weekly update, once the ban will be removed. This will support you either for new upcoming bookings or in case of people that have already booked.
OUR CUSTOMERS NEED TO HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT THEY WILL BE STAYING IN ACCOMMODATIONS THAT WILL PROVIDE COVID RESPONSIBLE CLEANING PROCEDURES.
Any accommodation in Italy has to respect specific rules about Covid. These include:
physical distancing; wearing mask; served buffet for breakfast or no buffet at all.
Bikes and all of the rental equipment are all safely cleaned before each rental.
The accommodation of the trip where dinner is included, are already aware of this need and are able to offer dinner on open spaces, outside or anyway with distance between tables.
They have to do this by the law.
We realize that so much will be changing during the next year and we need to think about the above concerns before we start selling tours for 2021.
Bike Italy is composed by our internal team and also by all of the hotels and suppliers that support all together, our common guests when they are on tour.
We all are a big team and with you all we want to work together to find the best solutions in order to make the trips safe and feel the people confident in starting biking in Italy again soon.
Connect with us for further clarification and or any suggestion, we'll be happy to explore the best solutions with you in order to make people safe and let them safe in biking in Italy again through Bike Italy
Stay safe, stay healthy, don't give up biking!
Giuseppe Crinò
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