Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT): Force Majeure or Gross Negligence?

You got a refund of $27,000 and are still unhappy?

Hi Sasha! Prior to going on the OAT trip to Tasmania/Australia/New Zealand I had paid a total of $27,000.00 to OAT for four OAT trips: Japan, Turkey, Costa Rica and Brazil. I requested a full refund on these trips which I received 45 days later. The refund request was made more than 90 days prior to departure dates per OAT policy. I did not gain anything from contacting OAT. None of my group gained anything from contacting OAT. OAT has lost 13 travelers.... I do not plan to travel with OAT again. I hope this clears up the situation. TY BW jaz

We have been on 3 OAT trips, and will go on our 4th this fall. Your story reinforces our experience that OAT is great until there is a problem. Which is too bad because their tours are really good. But their home office admin is awful, especially if it involves any kind of refund. We now book a) "last minute" and at a discount, b) get everything covered by trip insurance, and not theirs, and c) make sure we are OK with a trip credit rather than a refund. We have been successful getting a refund (COVID-related cancellation - by OAT not us) by filing claims with the Massachusetts Attorney General Office; filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau; and disputing the charge on our credit card. Which is, indeed, ridiculous...but it worked.

I read your post all the way through. I am sorry that you had this disappointment on what I am sure was a long-anticipated trip. I am not going to go into a discussion of who was right/wrong in this situation.

Lucky you are as you get $27000 refund after this much disappointment.

I am sorry for your experience.

Not certain that the compensation request, $10,000, approximately the entire current cost of OAT’s 30 day tour, was reasonable. Punitive damages? Was anyone injured? Frustrated, of course. Disappointed, yes. Inconvenienced, obviously. Unsafe? I can’t judge.

Perhaps some compensation for the lost tours in Port Douglas and Cairns would have been considered by OAT. Were you fed and housed in PD/C? I wouldn’t have expected reimbursement for services received.

Did everyone continue on the tour? That would seem to indicate some level of trust and confidence in the decision-making by OAT.

Travel isn’t Fantasyland. Weather happens. Strikes happen. Disruptions happen. Sorry, I know experience was terribly upsetting, disappointing, and perhaps frightening. I would like to be more supportive of your position. However, with the info presented, I have to vote Force Majeure.

Wow. So sorry your trip intersected with a cyclone. Thanks for letting us know how OAT acted.

While I haven't used them, I don't think any tour company is as solid and responsible as Rick Steves, I wish they went to places like NZ and Australia.

jazina,

You need to be very careful how you explain things. You said "I received a refund of $27,000" and many people are reading this thinking that you got your tour refunded.

You should have just said "Of course I cancelled the 4 future tours that I booked". Or you could have left that piece of information off.

When you explain things in person, you can correct misimpressions. When you write text online, you don't have an easy chance to fix an incorrect interpretation.

I understand you are angry, but your "wall of text" makes it hard to understand. This is why editors are no necessary in the world.

edit: last line should be "so necessary", not "no necessary". Irony!

Having worked in the tour industry, and had to deal with natural disasters while on tour, I can tell you the most you will get out of this is compensation for activities missed.

It's possible that OAT tried to find an alternative destination but if a major storm is approaching, it may be difficult to find enough rooms for a tour group. Others have probably booked those ahead of time.

And what if they did divert to somewhere else and the weather cleared. You'd be upset they canceled that portion.

Tour companies have no control of the weather. Your safety is top priority and they will do their best to make changes when possible. However, in your case, they were told that the area was back to normal and they went on that. While it may be different than what you experienced, the tour company has to go with what they are told by their business partners and the government at the destination. There was no criminal activity here.

Of your three desires,

1--You might get an apology from them but they are not going to admit doing anything wrong.

2--Forget it. They are not going to give you $10,000 because you were upset.

3--Forget it. They are not going to guarantee to you that problems won't occur in the future.

All tour companies, even Rick Steves, has to deal with issues due to weather, civil unrest, terrrorism or other natural disasters. They do their best but not everyone is pleased.

Adding - it is a shame to have missed Cairns and Port Douglas. I can attest that this is a very easy trip to DIY. Many day tours to Daintree, Great Barrier Reef, offshore islands, Kuranda, Hartleys Crocodiles, on and on and on. No need to rent a car if that is a concern, shuttle services, Uber, etc. No language barrier. Convenient Cairns airport, shuttle services to Port Douglas.

December is not a good time for this region - wet season as you encountered. June - October or adjacent shoulder seasons are better bets for weather.

I'm sorry that you had to go through such a stressful situation, but an $10,000 claim without material damage seems bonkers to me. Did you get a proportional refund of the affected portion of the trip where you were stuck without activities?

Yes, you do need to be careful how you write things. From the facts you stated I have trouble seeing how you are entitled to $10,000 in compensation.

A summary of your narrative:

Your tour was scheduled to be in Cairns and Port Douglas 12/16-12/20. There was a hurricane in the area 12/13-12/18. The Cairns airport closed 12/16-12/17. You were at Ayer’s Rock on 12/16. When you landed at Cairns you were met with torrential rain. You finally arrived at your hotel at midnight.

(This must have been on the 16th despite the Cairns being closed 12/16-12/17 according to your statement).

On the morning of the 27th you met in the lobby and were told the wildlife tour and other activities were canceled.

On 12/19 planes started to fly in and out of Cairns airport. Roads between Cairns and Port Douglas were impassable. ( Where were you at this point and how did you get there?)

“PD started up a ferry service between PD and C”. ( when?). On 12/20 you took that ferry service from Port Douglas to Cairns and flew from Cairns to Sydney as originally scheduled.

So bottom line is you were delayed til midnight in reaching your hotel on the 16th, you missed some activities on the 17h. But you kept to the tour schedule.

It sounds like OAT kept you safe from harm. You may have read about flooding, water shortages and crocs in the streets, but did anything like that actually happen to you? Were you ever in actual danger, or just fearful due to news reports?

As the poster has posted this on at least one other forum, you gotta wonder what his real agenda is. Try to make life difficult for OAT?

Interesting. The tale told on Fodors is much longer and more detailed.

https://www.fodors.com/community/travel-tips-and-trip-ideas/overseas-adventure-travel-oat-force-majeure-or-gross-negligence-1721880/#post17554373

There must not have been room for all the details in this forum due to the word limit. But it does fill in the blanks Sasha questioned, regarding where they were between 12/16-12/20.

The Fodors forum members are a tough crowd, but there is no response to the post there as yet.

I agree with the suggestions above that if they are going to contact some kind of consumer advocacy organization for support, they need to write more concisely and to the point (paragraphs, for example).

During COVID many people complained about this dealing with this company and its policies, while RS was giving full refunds with no delays or begging. Though I had considered them pre-Covid, all the complaints I saw on this Forum influenced me never to book with them. So, what you are writing isn't surprising. Sorry they made the wrong call and then confined you. You should be compensated for those days.

I read the original post three times. Perhaps I'm just dense, but it appears from the original post and later reply, that the OP paid OAT $27,000. And received a full refund of $27,000. And now wants an additional $10,000. for OAT's "gross neglience? While I sure it was a very bad experience, life happens, and weather is an "act of God". OAT's totaly refund is much more than one would normally expect. Be greatful for the resolution, And get over it!

This is related to Tony's reply. You are correct. Unfortunately, I had a space limitation and I should have been more careful in my editing. Thank you for the feedback! BW jaz

TC, the $27,000 was a refund for 4 other (later) OAT tours the OP booked, and then canceled due to their unhappiness with the Australia tour. It actually has nothing to do with this complaint (other than to emphasize how dissatisfied they are) and is best not mentioned if they try to pursue other remedies. Especially since OAT let them cancel the other tours and apparently gave them a full refund.

Lola,

Thanks for the clarification. It is appreciated.

I understand the OP's anger, but still think the OP should be greatful for what was refunded. So far as the compensation of $10,000. is concerned, sometimes life just sucks and the only thing to do is to get over it and carry on.

Also, this was the OP's first appearence on the forum, and appears to just be looking for places to vent.

This is related to Sasha's second post: The bottom line is that OAT had ample warning about the Cyclone Jasper and it's impact on the area and they flew us INTO the area with active cyclone activity. The next plane after ours was diverted to Brisbane and then the airport shut down. Our guide, who was a native from Sydney remembered a previous cyclone that had hit Port Douglas a few years before. He was concerned about King Waves that occur at that time of year plus the damage from the cyclone and the aftermath. He thought our plans should have been altered. OAT is a large enough company to have resources and experience to initiate a "Plan B" in other Australian cities. His decision was overruled by the VP Regional General Manager, South Pacific who was a non-native and not as familiar with the situation or chose to ignore it. An OAT group just before us all refused to go to Cairns/Port Douglas and were diverted to Sydney for extra days there. Another OAT group that was going along our schedule stayed in a hotel between Cairns and Port Douglas. Their hotel became surrounded by water. They ran out of food and water. Their group was openly hostile to the guide and themselves. Even though the cyclone might have ended, the waters would have been murky on the Great Barrier Reef leading to poor visibility. There would have been a lot of cleanup from the damage at the other sites. Articles today report the severity and continued damage to the area. Here is an ABC Australia article from 3/15/24 about the conditions in the area: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-16/australia-tourism-natural-disasters-business-financial-loss/103589576 Thank you! BW jaz

This is for Lola's comment: TY for clarifying. OAT's policy is that if there is a cancellation at least 90 days prior to departure you can get a full refund on the money that was already paid to OAT. There is no refund on the travel insurance that you buy through OAT, though. I always purchase travel insurance independent of the travel company. The group felt that we should receive compensation for the entire trip hence the request for $10,000.00. OAT only gave $500.00 OAT credit per person. I priced out the activities that we missed from 12/16-12/20/23 and it came to about $500.00. I filed a claim with my travel insurance and received a partial refund. I am dissatisfied with OAT's decision on this situation that I requested and received a refund for four future OAT trips (Japan, Turkey, Costa Rica and Brazil) which totaled to $27,000.00. I have not gained anything financially from this situation. I have learned many lessons, though, which may be more valuable. Thank you! BW jaz

Sorry to not be as sympathetic as the OP would like.

More details from an above post: "An OAT group just before us all refused to go to Cairns/Port Douglas and were diverted to Sydney for extra days there."

If another OAT tour was refusing transport to Port Douglas/Cairns, why didn't the OP's group follow suit in similarly refusing?

Even if the other OAT groups actions weren't known at the time, the OP's group was concerned about the weather, the conditions, and the Aussie guide's assessment of the situation they were facing. Why take the risk and allow yourself to be led into circumstances you deem questionable?

I always assume that I, and I alone, am ultimately responsible for my well-being on the road. If that means forgoing the arrangements made by a tour company, a carrier, a lodging, a tour site, so be it.

And, yes, I have opted out of elements of tours that I deemed "unsafe" and have found alternate transport when I was concerned for conditions impacting pre-paid transport. I may be out-of-pocket for alternate transport or miss out on some experience I pre-paid, but I see making such decisions for myself as being a responsible adult.

Thank you, ORDTraveler. I have asked myself these questions. It is part of the lessons learned! TY BW jaz

That VP should be fired. If people had been injured or killed in that storm, his company would be history. It doesn't take much water in a street for someone to drown. The group whose hotel was surrounded by water and they ran out of food and water! How are people supposed to deal with predictions of hurricanes in the US? They leave the area.

"Unfortunately, I had a space limitation and I should have been more careful in my editing."

Just a comment on this quirk on this forum....the easiest thing to do when you want to post a long piece of text is to write it up in WORD or similar. Then copy and past into an original post that meets the character limit and post the rest sequentially in replies. Your post on Fodors was much easier to read with the paragraphs and other things spelled out. Of course, I realize this is your first post here so you would not have realized the work around to the post limit.

Sorry you had a miserable few days. I, too, followed many of the tour companies actions during Covid and base my travels now on who acted responsibly.