5 Travel Problems You Should Know About
Going on a trip is always exciting: what if something happens? But we drive away bad thoughts so that they don't suddenly materialize. This is a bad tactic. Imagining bad situations for yourself is possible and necessary, if only to be fully prepared. So, even if reluctantly, read the post and gain knowledge. We don't want you to get into trouble!
Situation 1. Tickets bought, hotel booked, but visa denied
This can happen if you are applying for a visa to the USA, Australia, Great Britain, or Canada. Schengen visas are also denied, but less frequently. Sometimes the refusal has a trivial reason that can be immediately corrected. For example, when submitting documents, you provided bank card details for a card with no money. Mistakes happen. Then not all is lost, and if you act quickly, you'll make it in time. But sometimes the refusal is final and irrevocable. What to do? If there are only a few days left before the trip and you don't have time to get a new visa, the trip will have to be canceled.
What to do with the hotel? To avoid losing money unnecessarily, we recommend booking hotels with free cancellation and payment on site. In such cases, you can cancel your reservation a few days before check-in without spending a single ruble. Canceling a reservation right before check-in will cost at least 50% of the price. But 50% is not 100% — losses are minimal. If a room marked «Non-refundable» has already been paid for, you won't get your money back, but still write to the service's support team, just in case you get lucky. What to do with the airline ticket? It can either be refunded or not — this depends on the ticket fare and the airline. If you received a visa denial, do not delay and contact the support service where you purchased the ticket. Did you buy it on the airline's website? Contact them directly. In this case, the ticket refund is considered involuntary. If your ticket is non-refundable, you will most likely not get your money back, because not all airlines consider a visa denial a valid reason. But no one forbids contacting support for a refund of a non-refundable ticket; perhaps you will get back at least airport taxes or part of the fare. With refundable tickets, there should be no problems: you will get back almost the full ticket price minus a small penalty.
We recommend purchasing airline tickets with a refundable fare. Yes, they are slightly more expensive, but if you allow for the possibility of a visa denial, it's better to be safe than sorry.
Situation 2. You bought a ticket, but you are not allowed to board the flight.
You arrived at the airport, but at the check-in counter, you are told that you cannot fly on this flight. This means you've encountered overbooking. What it is and how to avoid it is described in the article.
Situation 3. You arrived, but your luggage didn't.
An unpleasant situation. If all passengers on your flight have already received their luggage, and an empty carousel has been spinning in front of you for five minutes, you can stop waiting. The luggage was mistakenly left at the departure point, flew further, or got lost along the way (especially if there was a transfer). There's no need to panic, everything can still be recovered.
What to do? Find the «Lost & Found» counter and file a lost luggage report. Don't forget to describe your suitcase in detail, as it will be searched for based on the information in your report. Under no circumstances throw away your baggage tag; it will still be useful. Standardly, 21 days are allotted for the search; after that, if found, it will be delivered to the airport nearest to you. Sometimes it's found earlier, but be prepared to wait.
To avoid being without your belongings if your luggage is lost, pack all essentials in your carry-on — things you definitely can't do without while waiting for your suitcase, or things that are difficult to buy locally. Use special GPS tags or apps. For example, on S7 flights, you can track your luggage and know its exact location — this will only speed up the search.
Situation 4. Upon check-in, the hotel had no available rooms.
Even though you booked! A rare but possible occurrence. The reason could be anything: service or hotel system failures, hosts not noticing your reservation and checking in a walk-in, and so on.
Always keep your booking confirmation ready. If the reception insists and refuses to check you in, contact the support service through which you booked the hotel. They will then figure out whose fault the error was and find you a room not far from the original option.
Situation 5. You lost your passport abroad.
Whether a passing raccoon stole your documents or they flew out of your pocket while you were on rides, it doesn't matter; the goal is one – to get you home. As soon as you discover the loss, go to the nearest police station and file a report. You will then take this report to the embassy, so don't lose it. Make 2 copies: one for the embassy and one for the Federal Migration Service (FMS) back home.
Next, go to the Russian embassy. There, present any form of identification that has your photo and full name. If you have absolutely nothing, bring two fellow countrymen as witnesses. When traveling with friends or family, there are no problems, but if it's a solo trip, you'll have to find any two Russians who can confirm your identity. The main thing is that they don't say they're seeing you for the first time. If you are in a remote village where there are no other Russians besides you, call friends or family from the embassy and ask them to send a copy of your passport to the embassy's email address. Once all documents are received and confirmed, you will be issued a temporary certificate of right to return to your homeland on the same day. You will need to show it at the airport and at passport control. It is valid for 14 days, so don't delay your return.
To avoid such troubles, carry a copy of your passport (both international and internal). And if you go out for a walk, take the copy instead of the original. This way, the identity verification process will take less time, meaning you'll spend fewer nerves.
Be vigilant always and everywhere, then everything will be fine =) And in our Telegram channel there is also useful and relevant information. We talk about places you immediately want to fly to, publish cheap tickets, and share news.
