Hello,
We hope this letter finds you well.
As the fear of COVID-19 is spreading around enormously, many European countries have decided to partially/completely shut down resulting in pause/stop the travel.
The Czech Republic has restricted travel for the next 30 days as of March 16th, 2020.
In a nutshell:
Foreigner entry limitation and travel ban
Various restrictions have made Prague life much less enjoyable for tourists (e.g. bars, restaurants are closed from 8pm to 6am, please find below more info)
If your stay was planned within the next 30 days, you can cancel your reservation without penalties, and you should if your goal was tourism (exceptions are for residents and business trips).
If your trip was planned for April, we strongly recommend you to cancel and agree that you should not pay any penalty.
The process depends on how you booked:
If you booked with Booking.com or Airbnb, please refer to their cancelation policy under given crisis circumstances. Ask for a cancellation with the agreement of your host (us ;-)).
If you booked directly with us. We allow you cancellation without a penalty with a voucher on the amount paid with 20 % bonus on top of this amount. More information is shared below.
For May, let’s wait and see together on a case by case basis.
Let us put some more light on each of the points listed above.
Foreigner entry limitation and travel ban (in force from Sunday, March 15th to Monday, March 16th)
The Czech government declared today (on March 13th) at 1 pm (GMT+1) a new ban forbidding ALL foreigners to enter the Czech Republic. (Unless they have permanent or temporary residence over 90 days.)
The Government also dictates that foreigners who leave the Czech Republic will not be allowed to return to the Czech republic while the state of emergency lasts. The announcement is here in Czech (use Google translate) https://www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/vlada-pritvrdila-tady-je-seznam-vsech-novych-opatreni-92763?seq_no=1&source=hp&dop_ab_variant=315441&dop_source_zone_name=zpravy.sznhp.box&utm_source=www.seznam.cz&utm_medium=z-boxiku&utm_campaign=null
Updates will be available on https://twitter.com/vnitro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1238435693732466691&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.seznamzpravy.cz%2Fclanek%2Fnakazila-se-zdravotni-sestra-respiratory-zdravotnikum-stale-chybi-92666
But what is in between from today till Sunday? As of March 13th till March 16th this graph is the best explanation
Prague life is under strict restrictions:
public events up to 30 people are strictly forbidden;
museums, theaters, fitness and wellness centers are closed;
bars, restaurants are closed from 8pm to 6am; no nightclubs complete list of restrictions/bans in English can be found here https://cz.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/
For reservations made through Airbnb, please read this Airbnb article https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2701/coronavirus-information-and-extenuating-circumstances-policy and cancel the reservation by reaching out to Airbnb.
For reservations made through Booking.com, please login to your Booking.com reservation and cancel it. (see attached pdf or image below).
For reservations made directly with us (RENTeGO). There is no cancellation fee. We will deposit the amount of money you have paid for the booking + 20 % bonus on top of this amount, as we hope to see you in Prague once this whole situation is stabilized and everything is back to normal. Voucher expires by November 30th, 2020.
We understand you are frustrated. So are we. But there is nothing can be done on our side to change the current situation, only follow the order of the government.
Stay strong, healthy and keep calm.
We do hope to see you in Prague once this whole chaos is finally over.
Sincerely,
Team RENTeGO
What does it mean? You will receive a voucher expiring by November 30th, 2020. Also as a nice gesture, you will receive a 20 % bonus on top of the amount deposited on your voucher.
What about the apartment I have chosen? We will try our best to give you the same apartment (depending on the calendar availability) if not, we will give you an apartment in a similar location, neighborhood.
In the next email, we will be sending you the voucher with the amount of money and clearer instructions.
We understand you are frustrated. So are we. But there is nothing can be done on our side to change the current situation, only follow the order of the Czech government.
Stay strong and healthy.
We do hope to see you in Prague once this whole chaos is finally over.
Sincerely,
Team RENTeGO