This question and answer page is designed to provide our customers with general information, which will help you to make informed decisions. You can select the specific questions that interest you from the list below, or simply scroll down the page to scan through all the questions and answers. If you have any questions that aren't answered here, just ask and we'll add it to the page. We also have a handy glossary of travel terminology.

The more you understand about how the travel industry works, the better able you will be to plan your business and personal travel.

Of course, as a full service travel agency, GST will provide you with any assistance you need in planning or booking your next trip. Just call, e-mail, or drop in to one of our office.

If you are a bargain hunter, you might be interested in this article from USA Today, entitled "Fares Online - Deals or Duds?".

GENERAL QUESTIONS

Why should I book my flight through GST instead of booking directly with an airline?
Why do prices for airfare, hotels, and resorts jump up and down so much?
How do I get the best price?
What should I do if my trip must be cancelled prior to departure?
What protection do I have against an airline or tour operator going out of business?
How long does it take to secure a passport?
Will my Travel Counselor help with rail reservations?

AIRLINE RESERVATIONS, TICKETING, REFUNDS, ETC.

What are the advantages of placing early airline reservations?
Why are there so many restrictions with the best fares?
Does making the reservation guarantee the airfare?
Should I confirm my ongoing or return flights when I reach a city?
What happens if the flight is overbooked and I am "bumped"?
Should I return any unused tickets to the GST?
How should I deal with my credit card company regarding tickets that I have returned to the agency but still show as outstanding on my credit card account?
How do I notify GST regarding any airline tickets that I may have lost? How are refunds processed on these items?
Why is it that my frequent flyer mileage is not always credited by an airline?

HOTEL RESERVATIONS, CANCELLATIONS, ETC.

When booking hotels, what does the term "Guaranteed Late Arrival" mean?
How can a hotel state that they have no record of a reservation?

CAR RENTAL

Do car rental companies have any special requirements for renting a car?
What should I do if the car rental desk says they do not have a reservation for me or that they are out of cars?
What should I do if the car has a defect?
Can GST make international car rental reservations?

GENERAL QUESTIONS

Q. Why should I book my flight through GST instead of booking directly with an airline?

You receive unbiased information on services, promotions and fares available with every airline including charter flights to your destination.

We are your single source supplier. Unlike airline reservation desks, we are able to offer you travel services on every aspect of your travel needs including air, hotel, car, limousine services, overseas ground assistance, etc.
We do the research for you. Airline desks will not take the responsibility to research your itinerary in order to bring you a better travel plan.

You enjoy personalized, dedicated service. Having a designated counselor to handle your travel plans provides consistency and effectiveness in the level of service you receive. Accurate customer profiles ensure our counselors are familiar with your individual travel needs and preferences.

Lower fare options. Airline desks don't offer you the range of lower air fare, hotel accommodation and car rental options that GST is able to offer. Our affiliation with the GIANTS International Travel Agency Network gives you access to specially negotiated rates and a higher level of service from preferred suppliers.

GIANTS 24 Hour Emergency Service. Our Emergency Service toll free numbers are available to you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year worldwide. Travelers can make reservations, change or cancel their travel arrangements with a single telephone call. (Additional charges may apply)

Custom Travel Policies. We can develop and maintain a custom travel policy for your company that suits your needs and better controls your travel expenditures.

Management Reports. Providing management reports to your company assists in better controlling travel expenditures through driving the buying power in directions more financially beneficial.

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Q. Why do prices for airfare, hotels, and resorts jump up and down so much?

The simplest answer is of course "Supply and Demand". Certain seasons tend to be busier than others and command higher prices. Airlines, hotels, resorts, and tour operators adjust their prices according to a schedule of high season, low season and shoulder season rates. High season for leisure travel often coincides with school breaks such as the Christmas break, university reading week, spring break, and summer holidays (June to early September).

If you try to book your March Break vacation at the end of February, a lot of flights and hotels are already sold out. There will likely be very few choices and the prices will probably be high. On the other hand, if an airline has a lot of unsold seats for a particular date and they don't think they can sell them all at full price, they often try to clear them out for discount prices. The same principle applies to hotels, resorts, cruises, and packaged tours. You can often get early booking discounts by paying several weeks or months in advance.

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Q. How do I get the best price?

There are several tips to keep in mind here:

* Airlines have occasional seat sales which extend to a wide range of dates and destinations. These are usually well publicized so you have to move quickly to buy your seats before they sell out.
* The major airlines often feature last minute weekend rates to a limited number of destinations. Many of these are featured on our web specials page.
* When an airline introduces service to a new destination, they sometimes have an attractive promotional fare for the initial flights until the route becomes popular.
* Brand new hotels, resorts, and cruise ships sometimes have opening week sales.
* The best discounts often come in the form of last minute sell offs. If there is a lot of unsold space, it often gets cleared out at discount prices in the last 14 days. If you would like to take advantage of these last minute specials, you have to be able to leave without much advance notice and you must be flexible enough to select from a limited number of choices.

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Q. What should I do if my trip must be cancelled prior to departure?

The Following steps should be taken to assure that all aspects of your cancellation have been covered:

* Call to cancel the reservation.
* Obtain the Travel Counselor’s name and request a cancellation number for each hotel reservation that exists.
* If you have already received your airline ticket, return the ticket to us as soon as possible.

Call on a timely basis to ensure that hotels will be cancelled early enough to avoid a no-show billing. Some hotels require 24 to 72 hours notice without charges being incurred. A credit memorandum will be processed for airline tickets returned.

It's important to keep in mind that many vacation packages and airline tickets cannot be cancelled without financial penalty. Some can't be cancelled at all and you will lose all of your money. Ask about trip cancellation insurance for all of your business and personal trips.

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Q. What protection do I have against an airline or tour operator going out of business?

As a legally registered travel agency and a member of the Travel Industry Council of Ontario, any bookings you make through GST are protected under a provincially administered travel industry compensation plan.

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Q. How long does it take to secure a passport?

Every citizen is required to carry a valid passport to enter most foreign countries and to return. Processing time varies from region to region and can take weeks. In some cases, a passport application can be rushed due to emergencies such as the death or illness of an immediate family member.

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Q. Will my Travel Counselor help with rail reservations?

Yes. Your Travel Counselor will make rail reservations. Tickets will be delivered to you prior to travel. Rail tickets cannot be prepaid to the travel agency for pick-up at the station.

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AIRLINE RESERVATIONS

Q. What are the advantages of placing early airline reservations?

The main advantage of making reservations early is availability. By booking early you are more likely to reserve a lower fare and a seat of your preference. Conversely, the closer to departure you book, the greater the chance of paying a higher fare or obtaining a less preferential seat. It is advisable to investigate and secure your flight arrangements as early as possible.

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Q. Why are there so many restrictions with the best fares?

Basically, you get what you pay for. Those people who are willing to pay for full fare tickets have the most flexibility. They have a wider range of dates, times, and flights to choose from. They can make changes, cancel their tickets, or get refunds for unused portions with little or no penalties. If you want a cheaper fare, you have to be willing to accept certain restrictions. Some of the common restrictions include:

* Booking in advance (usually 7, 14, or 21 days for air seats - sometimes weeks or months ahead for resorts and cruises)
* Penalties for changes or cancellations
* Staying over a Saturday night (North American flights)
* Staying at least one week (International flights)
* Staying no more than 60 days (sometimes 30 days)
* Traveling on a weekend (domestic scheduled airlines)
* Traveling on a weekday (charter airlines and international consolidators)

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Q. Does making the reservation guarantee the airfare?

Once the reservation is confirmed and paid, the airfare is virtually guaranteed. Exceptions can include:

* The introduction of new taxes after booking but prior to ticketing or prior to the date of travel.
* Fuel surcharges if there is a drastic change in gas prices.
* Currency surcharges if your flight is part of a package holiday and there is a drastic change in foreign exchange rates.
* Penalties if changes are made or cancellation occurs after the ticket are issued.

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Q. Should I confirm my ongoing or return flights when I reach a city?

We recommend that you confirm your original departure. Airlines strongly suggest that return or continuing flights be reconfirmed at destination or stopover points. Airlines do experience last minute delays and flight cancellations due to inclement weather, equipment problems and air traffic delays. Therefore, it is wise to reconfirm on the day of departure.

International flights must be reconfirmed at least 72 hours before departure. A sound practice is to contact the airline immediately upon arrival at each destination, reconfirm your flight, recheck time of departure and furnish the airlines with your local telephone contact during each visit. If you encounter difficulties while traveling internationally, the 24 Emergency Service is available to you 24 hours a day to assist your needs. Toll-free access is available throughout the world.

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Q. What happens if the flight is overbooked and I am "bumped"?

Airline flights may be overbooked, resulting in a slight chance that a seat will not be available on a flight for which a passenger has a confirmed reservation. IF the flight is overbooked, no one will be denied a seat until airline personnel ask for volunteers willing to give up their reservation in exchange for a payment of the airline's choosing. If there are not enough volunteers, the airline will deny boarding to other passengers in accordance with their particular priority. With few exceptions, passengers denied boarding involuntarily are entitled to compensation. The complete rules for the payment of compensation and each airline's boarding priorities are available at all airport ticket counters and boarding locations. Some airlines do not apply these consumer protections in foreign countries, although other consumer protections are available.

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Q. Should I return any unused tickets to the GST?

Tickets should never be destroyed or written on; they retain their cash value for 12 months from the date of issue. Unused or partially used tickets should immediately be forwarded to your Travel Counselor for a possible credit.

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Q. How should I deal with my credit card company regarding tickets that I have returned to the agency but still show as outstanding on my credit card account?

Refund requests are processed by GST upon receipt of the unused airline ticket(s). However, this does not mean that the credit will be immediately reflected on your credit card account. The process is as follows:

* A ticket refund notice notice will be immediately processed through the central reservation system along with a credit invoice through GST's accounting system.
* Returned tickets and supporting documents are forwarded on a weekly basis to the airline reporting center along with copies of all the new tickets issued.
* The processing center takes approximately one week to keypunch and verify all the documents.
* From there, the documents move on the the airline's accounting department. Since the original payment was charged to your credit card by the airline (not the travel agency), it is up to the airline to credit your account. This can take 1 to 2 weeks.
* From the time they receive notice from the airline, the credit card company can take up to to 4 weeks before applying the credit to your account.

In total, a pending refund can take two or three billing periods to be reflected on your statement. GST shares in the frustration that our customers feel during the lengthy wait but it is entirely beyond our control. It seems unfair that the credit card company can process charges to your account the same day that they are incurred, but they take weeks to process a corresponding refund. If the unresolved refund is endangering your credit limit, please contact us for help. We will send supporting documents to your credit card company to verify the pending refund and hopefully arrange a temporary waiver of your credit limit.

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Q. How do I notify GST regarding any airline tickets that I may have lost? How are refunds processed on these items?

If a ticket is lost while traveling, contact your Travel Counselor for assistance. We will gladly assist you in processing your application and provide you with a copy for your records. Typically, a refund of a lost ticket takes 90 - 120 days to process. A service charge is imposed by the airline to cover the handling of lost tickets.

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Q. Why is it that my frequent flyer mileage is not always credited by an airline?

If your personal profile contains your frequent flyer club membership number, we transmit this number to the airline when reserving a seat on that airline. Each airline has a different method of reflecting mileage credit to the member's account. Your name should be consistent in your profile and frequent flyer membership. For example, if your name is John Traveler in your profile, you should be registered in a frequent flyer program as John Traveler not John Smith-Traveler. Upon check-in, verify that your frequent flyer number is included in the airline's record.

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HOTEL RESERVATIONS

Q. When booking hotels, what does the term "Guaranteed Late Arrival" mean?

Most hotels only hold a room until 6:00 PM local time. To ensure that rooms are available for you beyond this time, your reservation is "guaranteed" with a credit card. This means that the hotel has agreed to honor the reservation regardless of the time of arrival. The credit card you use to guarantee your booking does not necessarily have to be your method of payment when checking out.

If you do not intend to use a "guaranteed" reservation, you must cancel the reservation in order to avoid a "no-show" billing from the hotel. Remember to record the cancellation number you are given. Some hotels will allow cancellation on the scheduled day of arrival, but in some cases they might require 24 to 72 hours advanced notice.

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Q. How can a hotel state that they have no record of a reservation? How should I deal with such a situation and what are my alternatives?

It is not unusual for airlines, hotels and car rental companies to claim that no record exists when in fact they may have overbooked or there is a malfunction in their system. Confirmation numbers or other booking details shown on your itinerary are evidence that the hotel or car rental company did in fact accept the reservation. Provide this data to the clerk on duty and if your problem is not resolved, call our office for help.

If you have proved that a reservation did exist but the hotel is full and unable to accommodate you, it is the responsibility of the hotel to find you a comparable room for the same price or less at another local hotel. We will assist you if they fail to meet their obligations and will follow up with a complaint to the hotel manager and to the hotel chain's head office.

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CAR RENTAL

Q. Do car rental companies have any special requirements for renting a car?

Yes. In most cases, you must have a valid driver's license, a major credit card in your name, and be 25 years of age. Your corporate agreement with your preferred supplier may waive the age requirement. Special arrangements must be made prior to travel if you do not have a major credit card. Your Travel Counselor will assist with these arrangements.

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Q. What should I do if the car rental desk says they do not have a reservation or are out of cars?

There are two reasons why a car rental company might say they don't have a reservation for you:

1. They have overbooked and don't have enough cars available.
2. They want to rebook you in their own computer system so as to avoid paying commission to the travel agency that reserved the car on your behalf.

In either case, show the person at the rental desk a copy of your itinerary, which should contain a reservation confirmation number. If they still say they cannot locate your reservation, or if they truly overbooked and have no cars available, call our office for assistance.

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Q. What should I do if the car has a defect?

Before leaving the rental parking lot a notation of any defects should be made on your rental contract by a representative of the rental company. Also, note the outgoing mileage printed on your contract and see that it corresponds with the car's odometer. If there is a difference bring it to the attention of the car rental representative immediately.

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Q. Can GST  make international car rental reservations?

Yes. We will make reservations for any country requested. It is normally much less expensive to book your international car rental from North America than to book one after arrival in your foreign destination.

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