Travellers Returning to Canada to Quarantine in Hotels, but…
I’ve written two recent posts about fair warnings from the Federal Government:
- Canada May Invoke Emergencies Act to Limit Pandemic Travel
- More Warnings of Stricter Canadian Travel Restrictions
New Measures
These warnings are becoming more of a reality as the Prime Minister announced today that travellers who are returning to Canada will soon have to quarantine in hotels … at their own cost. The point of this measure is to continue to discourage travel outside of Canada. The more recent one was the 72-hour negative test that came into effect on January 7, 2021.
There are no dates on when this will come into effect, but Canada’s main airlines already started cancelling some flights in advance to this. So be sure to check your upcoming flight status.
So may argue that this should have been done well ahead of time and that we are pretty late in the game compared to other countries. Either way, sounds like these measures are coming at some point.
Opportunity for Elite Status
While the 14-day quarantine on the traveller’s own expense may not feel like a big deal to some people, and a perfect opportunity to build elite status with hotel chains, it can be an issue for others.
In some cases, I’m guessing companies may even be willing to pay for the bill for certain people (if it was an essential travel anyway). It would be gravy on top if these people can work from home anyway, then they can work out of a hotel and not worry about loss of income. How amazing would all this be for miles and points hobbiests?
If you are someone who ends up needing to stay at a hotel for 14 days straight, be sure to maximise all the bonus points opportunity and calculate any elite statuses that you may earn. Watch for reduction in status requirements with certain chains. It is still early in the year, so you can achieve status well ahead of time and benefit for the rest of the year as well as next year!
An Issue for Others
That being said, this can become a significant issue for people who have to foot the bill themselves and have loss wages. So if this becomes your situation, our conscience does tell us that you should definitely try to return to Canada as soon as possible, without delay, especially with flights being cancelled across the board.
Alternatively, if you do not plan to return any time soon, you may want to consider making arrangements that allows you to stay put for an extended period of time.
Whatever you end up deciding to do, please be safe!