Melanie Whyte in Devonport, Tasmania | Travel Agent

Melanie Whyte

Locality: Devonport, Tasmania

Phone: +61 3 6423 1366

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• Travel and transport
• Travel Agent

23.01.2022 Greetings to you all! It's fairly safe to say that I have had a few questions about Coronavirus, and so TravelManagers have made a page for the most frequently asked questions for those who have already booked, and those who are wanting to travel - https://www.travelmanagers.com.au/travel-and-coronavirus/ In terms of stats, Australia is now the 18th most infected country. The "doomsday preppers" that are stocking up on toilet paper like the world is ending, are doing nothi...ng more than enabling the hype and hysteria when the message is pretty simple. Wash your hands. Practise infection control, like the majority of us already do, and we will be fine. It is certainly a challenging time for me from a business perspective, so I absolutely encourage you to keep supporting local businesses when and where you can, because the effects will be far reaching on this one. As always, I appreciate your support, and remember - keep calm and wash your hands! See more

21.01.2022 Well, doesn't this Easter look different from what we thought it would?! Instead of a hangi in New Zealand, we are pitching a tent in our back yard. Instead of tasting the delicacies at a French winery, we're sipping from a glass around the firepot at home. It's a brand new, albeit temporary world - and you know what, it's not all bad. I think this is the universe's way of forcing us to slow down, smell the roses and reconnect with the other humans in our world. On the ...travel side of things, I still have 15 lots of people to sort out. If I haven't been in touch with you, I'm not too far away. After that, I'm VERY much looking forward to a rest for a few weeks before deciding what to do in the short term to create an income. Travel is in my blood though, and even though my 20th anniversary in the job (July) will be a LOT quieter than I originally had envisaged, it won't be the last one. Creating these memories for you has always been so rewarding, and I can't imagine doing anything else. This shot is an ad from our parent company in NZ, and it really does capture what we as travel agents do behind the scenes. I think this CV business has probably shown a lot more of what we do, as I continues to fight for refunds and credits for all of you. Happy Easter to all of you. I wish you all a safe and happy holiday period, and wish you nothing but the very best of health and luck for the home schooling ahead! Stay strong, stay home and we will all be travelling again in no time xxx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNW-68cGImc See more

16.01.2022 Jetstar’s change policy, effective 9am tomorrow. Lynnese Pease this is good news xx

15.01.2022 https://www.facebook.com/245855462127291/posts/3221119627934178/?vh=e&d=n

15.01.2022 My first ever video message for you all, but this was all just WAY too much to type!!

14.01.2022 Happy Tuesday everyone! This is the most I have posted in so long, I just wish it was for fun reasons instead of these ones. I have a favour to ask you all. I am working through your changes in date order. I have 55 people due to depart before Easter and working in date order is the only way I can do this, but as you can appreciate, having to change or cancel and fight for refunds for all of you is a mountain of work, and emotionally shattering. I'm choosing to do all of t...his work for nothing, because none of you are choosing not to go. With a few exceptions, most of you can't claim any of the cancellation fees on insurance policies either, which is frustrating, but I promise you that I am fighting hard! SO my favours are these.... 1. If you're not travelling before 15 April, please wait a week before you contact me. 2. If you've contacted me once, and I've responded to you, please be assured that I am onto it. Sometimes I am waiting until the last minute to submit refund requests to give us the best chance of waivers being extended and maybe getting more money back for you. 3. Please don't try and contact your airline/hotel/tour operator/cruise line directly as they will ALWAYS refer you back to us, and you're tying up the phone lines for us trying to get through. 4. Please try and be patient. I have worked so hard to build a successful business based on trust and me always going the extra mile for my clients. Watching it circle the drain is heartbreaking and very scary for my ability to feed my babies. I will continue to push as hard as I can for all of you, and get you all the refunds I can, but I ask you to understand that I am losing so much through this process (including most of my sanity!), as you all are, and it's really hard for all of us. Thankyou all, from a very tired travel agent!

13.01.2022 Happy weekend everyone! Wait, it is the weekend isn't it....?! It's hard to know as we enter our third week of Level 4 lockdowns on the NW Coast of Tasmania. We are doing a great job of flattening this curve though so keep up the great work everyone - and stay home!! On the work front, by now you should have all heard from me. I still have some rearrangements to complete, but only 2 that I have to do substantial on to fix! Coming from a list of 90, this excites me greatl...y! Slightly annoyingly, but understandably, the wait times for refunds have blown out. Carnival Cruises for example has over ONE MILLION people to refund and a decimated workforce with which to process them. Qantas are normally 3-4 weeks, but they are out to 8-10 weeks. Some wholesale companies are up to 16 weeks. I know this is frustrating for all of you, particularly in the world at the moment where none of us are as financial as what we have been. I appreciate your patience and will get this money back to you as soon as I have it. The important part here - IF YOU DO HAVE SOMETHING BOOKED WITH ME AND HAVEN'T HEARD FROM ME, PLEASE EMAIL ME NOW AT [email protected] Some reports may have missed you off them and I would hate that to delay putting things in for refund for you. That's it for me today, I'm excited to get to the end of these cancellations and changes and have a decent break. Stay safe, stay healthy and keep dreaming of your next travel destination. Once the world has healed, I think we may tread a little more lightly than we had been - and that's a great thing! Take care everyone xxx

12.01.2022 Welcome to your Sunday night update everyone! Firstly, thankyou all for such beautiful comments on my last post. I have spoken with quite a few clients over the weekend and I am feeling the love in what is a very trying time. I know that it's a very disappointing time for all of you that can't go on their holiday right now, but to keep it in perspective, we're all still healthy and will have the chance to go again later. The wrap up is here.... 1. Both New Zealand and Austr...alia are implementing self isolation after you've travelled overseas. If you're away right now and coming home, transiting via Melbourne or Sydney to get home is ok. Failure to comply can result in fines up to $30,000 in Australia and you will be subject to spot police checks and the ability to be "dobbed in". 2. Most cruise lines have been an immediate ban on all cruises, to be resumed AT THIS STAGE by around 12 April. These limits will be reassessed and possibly extended pending the COVID-19 conditions at the time. If you are one of the many people needing to reschedule your cruises, I would be aiming to reschedule for at least 6 months time away or further. 3. Despite ScoMo saying that it would be 'counter-intuitive' to close schools, Tasmanian schools have started to close with Scotch Oakburn in Launceston announcing their closure this afternoon. Please, shop with consideration and care for others. No one needs 100 rolls of toilet paper for 2 weeks! Lastly, practise great hygiene. Teach your kids to 'dab' when they're sneezing and if you have symptoms AND have been away recently or in contact with someone that has been, take the proper precautions. Not that I needed any convincing, but this last 2 weeks has emphasized the importance to me of having a great travel agent and someone to go into bat for you when the refund /cancellation conditions are not ideal for you. For all travel agents that you know, trust me - they need chocolate (PM me for my address to send them too! :D D ) Wash your hands guys!! See more

12.01.2022 Well, this has been by far the most challenging week after 20 years in this industry. After the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic, the levels of hysteria and media frenzy is like nothing I've ever seen. I've been positively inundated, and I thank you all who have been, for the most part, patient and understanding. Obviously the events of this week would have those of you that have already booked in a bit of a spin, but I'd like to point out the following... 1. I will be wor...Continue reading

11.01.2022 BREAKING NEWS: Fiji have had their first reported case of COVID-19 and have asked all tourists to leave by Sunday, 22 March, after which, flights will be suspended. If you have any friends or family, or you’re there yourself, please rearrange your plans as quickly as you can. Although I can think of plenty of worse places to be stuck than in such a beautiful country, their medical care is not up to Australian standards and as much as we won’t get the care we need there, we will also be taking their resources as well. Come home everyone! Xx

09.01.2022 Anyone else feel like we're living in a parallel universe right now? It's a brand new world, and here are the latest parts that are affecting the travel part of it... 1. Tasmania goes into lockdown at midnight tonight. Simply put, if anyone comes into Tasmania after midnight tonight, there is a mandatory self isolation period of 14 days. This doesn't matter if you're Tasmanian, a mainlander, international, man, woman or child - you MUST self isolate. There are possibilities o...f a $16,800 fine and jail time if you don't comply so please, PLEASE just do it. More info in the PDF below. 2. I am currently up to early April departures and am in the middle of the changes and cancellations for those trips. As many of the call centres are in Asian countries that are also on lockdown, their call centres aren't manned and everything is being done via email, which is great from a traceability perspective, but not so great with speed! Sadly, quite a few suppliers are being incredibly stubborn and also profiteering from these issues, and are refusing to refund. I'm not sure they know quite how stubborn I am, but rest assured that I won't given up until I have taken this as far as I can. I've had 8 wins in the last 12 hours and have had non refundable accommodation refunded. 3. Rules with cancellation/change fees are constantly changing, sometimes more than once a day so it's an incredibly frustrating process for me, but my previous statements still stand - please don't try and chase these yourselves. You will always get turned back so you'll waste hours on hold, and tie up the phone lines for us. 4. The prime minister has just announced that you should reconsider the need for unnecessary travel, domestically as well. There will be more developments as these things come to light but remember that even with our lockdown, none of the major shops will shut so you don't have to hoard anything! Maybe if you do have anything to spare, check with your neighbour and make sure they're ok. Look after yourselves, and each other. Will update as more info comes to hand xx

06.01.2022 This makes me realise just how much of the world I have to go! I was supposed to add 4 more countries in a few weeks, but for now, it’s time to reshuffle the list. Where is next on your travel itinerary?? #3PulseTravelMap

05.01.2022 This song always gives me goosebumps, and in the scheme of things, we are all so very lucky to live in Australia right now!! Until we can get out and about and explore this world again, it might be time to check out our own backyard as restrictions are slowly peeled back. In the meantime, I wish all of the Mums out there, a very happy Mother’s Day for tomorrow. Whether you’re an old Mum, a new Mum, a fur Mum, a step Mum or even a very special aunt to someone, I know you’ve been putting in some serious extra effort during the lockdown and tomorrow is your day to be pampered. Relax, put your feet up and enjoy! Hoping you’re all happy and healthy xx

03.01.2022 Good morning all. I’ve been asked quite a few times in the past week about Coronavirus. I’m by no means a doctor, and you should all consult your own doctors if you’re planning on travelling to a Coronavirus hotspot, but I do like numbers. No sensationalist media coverage, just the raw numbers, which is why I like this article.