Dear Customers,
As you’ll be aware travel companies are amongst some of the worst affected as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak. I just wanted to give you an update on how LNOF have been coping throughout this period and what it means for you.
Last time I updated you we were working with a skeleton crew, had just got over the worst of the crisis and the tide was beginning to turn in our favour. The great news is that things have continued to get better.
We’ve been able to bring a few more staff back out of furlough, at least on a part-time basis. This has been great not only for the staff we’ve been able to bring back and for those of us that have been here throughout the whole of the crisis but it also means that we’ve been able to get back to something approaching normality from a customer service point of view. I’m proud to say that we’re almost fully caught up with our work-load and customers are able to contact us (via their group leader ) and get a very quick response.
We’ve also listened to customers’ concerns and have given all groups due to travel this summer the option to postpone their trip. We know that many weddings have been postponed and we’re aware that not everyone is comfortable getting back out there right away so would rather wait until you’re ready before giving you a last night of freedom to remember.
For those of you who had your trip affected by COVID we remain hugely grateful to those of you that opted to postpone your weekend rather than cancel (many of you have fully rearranged your travel but if you haven’t yet please get in touch and we’ll get your plans back on track). For those that had to cancel I hope in time you’ll be in a position to book with us again and we look forward to welcoming you back.
We are now seeing what started out as a trickle of new enquiries in May turn in to a very steady stream of new bookings. Customer demand is rising daily and is now back at very healthy levels - 2021 is looking very busy already (if you haven't already done so, now is a good time to get in before availability becomes an issue).
As we come out of lock-down lots of our suppliers are having to adapt their activities and accommodation to be compliant with the new regulations, they are also doing this on a reduced staff level. One thing I would ask is if you could please bear with us whilst they make these changes. It's a tough course to navigate and will take a little while to adapt. There might be some minor amendments to itineraries but please know that our priority in this is the health of our customers, suppliers and staff. I’m sure there will be other things that will take a little time to adapt to but the future is starting to look bright.
I’ll be back in touch with further updates but in the meantime please stay safe.
All the best.
Matt
Managing Director - Last Night of Freedom