If you’re unfamiliar with Halldis, they’re an apartment rental company based out of Milan, Italy. They function a lot like Airbnb. Therefore, you can rent for a couple of days or a few weeks. So if you’re looking for an Airbnb alternative, then Halldis is an excellent option for you.
Halldis, although they’re primarily in Italy, offers apartment rentals in Paris and Brussels. So, when it came to finding an apartment in Paris I went with Halldis.
I found their website very easy to navigate. If you’re American, you should note that booking on Halldis.com is a little different. What I mean is their payment processing page isn’t as clean-looking as the rest of the website experience. Don’t be alarmed. They’re a legit place of business.
But, since the coronavirus outbreak, all my travel plans came to a halt. I’ve had to cancel my American Airlines flight to Europe. My Eurail Pass, although I still haven’t contacted them, I’ll need to get an exchange for a later date. And now, my Halldis apartment reservation needs to get canceled.
I should mention Halldis requires a deposit to hold your apartment. Depending on the apartment, some deposits are 50% down, others like the one I booked, is 25% down. Needles to say, I worried I wouldn’t get my deposit back.
How to Cancel Your Halldis Reservation during the Coronavirus
If you booked an apartment with Halldis, you’d remember that they assign you a specific agent. Since Halldis is an international company with radically different time zones, everything is done through email or on the website itself. Me and my agent were in constant contact during our reservation and afterward. This is important because now I knew who I needed to contact if there was a problem.
As soon as I realized I wasn’t going to make it to Paris, I emailed them to test the waters. Halldis responded promptly. However, they informed me that since my reservation was several weeks away, I should email them within the two-week mark. Since everything was up in the air, perhaps I could still make it, in other words.
After the weeks went by, and more lockdown measures took place, it was clear that travel in any sense wouldn’t be possible until further notice. However, the coronavirus pandemic engulfed Paris, and their quarantine measures are strict.
Even if I somehow managed to make it to Paris, it would be the same scenario that’s playing out in LA. Self-quarantine at home. Don’t go out unless necessary. Anyway, Paris also closed its borders. So, I can’t make it even if I wanted to.
The two-week mark came, and I emailed Halldis again and informed them about LA’s strict quarantine policy and that I definitely wouldn’t be able to travel due to coronavirus restrictions.
The staff at Halldis is delightful. They emailed me right away and told me they understood the circumstances since they also extended all quarantine measures and lockdowns.
I was told they changed their refund policy to include rentals, which are affected by coronavirus, like me.
They canceled my reservation and gave me a refund in the form of a voucher. Although it wasn’t a cash refund, I’m still planning on moving to Paris once this is all over. So a voucher is excellent. I’m happy and can’t wait to use my Halldis voucher on an apartment in the not-so-distant future.
Let me break it down for you:
If you booked a Halldis reservation through their website, chances are you were in touch with your assigned agent. This is great because you can email them if anything goes awry.
Considering the coronavirus outbreak destroyed most people’s travel plans, Halldis has changed their cancel policy and are offering vouchers you can use at a later date. In other words, they’re giving you your money back to use with them once things are back to normal.
Once things settle down, I am taking that voucher and booking another apartment. Coronavirus, you will not destroy my wanderlust.
I hope this has helped you out.
Check out the Halldis website here.