Quarantine Plan For Vaccinated Travelers to Canada

[sihan]

Hi guys, I am travelling to Canada this December to commence studies as an international student.
I have been fully vaccinated for Covid.

However, I read on the IRCC website, that every traveler into Canada will NEED to have a quarantine plan in case that you do not get exemptions for quarantine.
But whether or not you qualify for the exemption, this is made by a government representative at the border.

That means I will still have to arrange for a quarantine location no matter what?

But what happens when I pre-arranged for a hotel stay or an airbnb as a quarantine plan, and I receive exemption at the border that I do not need to be quarantined?

The hotel stay / airbnb cannot be cancelled or refunded right? I would have wasted my money for nothing !!

Is there any smart way to go about this?

 

[steaky]

But what happens when I pre-arranged for a hotel stay or an airbnb as a quarantine plan, and I receive exemption at the border that I do not need to be quarantined?

The hotel stay / airbnb cannot be cancelled or refunded right? I would have wasted my money for nothing !!

Is there any smart way to go about this?

Then you use the hotel stay or airbnb as a dwelling or somewhere to sleep. What's the problem? Or you can find somewhere you can cancel anytime before check in.

Pre-covid, during vacation, did you never stay in a hotel? Or staycation? If so, that's your opportunity!

 

[sihan]

Then you use the hotel stay or airbnb as a dwelling or somewhere to sleep. What's the problem? Or you can find somewhere you can cancel anytime before check in.

Pre-covid, during vacation, did you never stay in a hotel? Or staycation? If so, that's your opportunity!

But when you book a hotel, or airbnb, wouldn't you be required to PAY IN ADVANCE?
If you are exempt from quarantine, and you cancel your stay, this money you paid in advance to reserve your stay, cannot be refunded isn't it?

Thats the whole point of my question !!

 

[steaky]

But when you book a hotel, or airbnb, wouldn't you be required to PAY IN ADVANCE?
If you are exempt from quarantine, and you cancel your stay, this money you paid in advance to reserve your stay, cannot be refunded isn't it?

Thats the whole point of my question !!

Yes, you pay in advance.

If you cannot get refund, then enjoy your stay there. If you are exempted from quarantine, you can do some sighseeing during your stay in that hotel.

 

[sihan]

Yes, you pay in advance.

If you cannot get refund, then enjoy your stay there. If you are exempted from quarantine, you can do some sighseeing during your stay in that hotel.

Alright, I just read the IRCC website again, in an obscure corner, it states that you are entitled to receive a FULL refund if you have been given a quarantine exemption by the Canadian customs.

Still, this is LAME & STUPID as hell.

 

[canuck78]

Hi guys, I am travelling to Canada this December to commence studies as an international student.
I have been fully vaccinated for Covid.

However, I read on the IRCC website, that every traveler into Canada will NEED to have a quarantine plan in case that you do not get exemptions for quarantine.
But whether or not you qualify for the exemption, this is made by a government representative at the border.

That means I will still have to arrange for a quarantine location no matter what?

But what happens when I pre-arranged for a hotel stay or an airbnb as a quarantine plan, and I receive exemption at the border that I do not need to be quarantined?

The hotel stay / airbnb cannot be cancelled or refunded right? I would have wasted my money for nothing !!

Is there any smart way to go about this?

Impossible to comment so far from now. The world may look very different in December.

 

[sihan]

Alright, I just read the IRCC website again, in an obscure corner, it states that you are entitled to receive a FULL refund if you have been given a quarantine exemption by the Canadian customs.

Still, this is LAME & STUPID as hell.

I just realized this full refund that you can get, is only for the 3 day hotel stopover.
It is NOT for the 14 day quarantine plan that the Canadian government is FORCING travelers make before they arrive in Canada.

That means that it is ABSOLUTELY POINTLESS even if you are exempt from quarantine by the Canadian customs !!

Because you would have paid for 2 weeks of stay with the hotel anyway !! You will have to stay with the hotel no matter what !!
Unless you want the money you paid to go down the drain, or the Canadian government explicitly state that 14 day quarantine plans can be refunded, which I cant find anywhere !!

 

[steaky]

I just realized this full refund that you can get, is only for the 3 day hotel stopover.
It is NOT for the 14 day quarantine plan that the Canadian government is FORCING travelers make before they arrive in Canada.

That means that it is ABSOLUTELY POINTLESS even if you are exempt from quarantine by the Canadian customs !!

Because you would have paid for 2 weeks of stay with the hotel anyway !! You will have to stay with the hotel no matter what !!
Unless you want the money you paid to go down the drain, or the Canadian government explicitly state that 14 day quarantine plans can be refunded, which I cant find anywhere !!

If you use what you paid, it would not go down the drain. You should enjoy the facility what you paid.

 

[sihan]

If you use what you paid, it would not go down the drain. You should enjoy the facility what you paid.

Do you even realize how much do you pay for 2 weeks stay?
This is money you can otherwise save for something else !!

 

[steaky]

Do you even realize how much do you pay for 2 weeks stay?
This is money you can otherwise save for something else !!

Yes I realised. But some people really need to take a break, a staycation or even cruise to the middle of the sea and sail back to the cruise terminal within a week without excursions.

 

[sihan]

Yes I realised. But some people really need to take a break, a staycation or even cruise to the middle of the sea and sail back to the cruise terminal within a week without excursions.

Dude, you do that in a Vacation !!
That aint the reason why I'm coming here for !!

The government expects you to book a 14 day stay, pay in advance.
They tell you that you might be exempt from the stay, but whats dah point of telling me that I am exempt when I already paid for the stay? That is as good as telling me the sky is blue !!

Unless there is an option to get back what you paid for, if not this exemption is downright pointless !!

 

[Samuel Almeda]

Impossible to comment so far from now. The world may look very different in December.

Exactly

 

[sihan]

Exactly

I found that the only feasible way or should I say, the least painful way of doing this, is booking your quarantine stay through Airbnb.
Airbnb is way more flexible than hotels. Whats more is that the Airbnb hosts set their own cancellation rules.

So you should look for and book with those Airbnb hosts that provide free cancellation options.

On your day of arrival in Canada, if you are required to go for quarantine, you can proceed to your Airbnb booking right away.
However, if you are exempt from quarantine, if you have to cancel, and you do so before your designated check in time, your penalty will be to pay for 1 night's stay and 10-14% of your overall stay cost will go to Airbnb as a service charge.

You can get most of your money back. It aint a full refund, you are bound to lose at least 200 to 400 bucks, but there is no better choice. Travelers are put in this predicament, so compared to having to fork out thousands to hotels, and probably finding yourself being forced to stay at the hotel anyway, because of not being able to get your money refunded, Airbnb quarantine is the lesser of 2 evils to choose from.

 

[steaky]

I found that the only feasible way or should I say, the least painful way of doing this, is booking your quarantine stay through Airbnb.
Airbnb is way more flexible than hotels. Whats more is that the Airbnb hosts set their own cancellation rules.

So you should look for and book with those Airbnb hosts that provide free cancellation options.

On your day of arrival in Canada, if you are required to go for quarantine, you can proceed to your Airbnb booking right away.
However, if you are exempt from quarantine, if you have to cancel, and you do so before your designated check in time, your penalty will be to pay for 1 night's stay and 10-14% of your overall stay cost will go to Airbnb as a service charge.

You can get most of your money back. It aint a full refund, you are bound to lose at least 200 to 400 bucks, but there is no better choice. Travelers are put in this predicament, so compared to having to fork out thousands to hotels, and probably finding yourself being forced to stay at the hotel anyway, because of not being able to get your money refunded, Airbnb quarantine is the lesser of 2 evils to choose from.

But what happens if the Airbnb host cancelled the booking during your flight to Canada? Then you would probably need to update the new airbnb 's address in the arrivecan app. Quarantine or not, you need a place to stay and put the address in the arrivecan app. So if you don't quarantine, then use the airbnb or hotel as a vacation style living. Do some sightseeing while wear a facial mask in the first 14 days. However if you must quarantine, make sure you abide by the guideline in the handout from the government.

 

[sihan]

But what happens if the Airbnb host cancelled the booking during your flight to Canada? Then you would probably need to update the new airbnb 's address in the arrivecan app. Quarantine or not, you need a place to stay and put the address in the arrivecan app. So if you don't quarantine, then use the airbnb or hotel as a vacation style living. Do some sightseeing while wear a facial mask in the first 14 days. However if you must quarantine, make sure you abide by the guideline in the handout from the government.

Even hotels can cancel the reservations you make, not only Airbnb hosts.
So that is a risk that everybody has to take.

I think the important thing here is that you demonstrate to the Canadian authorities that you have made the effort to come out with a quarantine plan.
Shxt happens, and they cannot fault you for circumstances outside your control. If they choose to exempt you from quarantine, then you dun even need to worry about this any further.

But if they do not exempt you, well I read of cases whereby people with hotel reservations for quarantine were cancelled at the last minute when they arrived in Canada because the hotels were overbooked. What happens is that the Canadian authorities will move you to an undisclosed location where you will serve your 2 weeks quarantine. The good thing is, you will not need to pay a single cent if you are housed in a quarantine facility by the Canadian authorities.