When a Fall Canceled Trip: Securing a Refund for an Australian Tourists

In early 2025, I received a booking from a client in Tasmania, Australia. He was planning a four-day solo trip to Huangshan and its surrounding ancient villages. The client was a retired geological photographer who had spent his life exploring mountains all over the world but had always been drawn to the granite peaks of Huangshan.

In his email, he mentioned that he had seen a set of photos of the Huangshan sea of clouds when he was young, and a dream had been born. Now that he was retired, he decided to make the trip himself and capture those legendary sights with his camera.

I meticulously planned every step of his journey to the mountaintop, including the cable car ride, the best spots for sunrise, and even connecting him with a local guide who knew all the best photography locations. Everything was ready, and all we had to do was wait for his departure.

However, six days before he was scheduled to leave, an email arrived that shattered that expectation.

Fall Leads to a Canceled Trip

He had slipped on a wet floor at home and broken his ankle.

The doctor told him clearly that he wouldn't be able to bear any weight for three months, let alone hike a mountain. He wrote that he had been about to do one last check of his luggage and felt a sense of helplessness looking at his hiking boots and tripod in his backpack. What made him even more anxious was that, according to the contract, there were no refunds for cancellations within seven days of the trip. The money was not a small sum for him, especially since this trip was a "bucket list" item he had planned using his years of savings.

I didn't hesitate. I immediately wrote back to express my concern, telling him that his health was far more important than any trip and promising to do everything I could to minimize his financial loss. I knew that at that moment, what he needed most was the reassurance that he was understood and supported.

I immediately began to contact all the suppliers: the hotels on Huangshan, the cable car company, the photography guide, and even the local transportation service. For each one, I explained the situation in detail, attached his doctor's note, and asked them to consider a partial refund or to postpone the services.

The process was not smooth. The initial replies were almost all "Impossible." But I didn't give up. I kept communicating, emphasizing that this was not a casual cancellation but a genuine accident, and that the client was not asking for a full refund, but simply hoping to recover as much of his loss as possible.

After three full days of negotiation, we had a breakthrough.

The hotel at the foot of the mountain agreed to refund 30% of the room fee. The guesthouse on the mountaintop, while unable to offer a refund, agreed to convert the entire amount into a voucher valid for two years. The cable car company's ticketing system was non-refundable, but the guide voluntarily offered to refund his service fee and said he would be ready to help him again whenever he recovered. In the end, we successfully recovered nearly 40% of the original cost as a cash refund, with most of the remaining amount converted into credit for future use.

When I sent him the final report, he replied quickly: "Firstly, thank you very much for your concern about my health. Really appreciate it. Thank you for helping with the refund process and making the extra efforts."

New Journey After Eight Months

Time passed quietly. Until one morning, eight months later, a familiar email address popped up in my inbox again. There was no small talk, just one sentence: "My ankle has fully recovered. With my wife, I'd like to rebook the Huangshan trip I had to cancel last year. The same plan, is that possible?"

In that moment, I could almost picture the determination on his face as he clicked "send." I immediately re-confirmed all the details for him, and I made sure to specifically tell the guide and the guesthouse that this client had missed his trip once due to injury, and we needed to ensure his safety and comfort this time.

He and his wife arrived as planned, took the cable car up from Tangkou Town, and stood on the viewing platform at Bright Summit in the early morning. The sea of clouds was rolling, and the sun slowly rose from between the peaks, painting the sky golden and red. He held up his beloved camera and took a photo of his long-awaited partner.

After the trip, he didn't send a formal thank-you letter, but that quiet return was the deepest form of appreciation. And I will always remember that my small acts of persistence turned a broken journey into a successful, final chapter. When you fall, you just get back up again.