The OneStage Office
The OneStage office in Brentford is currently closed in line with the recent lock down restrictions and guidelines for office working set out by the government. Despite these practical restrictions, we are still open for business and have a small team working from home. The best way to contact us is to send an email to concerttours@onestage.co.uk. Please include your phone number in the email, so that we can call you back.
Unfortunately, at this time, we are only able to respond to queries from group leaders and not individual members of groups or their family members.
All Group Leaders of tours travelling up until the end of August 2020 have now been contacted and are in discussion directly with our members of our staff.
Travel restrictions:
There is currently a restriction against “all but essential travel” put in place by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), which although is “for the foreseeable future” could be removed at any time. This has meant that our booking conditions still apply to tours booked on future dates which may still happen. Please see the ABTA advice about current and future travel here. https://www.abta.com/news/coronavirus-outbreak
If Onestage cannot operate your tour
If you tour cannot be operated by Onestage, (perhaps because it is very close to the departure date, flights have been cancelled or another impediment), you will already have been contacted by us. We are very grateful if you can arrange a postponement, but it is also your right to cancel without charges if this is your preference. If cancellation is the chosen option, then you will receive a Refund Credit Note (RCN). Please see further information on the ABTA link shown above. Please do be patient if you are due to be refunded. The travel industry has ground to a complete halt and it is currently very difficult for tour operators to make refunds until they receive refunds from their suppliers.&
Postponing your tour
All our customers who are travelling on tours up until the end of August 2020 have now been offered postponements, and the opportunity to carry all funds paid so far to a future tour. This has been offered where the tour is booked, but where cancellation terms still apply, and should the customer wish to cancel they would not be entitled to returned funds over and above our usual booking conditions.
We are extremely grateful to our many customers who have cooperated with the process of postponing their tours. We look forward immensely to working with you again as soon as possible.
Government advice to schools
On 12th March the Government advised schools against all overseas trips for children under 18 until further notice. Please read about this here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-advice-for-educational-settings/coronavirus-travel-guidance-for-educational-settings
Unfortunately, this advice was completely incompatible with the terms and conditions of travel companies, putting travel companies at huge risk and presenting schools with potential losses beyond their control. On 13th March, ABTA and the School Travel Forum (STF) released a joint statement advising all schools unable to travel, that they should either contact their own insurers or the Department for Education, who may be able to provide financial protection.
We strongly recommend that all schools check whether they are covered by the Government’s Risk Protection Arrrangement (RPA) as many have been successful in recouping losses from this source. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-risk-protection-arrangement-rpa-for-schools#full
What happens if OneStage do not survive this crisis?
OneStage will make every effort to survive the ravages of the 2020 CV-19 crisis. We already believe that this is has been made possible by the incredible collaboration of our valued customers many of whom have worked very hard to move their tours to future dates. However, with so many unknown factors, (such as possible recurrences of the virus), we understand that our survival would be a source of concern to our customers.
We would like to assure you that OneStage remain bonded by ABTA and ATOL, protecting our customer’s money. This will include any amounts which are now being held over to future tours, also money which is owed by to our customers as refunds.
A thank you from us
We would like to thank all our customers and suppliers for their cooperation in this extremely difficult time.
Stay safe, keep in touch & carry on making music.
The OneStage Team