Hurricane Odile: Los Cabos Update on Hotels and Tour Operators

Photo courtesy of Hotel Chatter

Hotels, tour operators and the Mexican government are working round-the-clock to evacuate tourists from the situation in Los Cabos in the wake of Hurricane Odile. According to the Associated Press, police have stepped up the patrolling in the resort area, where looters have wiped stores clean, and thousands of people are into their fourth day without water or power.  

Here's an updated look at the hotel and tour operator situation in the destination.

Hotels

The Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort continues to have power via a generator and has the necessary provisions to continue providing meals, beverages and water. "We have been informed that Mexican military authorities are now evacuating travelers, and have been advised that hotels will be notified when it is time for their guests to be transported," the hotel's Facebook page reports. "We continue working with the local authorities and tourism partners to provide the necessary updates as they become available." The Hilton still remains closed to arrivals and is no longer accepting reservations.

Esperanza, An Auberge Resort is currently closed through the end of September. The resort has sustained some damage and at this time the survey crews have not made a complete assessment. Following the assessment the resort will set a re-open date. "For guests who were evacuated or were scheduled to arrive within the next two weeks, Esperanza will be refunding or rescheduling their stays," says Marc Rodriguez, general manager.

All guests from The Westin Los Cabos have been transferred to the Los Cabos airport for evacuation on government and military airplanes. Starwood tells Travel Agent that they are still awaiting details on the Sheraton Hacienda del Mar guests, but they understand that many, if not all, have also been transferred to the airport. Guests will be flown to different destinations. The Westin and the Sheraton continue recovering and assessing damage. It is too soon to determine when they will be fully operational, but it is not expected before October 31.

Guests of One&Only Palmilla were evacuated ahead of the storm and no guests were at the resort when Hurricane Odile hit the area.

"While it is too early to give a complete assessment, our dedicated team is working diligently to assess damage in order to determine when the resort will reopen," One&Only says. "We will provide updates as they become available. We are in the process of contacting guests with bookings immediately impacted."

For additional updates or inquiries, please call:+866 829 2977 within the U.S. or +1 954 809 2726 outside of the U.S.

Guests of the Secrets Marquis Los Cabos are also reported as being safe. They are being transported to the airport for departures. Cell phone service is also back up and running. 

Melia Hotels International has also felt the impact of the hurricane. The company is reporting that two of their resorts in the Cabo San Lucas area, Melia Cabo Real and ME Cabo, have been closed due to damages. Both resorts will remain closed until further notice and will undergo reforms and renovations. Currently, the resorts are not accepting any new bookings. For help or more information call 1-888-956-3542.

Tour Operators

Pleasant Holidays has been working in concert with the Mexican government to assist in the evacuation effort in Los Cabos to airports in Mexico City, Mazatlan, Tijuana and Guadalajara. Customer Service has contacted travel agency partners with vacations scheduled to Los Cabos through October 1, 2014 to provide assistance in altering their vacation plans as requested, either to future dates or a new destination in Mexico, the Caribbean, Hawaii or Tahiti. Pleasant Holidays is waiving its change fees for modifications due to Hurricane Odile.

MLT Vacations is reporting that a small number of their customers were in the destination at the time of the storm. Its hotel partners and destination management partners are working to get them home as quickly as possible. They are also working with their travel agency and hotel partners to rebook customers with upcoming vacation plans to Los Cabos and elsewhere on the Baja Peninsula. Travel agents that have clients booked to Los Cabos or elsewhere on the peninsula with MLT Vacations now through October 4 should call 1-800-727-1111.

Travel Impressions has been able to establish limited contact with Amstar dmc in Los Cabos. The representatives are working their way to the hotels with Travel Impressions customers, and helping to facilitate transportation to the airport. Travel Impressions advises tourists to try to get to the airport as soon as they can, during daylight hours. The rescue flights are being filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

The following Alaska Airlines flights are planned for today, Thursday, Sep. 18:
Flight 201: Los Cabos to San Jose
Flight 233: Los Cabos to San Diego
Flight 235: Los Cabos to San Francisco
Flight 239: Los Cabos to San Diego
Flight 251: Los Cabos to Los Angeles
Flight 279: Los Cabos to Los Angeles

Apple Vacations is reporting that there is limited information coming directly from Los Cabos due to the power outages, though all reports indicate that at this time customers are safe at hotels or in emergency shelters. Apple Vacations is in the process of contacting all passengers to travel to Los Cabos through Saturday, September 20, regarding rebooking travel to Los Cabos on a future date, or booking an alternative destination, based on the applicable airline and hotel policies. Passengers whose flights have been cancelled and wish to re-book an alternative destination will receive a $50 discount per person for departures through October 31.

We are still awaiting response from FunJet Vacations, Classic Vacations and Travel Impressions.

On the Ground

"Authorities told local radio that offers would stop and question anyone they found on the streets after nightfall Wednesday to make sure they had legitimate business at that hour," the Associated Press reports. "Officials stopped short of calling it a curfew."

President Enrique Pena Nieto's office said the government is working with state authorities in the area to restore water and electricity. Yesterday we reported that the military was airlifting stranded tourists out of the destination. Today the AP is reporting that only 5,000 tourists have been flown out. A total of 30,000 were stranded because of the storm.

Do you have news on Los Cabos or on how your hotel or travel business fared in the hurricane? Contact Meagan Drillinger ([email protected]) with updates we can share with our readers.

Stay tuned to Travel Agent Central as more news becomes available.