Market Situation due to Icelandic Volcano?

No one has really missed the information about the ashes that is spread across Europe in the last days. Even in this turbulent time some funny jokes are already online:

• ”A special announcement to the British and Dutch Governments: We don't have C in the Icelandic alphabet, so when you ask for Cash, all you get is Ash”.
• 2. ”Icelandic taxpayer to Britons and Dutch: forget Icesave, kiss my ash!”
• 3. ”First they burn our money, then they send us the ashes.

Ps. We love jokes in the office – please do not be offended! 

I did actually get stranded as one of the other millions on the roads across the globe. After good meetings in Stockholm, walking my way to the airport I got a text message from Brussels Airlines; “BRUSSELS AIRLINES INFORMS THAT YOUR FLIGHT IS CANCELLED” – well nothing to do, I quickly rebooked my flight to the next day as I thought this would be over quickly but just after 2h I got another text message that the second flight also was cancelled.

What to do? What rights I have from the Airline Company? What insurance do I have?

When all that sorted, I called Hotel Skeppsholmen, a lovely new hotel in Stockholm where I stayed the first night to see if they had availability for a second night. The men at the reservations told me, “I just had 40 cancellations, but now within 1 hour, 35 new bookings” and I was lucky to get one of these cancelled rooms.
With the information from the news, this would most probably be a long stop and I decided to try alternative travel ways. Going to Central Train Station in Stockholm to see if I could book a train ticket back to Belgium was more or less impossible and online all tickets sold out. It is good then to have friends that work in the business. I had part of my ticket within 30 minutes. I left for Copenhagen late on Friday, but there all stopped, I had to wait 2 days before getting on the train further south. Sunday noon, the German ICE train had openings and I got a ticket for the 11h train journey across Denmark and Germany to Belgium. It was actually quite colorful trip. Next to me I had a man from South Africa that had been to a conference in Stockholm, trying to get back to Madrid and catch a flight there back home. Opposite a man from Mumbai, India that been to another conference in Gothenburg. He was trying to get to Brussels to fly back to India. On the other side an American couple that was trying to get back to Paris to catch their Trans Atlantic flight. A lot to speak about and all helping each other the best way and I must say the train crew really did a good job. Holding trains for better connections, adding cars to existing train sets etc. But I am glad, I made it home and I should not complain as I know others are on longer train journeys or on busses across Europe. I have a friend who’s next available flight from Sydney is the 29th April!

After speaking with several hotels this week, they were going wild for sky high turnover in the weekend, but the week now starting on the 20 April – a new week and people are not flying in to their meetings. Cancellations cancellations and more cancellations!!!

How is it at the conference side, lots of cancellations and movements as well? What cancellation policies do you have? Are you allowing them to rebook in the coming months Did you change them the last days? Please share your thoughts!