UPDATE (23 April 2022): New Zealand is currently at “orange” under the Covid-19 Protection Framework (“traffic light system”) and following other Government announcements we’re pleased to advise that our customers no longer need to be fully vaccinated.
We have updated our website including our FAQs, Covid-19 Policy and Booking Conditions accordingly.
We still strongly recommend that masks are worn for your campervan handover as it remains a strong defence against the spread of the virus… but aside from that, things are starting to get back to normal. Yay!
Original post for your reference…
Wondering how the move to the new Covid-19 Protection Framework (aka the “traffic light system”) will affect your roadie? We explain what it means for Quirky Campers NZ… our lovely van owners and wonderful customers.
The long and short of it is, that we are left with no choice but to change our policies in order to operate at red and amber status. While we can’t bear the division and politics of the current situation, if we wait until we move to green we may not have a business! So it is with a heavy heart – but with the wellbeing of our van owners and customers top of mind – that we’ve taken these steps.
Our perspective on our risk as a business
We completed the Worksafe NZ Risk Assessment and while some areas of our business are lower risk (like the number of customers we each deal with as van owners and how easy it is for us to identify people), other aspects of what we do pose higher risks. Things like campervan handovers which generally see us in close proximity to customers in an enclosed space. For that reason we decided that all Quirky Campers NZ van owners need to be fully vaccinated.
What it means for customers
Given we come into close contact with customers, to operate at red and amber traffic light status it means all customers must also be fully vaccinated. For both red and amber levels, the following are required:
- wearing masks for campervan handovers (van owners and customers)
- validating vaccine passes for all van occupants (eligible for the vaccine) using the NZ Pass Verifier app at the campervan handover
We’re sure it doesn’t really need stating but be assured that each van is thoroughly cleaned between hires. Some campervan owners have also built in extra time between hires so they aren’t rushed to turnaround the vehicle.
Updated information and paperwork
We have updated our website including our FAQs and Covid-19 Policy and have also now added a “checkout question” in our booking system. This asks people to confirm that all eligible van occupants are fully vaccinated before finalising their booking so there should be no surprises.
We have also now included reference to customers being fully vaccinated in our two main contracts between Quirky Campers NZ and our customers. These are our Booking Conditions and the Hire Agreement associated with a Quirky campervan hire.
This covers domestic travel and as international travel starts to become a reality we will refine our policies and processes to reflect Government on guidance.
Communicating with customers
As a result of having to make these changes we reached out to all customers who had an existing booking with us letting them know about the updated booking conditions. Unfortunately, it has meant that some customers need to cancel their booking and we have managed this without judgement or issue. We obviously hope that in time, as and when we get to green status and beyond, that these restrictions can be lifted.
We are so appreciative of the positive feedback that we have received and grateful for the continued support for our small business through these challenging times.
If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to drop us a line at bookings@quirkycampers.co.nz
