So far, NABC Summer 2020 is still on (EDIT: NABC Summer 2020 is officially cancelled), and it runs from July 15th to July 26th. It would have conflicted with the Tokyo Summer Olympics, but that is no longer a problem. However, the official schedule still lists the Grand National Teams kicking off the Summer NABC as usual. We know that is unlikely, because the ACBL Board voted to reschedule NAP to Montreal 2020 and postpone GNT to Fall 2020 in Tampa. With some scheduled events in flux, including when the NAP District representatives need to play, it’s hard to form partnerships and plans for specific events.
Flight Deals: Take Advantage of the Uncertainty?
To be honest, it’s nearly impossible for anyone to plan anything 4 or 7 months ahead these days. We don’t even know 2-4 weeks from now if we are all still sheltering at home. But what we do know is, every airline has extremely flexible cancellation policies now. Adam Wildavsky reports on the nyc-bridge mailing list that now is a great time to book risk-free flights for Montreal.
I can confirm – $152 round trip on United, and it’s not even the Basic Economy fare where you might have to pay extra to bring enough clothing for 7-10 days of bridge.
The Safety Play?
If we learned anything from the Columbus Spring 2020 NABC, there are some advantages to booking with the official partner hotels. You are more likely to get a full cancellation if the event is cancelled. Airbnb eventually refunded everyone who cancelled with mid-March bookings, but it was far from assured. Note that for Montreal, the playing events are at the conference center, surrounded by many of the partner hotels (For SPG / Bonvoy members, Le Westin seems the way to go).