Our Health Procedures and Cancellation Policies for 2020 Workshops
Effective March 15, 2020, National Park Trips has revised health and cancellation policies in place.
Whether you have attended a photo workshop with us or are gearing up for one this year, we want you to know we take the health and safety of our photography workshop participants and staff very seriously.
With the rise in COVID-19 cases in the United States and across the globe, many travelers are understandably concerned, and your health and safety during our workshops are of paramount importance. Because of the uncertain nature of the spread of the coronavirus and evolving recommendations to prevent its spread, we have developed new screening and prevention policies to help protect participants against COVID-19. We have also amended our trip cancellation policy. Please know that we will continue to update our protocols as the situation evolves.
At present, we STRONGLY advise all travelers to purchase a travel protection plan that will protect you in the event you or a family member become ill and cannot travel.
Furthermore, we have reevaluated our current health and safety procedures and amended them to better address preventing the spread of COVID-19 during our workshops. Effective immediately, we have implemented enhanced screening protocols.
New Screening Protocols
Under our new screening protocols, we may at our discretion decline service to a workshop participant and/or remove a staff member from a workshop under the following circumstances:
- If a participant or workshop leader has been in close contact with someone (within approximately 6 feet for any sustained period of time) of a person known to have COVID-19 within the 14 days prior to a scheduled workshop.
- If a participant or staff member develops flu-like symptoms (a fever, cough, abnormal temperature and shortness of breath) during the 14 days prior to a scheduled workshop.
As you can see, prevention procedures involve you as an active communicator. We are relying on you to share this information with us to keep all participants safe and healthy. Your honesty and communication will enable us to offer the high-quality, engaging workshops we are known for.
At Workshops
The COVID-19 situation is constantly evolving. Our staff keeps a close eye on both federal and local regulations and recommendations for the communities we visit with our workshops. We will update participants in the weeks leading up to the workshop on the specific actions that we will take to follow these regulations and recommendations. At this time, this will include, but is not limited to, requiring all participants to wear face masks and/or gloves, requiring participants to drive their own vehicles to shoot locations, keeping a 6-foot distance from all other individuals on the trip, taking temperatures each day and limiting group size. This is subject to change based on federal and local regulations and recommendations.
If a photo workshop staff member or participant develops flu-like symptoms during a workshop, per CDC guidelines, we will remove the individual(s) from the rest of the group and consult local agencies about the possibility of an evacuation.
Our team relies on federal, state, and local agencies and their following resources to help inform our decision making. You can learn more at:
Our priority is the health and safety of our guests and our staff during our workshops. Please follow public health best practices in your daily lives and when traveling. If you meet any of the criteria for our enhanced screening for COVID-19, please contact us immediately.
To provide you with additional flexibility to make good travel decisions during this COVID-19 outbreak, we’ve modified our cancellation policies. See the revised policies below.
Thank you for your continued trust and enthusiasm for our workshops.
Cancellation Policies
Our workshop cancellation in the past was strict with no refunds. Amid COVID-19, we have amended our cancellation policy for our upcoming three workshops through December 31, 2020.
Given the federal, state, local and business advisories, we have cancelled or rescheduled the following workshops:
- Death Valley – March 24-27, 2020
- Arches – April 20-21, 2020
- Zion – April 23-24, 2020
- Yellowstone – June 23-26, 2020
Participants of these workshops were given the choice of a full refund or a credit for one of our remaining 2020 workshops.
At present, our August through December workshops are still scheduled to take place. We will continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation as it relates to these workshops and will keep participants posted as developments occur.
To help make potential participants more comfortable signing up, we’ve amended our cancellation policy for our August through December workshops.
If National Park Trips cancels any of these workshops, ticket holders will have the option of a full refund or a credit for a different 2020 workshop.
If the workshop is not cancelled, but an attendee is in an at-risk group for complications from COVID-19, or has a family member or someone in their household in an at-risk group and doesn’t feel comfortable traveling or attending the workshop, we will offer a full refund or a credit for a different 2020 workshop to those participants who cancel 45 or more days in advance. We can offer a refund, minus the cost of lodging (this varies workshop to workshop) if cancellation occurs within 44 days of the workshop.
We encourage all attendees to purchase travel insurance to cover flights, rental cars, additional hotel nights, etc.
Please contact mruland@nationalparktrips.com with any questions concerning the workshops or these policies.