ENHANCED SCREENING & PREVENTION WITH NEW FLEXIBLE TRANSFER POLICIES
Posted May 14, 2020
As a past, present, or prospective guest with Orion River Rafting, you’re a part of our family and you should know that the health and safety of our guests and staff is our top priority.
Due to the uncertain nature of the spread of the coronavirus resulting in a steady number of COVID-19 cases, travel restrictions, and shelter in place orders, many travelers are understandably concerned. For this reason, we STRONGLY advise all travelers to purchase a travel protection plan that will cover you in the event you or a family member become ill and cannot travel. However, it’s important to know most policies will not cover other disruptions to travel caused by the coronavirus, including canceled flights or airport closures.
CANCELLATION OF OUR RIVER TRIPS TO BE CONSIDERED ON A ROLLING BASIS 30 DAYS PRIOR TO DEPARTURE
In the primary interest of protecting the health and safety of our guests, staff and locals within the towns in which we operate, and to abide by federal, state and local directives regarding social distancing and staying close to home, we are considering cancellations of upcoming trips approximately 30 days prior to departure. As the situation continues to evolve, we may delay making a determination until 14 days prior to departure.
Like many in the hospitality and tourism industry, our small family-owned business and employees are being hit hard by this. We know this is likely a difficult time for you, as well, and it’s our desire to do right by our valued guests.
While acknowledging that in most cases a full refund is among your options when Orion cancels a trip, we’re asking our guests to consider transferring trip payments to a hold account toward a future Orion trip, which will help our company and our employees weather this unprecedented storm. As an incentive to do so, we’re able to offer a 50% discount on a future Orion river trip when you transfer your payment.
WHEN WE’RE ALLOWED TO GET BACK TO WORK
When we do return to running trips which may be as soon as the end of May, per our our enhanced screening protocols, we may (at our discretion) decline service to a guest and/or remove a staff member from the schedule under the following circumstances:
If a guest or guide 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 trip
If a guest or staff member develops flu-like symptoms (a fever, cough, and shortness of breath) during the 14 days prior to a scheduled trip
Of course, most of these measures require self-identification so we’ll be asking all guests and staff to sign a declaration of health form until further notice. We will continue to update our protocols as the situation evolves and as more information becomes available.
Additionally, if a guide or guest develops flu-like symptoms during an Orion trip, per CDC guidelines, we will socially distance the individual(s) from the rest of the group and any community items, disinfect any suspected items or areas of contamination, encourage them to wear a surgical mask (to help prevent the spread of their illness), and consult local agencies about the possibility of an evacuation. If the individual requires caretaking, one designated guide will tend to the individual with appropriate personal protective equipment. That guide will also be socially distanced from the rest of the group for the remainder of the trip.
Our team is in touch with federal, state, and local agencies and monitoring the following resources, to help inform our decision making at this time:
We hope you’ll rest assured that our standard procedures have long featured vigilant adherence to best practices for sanitation, disinfection of communal surfaces, and availability of hand washing stations. In addition to convenient locations for two to three hand-wash stations at every camp, along with a heavy emphasis on their required use, we also bring a supply of hand sanitizer on every trip. Our guides adhere to strict guidelines for food preparation and clean up. Vehicles are cleaned and sanitized between each use, and our river gear (wetsuits, wetsuit boots, lifejackets, helmets, paddles and splash jackets) is soaped and rinsed between trips. Take confidence in knowing our operations teams are working extra hard to ensure we meet or exceed CDC guidelines on our trips as well as at our warehouse and office facilities.
As always, the safety of our guests and our staff is foremost on our minds. Please take necessary precautions to protect yourself before your trip and when traveling, and if you meet any of the criteria for our enhanced screening for COVID-19, please contact us immediately. If you are 60 or older, or if you have a chronic medical condition such as heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes, please feel free to give us a call. To provide for some additional flexibility during these uncertain times, we’ve modified our cancel/transfer policies for all of our trips, which will allow you, under certain criteria, to transfer your trip payments to a future departure at significantly reduced fees.
Orion was founded on the notion that outdoor recreation and river rafting in particular were ideal means for bringing people together. The camaraderie fostered in sharing time in the outdoors, challenging rapids as a team and leaving the modern day world behind - if only for half a day - is not easily duplicated in other settings. We’re optimistic that we'll be able to provide that setting for you, once again, in what will be our 43rd season in operation. Our staff looks forward to seeing you on the river when the powers-that-be have deemed it safe to do so. And, when that happens, we will be more-than-ready.
Thanks in advance for your understanding, patience and support,
James L. Moore
Owner, Founder and President, Orion Expeditions, Inc.