![]() Two-thirds of Road Scholar’s current customers are return travelers, according to the company, including some that have been on more than 25 trips. The organization is paying group leaders whose trips were canceled, and working with other providers to get refunds or credit for unused trip activities. The first instruction was “to be kind to people who are calling, recognize their fear and anxiety, and do everything you can to help them,” he said. Moses said he sent a set of “guiding principles” to his employees. Moses, not to deliver profits to a shareholder. “We exist to inspire and empower older people,” said Mr. Road Scholar is now launching a crowdfunding campaign to ask its community to help the organization during the pandemic. It has received tax-deductible donations over the years that help offset trip planning, help low-income travelers and provide grants for family caregivers. With its status as a nonprofit organization, Road Scholar has a cushion that commercial travel operators don’t have. Mindes can transfer her deposit to another trip, or if the trip is canceled, a decision likely to be made in mid-June, Ms. The Chicago resident has asked for a refund, but Road Scholar has only canceled trips through July, and is still considering its August trips. Gayle Mindes paid a $250 deposit in June of 2019 for a trip to China for this August. Besides communicating with future trip participants, the company helped 670 travelers in 25 countries come home sooner than expected.Įven waiting for a cancellation decision can produce anxiety. 11 terrorist attacks, Road Scholar created an emergency response plan and activated it again this year, with teams assigned to communicate with travelers, focus on logistics, monitor the situation on the ground, and keep track of information from government agencies and other sources. Moses said that during his 40 years with the company, Road Scholar programs have been disrupted by economic upheavals, natural disasters and disease outbreaks. Moses believes the community “will stand by us if we stand by them.” While the situation is extremely challenging financially, Mr. James Moses, Road Scholar’s president, said in an email message that the first responsibility for the nonprofit is to its travelers. “They even refunded the cost of the trip insurance.” “I didn’t have to do anything on my end besides answer a few questions,” she said, noting her credit card was refunded for her final payment, and a check arrived for the deposit she had paid earlier. ![]() Christensen received an email saying the Greece trip was off, and she was welcomed to a future trip credit or a full refund. Two readers, one scheduled to go to South Korea and another to Greece, wrote in to say how proactively, quickly and generously Road Scholar had acted to offer them a complete refund. Road Scholar now has 420 employees and organizes 5,500 trips annually for more than 100,000 participants worldwide. Road Scholar began 45 years ago as Elderhostel, offering not-for-credit classes at a handful of universities where the attendees stayed in student dorms. One reader even did the research to cite which law she believed her travel provider had broken.Ī bright light in the sea of frustrated missives is Road Scholar, a Boston-based nonprofit travel organization that offers educational trips for travelers 50 and older. When The New York Times travel section asked readers to submit their travel cancellation stories, hundreds of email screeds poured in from frustrated customers who were trying to get their money back but have been unable to do so. Too often in the pandemic, travelers seeking refunds for vacations they’ve been forced to cancel are instead offered credit for a future trip, whether they want it or not. This column looks at the companies and organizations that have stood out during this time. Travel and travel planning are being disrupted by the worldwide spread of the coronavirus.
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