Unsettled’s Update on Coronavirus: What You Need To Know

 By: Michael Youngblood & Jonathan Kalan, Co-founders, Unsettled.

[This page is continually updated with our latest information on Coronavirus and its impact on our community. LAST UPDATED: March 23th, 2020]

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Dear Unsettled community,

COVID-19 is having an unprecedented impact on humanity and our collective ability to have shared experiences.

For those who have experienced Unsettled, you know that we are about more than just travel and mobility. We are a global community. On all of our experiences, we co-create a space for community to explore, adventure, grow, and thrive. At the most foundational level, Unsettled exists to create spaces that are safe for people from around the world to come together and thrive.

Today, we are announcing that Unsettled is taking a travel sabbatical from April 1 to May 22, 2020. We have personally contacted all participants who are affected by this. As of today, we plan to resume operation in late May and early June. All virtual retreats are still open.

These past few weeks have affected our community very directly. We have dozens of alumni in quarantine in Italy, Spain, France, China, South Korea, in various parts of the US, and the rest of the world. We have seen weddings canceled, loved ones get sick and livelihoods disrupted.

The world is telling us to slow down. This is a time to be intentional about our choices and stop all non-essential travel. Our decision to take a break from our retreats wasn’t an easy one.  However, more than a travel company, we are a people company. We care. We care for our community, our team running these experiences, and our alumni in more than 80 countries.

This will pass. In the meantime, we will continue our online programming, virtual retreats, and even use this time to reinvent the ways in which our community connects, shares, and supports each other virtually across the world.

We will be back at it running incredible shared travel experiences before you know it. Our strength and resolve during this unique moment in history comes through your support, and the remarkable communities we’ve created with and every one of our experiences over the past four years together. Thank you for being a part of our family, and for all of the kind words of encouragement, support, and solidarity for us and each other during this time.

As we go through this period together, below are the latest resources, recommendations and more from Unsettled:

We urge anyone who is traveling (with us or otherwise) to take the following steps: 

• Gather information from the U.S. and E.U. CDC as well as the International Red Cross, the World Health Organization, and local governments in your destination and home country to assess if you can or should travel there, given the local circumstances in your destination, your age and health, your own countries’ recommendations, and more.  
• Make sure you thoroughly read and understand your travel insurance and what it covers and doesn’t cover, and in which countries. Same for your terms and conditions for any airlines or travel providers, including Unsettled’s!  
• Read up on the best practices on how to stay healthy from the above organizations (from washing your hands to health care goods you may want to bring with you).

At Unsettled, operations are being affected and we wanted to provide an update and how you can be proactive with us: 

• Be mindful of Unsettled’s terms and conditions as well as the refund and cancellation terms and relevant dates (typically 60 and 45 days before your start date are important per your refund options) on any trip you have booked with us. If you are not sure, check your retreat purchase page or email your point of contact at Unsettled (or hello@beunsettled.co) 
• If you are signed up for an upcoming trip, then you have likely heard from us (either your Experience Leader or our Head of Community), or you can assume your trip is under normal operation.
• Unsettled Costa Rica (May 22nd, 2020) and Amazon (August, 2020) are all proceeding under our normal plans, operations, and terms and conditions.
• If you’re signed up for Unsettled Tokyo, Tuscany, Greece, or our Bali trips, then you should have received a direct email from us. We will continue to communicate as the situation is evolving rapidly.
• At this time, if Unsettled cancels any trips that we deem unsafe or unfeasible for travel, then we will offer participants on those trip the option for either a 100% future credit on another Unsettled trip or a partial refund.
• As situations evolve, and they will, we will be in touch with any changes, and you can always be in touch with us.  

Our goal is to be as proactive as possible, and communicate any and all information we have to our customers and community as the global situation unfolds. Thank you for being with us, and stay safe (and sane) out there…

Michael Youngblood & Jonathan Kalan,
Co-founders, Unsettled