In light of recent news and developments regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, I wanted to take a moment to send a brief announcement as it relates to our upcoming annual OWAA conference, which is June 27-29 at Vermont’s Jay Peak Resort.
Rest assured; the safety of our members is paramount and will always be our primary concern. OWAA’s Executive Committee and staff have discussed the matter, and based on the information we have available now, we feel it premature to alter the conference at this time.
We are moving forward with everything as planned and anticipate a fun and informative conference in Vermont. We will continue to monitor the overall situation closely and take the appropriate precautions for the safety and wellbeing of our members. We are staying in touch with our contacts at various tourism boards and will refer to the State Department and CDC websites for up to date information and recommendations.
Should a health emergency be declared in the Northeast region of the U.S. resulting in something like a travel ban or restrictions on events, we will reassess. If an individual cancels due to personal concerns, and the conference has not been canceled, the standard cancellation policies remain in place.
In the meantime, here are few things to consider:
Flights & Travel Arrangements – We urge you to buy insurance and understand the cancellation policy on your flights. Stay in touch with your airline to understand their particular policies or if they have changed. For some current travel guidance, visit this article.
Hotel & Lodging – You can review Jay Peak’s policies here.
Information – To stay up to date on this situation and appropriate travel precautions, we encourage you to visit the State Department, World Health Organization and/or CDC websites.Again, OWAA leadership will continually monitor this situation, and respond accordingly.
But for now, please continue to make your plans to join us in Vermont!
Tim Mead
OWAA President
Additional Resources:
- The CDC has created a COVID- 19 website full of resources and info
- At this point, airlines are asking you to delay contacting them to change your flights unless you are flying in the next 72 hours (as always, if a flight is canceled by the airline, you are eligible for a full refund)
- Hotels – Overall, many hotels seem to be closed through March to mid-April and many are waiving cancellation/change fees through April
- Events – Many events scheduled for March/April are canceling or postponing and those being rescheduled seem to be moving to late June – fall timeframe
- Airline Policies – Forbes is keeping an ongoing list of evolving major airline policies (It’s LONG, so CTRL/COMMAND +F to find a specific airline)
- Hotel Changes and Cancellations – Forbes is also keeping a list of evolving major hotel chain policies (just nice to reference to get a general idea)
- Event/Conference Cancellations/Postponements – Northstar has created a list of trade shows, conferences and events that have been canceled or postponed
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