Canceling or Combining buses best practice
It is your responsibility as a chapter core member to ensure the long-term viability, sustainability, and mission of your chapter and of STLF as an organization. This may mean that at some point you will need to cancel a bus, combine buses with other chapters, or combine buses within your chapter. This is not typically a fun process, but it is a necessary one.
When to cancel or combine a bus
Buses need to be canceled or combined when too few participants are registered for the Tour. A bus may also need to be cancelled because of core dysfunction (but the preference in this scenario would be to replace core members and find a way for a Tour to continue).
If your participant count is low as you approach spring break you should get in contact with Nash or they will reach out to you. Ideally all trips going out should at least have participant numbers in the mid 30s. Recruitment goals are listed below:
There are some circumstances when these participant numbers may not be sufficient. These can include but are not limited to early down payments required for buses, high bus costs, large chapter debt with the national office, and a chapter history of struggling to fill a bus with no significant change over the years. If you have any concerns about any of this or would like to have more specific information for your chapter, please have a conversation with your national staff contact. They will be able to provide more specific numbers for your specific chapter.
Steps to be taken
When canceling or combining a bus, the number one priority is to get the participants who have already registered on a different tour. If you are not a mulit-bus chapter, the national office will be working to figure out suitable chapters in your area with the same spring break. Most of the time, we will be able to find another tour so participants will still be able toattend, if they so choose.
It is preferable for late cancellations to be avoided for participants so we can allow them time to find other Spring Break opportunities if they don’t wish to or can’t go on a different tour. When a bus is cancelled, full refunds are offered to all participants already registered, and if possible a suggestion to go on a different tour.
Bus core for a cancelled tour
It can be difficult for a bus core when their tour is cancelled. They may feel that they failed as a core, as their goal of leading a tour is no longer happening. As a chapter core member, please be supportive in this situation. If buses are being combined and bus core wish to go on that tour, it is the national office’s recommendation that both bus cores work with each other. The core members attending the new tour have been trained, were looking forward to their experience, and would be an asset on the trip. It is nice to acknowledge that to them and have them take on a few roles e.g. facilitating an activity, managing people at a project, etc.
In the case of multiple buses being combined, it is best to be welcoming as a chapter or a core in this scenario, acknowledge that it isn’t easy to integrate new people into an already established working group this late. Be welcoming and accepting, you will still have a great tour!