REI Adventure Travel Lowers Minimum Guest Number on its Private Departures

Leveraging 30 years of adventure travel leadership, REI Co-op enhanced its private departures offering for its global trip assortment to make it easier to participate in exclusive fully guided vacations. Groups of four or more travelers now receive the same pricing per person as REI's regular trips.

"A bucket list adventure with those closest to you is now easier than ever to schedule. An REI private departure is one of the most competitive offers in the adventure travel industry because other operators require larger groups to qualify and higher per person prices," said Cynthia Dunbar, REI adventure travel director of sales, service and operations. "With close to 200 REI itineraries to choose from, we are ready to make adventure dreams a reality and help create a lifetime of memories."

REI private departures are ideal for special occasions, life milestones, reunions and family vacations. The process is easy – first, select an itinerary suited to a group's destination and outdoor activity preferences. Then, decide on a date and connect with the co-op's adventure travel experts to confirm. REI will work with every guest to make all the arrangements and help the group prepare, including packing lists and product recommendations, conditioning suggestions, expectations about required health and safety actions before and during travel, and access to travel experts to answer questions. This service level helps ensure all guests are well-prepared for an active adventure.

From November 13-23, the co-op is offering a promotion of 10% off private departures trip prices as part of its Gear Up and Get Out sale. Pricing is valid for groups of four or more people. Private departure travel excludes volunteer vacation and cruises, and must be completed between January 1 and December 31, 2021.

In addition to enhancing its private departures, REI has taken other actions this year to provide peace of mind when choosing an adventure vacation tour operator. Throughout the year, REI's travel experts have been busy rescheduling trips with guests and issuing full refunds to anyone who wished to cancel due to health concerns from the pandemic. The company also examined its entire trip assortment to ensure operations exceeded health and safety guidelines, and added new policies to ensure the health and well-being of all travelers. Select US trips recently restarted, including backpacking, hiking and women's itineraries in the American Southwest. For those booking and researching future adventures, the travel leader is experiencing strong interest in its US national parks trips, and categories for weekends, Women's Adventures, Signature Camping and Under 35.

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