Taking a trip or going abroad on Tour with your Group is an exciting opportunity for members, but for a committee, it can be a daunting experience to plan. Sometimes it’s hard to think; where do I start? But we’re also aware that there can be a bit of a grey area around what constitutes a trip or tour and what is actually just a holiday between friends. So we've created some guidance around this and other things you might want to consider as well as showing you how we can support you.
So what’s the difference between a trip or tour and a holiday?
Trips / Tours
A trip or a tour is defined by its purpose; more specifically, where the reason for your trip or tour is in relation to the core purpose of your group’s activity. A simple example would be members of a sports club visiting another country to play one or more matches. Another example would be members of a society attending an event in relation to their group’s chosen activity.
In the above circumstances the following will apply:
You will have the support of a member of staff from the Student Opportunities team in the planning and administration of your trip.
You will need to complete the requested documentation outlined below.
All finances must go through the group’s SU financial accounts, with buttons being set up on the website for payment where relevant.
You may use your group’s social media platforms to promote the activity.
For Sports Clubs you may use the Bear branding in your activity but you must adhere to the Royal Holloway Sport Brand Guidelines and may not use Royal Holloway or Royal Holloway Sport. For Societies you may use Royal Holloway branding in your activity.
Holidays
A holiday would not include any core purpose activity. It may include members of a particular student group because friendships have formed but if the reason for going is purely social and you are not undertaking any core purpose activity then it does not constitute a trip or tour.
In these circumstances the following will apply:
You wouldn’t have any staff support from the Students’ Union and the Students’ Union doesn’t need to know about the trip.
You don’t need to complete the documents outlined below but we would strongly encourage you to consider at least completing a risk assessment for the benefit of your group from a health and safety point of view.
No financial transactions may go through the SU’s financial accounts. You will be responsible for arranging any payments through your own personal bank accounts.
You may not use your group’s social media platforms to promote the activity.
You may not use any of the Royal Holloway branding, including the Bear, on any of your merchandise or kit.
Stage 1: Trip Proposal & Budget Documents
At least two months before your trip or tour you should complete a trip/tour event proposal via the Student Group Admin Form.
We would encourage you to send the form to us before you start making any bookings so you can tap into our expertise and contacts to take an element of the burden from you.
To help your planning we have also created a template budget form (attached at the bottom of this article), which basically helps you work out your income and expenditure so you can understand what costs you will need to cover and what you will need to charge your members.
Please submit the Trip Proposal at least two months in advance of your trip.
Stage 2: Meeting / Conversation
Once we have received your Trip Proposal, one of the team will get in touch with you directly. They may arrange a meeting with you to discuss the trip in more detail, or otherwise will start a direct email conversation with you about the trip.
They will also talk you through other documentation required – i.e. Risk Assessment and Participant Registration Form.
Stage 3: Risk Assessment & Participant Registration Form
Risk Assessment
So you've talked us through your initial plan: check, you've started the payment process with members: check and now you just need to consider a bit of safety. As you're going on this activity with your members, you want to make sure you've considered any risks or hazards, so you can mitigate against them. You never want to have to worry about a bad situation you haven't planned for like someone losing their passport or luggage. Whilst these things happen, if you think about the next steps, it just means you can worry a little less and enjoy your trip.
So what kind of things should you consider? Here are a few examples:
Slips and trips
Money being misplaced or stolen
Individuals being separated from the group
Damage or loss of luggage
Misplaced or lost passport
Medical emergencies
Natural disaster
Transport accident
Assaults
Adverse weather conditions
Minor injuries
The Risk Assessment template is attached below.
Participation Registration Form
The Participant Registration Form is a simple document that you should ask all members to complete. It simply asks for their contact details and their emergency contact details. Please provide your trip/tour participants with your @royalholloway.su email so they can enter this into the form so that you will be sent this information. The information should only be retained for the duration of the trip and will then be deleted.
The Participant Registration Form is linked here: Participation Registration Form.
Please submit the Risk Assessment and Participation Registration Forms to us at least two weeks before your trip.
Payments & Refunds
All payment and request for refunds will be subject to our Refund Policy.
Deposits are non-refundable unless the entire trip is cancelled or in the event of exceptional circumstances.
Students’ Union insurance policies do not cover any travel and all members are advised to take out their own travel insurance.
Contracts
Student Groups are not able to enter any contracts, only RHSU staff are able to do this on behalf of your student group. So make sure to follow the process outlined here and check out this article about contract signing.