Guest Participation Guidelines

At Wayward Paper, we’re all about making sure you have a fun, safe, and unforgettable trip with us. To keep everything running smoothly, we’ve put together some guidelines for all our guests. These help us decide when we might need to refuse or cancel a booking, action our Trip Help Process, or possibly even ask someone to leave a trip.

It’s important to know that any guest asked to leave a trip, or who has their booking terminated at any point by Wayward Paper in alignment with these guidelines, will not be subject to any refunds as per our Terms & Conditions.

Here’s what you need to know…

1. Respectful Behaviour

We’re big on kindness and respect here. If anyone is rude, aggressive, or abusive towards our team, other guests, guides, guest artists, or the public, we might have to cancel or refuse a booking or ask them to leave a trip. This includes:

• Bullying, offensive language, threats, or any kind of discriminatory or inappropriate behaviour.
• Constantly making unreasonable demands or complaints.
• Disruptive behaviour or causing communication problems.

If someone’s behaviour makes it hard for us to provide great service or creates a hostile environment, we may have to step in. We’re always here to listen to your concerns and expect everyone to treat each other with respect.

2. Safety First

Your safety and enjoyment are our top priorities. If a guest’s behaviour puts anyone at risk, we may need to take action, or even ask someone to leave a trip.

This includes:

• Ignoring safety instructions from our team.
• Having a history of reckless or rude behaviour.
• Unmanaged mental health issues that could pose risks.
• Not following local laws or regulations (illegal activities).
• Not following transportation and accommodation rules.

Any dangerous or illegal activities will result in immediate removal from the trip and possibly being reported to authorities.

3. Following Our Terms

To join our trips, guests must agree to our Terms and Conditions. If someone refuses to follow these terms or has a history of not complying, we might need to refuse or cancel a booking. During a trip, they may be asked to leave.

This includes:

• Not signing required liability waivers.
• Providing false information during the booking process.
• Using suspicious or fraudulent payment methods.
• Not meeting payment deadlines or providing necessary documents.
• Failing to have a valid passport, visas, or necessary permits.
• Not sharing essential safety and trip coordination information with us (e.g. passport copy, flight itinerary, emergency contact details, and certificate of travel insurance).

4. Health and Fitness

Our trips are set at a gentle, walking pace, but still require a base level of health and fitness. If a guest doesn’t meet these requirements, we will unfortunately need to refuse or cancel their booking. During a trip, they may be asked to leave.

This includes:

• Not meeting minimum fitness or mobility standards for a trip.
• Not having the right gear or equipment.
• Not disclosing health, mobility, or fitness issues that affect participation or the pace of the group.
• Not having necessary vaccinations for entry into a country, where applicable.

5. Matching Expectations

We want to make sure our Wayward Paper values, and trips, match your expectations. If a guest’s expectations don’t align with what we offer, we might have to refuse or cancel their booking.

This includes:

• Unrealistic demands that can’t be met (for our service, or the scope of a trip).
• Expecting luxury experiences where it’s not feasible or advertised.
• Booking without the basic sketching or painting experience a trip requires.
• Having a solo traveller mindset or attitude for a group travel trip.
• Not being willing to share a room or a trip with people of varying personalities and demographics.
• Not accepting the inherent risks of travel or outdoor sketching.
• Wanting to customise the itinerary in ways that are not possible.
• Not accepting the flexibility of an itinerary that comes with the nature of small-group travel and outdoor sketching.
• Not attending pre-trip calls or responding to our communications.
• Making demands that are outside our team’s roles or capacities.

6. Aligning with Our Values

We aim to create a positive and inclusive environment. If a guest’s behaviour goes against our values, we may sadly need to refuse a booking, or take action during a trip.

This includes:

• Disrespecting the environment, local cultures, guides, guest artists, or other guests.
• Not dressing or behaving appropriately according to local customs, including at religious or heritage sites.
• Harassing, discriminating, or being aggressive towards others.
• Engaging in illegal or unethical activities.
• Not embracing our group travel values during previous or current trips: being supportive of others, kind and respectful communication, open-minded and up for experiencing the new or different, flexible, embracing the differences of fellow travellers, being positive and letting things slide.
• Severe or continued behaviour/incidents during a trip.

Our How to Be a Great Inkling doc is really close to our hearts and sums up our group travel values. We send this to all our guests before booking. If you read it and go “that’s me in a nutshell,” then you are already an Inkling at heart!

7. Respecting Our Guides and Guest Artists

Our guides and guest artists are here to make sure everyone has a great time while staying safe and getting the most out of every sketching session. If a guest refuses to respect their decisions or authority, it could result in us refusing future bookings, or asking them to leave a trip.

This includes:

• Not being flexible with itinerary changes.
• Not following our Communicable Diseases Policy.
• Refusing to communicate respectfully with a guide or guest artist.
• Not informing a guide if you decide to wander from the group or skip an activity, meal, or sketching session.
• Using rude or disrespectful language towards a guide or guest artist.
• Refusing to participate in our Trip Help Process.

Our goal is to make sure everyone has an amazing trip while keeping things safe and fun.

Thanks for taking the time to read these guidelines!

💡 If you have any concerns or see any issues while on a trip, please refer to our Trip Help Process.