Updated 4/18/2021
2021 COVID-19 INFORMATION AND UPDATES
This information applied to the previously-scheduled May 2021 event, but will be revised for our September event commiserate with the then-current COVID circumstances. Vaccines are now widely available in the United States, and we hope that most, if not all of the September attendees will be able to get a vaccine if they want one. therefore, by September government policies and resort protocols may change. BeachBind organizers will review the circumstances, confer with our physician consultant, and determine if revisions to the event protocols should be made. Therefore, please check back for updates prior to the September Event
But wait! There's a pandemic out there!
Safety comes first. The safety of our staff, presenters, and attendees has and will always be our top priority!
BeachBind has the option of operating entirely outside with strict COVID protocols, and we will do so if necessary. BeachBind takes place in the Jamaican resort corridor that his heavily locked-down and has had no reported COVID cases through December 20th. As we disclosed in our Safety and Satisfaction Report, there were no COVID cases during, or resulting from, our December 2020 event, which was a small, outdoor, socially-distanced event. While there is no way to guarantee zero transmission during the event or as a result of travel, we are thankful for the result and will continue to implement strict protocols mirroring the December event as needed. For example, as with December, we will consider the following for September 2021 depending on the then existing COVID circumstances and government and hotel rules:
- The event may be entirely outside. Please also note that the resort is structured as an open-air building, so the only time attendees have to be inside is in their own rooms, which have separate ventilation systems. Even the lobby is outdoor/open-air.
- Social distance "bubbles" may be maintained
- Masks may be required to be worn everywhere in the resort (except in the pool/beach)
- Everyone might be required to provide a negative COVID test prior to travel and entry to the resort
- Random temperature checks may be conducted
- Hand sanitizer and PPE will be widely available
- Rapid testing is currently immediately available on-site
- The resort currently has an enhanced 24-hour medical staff
- The resort currently has a block of rooms designated for isolation for those that have symptoms of COVID-19
- Attendees may be required to sign an accountability pledge
- In order to reduce the risk of spread in the US, per the current United States CDC order, testing might be required three days prior to travel back to the US. Other rules may apply to other countries. While the CDC order may be revoked prior to the event, the Resort has announced that it currently will provide free testing on-site prior to travel and will provide a free room at the resort for anyone that tests positive for up to 14 days though the end of April, and this may be extended.
Please see the complete protocols used in December located here. As of now, the resort is currently operating at about 30-40% capacity. Both the Jamaican government and the resort, which is located in the Resilient Corridor that has had no reported COVID cases, are being careful to keep tourists safe and have implemented protocols to do so. For example, please note the following current rules:
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All travelers are being pre-approved by Jamaican health officials and most BeachBind attendees must be tested prior to travel. Within five days of travel, everyone is currently required to fill out a travel authorization form, located here: https://www.visitjamaica.com/travelauthorization/. In most cases, you will receive approval notice in 10 minutes. Anyone traveling from the United State and other countries are REQUIRED to obtain and present a negative COVID-19 PCR or Antigen test 72 hours prior to travel to Jamaica. Tests must be done by a medical laboratory that has a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) registration or ISO 15189 certification.
The date of the sample collection must be less than 72 hours from the travel date to Jamaica. -
Upon arrival, everyone will be screened by a healthcare professional. If cleared, they can proceed to the resort. If you are showing symptoms, however, you may get tested. Those that are tested will mostly likely still be able to go to the resort while awaiting the test results (48 hours).
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Things are mostly normal at the resort with some exceptions. All staff are required to wear masks (guests are not). Instead of a self-service buffet in the dining room, the staff serves food, and the restaurants offer outdoor seating.
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Please consider looking into your own travel health insurance and consider whether it covers COVID-19 related issues.
CDC Requirements for return to the United States
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All air passengers coming to the United States, including U.S. citizens and fully vaccinated people, are required to have a negative COVID-19 test result no more than 3 days before travel or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in the past 3 months before they board a flight to the United States.
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The resort will be testing onsite for free for all paid guests through June 30th and providing complimentary accommodations for anyone that tests negative for up to two weeks. See more info at : https://www.hedonism.com/covid-19-news/
2021 Discounts and Credits
(for those registered (booked and paid) for May 2020 or December 2020 that moved to May 2021):
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$25 off per night per person off your September 2021 registration fee; and,
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$100 in resort credits per person for use in the spa, gift shop, wine bar, etc. (note that this is in addition to the $200 resort credit per room that you already have if you were booked and paid for May 2020))
For example, the value would be $900 per couple for 10 nights, $500 of which is a discounted registration fee and $400 of which is a resort credit (including the $200 resort credit per room credit provided in April 2020). The discounts and credits are as follows and apply to anyone booked for May 2020 or December 2020*:
Total discounts and credits are summarized in the table below*:
The waiver credit amounts are controlled by the resort, and unfortunately, will not be enough to cover the entire registrations fees for BeachBind in September 2021 since rates increase yearly, and the credit offered by the resort is less than your entire amount that you paid. We hope the new discounts will help some! These discounts and credits apply to those that were fully booked and paid only.
If are moving to May and you need to cut costs further, some options to break even or narrow the cost gap include reducing the number of nights or changing the room category level (for example, from ocean view nude to ocean view regular). While we know this is not ideal, we hope that this helps somewhat!
But Will There Be a Schedule?
Classes/Workshops and Events will be announced in July or August, but will be subject to change. We are doing our best to create a schedule with safety in mind and based on the presenters that are likely able to attend. We are in constant contact with the presenters and doing our best to confirm who can travel, but for some it will remain uncertain until closer to the event because of possible travel limitations imposed by their countries or employers.
We will leave it up to each presenter to choose if they feel safe traveling, and thus presenters and workshops could change at any time, even at the last minute.
We promise to continue to remain transparent regarding the same. We will continue to do our best to plan workshops to the greatest extent possible, and to replace any presenters that cannot travel.
Thank you Thank you Thank you....
We can’t thank you enough for holding on during this wild ride! It’s going to be so worth it when we are all together on the beach!
Stay safe,
Your BeachBind Staff
*Note that the discounts and credits offered are a subject to the resort waiver's terms and conditions here, and the discounts and credits are subject to change or may be withdrawn at any time for any reason.