Host Deactivation Policy

Worlpackers is a global community of conscious travelers and welcoming hosts that has been promoting thousands of unique connections and experiences since 2014. These exchanges aim to develop and transform the world into a more socially and environmentally sustainable place.

We believe in win-win experiences which create opportunities for development for travelers, hosts, and their projects. They are supported by our main pillars: respect, inclusion, collaboration, and learning. These pillars are to be respected by all members of our community before, during, and after the experiences.

We understand that experiences can be subjective and lead to different perspectives. Therefore, we expect the entire community to be open to giving and receiving feedback with empathy, keeping in mind that the purpose of the reviews on the platform is self-development. For this reason, we always seek to understand both sides and present opportunities for the improvement of future experiences.

The feedback exchanged between the members of the Worldpackers community is paramount to ensure the collaborative purpose of our exchanges and the safety of both sides. This feedback can come from public reviews left on the platform or from our private support channels. Feedback can be given proactively by the travelers and hosts, or by the Worldpackers team.

Therefore, if a host receives recurring negative feedback from travelers - be it through a public or private review or one of WP’s private support channels - the host can be deactivated from Worldpackers.

Categories of reported issues

In Worldpackers, we categorize the reported situations as:

• Technical issues: when aspects of the experience described in the host’s position are not aligned to the experience itself. For example: the number of hours not being respected, perks not being offered, or volunteers being required to perform tasks that are not aligned to what is described in the position.
• Non-technical issues: when communication and relationship issues take place between travelers and hosts, or when the host is not aligned to the collaborative purpose of the platform. This can also happen when the host promotes an experience that requires too much from the volunteer.
• Extreme issues: we consider feedback as extreme when they involve situations and conflicts that compromise the physical, moral, and/or psychological integrity of travelers.

What leads to a host profile being deactivated on Worldpackers? 

• Inappropriate and/or violent communication with members of the Worlpackers community or the Worldpackers team, without prior notice and with reactivation subject to the team's evaluation;
• Infringement of any clause in our Terms of Use may lead to the deactivation of an account on Worldpackers, without prior notice and with reactivation subject to the team's evaluation;
• Recurring negative feedback -  be it through a public or private review or one of WP’s private support channels. We consider as recurring:
• Technical issues: three or more instances of negative feedback, or  >=25% of all the feedback received about the experiences provided by the host;
• Non-technical issues: three or more instances of negative feedback, or  >=25% of all the feedback received about the experiences provided by the host;
• Extreme issues: two or more instances of negative feedback.

Feedbacks can be hybrid which means it can involve more than one category above. In case we receive hybrid feedback involving extreme issues, the criteria for extreme issues will be considered for profile evaluation.

Hosts Reactivation Policy

Worldpackers believe in the development of the community, therefore profiles that were deactivated due to recurring negative feedback can be reactivated. Hosts can request to be reactivated subject to the analysis of the Worldpackers team, according to the criteria and steps below:

Technical issues

• Host profiles will be suspended for at least one month after deactivation due to recurring negative feedback;
• If there is interest in reactivating the profile after this period, a reflection of possible improvements will be proposed between the WP team and the host to align their experience with the collaborative purpose and correct the recurring issues indicated by travelers.

Non-technical issues

• Host profiles will be suspended for one to three months after deactivation due to recurring negative feedback;
• If there is interest in reactivating the profile after the established period, a reflection will be proposed between the WP team and the host to align the experience promoted by the host with the collaborative purpose and correct the recurring issues indicated by the travelers.

Extreme issues

• Profiles can be suspended from Worldpackers for up to 5 years, counting from the date of deactivation;
• After this period, the WP team can assess the reactivation request through an analysis of the current management of the project, conversations made via any channel chosen and agreed upon between the parties, and/or with an exercise provided by the Worldpackers team to be executed by the host.

Important

• After being reactivated, if a host receives negative feedback of any kind, it may have its account deactivated again and with suspension for longer than 12 months for technical and non-technical issues, and 10 years for extreme issues;
• Reports of non-technical and extreme situations with official documents from authorities lead to the immediate deactivation of the account, without previous notice and with the possibility of reactivation after 10 years. 

Worldpackers Stance

We are always open to hearing from both parties and ready to share best practices according to our experience with collaborative relationships. As the Worldpackers community grows, we continue to guarantee that our processes and practices stay in agreement with our goal - to promote collaborative experiences in a transparent, safe, and comfortable community.