Anyone who has read about me online for more than 10 minutes knows I’m not a big fan of voluntourism travel agencies. I know that it’s been largely colored by my background working in international and local aid and development, as well as my expertise in volunteer and community engagement. I’ve been open about why I’m not a fan of most voluntoursim, so I won’t repeat those reasons why here in this blog, but I’ve tagged all my many blogs on the subject here. And you’ll note as you read through these that I started off, decades ago, staunchly opposed to all voluntourism, and then, through outreach from ethical organizations with a very different focus than the voluntourism travel agencies, as well as volunteers who had participated in such, I gardually changed my mind about voluntourism being always wrong – and even ended up participating in a pay-to-volunteer-internationally program myself.

But one of those voluntourism travel agencies is REALLY angry with me. It’s called IVHQ. And this company is now threatening me because I have offered cautions in comments about the company on Reddit: I’ve told people that there are some very disturbing negative comments out there and they need to read them, and I’ve noted that a massive number of online reviews aren’t always an indication that a company is doing well, that it’s very easy to manufacture such reviews by AI and other means.

All true statements. All sincere cautions. I wish I could refer to them all, but IVHQ has pressured many Reddit moderators to take down any negative references to IVHQ. IVHQ, rather than address concerns, is bent on removing any negative comments about the company. Knowing that, and reading this email below, please think very, very carefully before booking your feel-good-look-I’m-volunteering-abroad! trip with IVHQ. You have to really wonder about a travel agency that is so threatened by an independent nonprofit consultant that they would resort to writing an email filled with inaccurate, misleading statements and threats:

–——- Original Message ——–
Subject: Re: IVHQ
Date: 2026-10-13 19:50
From: Sam Morrah sam@hqtravelgroup.org

Dear Jayne,

This is a formal notice that you must immediately cease publishing false
statements regarding International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ).

For several years, you have repeatedly posted negative claims about IVHQ
in online discussions, most recently on Reddit, asserting that:

• IVHQ is a scam.
• IVHQ’s reviews are fake.
• There are many complaints about IVHQ.

These statements are entirely false and unsubstantiated:

• IVHQ is a legitimate organization: More than 160,000 volunteers have
  traveled with IVHQ since 2007. Based on verified volunteer reviews, Go
  Overseas has named IVHQ its Top Volunteer Abroad Provider for six
  consecutive years.
• Reviews are authentic: IVHQ does not write, purchase, or fabricate
  reviews. Every review is submitted by a verified participant.
• Claims are unverified: When asked to provide evidence of the
  complaints you cited, you declined to do so. Furthermore, you confirmed
  via email that you have never volunteered with IVHQ, and you did not
  contact us regarding any concerns prior to publishing these claims.

Due to your conduct, Reddit moderators have already removed most of your
comments regarding IVHQ and banned you from communities including
r/volunteer and r/premed. Your statements mislead prospective volunteers
and harm the local partner organizations that rely on these programs.

We require that you immediately:

1. Cease stating or implying that IVHQ is a scam, uses fake reviews, or
   is subject to widespread complaints.
2. Refrain from making any further false claims about IVHQ online.
3. Remove all existing false statements you have posted online.

Please reply to this email to confirm your compliance.

We are actively monitoring online platforms. If this behavior continues,
we will report all new posts as false information and harassment,
submitting this notice and prior correspondence as evidence. HQ Travel
Group and IVHQ reserve all legal rights and remedies.

Regards,

Sam Morrah

Sam Morrah
Chief Executive Officer
HQ Travel Group

E: sam@hqtravelgroup.org
W: www.hqtravelgroup.org [1]

HQ Travel Group is home to two market-leading brands that facilitate
life-transforming travel experiences in over 60 countries for customers
living in more than 100 nations worldwide.

At least some of my comments about IVHQ, as well as some of the negative reviews I’ve referred to regarding IVHQ, can still be found online. I wish they all where still there but, as I said, IVHQ has, as it admits, pressured (I would call it bullied) moderators into taking the negative reviews and comments down. Again, you have to wonder about a company that is more focused on getting negative reviews, and references to such, taken down rather than addressing concerns.

A big thank you to colleagues who are also out there trying to ensure quality in international volunteering and fight against unethical voluntourism. Let’s keep up the pressure and not let people bully us into silence.

And if your voluntourism agency wants to be one of the “good guys”, I’d be happy to work with you to help you refine your program so it’s focused on local people as much as its focused on giving volunteers their Instagramable experience. I have very reasonable rates.