To Refund, or Not to Refund?

Cancellation policies in a post-covid world

by Emily Beauchamp, CampCalNOW

It is no secret that when the coronavirus arrived it tore down everyone’s plans, policies, and procedures to the core. We all had to stop everything and adapt our lives, not just once but repeatedly as we received new information, protections, and understandings. As we transition from accommodating a pandemic to accommodating an epidemic, our tolerance and policies transition along with it. With the waves and new variants coming and going, some of us may be left wondering, how lenient should we remain to those who are cancelling trips? Is an arriving guest coming down with covid still an acceptable excuse to have penalty fees waived when they cancel last minute? We reached out to our members to find out how they are handling things.

While a majority of parks have returned to their “pre-covid” cancellations policies and are no longer differentiating covid related cancellations from those cancelling for other reasons, several others are still willing to work with guests in these situations. While none of the parks are choosing to come out and advertise it, many have stated that they are still willing to waive penalty fees based on the situation or allow covid positive guests to reschedule their reservations for alternative dates.

Last minute cancelations can really impact your parks expected revenue and not every park is situated to handle those losses, however some feel as though keeping guests satisfied is of higher value than their cancelation fees. There really is no right or wrong answer, as long as you are doing what is best for your particular business model. The good news is that cancelations due to covid now seem to be few and far between. 

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