To not refund this £2k

[RefundOrNot]

NC for this as it’s identifying.

I organise women’s retreats. The next one is abroad at the end of September (Mediterranean).

The retreat sold out 6 months ago and I had a big waiting list with lots of women contacting me saying to get in touch if there is a cancellation.

One of the guests has cancelled - she had one of the biggest private en-suite rooms so her place was expensive (£2k). Her reason for cancelling isn’t an emergency and something she will have known about for a while.

I thought I’d be able to fill her place quite easily and have contacted everyone on the waiting list but nobody can make it now.

The cancellation policy is no refund within a month of the retreat. She cancelled 29 days before the retreat starts.

She wants a full refund but I am going to really struggle to fill her place at such short notice.

The retreat is organised by a not-for-profit women’s org. Everything is priced to break even so the org will have to make a £2k loss. It is a tiny org funded by donations and run by volunteers so this is a huge loss for the org.

On the other hand I feel dreadful not offering a refund.

AIBU not to refund it?

We aren't forgetting about Gormanuary, are we...?

I actually don't think you have a decision to make here. If it's a charity run by volunteers and reliant on donations, you have a duty to prioritise the interests of the charity. You can't just arbitrarily decide to waive Ts and Cs and incur a loss of £2k. The charity's board are the trustees of that money that the public have donated, and shouldn't use it to effectively pay costs incurred by someone who has chosen to renege on her contract/not get valid travel insurance to claim on. If it was your own company you cam choose to waive what you want, but not a charity.

Let us know if you get a booking!
It sounds wonderful.

Looks amazing! What a shame it would be if someone doesn’t snap this up with the 50% discount. It’s not relevant for me, but hopefully this bumps it back up the thread! (Might also be worth clarifying if you have to go from Gatwick, as you mentioned further up the thread. It might have made some folks rule themselves out….)

Thank you!! And of course nobody has to come from Gatwick - that is just where most of the staff will be flying from and we managed to get mega cheap flights 😅

Once you arrive there is a free transfer from the port or airport.

It really is an amazing retreat and I’m not just saying that because I help organise it. Such a beautiful location and the two therapists are brilliant. The guests from April all said it was life changing.

Would love to know what reply the op made that has been hidden! 👀

Probably looked like advertising.

Ohhh I don’t know why it was deleted! Maybe because I shared the booking link.

Anyway the place is still available and I would love it to find its way to a woman who needs it.

Please DM me if you are interested x

The place has been filled! What a relief 😅

Thank you for all the support and advice x

Well done! Hope it all goes well.

Wuhoo- love this thread!