Writing a camp cancellation and refund policy
Most camp cancellation policies are written to punish late notice. That is understandable and slightly backwards. Notice is the raw material of a refilled seat — the earlier it arrives, the more likely the seat comes back at full price — so the policy’s real job is to buy notice, not to penalize its absence.
A family who knows in April that their July will not work is holding information worth a full tuition to you. A policy that makes telling you expensive is a policy that pays them to sit on it until the week of camp, when the seat cannot be refilled at all.
- Deposit + deadline — A non-refundable deposit, everything else refundable until a fixed date. Simple to explain and administer — but the cliff invites gaming, as an unsure family waits until the deadline to decide.
- Tiered by notice — The refund shrinks in steps as the session approaches. Rewards telling you early, which is the only thing that makes a seat refillable, at the cost of more to explain and more boundary arguments.
- Credit, not cash — Cancellations convert to credit against another session. Protects cash flow and keeps the family; worth nothing to a family who moved away, and reads as a trap when it is the only option.
- Set the deadline against your refill speed — If working your waitlist takes a week of phone calls, a 30-day no-refund line is defensible. If a seat reaches a waiting family within the hour, the same line charges families for a risk you no longer carry.
- The refill clause — After the deadline, refund the tuition less deposit if the spot is actually filled from the waitlist. It refunds families exactly when the cancellation cost you nothing — and it commits you to genuinely working the list.
- Say it three times — At registration, in the confirmation email, and once in a spring reminder before the first deadline. The third one produces exactly the early cancellations you want, from families who were already unsure.
Frequently asked questions
What should a camp cancellation policy include?
A non-refundable deposit that covers your real per-registration cost, one or two tiers that make early notice materially better than late, what happens when a family switches sessions, what happens if the camp cancels, and how to cancel — with the date you receive the notice as the date that counts. Have families accept it at registration rather than burying it in a handbook.
How far before camp should the refund deadline be?
Set it against how long it actually takes you to refill a seat. If working your waitlist takes a week of phone calls, a 30-day no-refund line is defensible. If you can put the seat in front of a waiting family within the hour and have an answer that evening, the same line charges families for a risk you no longer carry — and a nearby camp with a two-week line will look more reasonable for no better reason.
Should camps refund if the spot gets filled from the waitlist?
It is the most elegant clause available and an underused one: after your deadline, refund the tuition less the deposit if the spot is actually filled from the waitlist. It refunds families exactly when the cancellation cost you nothing, and the logic is obvious to a parent. State what “filled” means — another camper registered and paid — and when they will hear. Only offer it if you genuinely work your waitlist and know at season’s end whether a seat refilled.
Should a camp offer refunds or credit?
Credit protects cash flow and keeps the family, and is often more generous in practice than a refund policy while costing less. It is worth nothing to a family who moved away or aged out, and reads as a trap when it is the only option. Most camps land on a hybrid: refunds before a deadline, credit as the fallback afterwards rather than the default.
Why do strict camp refund policies backfire?
Because notice is the raw material of a refilled seat. A family who knows in April that July will not work is holding information worth a full tuition to you, and a policy that makes telling you expensive pays them to sit on it until the week of camp — when the seat cannot be refilled at all. The policy’s real job is to buy early notice, not to punish its absence.