Cancellations and refunds due to flooding
VisitBritain/James Green
1. If you cancel a booking
A booking is a contract between you and your customer. Normally, if you cancel a booking, you are in breach of contract and your guest is entitled to claim damages from you to compensate for any loss. This might include the cost of travel to alternative accommodation or another venue.
However, if your business has been flooded and you are unable to open, then this should be treated as a case of force majeure, whereby an ‘act of God’ has prevented you from fulfilling the terms of the contract and compensation is not due.
Most customers will be sympathetic to your situation, as long as you inform them immediately of any problems and, where possible, help identify alternative options.
2. If your customer cancels a booking
Your customer may be able to claim a case of force majeure if they are not able to get to your property due to flooding or they have been flooded.
However, if your customer cancels the booking because of general concerns about the weather or if surrounding attractions will be open, then force majeure does not apply. In this circumstance, you should make a commercial judgement over retaining deposits or imposing cancellation charges - you need to weigh
-up the goodwill generated through not imposing charges, against the loss to the business.Remember social media and review sites are routes for customers to let others know how you have reacted to the situation, positively or negatively
If you are concerned, speak to other businesses and your accredited Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) to find out how others are handling cancellations.
Check our Pink Book Online for guidance on legislation in this area.
Where you have to make refunds review your business insurance policy to see if there is any relief under the business interruption and consequential loss sections. If your insurance includes cancellations, check the conditions of this.
Advise your customers to check their own insurance policies.
3. New bookings
Before taking any new bookings, check your standard terms and conditions and cancellation policy and update them if necessary, to ensure they are clear in case of future weather-related impacts.
Let new customers know your cancellation policy if floods occur and confirm they have accepted it.
Cancellation provisions within a contract can only be applied when these terms were made clear at the time of booking. This will be important should your customers subsequently decide to cancel their visit.
Cancellations and no-shows. Get more information on your legal rights when a guest cancels and your obligations if you cannot fulfil a booking.
