Surf School Cancellation and Weather Policy: A Template You Can Copy

What a good policy has to cover

Most policies only answer 'what if the customer cancels?'. A surf school's policy needs to answer at least eight questions:

1. What happens if the customer cancels or changes, and when?
2. What happens if we cancel because of conditions?
3. Who decides whether conditions are safe, and when will the customer hear?
4. What if a session is cut short once it's started?
5. What about late arrivals and no-shows?
6. How do private lessons, multi-day courses and camps differ?
7. What if the customer is ill or injured?
8. How and when are refunds and credits paid?

If your current policy leaves any of these to judgement on the day, that's where your complaints come from. The template below answers all eight. Keep it on your booking page, in the confirmation email and in your terms, and make sure all three say the same thing.

The template: customer changes and cancellations

Replace the words in square brackets with your own terms.

Changing your booking. You can move your lesson to another date or time free of charge up to [48 hours] before it starts, subject to availability. Within [48 hours], we'll try to move you, but we can't guarantee a space.

Cancelling your booking. Cancel more than [48 hours] before your lesson and we'll refund what you paid for the lesson. Between [48 and 24 hours] before, we'll give you a credit for the full lesson value, valid for [12 months]. Within [24 hours], or if you don't arrive, the lesson can't be refunded.

Group bookings. If one person in a group booking can't come, you can send someone else in their place at no charge. Just tell us their name and level before the lesson.

Notes on adapting it

• Pick windows you can resell in. If you can't realistically fill a group seat within 24 hours in low season, use a longer window then. You can run different windows by season.
• Credits are your friend. Offering a credit inside the window turns most would-be losses into later bookings.
• Substitutions cost you nothing. Allowing a name change on group bookings removes a whole category of disputes.

The template: when we cancel for conditions

This is the clause customers care about most, and the one that earns or loses reviews.

Our call, and your safety. We teach in the ocean, so we sometimes cancel or move lessons for safety. We decide based on wind, swell, tide, lightning and water quality warnings, and on what's right for your level. Rain on its own is not a reason to cancel.

When you'll hear. We check the forecast against our beaches in the days before your lesson. If conditions look unsuitable, we'll contact you by SMS and email as early as we can, and no later than [07:30] on the day for morning sessions.

Your options. If we move or cancel your lesson, you can choose: another beach at the same time, another time the same day, another day, or a full refund of the lesson. If we cancel, you never lose money.

Getting to another beach. If we move your lesson to a different beach, we'll send you the new meeting point and time. [If we provide transport, it moves with the lesson.]

Notes on adapting it

• Publish your triggers in plain words. 'Strong onshore wind', 'swell too big for beginners', 'thunderstorms'. A school that explains what triggers a call looks competent.
• Give a decision time. A fixed latest time to hear from you stops customers driving to the beach in hope.
• Make 'you never lose money' true. If any part of a refund for a cancellation you made is deducted, this sentence becomes a problem. Check how refunds work in your payment set-up before you promise it.

For how to make the call itself, see our dangerous surf conditions protocol.

The template: sessions cut short, lateness and no-shows

If we stop a session early. If we have to end a lesson for safety after it has started, and less than [half] of the water time has taken place, we'll offer you a replacement session or a credit for the full lesson. If more than [half] has taken place, we'll offer you a [50%] credit.

Arriving late. Please arrive [15 minutes] before your lesson. Group lessons start with a safety briefing and can't wait. If you arrive after the briefing, we may not be able to take you in the water, and the lesson counts as used.

No-shows. If you don't arrive and haven't told us, the lesson can't be refunded or moved.

Notes on adapting it

• The 'cut short' clause is the one most schools forget. Without it, every stopped session becomes a negotiation on the sand.
• Be human about lateness. A traffic jam on the coast road is not bad faith. Use the clause to protect the group, and use your judgement when you can still fit someone in safely.

The template: private lessons, courses, camps and health

Private lessons. Private lessons reserve an instructor just for you, so changes and cancellations need [72 hours'] notice for a refund or a free move.

Multi-day courses. If you miss a day of a course for your own reasons, we'll try to fit you into another group, but we can't refund individual days. If we cancel a course day for conditions, we'll add a replacement day or refund that day.

Camps and surf-and-stay packages. Packages that include accommodation have their own cancellation terms, shown when you book.

Illness and injury. If you're ill or injured, tell us before the lesson. With [a medical note], we'll move your booking or give you a credit, even inside the cancellation window.

Under-18s. A parent or guardian must complete the participant form and waiver for anyone under 18.

Notes on adapting it

• Accommodation needs longer windows. You can't resell a bed for a week at a day's notice. See our guide to surf camp pricing for how to set camp terms.
• Pair the policy with a waiver. The policy covers money and dates. Your waiver covers risk, health declarations and consent. Our guide to digital waivers for surf schools covers what to include, and our free surf school waiver template gives you wording to adapt; read more about SurfSlot's digital waivers.

The template: refunds and credits

How refunds are paid. Refunds go back to the card or account you paid with, normally within [5-10 working days] depending on your bank.

Credits. Credits are valid for [12 months] from the date of the original lesson, can be used for any lesson of the same or lower value, and can be transferred to a friend or family member.

Booking fees. Any booking fee shown separately at checkout is covered by the terms of your booking platform. [Check and state how it is treated when you cancel and when the customer cancels.]

Notes on adapting it

• Check your local consumer rules. Rules on refunds, credits and expiry dates differ by country. This template is general guidance, not legal advice, so have it checked against your local law.
• Make credits easy to use. A credit nobody can redeem online creates more work than a refund.

Making the policy run itself

A policy only works if it's applied the same way every time. That gets hard on a windy morning with forty bookings.

SurfSlot checks wind, swell and tide against the ideal conditions you set for each beach and flags sessions at risk days in advance, so you can make the call early. When you move a session to another beach or time, everyone booked on it, and the instructor, is notified by SMS and email in one action. Deposits and balances are collected automatically, reminders go out before every lesson, and refunds for weather cancellations take one click.

There is no subscription, no setup fee and no lock-in. A SurfSlot booking fee is added at checkout, so we only earn when a customer books. Read more about surf condition alerts, notifications and payments.

Want to see a weather cancellation handled end to end? Book a demo →