Surf School Payments: Deposits, Refunds & Cash on Arrival

Payment Options You Need

1. Full Payment Upfront Customer pays 100% at booking. Simplest for you. Highest commitment for the customer. Best for: Private lessons, one-off experiences, tourists who want certainty.

2. Deposit + Balance Customer pays 30-50% at booking. Balance due before the lesson. Best for: Group lessons, packages, multi-day camps. Lower booking barrier.

The key: automatic balance reminders. Send a payment link 7 days, 3 days, and 1 day before the lesson. No manual chasing.

3. Cash on Arrival Customer books online (securing the slot) but pays cash at the beach. Best for: Markets where cash is preferred, walk-up customers, local repeat customers.

Important: track cash payments in your system. If it's "cash on arrival" in the system but the instructor forgets to collect, you need to know.

4. Package Credits Customer buys a 3-lesson package upfront. Each lesson deducts one credit. Best for: Return customers, commitment to progression, higher total revenue.

Refund Policies That Work

Surf schools face a unique refund challenge: weather cancellations. You need a policy that's:

• Fair to customers — they shouldn't lose money because the ocean didn't cooperate
• Sustainable for you — you can't eat 100% of weather-related losses
• Clear and upfront — stated at booking, not negotiated after

Recommended Policy:

• School cancels due to weather: Full refund or free reschedule (customer's choice)
• Customer cancels 48+ hours ahead: Full refund minus processing fee
• Customer cancels 24-48 hours: 50% refund or full credit for reschedule
• Customer cancels <24 hours: No refund (they committed, you held the spot)
• Customer no-show: No refund

Automate Refunds When you cancel a lesson due to conditions, the system should:

1. Cancel the lesson
2. Offer refund or reschedule to each customer
3. Process the refund via Stripe automatically
4. Send confirmation email
5. Update your books

One click, not 12 phone calls.

Stripe Connect: How It Works

Most surf school booking platforms use Stripe Connect. Here's the flow:

1. Customer pays via the booking widget
2. Payment goes through Stripe to your connected account
3. Platform fee (if any) is deducted
4. Stripe processing fee is deducted (~1.4% + €0.25)
5. Remaining amount arrives in your bank account (typically 2-7 business days)

You need to set up a Stripe account and connect it to your booking platform. This takes about 15 minutes.

Gift Cards and Vouchers

Gift cards are prepaid credits. When someone redeems a gift card during booking, the payment is already collected — no additional charge needed.

This means:

• Revenue collected at gift card purchase (often months before the lesson)
• No payment friction at booking (customer just enters a code)
• Off-season revenue (gift cards sell year-round)

The Payments Checklist

• [ ] Online payment via Stripe (card payments)
• [ ] Deposit option with automatic balance reminders
• [ ] Cash on arrival tracking
• [ ] Package credits with lesson tracking
• [ ] Gift card/voucher redemption
• [ ] Automated weather-cancellation refunds
• [ ] Clear refund policy stated at booking
• [ ] Outstanding payment dashboard
• [ ] Payment history per customer

SurfSlot handles all of this — deposits, balance chasing, cash tracking, packages, gift cards, and automatic refunds. Built on Stripe Connect. Book a demo →