Cancellation of events

[soundmaster mobile disco]

After some of you recently saying that your bookings were cancelled late.How do you word your letter of conformation?.

Ie do you include the" In the event of the booking being cancelled i require 14 days notice or you will be charged the full ammount".

Have any of you been challenged by customers over this cancellation fee?.Do you ever get money out of them?

[rob1963]

After some of you recently saying that your bookings were cancelled late.How do you word your letter of conformation?.

Ie do you include the" In the event of the booking being cancelled i require 14 days notice or you will be charged the full ammount".

Have any of you been challenged by customers over this cancellation fee?.Do you ever get money out of them?

I don't mention cancellations in my booking confirmation letter to clients, as I think it's a bit negative.

They receive a printed copy of my terms & conditions, and have to sign the booking form to confirm that they understand & accept these terms.

My terms state that if a booking is cancelled a month or more before the function, they lose their deposit (although it's held against any future booking they make), and if they cancel less than a month before the function the total fee becomes due.

Since going full time 3 years ago I've only ever had one cancellation, and that was with more than a month's notice, so they just "lost" their deposit (although it can be used against any future booking they make).

[Vectis]

Agree with Rob. Don't mention in the letter unless they specifically ask.

My T's & C's state that the £50 booking fee is non-refundable period however in cases of event postponement it will be held over. Cancellations outside 30 days costs them nothing, 30-15 days 50% of the balance, <15 days 100% of the balance UNLESS we successfully rebook the date.

Short-notice bookings made and executed within 14 days are charged 100% upfront, within 30 days 50% upfront both as non-refundable.

Has worked well for me for donkeys years - the odd postponement and cancellation here and there but never any hassle chasing money as the terms are clear (clearer than I've represented them here :p ).

However for next year I'm considering raising the booking fee depending on the value of the gig as the pre-planning for big weddings etc. I feel is starting to outstrip the value of the fee, especially where customer and venue visits are needed. I know some of you guys on the forum ask for 30% or even 50% - what is the general opinion on this?

I'd thought of asking for £100 deposit for bookings >= £250 and stick with £50 for bookings < £250... thoughts?

[Tom]

I'd thought of asking for £100 deposit for bookings >= £250 and stick with £50 for bookings < £250... thoughts?

i know this is a little of topic but why not ask for a % as a deposit. I ask for a 25% Ddeposit which is taken from the final fee on the night.

£200 booking = £50 deposit = £150 on the night.

This works well for me but then again im not as busy as you lot on here.


And as for the cancellation, i would say only put it in your terms and conditions. i agree with rob. They have to read your terms to sign them. Some people i know just sign mine without reading them but when they start asking question i begin to state the t&c. They cant win.

[Shaun]

I'd thought of asking for £100 deposit for bookings >= £250 and stick with £50 for bookings < £250... thoughts?

This is the way I do things. Works well for me.



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Cancellations within 28 day of the event = full fee is owed.
Cancellations 28+ days = booking fee forfeited.

I've only had to enforce full payment once, the client didn't challenge the payment.

[rob1963]

I'd thought of asking for £100 deposit for bookings >= £250 and stick with £50 for bookings < £250... thoughts?

I've been considering something similar.

My bookings are usually £250 - £300, and I always take a £50 deposit.

Having read a few posts on here, this appears to be on the low side, so I've been thinking about increasing it to £75 next year.

[djgordyp]

This might be slightly off topic as well. What would you do if your client has a death in the family. Obviously you only get a few days notice so would you settle for the deposit they paid? Or would you chase after the remainder of the fee?

[Shaun]

This might be slightly off topic as well. What would you do if your client has a death in the family. Obviously you only get a few days notice so would you settle for the deposit they paid? Or would you chase after the remainder of the fee?

I've had this happen too. I contacted the venue to confirm that the event has been cancelled, and the reason for cancellation. I didn't chase the remainder of the fee. They later re-booked, I carried the booking fee from their first event over to the new booking.

[rob1963]

I've had this happen too. I contacted the venue to confirm that the event has been cancelled, and the reason for cancellation. I didn't chase the remainder of the fee. They later re-booked, I carried the booking fee from their first event over to the new booking.

I'd probably deal with that situation the same way.

[PropellerHeadCase]

The business I used to work for (and still sub-contract to) takes a flat $200 deposit whether it's a $450-gig or a $675-gig, I, on the other hand, charge 50% of whatever the base fee for the gig is (minimum base fee $900), and only 50% of that is ever refundable as, unlike my previous employer, I do a lot of preparation for each gig with regards to play lists and short-listing of additional songs and so on.