No refund campaign for events starts on social media
The no refund campaign urges ticket buyers to give up refunds to help events avoid bankruptcy.
Last night President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his address to the nation regarding the coronavirus disaster, bringing our worst fears to light.
With events of 100 people and more now prohibited, event organisers sat with the crippling challenge of announcing postponements or worse, cancellations.
The ripple effect of this will have a far-reaching impact on not only event organisers as business owners or the economy but also those who rely on events to make a living.
And now comes the main question: do you give refunds or not.
As a customer not receiving that which I paid for makes me want a refund but as a frequenter of the events scene a refund could entirely cripple and bankrupt an event organizer and then what?
A letter to the events community
A social media movement urging ticket holders to refrain from asking for refunds has started, which really puts things into perspective:
“With many events having to cancel all over the world because of the Corona Virus I make a call out especially to those who have already purchased tickets in SA to events such as :
Cape Town CannaFest 2020
Organik ~ Love Project ~ 2020
Into the Wild | The Woodlands ft. Animato (ISR)
To not request a refund for these events to support them in this hard time.
A huge amount of money has already been spent on these events with them being so close, deposits have been paid, decor made, and flights booked.
Many suppliers require full payment upfront before the event takes place.
By not asking for your refund you insure the event, ticketing company and the suppliers do not go out of business. Who knows how long till some suppliers can do business again? And to ensure the event does not go bankrupt be willing to let you R400+ ticket go.
We love our festivals massively in SA and if we want them to continue in the future we should help support them in this hard time.
You were willing to spend at least another R1000 for your booze, fuel and other things for the event so I’m sure you can afford to let your ticket money go to where it is needed in this hard time.
Festivals are a privilege and only those who can afford to go, really go.
Let’s support our festival scene and its survival, so we can have an even better summer next season.”
In this eerie and uncertain time, we’re living in, we’re going to need a lot of compassion and understanding towards one another.
If you are able to, support the no refund campaign so that the events scene can thrive again once all is back to normal.
