Questions and Answers concerning the main deposit and booking problems.
How much of a deposit should I ask individuals for? It depends on your situation. You may have an easy group to work with – say a younger sports team. Perhaps you have a very reliable small group of friends. Perhaps it is a birthday party where the host is paying the full shot. In such cases likely personal deposits are a non issue. Perhaps you want to assemble a small, private group of well funded friends but don’t want to be on the hook if some friends can’t make it at the last minute. A deposit large enough to cover any deposit hit might be in order – perhaps $30 per person. Even getting a $10.00 deposit per person who says they will come has a remarkable impact on turnout. Words and promises are cheap. $10 on the line makes people much more reliable and assures a good turnout.
What happens when I decide to scrap a booking with slightly more than 14 days to go until the event is to start? It costs you $10.00.
What happens if a bit more than 4 days prior to the start time of the event it is clear that there aren’t going to be enough players showing up, for several reasons, and you scrap the event? We have lost the slot time. You have lost $200.00 to help pay the cost hit we have taken.
What happens if the players are coming to the field in cars and one car is in a crash? We have seen it happen. The $200 deposit to help pay our costs was nothing compared to the costs of the crash. We will be here to look after you. Drive carefully so you fulfil your appointment.
What happens if Grandfather XX or Grandmother YY dies a day ahead of the event, or the Birthday boy gets sick? Organizers need to be aware that if the event is scrapped, the Dunes takes a hit. When you make a booking and put us on notice that you expect us to be ready for your group, we launch into doing our part. Everyone has to live their own lives. Things happen. Financial hits and other hits occur. The organizer has a maximum of $200 on the line and they need to realize this. If you fail to come for what ever reason, $200 pays part of the hit that we take. We will try to rent a time slot out if we can, but everyone plans ahead and last minute openings are rarely filled. If you want to avoid the deposit, book at a non-exclusive field.
What happens if it rains the day before the event? We know from experience that this is almost certain to reduce turnout the next day. The next day may be perfect but already a percentage of people, if they are not hooked by a deposit, have decided not to attend. This is why individual deposits are so vital.
What happens if it looks like it is going to rain on the day of the event? Some groups are totally unaffected and actually love rainy events. But some groups will see number drop. Again, organizers make sure you have individual deposits or be prepared to lose a portion or all of your $200.
What happens if it is raining at Merrill Dunes when the event is about to start? In this case we are flexible. It is very rare that groups totally cancel under these conditions but we will let them cancel or work out a shorter time or a lower minimum player figure or something. We do not want to be jerks. If the group wants to go for it, we can operate in almost any conditions, and often do! Mud is a non issue because the land is sand. We definitely get less rain than the city, for some reason. The forecast has got to be BAD for us to allow a speculative cancellation. 30% chance of rain is not sufficient. Threat of thunder storms is not sufficient.
What happens if I put a signup list at work and 30 players signed it indicating they would come to a Sunday morning outing but it is cloudy that day and only 5 actually come? Such recruitment techniques are terribly ineffective. Fluke of hype and mood and weather can give turnouts all the way from about 4 up to 40. With large groups it is vital to secure a deposit and to not allow players to come unless they have a deposit in as of a certain time. Once you get up to 10 players there is little gained with larger numbers and at 24 players, events start going down hill. There is a type of excitement with large groups but everyone is going to have more fun if the group is in the 12 – 20 player range.
What happens when I book for 12 players and 38 come? We will have one or two staffers on hand to look after the group and we will have 12 sets of equipment ready to go with a bit of equipment ready to activate. Such a wild fluctuation is going to produce a very poor event – the 12 original players have a right to be bugged at having been placed in such a poorly planned outing. When this happens, clearly the event was not carefully planned and is a product of Facebook and cell phones and a warm spring evening.
What if three of my friends say they will each round up 4 people to come but when the event occurs, only two of my friends and myself show up? If you use such a tactic you have a long ways to go before you know how to organize. Our $200 deposit is specifically aimed at guarding against such disastrous tactics!
What happens if I invited 40 people on Facebook to come but I am the only one who actually arrives for the event? Impersonal methods like signup lists and friends asking friends are volatile – usually turnout is super low and occasionally it is nuts high. You have $200 at risk. Try to get deposits before the 14 day critical deadline. If you can’t, scrap the event. If you can, you are pursuing a success formula.
What if I work in an organization of 250 people and book an event for 40 players and only 8 show up? We constantly get this situation. Not everyone wants to play paintball and not everyone wants to spend money on paintball. If you have a large number of potential players, set a deadline and get deposits. That is the only way to prevent wildly low or high turnouts.
What happens if I book an event for delegates that are coming to a large company convention but the weather is dreary the day before the event and there is a 30% chance of rain on the day of the event and for liability purposes we feel that we can’t go ahead with the event? We have been burned on this situation. The company did lots of committing for the convention but in this case, they refused to pay at even a $50 deposit. The actual event time was ideal at the Dunes. Experiences like this are behind the $200 / no excuses deposit policy!
What happens if at the end of May I book an event for the end of June because everyone is so hyped about paintball, and then find out as I get close to the event date that all my friends have jobs or are going on vacation? We have seen this happen several times. When you are about to part with your $200 deposit, ask yourself how sure you are that you can make the event happen. You have two weeks to get personal deposits. Go for it and realize you can pull the plug at 14 days with little cost. Holiday periods are problem times to get a group together especially if you are working a long time in advance.
What happens if I book an event and then, with 7 days to go, I realize that it is the afternoon of the Grey Cup playoff that Saskatchewan unexpectedly is in? Plan ahead. Get lots of non refundable deposits prior to the 14 day point so you aren’t the only one who takes the hit.
What if I have been out with a group twice before where everyone had a great time and I book a third outing but only a few people come? We have seen this happen many times. Enthusiasm for anything drops off after a time. If you are doing multiple outings, deposits become even more vital. Get those deposits prior to the 14 day point or scrap the event. If players want to go badly, they will get on board with a paid deposit.
What if, in order to get around the problem of finding available time slots I book 4 events spaced through the summer and then find out that interest among those I am inviting drops off? As a special customer, will I get special consideration? This is a problem for us. We know from seeing numerous regular groups that the novelty wears off. We need a $200 deposit for each outing and the organizer needs deposits from his supporters. When the individual deposits start getting hard to collect, it is time to take a break. We appreciate steady customers but we work hard at doing a good job and time spaces are in short supply. We need to be assured of reasonable turnout levels.
What if my 12 yr old son wants to plan an outing for he and his friends? As a parent, do I have to put $200 on the line? Maybe. Someone does. Is your son up to collecting individual deposits? Many 12 yr olds are amazingly good at it. As a financial backer, check out what you are getting into and decide whether your son should be making this commitment.
What if bookings are running two months ahead and I book, but by the time we get there I have forgotten that I made the booking? If we do not get the $200 deposit 30 days ahead of the actual event date we reserve the right to cancel the booking and give the time slot to someone else. Usually we try to touch base with organizers but once the season is under way it is wild and finding time to have a shower is a challenge. We have had numerous situations where people did not get us a deposit and we could not contact them easily because they were out of town or had changed their phone or somehow we had their number wrong. We obviously find that those who do not keep on top of the deadline themselves tend to have a high failure rate at getting good turnouts. We therefore put the onus on the organizer to make sure the deposit is in place on time or risk losing the spot.
What if I make a booking but the 30 day point arrives and I forget to get my $200 in? Will I lose my time slot? See previous question.
Examples of past Booking Disasters and thing to watch out for.
Getting deposits from individual players is the only sure way to play the organizing game. Then, if a lot of people decide not to come, you can use their deposits to pay off the $200 and you, as organizer, are not left holding the bag.
Watch out for conflicts with sporting events, the start of holidays, long weekends that take everyone out of town, large events like a concert or air show. Realize that enthusiasm wanes as the summer progresses. Realize that novelty fades and enthusiastic groups usually fade away after a certain number of outings – its life. Realize that a summer day may be nuts hot and that may knock down attendance. Cold weather has a major impact on attendance. A cold rainy day ahead of event day, will drop turnout even if event day is nice. Some players insist on playing if it rains. Other players are turned off by a cloud.
If a truly unfortunate break occurs, say a sports team gets decimated by tryouts for another sport or an unexpected schedule change, realize that the Dunes takes a pounding no matter what. The deposit fee is partial softening of the hit that we take. We try to rent the spot if it opens up and the cancelling group benefits if we can – but it is usually impossible to find a fill-in group at the last minute. It is rare that complications come up at the last minute.
When you commit us to your booking date, realize that you have to share part of the risk. Consider all the things that can go wrong. Ask yourself if you should be making a booking at all or should you wait till closer to the event date. Would it be better to use another field that doesn’t offer exclusive bookings? Ask yourself just how much of a hit you are willing to take in a worst case scenario. Consider whether you are up to spreading the risk by effectively collecting deposits. While you worry about the decision, we will be worrying about how to make sure that Dunes clients have a better outing everytime they come. We want the organizer’s hassle to be drowned by continuing Good Times at the Dunes!
Select a time slot that will work for you and your group. Check to see whether the slot allows the length of event you wish and what the minimum number of players is for the slot. (See a player number chart below the calendar.) Is the time slot still open on our web calendar? If all is well, call us and verify that the time slot is still open.
