Final Balance Policy:

Your Final Payment must be received 60 days before the beginning of any trip or retreat, and all payments after this date are non-refundable.

CANCELLATION Policy:

For most of our trips, a non-refundable deposit of $250-$550 is required to hold your spot, and is included in the total cost of each room/lodging. The $150-$350 deposit is non-refundable even if a trip is canceled or rescheduled due to unforeseen reasons (including travel bans, safety, weather, global health concerns). If for any reason a trip is canceled by the AOYS, you will however be able to transfer your non-refundable deposit to a future trip with The Art of Yoga School within 1 year (*Only one transfer can be made. Once deposit is moved to a new trip you are recommitting to that specific trip and dates).

MONTHLY INSTALLMENTS TO PAY OFF THE REMAINING BALANCE WILL START 30 DAYS AFTER YOUR DEPOSIT IS PAID. If a trip is less than 60 days out, payment in full will be required.

For Payment Plans: Your final payment installment must be received 60 Days before a trip begins, and all payments after this date are non-refundable.

Cancellation Policy: In the event of cancellation on your part, 75% of your entire payment (what you have paid so far) will be refunded less the non-refundable deposit and a $50 processing fee, only if the cancellation is made 60 days before the scheduled dates for a trip. Payments are non-refundable after this date. We recommend all participants purchase travel insurance just in case.

If a trip is canceled or rescheduled by the organizer (AOYS or Singer Mayberry) due to unforeseen reasons (including travel bans, safety, weather, global health concerns), your entire payment will be refunded less the non-refundable deposit, unless you choose to put the full balance towards rescheduled dates or a new trip. You will have the option to transfer your non-refundable deposit to a future trip with Singer or AOYS within 1 year (*Only one transfer can be made. Once a deposit or any money is moved to a new trip you are recommitting to that specific trip and dates and it will not be transferable).

Consider travel insurance to protect the costs of your trip in the case of injury, illness or inability to attend for other reasons. *All refunds take around 30 days to process.

CANCELLATIONS:

THE ART OF YOGA SCHOOL, and any of our hosts or teachers, are not responsible for any expenses or damages incurred as a result of trip cancellation including preparation costs, airline tickets, travel documents or other expenses. THE ART OF YOGA SCHOOL reserves the right to cancel any trip prior to departure in the event that there are too few people booked in which case you will be given a full refund of any and all payments made to THE ART OF YOGA SCHOOL. You will not be entitled to claim any additional amounts or seek any compensation for any injury, loss, expenses or damage (either direct or consequential) or for any loss of time or inconvenience which may result from such cancellation (including but not limited to visa, passport and vaccination charges, or departure, gear purchases, airport and airline taxes).

Travel Insurance

THE ART OF YOGA SCHOOL highly recommends each trip member to purchase individual travel insurance for their trip for both international retreats and domestic retreats. We suggest that you include “cancel for any reason” with your policy. You should purchase travel insurance that includes medical coverage. We recommend you purchase insurance within 1-2 weeks after making your first trip payment (ie. flight or retreat reservation) to secure the best price and best coverage.

Travel Documents and Immunizations

It is the responsibility of each traveler to obtain all required travel documents including Visas and other travel documents unless otherwise noted. It is your responsibility to purchase correct immunizations. Please contact your nearest travel clinic for the lastest requirements. 

More on our Retreat Cancellation Policy

Can I get a refund? 

Why we are unable to issue refunds and where that deposit goes.

When we put together a retreat or trip the first thing we must do is place a non-refundable deposit ourselves to hold space for the retreat and lodging. We are able to accomplish this by using the deposits we receive once you, the client, sign up. For popular retreats that sell out quickly, we usually have more money available which we can then use as savings to pay for other items needed before the retreat. We try and price the deposits so that we have the funds for the minimum amount of people needed to sign up allowing us to run the retreat without a loss. For many retreats, we rent villas or other types of shared lodging and are thus charged the same whether we have one or 4 people in that space. Just because one person drops out doesn’t mean we can drop the cost. Essentially your money is spent and there’s nothing we can do to get it back.

Timing is everything

Another reason we are unable to refund deposits is because most people who cancel do so last minute. We’ve had guests cancel anywhere from a week before to two days before a retreat. Our balances for retreat rentals are usually due 60-90 days out from the scheduled retreat so we make sure our guests are paid in full by then as well. If a guest cancels within this time frame and cannot fill their spot, we are left scrambling to try and fill their place. If we can’t fill it, we have to eat the cost out of our profit. It’s extremely difficult (and humbling) to go back and promote a retreat after you’ve declared it sold out. Usually our waiting list has made other plans by this point as well. Sometimes we need a minimum of at least 7 to attend an event so you can imagine if two people drop out last minute. We then have to run the retreat below our minimum and if we had known this sooner we may have just cancelled the event or villa rental altogether.

So what’s the solution?

An easy solution to all this would be, of course, to charge higher prices for our retreats. That way our minimum number of participants needed could be lower and we could always ensure we made a profit. But, that’s not the route We’ve ever wanted to pursue. We’ve always had the desire to create competitively affordable retreats that offer value for the cost and give the guest more than what they expect. Denying refunds has also allowed us to run a retreat that might otherwise have been cancelled.

So, at the end of the day we rely on our participants to have the ability to ask themselves what they can afford to lose. If you feel you cannot afford to lose $300-$500 then it’s better to take the chance and sign up last minute (space permitting) when you know you can attend. You can also message us about being first on the wait list for the retreats that sell out quicker and keep your fingers crossed in the off chance a spot opens up. Also, ask yourself if money is tight for you now, where do you think the rest will come from later? Remember a retreat is like any other vacation, the money used to pay for it should be available because you have set money aside for a trip like this. If you are using rent money to fund your travels or counting on a tax refund to fund your travels you may find yourself in a bind when it comes time to pay in full.

Thank you for understanding

Our refund policy is something we’ve upheld over our years in business and one we do not take lightly. We treat each participant the same when it comes to this policy whether we have known the person for years or only through emails. We understand life happens and at the end of the day it never hurts to ask how we can help you make the best decision if you decide to cancel a retreat.