Two weeks before your conference begins, you receive several emails from people informing you that they can no longer attend. They ask for a refund of their registration fees. You agree, but withhold half of the amount as a processing fee, as the cancellations have caused you significant extra work. After all, you have already made binding and non-refundable room and catering reservations based on their registrations.
This decision is met with general misunderstanding. Because your terms and conditions do not contain any information regarding this, you are requested to refund the full amount.
You no longer have to fear such experiences or lengthy legal disputes if your terms and conditions are complete. We will explain which points are important.
Before you get into the actual terms, the two most important questions should be answered first: For which event do the following terms apply? Who is the organizer?
It is sufficient to state the name of the conference, date and venue as well as the organizer's address.
If you are also working with an external payment service provider, their address should be included as well.
1. General
This point can best be described as a bridge between the general event information and the actual terms and conditions.
Here, you indicate that the following provisions apply to participation and payment processing for the aforementioned event.
By the way, you are also allowed to change and supplement your regulations later on – provided you note here that you reserve the right to make such amendments.
At the end, you should state who the offer is aimed at. In other words: Who are your potential participants? This could be, for example, all adults or only members of a specific institution.
2. Registration
This section specifies when and how participants can register.
In addition to registration via the conference website, some organizers offer the option to register by email or phone.
If you don't want to offer this for your conference, exclude it here.
Furthermore, address the question of when the registration becomes binding. Typically, the participant must fill out all required fields and click the corresponding button to complete the registration. Usually, they must also confirm that they have read and accepted the terms and conditions.
However, for the contract with the participant to be concluded, they must receive a confirmation of their participation. Therefore, explain how this will be sent. For example, Converia can automatically send all necessary confirmations immediately after the participant registration is completed.
If there is a limited number of spots, be transparent about your process for handling registrations here. Also, specify how you will proceed in the event of overbooking.
3. Participation Fees
List all fees here, including price categories and discounts.
It is particularly important for your participants to know whether, for example, coffee breaks and the conference proceedings are already included in the price. Therefore, this information should be included, as well as a note that discounts for certain groups (students, people with disabilities, etc.) are only granted upon presentation of proof.
4. Payment
To ensure participants can attend the event, you receive the necessary fees, and potential ambiguities are cleared up in advance, a precise list of all payment methods is important.
Ideally, you should also refer to special conditions for individual payment methods. For example, you can exclude participants from attending the conference if no payment has been received in your account 14 days after the invoice was issued.
Be sure to protect yourself against chargebacks by stipulating that the resulting costs are to be borne by the participant if, for example, their account has insufficient funds.
If payment by credit card is possible, you should disclose the payment reference that will appear on the statement. This prevents the cardholder from initiating a chargeback because they do not recognize the charge. This would cancel the booking and credit the amount back to the cardholder's account. Usually, you as the organizer would then have to pay the resulting fees.
Furthermore, do not forget to inform participants when the payment is due.
5. Cancellation
If a participant cannot attend the event, they usually receive their money back, but due to processing fees, usually not in full.
You should outline the restrictions on refunds in the terms and conditions. It should also describe how to proceed in the event of a cancellation.
Some organizers allow the originally registered participant to name a substitute participant instead of withdrawing from the contract.
6. Services
This point refers to the services guaranteed to the participant as part of the event: Where are these documented? What happens if the organizer is unable to provide them?
It is best to also exclude refunds of the participation fee here if a participant has not made use of services included in the offer.
7. Changes to the Schedule or Cancellation of the Event
Even though no one wants it to happen, it is possible that the conference may have to be cancelled or postponed. While it is rare for entire conferences to be cancelled, schedule changes happen much more frequently. Therefore, you should make all necessary arrangements in good time and regulate exactly how to proceed in such a case.
It is standard practice to refund the fees to participants in full. This should also apply if the event is merely postponed to another day, but the participant can no longer attend on that date.
8. Copyright and Recordings
Event materials and presentations are protected by copyright. This means they may not be reproduced or distributed without your permission.
Also, state your position here regarding audio and video recordings. Either indicate that you generally do not permit recordings or that recordings are possible by arrangement.
If you as the organizer wish to record parts of the conference – for marketing purposes, for example – a corresponding note should be included here. At the same time, commit to not infringing on the personality rights of your participants when using the recordings.
9. Liability
Unfortunately, accidents or damages cannot be entirely ruled out, even when an event is planned by a diligent, forward-thinking organizer and a reliable team.
Nevertheless, you should only be held liable for damages caused by gross negligence or willful misconduct on your part or that of your representatives. You may also be held liable for ordinary negligence if it results in the breach of a cardinal obligation essential to the fulfillment of the contract.
Conversely, you should contractually exclude liability for damages occurring during participants' travel to and from the event, as well as for the loss of personal belongings and accidents.
10. Data Protection
Since sensitive personal data is often collected during event registration, you should disclose how you use this information.
Explain the purpose of the data usage and notify participants if it is shared with third parties. This may be the case, for example, if an external payment service provider requires personal data to process fees.
The participant list is also important here. Your participants should know what information appears on the list and who can view it. If the list is provided to sponsors who intend to use the data for advertising purposes, you must inform the participants accordingly. This will likely not please everyone, so do not forget to include instructions on how they can object.
11. Supplementary Provisions
If you are working with a service provider to organize the event, refer to their general terms and conditions here. This could include, for example, a provider handling payment processing or hosting the conference website used for participant registration.
12. Final Provisions
Occasionally, individual provisions of a contract may become invalid. Protect yourself by stating that in such a case, the remaining provisions and the contract as a whole will not be invalidated.
The final provisions are completed by specifying the applicable law and providing information regarding the place of performance and jurisdiction.
Good to know: Ensure that all points are formulated clearly and unambiguously. Your terms and conditions are addressed to your participants, and the provisions should be understandable to them.
The information in this article is of a general nature and does not constitute legal advice for individual cases. Please consult a lawyer to resolve specific legal matters.
