This policy page is linked on every single page of the website: www.grapplersretreat.com
You can find it linked at the footer of every page on our site — and it’s linked twice on many of the pages. It’s linked within the text of every “camp page” listed on our schedule… it’s linked within the body of our “FAQ page”… and it’s yet again linked on the final “booking page” of our “online store”.
We’ve made our best effort to notify you about this. Thank you for understanding our situation.
Refund Policy:
Before registering with Grappler’s Retreat, it is strongly advised that you purchase your own Travel Insurance Policy (a “trip cancellation” insurance policy) that will cover your booking fee in case you need to cancel due to illness, injury, or other serious health issues, personal issues, family-related problems or tragedies, or any unforeseen tragedy or disaster or circumstance.
NO REFUNDS: ALL BOOKINGS ARE FINAL AND NON-REFUNDABLE
Apologies — but the reality is that each retreat is made up of a very small group, and so refund requests create financial chaos… and thus real-life hardship. We can’t be in a position of having “dialed down our promotion” for a camp because we thought it was almost full…. and then suddenly being asked to give money back after we’ve already made massive financial commitments to a world-class instructor and to our hard-working crew (chefs, cooks, housekeepers, groundkeepers, camp organizers, drivers, etc).
So… once you book a spot for a camp, then your funds are fully committed to that specific camp, and no longer refundable. We cannot give you a credit to a different camp in the future, since your funds will have been spent on the expenses for the camp for which you booked, regardless of your attendance.
Space is very limited, so if you claim a spot at a specific camp, then we need you to be 100% committed to funding that specific camp’s budget — whether you ultimately come or not.
Life throws crazy “curveballs” at us all — but please understand that, if you claimed a spot, then we can’t issue a refund because of an unexpected change in your life circumstance —regardless of how unfortunate or tragic it may be.
Please do not make a booking at Grappler’s Retreat if you are not comfortable with this.
The ONLY exception is that if you email us with a cancellation request within 48-hours of payment, then we will issue a full refund (minus payment processor fees, which we’re not able to recover). After 48-hours, neither refunds nor credits will not be issued for ANY reason, because your funds have been fully committed to the specific camp you’ve signed up for.
Sadly, having a really good or serious reason to cancel does not allow us to break this policy — as that would either A) put the camp in jeopardy for everyone else who also registered and made massive travel plans to attend, because we’re suddenly short on budget; or B) force us to tell our instructors/staff “sorry we actually can’t pay you what we agreed to because someone canceled and wants a refund” (of course we can’t and won’t do that!).
The following are all very good and serious reasons that have led people to ask for a refund (but that we cannot issue refunds for, regardless of how serious or sad the situation might be):
i’ve just been diagnosed with a terrible disease/condition, i’m sick with a nasty cold/illness, I have COVID, I got seriously injured, I had to have a surgery or medical procedure, etc.
i’ve just experienced a tragedy in my family and am not able to travel now
I need to take care of my sick parent and I need the money back
my friend/relative announced that they are getting married that week, and I need to attend their wedding
there are wild-fires in northern California causing poor air quality and i’m asthmatic
I lost my job and so I really need the money back
my boss won’t let me have the time off work after all
I got accepted into a school/training program (e.g. university program, police/fire academy, etc) that I plan to attend, so the retreat dates no longer work for me
…and many more reasons that are all very serious and real, and some of them truly unfortunate. However, if you cannot transfer and re-sell your spot to someone else, you will unfortunately not be able to recover your registration fee.
Please understand that you must assume full risk for the ‘curveballs’ that life might throw at you — and that once you have claimed a spot at one of our camps, then we need you to remain financially committed, regardless of your attendance. This is why (in the very first sentence of our refund policy) we strongly encourage everyone who signs up to purchase a Travel Insurance Policy (a “trip cancellation” insurance policy), in case you have an unfortunate change in your life situation.
Transferring your spot:
You are welcome to gift (or sell) your spot to a friend or to an acquaintance from your gym. Just please let us know if you do, so that we can update our roster accordingly.
Refund Policy for bookings made before January 1, 2024:
No refunds. No exceptions. If you make a booking, then you are essentially claiming a spot — and you agree to be 100% committed to funding the retreat’s expenses, regardless of your changing life circumstances, and regardless of the “curve-balls” that life throws at you — no matter how tragic or intense your personal situation or the world situation may be.
Our retreat budgets are super tight — If we come up short because you demand a refund, then we’d have to ask our housekeepers, our cooks, our guest instructors, etc to work for free in order to still pull off the camp for the others who signed up and remained committed.
We will not ask our people to work for free or for less than what they were promised.
So… once you sign up for a retreat, then your funds are committed and no longer refundable.
Do not sign up if you don’t fully understand this policy or if you disagree with it.
Please know that we will do our best to get you a credit for a future retreat.
Cancellation requests submitted 80 days before your retreat start date (see exact date deadlines below) will receive a credit on their payment for a future retreat — but not a refund.
No credits can be issued for cancellations within 80 days of a retreat — as it is generally extremely unlikely to re-book a canceled spot within 80 days (most serious people need months to get time off work, secure child care, etc — so if you cancel within 80 day, then expect that we will not be able to re-book your spot — and therefore expect no credit, as your funds will have been spent on that camp regardless of your attendance).
You always have their option to gift your spot to a friend. Just let us know well in advance and put us in touch with your friend, and we’ll be happy to host them in your place.
Thank you for understanding.
Refund Policy for bookings made on or prior to January 1, 2024:
Refund/Credit Deadlines for 2023-2024 Retreats — No refunds (or credits to future retreats) can be issued after the deadlines listed below:
For the October 8-14 2023 retreat, no refunds (or credits to future retreats) will be issued after July 20, 2023
For the April 3-7 2024 retreat, no refunds (or credits to future retreats) will be issued after January 20, 2024
For the April 15-20 2024 retreat, no refunds (or credits to future retreats) will be issued after February 1, 2024
For the May 25-30 2024 retreat, no refunds (or credits to future retreats) will be issued after March 5, 2024
For the June 3-8 2024 retreat, no refunds (or credits to future retreats) will be issued after March 14, 2024
For the June 17-22 2024 retreat, no refunds (or credits to future retreats) will be issued after March 28, 2024
For the July 1-6 2024 retreat, no refunds (or credits to future retreats) will be issued after April 11, 2024
For the June 22-27 2024 retreat, no refunds (or credits to future retreats) will be issued after May 2, 2024
But if you request a cancellation of your registration 80-days or more before the first day of the retreat for which you registered (see above deadlines), you may cancel (no questions asked) and receive a full cash refund (minus payment-processor and bank transfer fees, which are about 3.4% on our end if you booked with a debit or credit card, or up to 8.4% if you booked with Affirm or another 3rd-party payment-plan option).
Once you pass the “refund deadline”, we will still allow you to transfer (i.e. re-sell) your spots to someone else in order to recover your registration fee if you are able to find someone to take your spot. However, we will not otherwise issue refunds after the 80-day mark unless your spot is re-sold (we can try to help facilitate this, but ultimately it’s up to you to re-sell your spot within 80-days of a retreat).
After the 80-day mark, you must assume full risk for the ‘curveballs’ that life might throw at you.
Please understand that our retreats are extremely small — we only have about a dozen+ people sign up per camp. Every spot matters: the first 8-9 spots basically cover the retreat-specific expenses (e.g. instructor fees, instructor flights and travel expense, staffing fees for our chefs and cleaning staff and admin, massive supply expense for the week, retreat insurance policy, and tons of other costs associated with putting on the camp). The remaining few spots we sell cover our general operating expenses, and that money is basically spent immediately on expenses such as: property mortgage payments, building construction loan payments, property taxes, property maintenance and upkeep, etc.
Please know that ‘80-days’ is not an arbitrary number: most of our attendees sign up 3-6 months in advance. Most need at least 3+ months to plan a vacation — i.e. to secure approved time off work, to secure child and pet care, etc. Therefore, we realistically need this amount of time to confidently re-book your spot — so we can maintain the funds to pay instructors and staff, and meet the massive financial requirements of keeping the camp on schedule for everyone else who signed up!
It is very difficult to re-sell a spot within a couple months of the retreat (this is true even if we have a waiting list, since many of those potentially interested people may have a hard time securing the time off work, getting child care, etc. on short notice).
So… as we get closer to the camp date, we confirm the camp with the guest instructors, we purchase their airfare, and we fully commit to the instructors’ fees and to the wages of all our hard-working staff we hire for that week. So after this, we are fully committed financially.
Please understand that even one refund based on a late cancellation would cause us to be short on our financial obligations, and potentially force us to cancel the retreat for the others who have already purchased airfare and have made massive plans to attend!
Please also note: we can not offer a credit to a future retreat, since that would leave us short one sale (and therefore short on budget) for that future retreat.
And just to be clear, none of us are getting rich off your registration fee… many of us work unpaid as volunteers just to make our retreats possible :)
Sadly, having a really good or serious reason to cancel does not allow us to break this policy — as that would either A) put the retreat in jeopardy for everyone else who also registered; or B) force us to tell our instructors/staff “sorry we actually can’t pay you what we agreed to!” (of course that is not acceptable).
The following are all very good and serious reasons that have led people to ask for a refund on short notice (but that we cannot issue refunds for, regardless of how serious or sad the situation might be):
i’ve just been diagnosed with a terrible disease/condition, i’m sick with a nasty cold/illness, I got seriously injured, etc.
i’ve just experienced a tragedy in my family and am not able to travel now
I need to take care of my sick parent and I need the money back
my friend/relative announced that they are getting married that week, and I need to attend their wedding
there are wild-fires in northern California causing poor air quality and i’m asthmatic
I lost my job and so I really need the money back
my boss won’t let me have the time off work after all
I got accepted into a school/training program (e.g. university program, police/fire academy, etc) that I plan to attend, so the retreat dates no longer work for me
…and many more reasons that are all very serious and real, and some of them truly unfortunate. However, if you cannot transfer and re-sell your spot to someone else, you will unfortunately not be able to recover your registration fee.
Please understand that, after the 80-day mark, you must assume full risk for the ‘curveballs’ that life might throw at you.
COVID-19 Update for 2023 and 2024:
We strongly believe that simple human connection in nature, group exercise, and heartfelt social gatherings are more important than ever. Please only consider registering for a retreat if you plan to follow through with your attendance, regardless of government dictates that aim to control how we gather and spend time together.
Our only requirement is that no one shows up sick with active symptoms. We do not ask for anyone’s personal medical history. We absolutely do not discriminate based on anyone’s vaccination status — ALL are welcome.
If you come down with cold symptoms while here at the retreat, then you must stop training and stay out of the dojo (refunds or discounts will not be issued in such situations). This has always been standard practice in any training environment when someone comes down with a cold — it is not specific to “covid”.
For those with any concerns or with health/age related vulnerabilities, please be sensible and consider waiting for a better time to travel and train.
Please do not sign up if you have a need for the others to be vaccinated, or if you have an expectation that others should adhere to your particular medical ideology or political philosophy.
Our retreat welcomes everyone who loves Jiu Jitsu and genuine human connection. For us, it’s that simple.
Water Conservation and your Willingness to be Flexible and Accommodating
The Retreat in located in a remote part of northern California, and is served by our own water well, and also by a local water delivery truck (when needed). California has experienced extreme drought (AKA water shortage conditions) in recent years. At times, our property’s water well is not able to keep up with optimal demand (i.e. everyone taking multiple long showers and doing unlimited daily laundry loads). As of November 2021, we have upgraded our water storage to 10,000 gallons, and we have our water storage tanks fully filled prior to every retreat. There will certainly be enough water for each retreat if everyone is mindful and conserves if asked. But during times of drought when our property’s water-well isn’t actively refilling the storage tanks daily, conservation may be required (i.e. mindful water usage, short showers, limited laundry loads).
We’ll always do our best to get additional water delivered (if necessary) so that we don’t need to worry about conservation — but in our remote location, this isn’t always possible on short notice. We ask that you be understanding of this situation, especially if you sign up for a retreat in the late Summer/Fall.
To be clear, we’ve never run out of water in the past… and even during times of drought, there has always been enough water for everyone to shower daily. We’ve asked guests to conserve water at 3 retreats in the past… and we’ve never had an issue because everyone has always been cool and understanding, and has been willing to keep showers short and laundry loads limited when asked.
If you are unhappy with this situation and decide not to attend because of water conservation requirements/requests, then please know that refunds (or credits) will not be issued.
LIABILITY RELEASE, WAIVER, DISCHARGE, & COVENANT NOT TO SUE
Before being allowed to train, all participants must sign a liability release form , acknowledging that you know risks are involved, and that you nevertheless agree to hold no one else accountable for harm, injuries, or damages of any kind (whether from injury or illness or any loss). This release form stipulates that you agree not to sue your fellow attendees/students, the instructors, the trainers, and the land & facility owners/operators for injuries, illness, or harm/damages of any kind incurred while training and while visiting or moving about the grounds of the Grappler’s Retreat property. The form also gives permission for us to use all pictures/media during the retreats on our website and on other online platforms for marketing and promotional purposes.
Please email alex@grapplersretreat if you’d like to review a copy of the form ahead of time.
Agreement to Treat Everyone with Respect
Thankfully we’ve never had an issue before! All our guests have always been awesome, cool people. We’re blessed :-)
We strive to foster an environment that is totally welcoming, comfortable, and fun. It’s all about good energy and amazing experiences!!! These weeks are meant to be truly special (and relaxed!).
So we just need to clearly state that we can not accommodate any attendees that are aggressive, belligerent, dangerous, threatening, or (to put it simply) acting like a jerk to other guests or to our staff. We’ve never had this happen, and we hope and trust it never will!
We don’t mind (at all!) if you get “tipsy” or “a bit messed up”… as long as you keep it happy :) But aggressive, belligerently drunken, or rude behavior that makes others in the group have an unpleasant experience will be addressed. We’re definitely not “uptight” and in general we’d always give anyone the benefit of an honest conversation if it’s ever needed — but please keep in mind that we won’t issue refunds to anyone asked to leave because of unpleasant, unsafe, or aggressive behavior directed toward our other guests or staff.
Refund Policy if Grappler’s Retreat cancels a retreat
We have no intention of cancelling a retreat in the future. However, we live in strange times… and you just never know for sure.
If we cancel a retreat for which you have registered, then please rest assured that Grappler’s Retreat will issue you a 100% refund of your registration fee.
However: we cannot (and will not) further compensate anyone for additional financial losses, such as travel expenses that you have paid for in advance (e.g. airfare, rental car, etc.). Nor can we (or will we) compensate anyone for other losses such as time taken off work, missed income opportunities, etc.
You’re encouraged to purchase your own flight and travel insurance policy to cover your losses in such an unfortuante event.
By registering for any retreat or seminar at Grappler’s Retreat, you agree to these stipulation, and you agree to assume full personal responsibility for all expenses or losses (other than your registration fee, which we will refund) if we cancel a retreat you’ve signed up for.