If you need to cancel an event, here is a short checklist of things to consider and tips how to effectively communicate the changes to your participants.
1. Too much information is better than not enough
Event cancellations follow the same rule as any other event communications: it is better to give too much information than not enough. If you haven't made a decision about cancelling yet, you can share that fact with your participants and let them know when they can expect a definitive decision. If you are cancelling an event that's within a few days, text message is the most effective way of communication. In the text, you can include the most important information and mention that everyone will receive further details by email.
2. Remove your event from your calendar or website
If your event has been published automatically in an event calendar or added manually on your website, you should remove it, or you can add “CANCELLED” after the event name, for example. This way, anyone looking for event information on your calendar or website can immediately see that the event has been cancelled.
3. Close registrations
The quickest way to close registrations is to set the last registration date in the past. This way, no new registrations will be possible. You can also edit the texts that are displayed when someone visits the event registration page.
With Lyyti you can do this from the menu on the left hand side. First select Actions → Notifications → Message on the registration page, if the registration has closed. Here, you can enter information about cancelling the event.
4. Communicate in other channels as well
If a Facebook event has been created for your event, you should cancel that one as well and communicate about the situation on Facebook. Remember to communicate about cancellations in all the channels where you have actively promoted your event.
5. Provide refunds according to cancellation terms
If your event is chargeable, find out what you should do in a cancelling situation. Are you required to provide full or partial refunds for payments? Communicate this clearly to participants. If payments have been made through Lyyti, contact our customer service. We will be glad to help you.
Cancelling an event in Lyyti? Go to our knowledge base for more specific instructions.
