“I made a reservation 1-2 months ago, but I’m trying to cancel it every day due to the cold wave, but they say I have to pay the penalty first.”
Golf courses in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions are being criticized for their “gut sales.”
Although the rate of cancellation of reservations is increasing due to weather effects such as freezing cold, snow, and rain, they are receiving hundreds of thousands of won in cancellation fees intact, rather than normal cancellations.
According to the industry in Gwangju and Jeonnam on the 17th, a total of 41 golf courses were identified, including local public golf courses and membership golf courses.
In the case of these golf courses, the green fee (per person) ranges from 100,000 won to 200,000 won. On weekends, it soars up to 300,000 won.
Cart fees and caddy fees are additionally charged at around KRW 100,000 each.
In most golf courses, if canceled 7 days in advance, cancellation will be processed normally, and a cancellation fee will be incurred from 6 days in advance.
The cancellation fee is 10% of the price including green fee + cart fee, or an additional penalty of 100,000 won per 2 days until cancellation on the same day. Each golf course has different internal guidelines and regulations on penalties.
The problem is that golfers are flooding in with requests to cancel reservations as the cold wave continues, but the golf course industry has no choice but to impose a penalty according to internal guidelines.
In the case of Gwangju and 스포츠토토 Jeollanam-do, the weather at the beginning of this month entered below freezing, predicting a full-fledged cold. As it snowed for two days on the 13th and 14th, the lowest temperature the previous morning was 12.5 degrees below zero.
Golfer A (55) said, “Recently, the weather has been below freezing, but when I inquired at the golf course to cancel my reservation, I was immediately told that I had to pay a penalty.” Did you know you would lose?” he said.
Due to the nature of the golf event, it is heavily influenced by weather such as snow and rain, so reservation cancellations are increasing due to abnormal weather.
At a golf course in Jeonnam, the reservation cancellation rate rose to 40% as snow was predicted in the second week of December, and it was reported that the cancellation rate at a golf course of a similar level increased due to strong weather and snow.
An official from the golf course said, “It was 100% booked this month, but there were a lot of cancellations due to the weather.” Explained.
Last month, the Fair Trade Commission prepared a standard for dispute resolution for golf courses that were criticized for excessive penalties, etc.
The amendment stipulates that even if the reservation is canceled at the consumer’s responsibility, no penalty (compensation) will be paid if the reservation is canceled up to 4 days prior to the weekend. 10% of the usage fee for cancellation up to 2 days prior, 20% for 1 day prior, and 30% for cancellation on the same day.