Weather-dependent outdoor sessions: when to call it off

Write down your weather rules before the season starts, state them in every service description, and fix a decision time before each session, for example the evening before. When conditions fail, move everyone to a backup date you've already planned, or cancel, and tell each participant yourself. Clear rules turn a stressful phone marathon into a routine: people know what to expect when they book, and nobody drives an hour to a closed river.

Each activity has its own limits: wind speed for paddling or sailing, storm risk for climbing and via ferrata, water level for canyoning or rafting, heat for long hikes, visibility for mountain routes. Set your thresholds with your training and local knowledge, and write them in plain words. Participants don't need the numbers; they need to know that you decide, when you decide, and what happens next.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. You open slots for each service with a number of places; each booking takes one place, and a full slot disappears from your page. Put the weather rules in every outdoor service's description so participants read them before booking.

Durations, places and prices are examples: set your own. An indoor or sheltered alternative gives you a third option between going ahead and cancelling. Say in its description that it may also be offered to participants of a cancelled outdoor session.

For every busy weekend, plan a backup date and create its slot in advance, with the same number of places. When the weather cancels Saturday, you already have Sunday or the following weekend ready. Rescheduling in Book works booking by booking: you move each participant to a slot with a free place, and it can be a slot of another service, such as the indoor alternative.

Forecasts are sometimes wrong in both directions. If you went ahead and conditions turn on site, shorten the route, move to a sheltered spot or stop, and explain why; the group's safety comes before finishing the programme. If you cancelled and the day turns out fine, don't apologise for a sound decision made at the announced time. Keep a short log of each call you made, the forecast and what actually happened. Over a season it sharpens your thresholds, and it's the best answer when a participant questions a cancellation.

The public booking form asks for first name, last name, email and phone, so every online booking comes with a way to reach the participant. Ask in the booking note for a mobile number reachable on the day and, for families, the ages of the children. The note can't be edited once the booking exists, so put the questions in the service description.

With calendar sync (Google, iPhone, Mac), sessions and backup dates sit in one calendar next to your forecast checks. Book doesn't take payments or send weather alerts; it handles the bookings. It costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.