A charter captain should decide the deposit terms before the season, state them at booking, and then handle weather cancellations with one tag that cancels the appointment and sends each affected customer a new booking link from GoHighLevel. The bottom line: policies in the industry converge on a few choices, refund or reschedule when the captain cancels for safety, and forfeiture or fees when the customer cancels late, and the software cannot decide for you but can run whichever you pick.
What published charter policies say
A Florida charter operation's terms say deposits or payments are fully refundable if the captain cancels for wind, high seas, or stormy weather, and that it will try to reschedule first. If it cannot reschedule, the money is refunded in full within five business days. If the customer cancels 72 hours or more before departure, the payment is refunded less a 10 percent card fee, and trips canceled less than 48 hours out are not refundable or transferable unless the date is rebooked.
Another operation takes a $100 deposit to reserve a captain and boat. A customer who cancels more than 48 hours ahead gets the deposit back, one who cancels within 48 hours forfeits the deposit and 50 percent of the charter, and a no show or a cancellation within 12 hours forfeits the full balance. It says captains watch radar closely, refunds the deposit if the captain judges the weather dangerous, and tries to reschedule. Choose your own terms, and put them on the booking page.
The weather cancellation flow
| Step | GoHighLevel tool | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Book and pay | Calendar with upfront payment | Deposit collected before the slot is confirmed |
| Captain calls the trip off | Add a contact tag such as weather cancel | Starts the workflow |
| Cancel the appointment | Update Appointment Status action | Appointment marked cancelled or rescheduled, using the statuses your account offers |
| Offer a new date | Generate One Time Booking Link and Send SMS actions | Customer picks a new day |
| Refund if chosen | Your payment gateway | The action list covers charges and invoices, not refunds |
Build it in GoHighLevel
- Create a calendar for each boat or trip type and enable Charge upfront with your deposit.
- Write your weather and cancellation terms into the booking form and require a checkbox.
- In Automation, create a workflow with the Contact Tag trigger for a tag named weather cancel.
- Add the Update Appointment Status action to mark the trip cancelled.
- Add Generate One Time Booking Link, then Send SMS with the link and your reschedule offer.
- Add Send Internal Notification to the captain and the office.
- Refund deposits for customers who choose a refund in your payment gateway, since the documented actions cover charges and invoices.
GoHighLevel's Calendar Payments page says payments in calendars work through six gateways (Stripe, NMI, Authorize.net, Razorpay, Square, and PayPal) for all calendar types, except that Razorpay, NMI, and Square are not supported for the Classic Widget and the Service menu. Add the gateway first under Payments, then Integrations. It also says the calendar can either charge upfront during booking or collect a card on file without charging.
What the workload looks like
For example, if 15 trips are booked in a week and weather cancels 20 percent, that is three trips to reschedule (15 times 0.2). Doing it by phone means three calls plus follow ups. With a tag, the captain tags three contacts and the messages go out at once.
Mistakes to avoid
- No written weather rule. Say who decides and when.
- Promising automatic refunds. Refunds are handled in the gateway.
- Forgetting the group. Tag every guest contact on the booking.
- Ignoring the rebook date. The reschedule window should be in the message.
How this was handled before
A captain who calls off a trip for weather usually calls or texts each customer and then juggles new dates in a notebook. With a few trips that is manageable. With a full week canceled by one front, the calls are the bottleneck, and customers who do not hear first may look elsewhere. A tag turns the same decision into one action for every affected booking.
Check before you switch it on
US text messages sent from a standard 10 digit number need A2P 10DLC registration. The HighLevel support portal says registration is required for texts to US recipients from 10 digit long code numbers and that toll free numbers do not require it. HighLevel's opt in guidelines also say a person cannot be forced to agree to text messages in order to submit a form, so keep the consent box optional. One compliance guide separates informational texts, which need documented consent, from marketing texts, which need prior express written consent. Ask your attorney which category your reminders fall into. Group bookings often list one contact for many guests, so make sure that person can share the new date. This is general information, not legal advice.
Questions people ask
Who decides whether the weather is too dangerous?
In the policies quoted, the captain decides, usually the night before or at the dock. Put that in your terms.
Does GoHighLevel refund deposits?
The documented workflow actions cover charges and invoices, so process refunds in your payment gateway.
How fast should a refund be issued?
One charter's terms promise a refund within five business days. Set your own timeline.
Ready to try it yourself? Start a GoHighLevel account here.
You can also see this in action in our GoHighLevel capabilities demo.