Cancellation Policy

• Cancellations with more than 48 hours notice are considered able to be rebooked online by another client and therefore no charge will be assessed.

​

If it’s very near the cutoff time of 48 hours, a text or email to me is appreciated, but not required.

 

• Cancellations are considered LATE if they fall within 48 hours of the scheduled appointment, 

 

because this creates extra administrative work on my part to try to fill the appointment, and because if I am unable to send out an email to my wait list, I may not be able fill the appointment in time. 

​

 

THIS INCLUDES RESCHEDULING YOUR APPOINTMENT TO A LATER DATE, if the rescheduling happens within 48 hours of the original appointment.

 

If you are canceling or rescheduling with 48 hours or less notice, I do expect a text or email with a reason for the cancellation or reschedule.

 

• Late cancellations/rescheduling will be charged at the FULL COST of the scheduled appointment.

 

• If a late-canceling client can send someone else in their place (for example, a spouse or friend), the amount due will be paid by the person who comes in for the appointment.

*See further down for specifics and caveats on this aspect of the policy.

• If you have a planned absence, such a vacation or surgery, the 48-hour policy still applies, but my preference is that you cancel with me as soon as you learn of the scheduling conflict. The more time I have in advance, the more likely I will be to fill the spot and recover the lost income.

 

Exceptions to the late cancellation charge will include these emergencies:

 

• illness (on the part of the massage therapist, client, or client’s immediate family)

• car accident or other serious injury (within the 48 hours)

• ER/urgent care visit (including for children or pets)

• house flooding, being snowed in, or other extreme house-related emergencies

• death in the family

• other extreme circumstances, at my discretion

 

While I rely financially on my schedule staying full, I do understand that occasionally life creates emergencies and illnesses. During those times, it’s best for us to prioritize handling those curveballs instead of receiving (or giving!) massage treatment, for many reasons, including to prevent the spread of germs in the case of illness.

(Please don’t bring me your cold, and I won’t bring you mine!)

 

Exceptions to the late cancellation charge will NOT include

these non-emergency reasons:

 

• forgetting about an appointment

• scheduling errors

• last-minute work meetings or trips

• choosing to prioritize family or social activities on the day of the massage

• forgetting to cancel for a planned conflict (like surgery or vacation)

• last-minute personal meetings, such as for buying/selling property

• any other non-emergency reason

 

While I realize these may be very good reasons for cancelling, they are lifestyle choices, and if you choose to prioritize something else at the same time as our prior commitment, you will be responsible for the full cost of the massage. 

 

A non-emergency reason for missing, late-cancelling, or late-rescheduling of an appointment, however urgent or unavoidable it may seem, will still require a full payment of the missed appointment.

 

Because of the extreme increase in illness-related cancellations since the pandemic, I can no longer financially afford to give a pass to anyone for non-emergencies. I truly wish that I could, but I just can’t make ends meet without my schedule being full, and when a spot opens up last- minute, I can’t always find a replacement.

 

If you are having trouble remembering your appointments, please sign up for text reminders, which should hit your phone about 8 hours before your scheduled appointment. I also highly recommend setting an alarm on your phone to remind you when you need to get ready to leave, and another to remind you when to leave, especially if you battle with ADHD or other difficulties with timeliness. Late starts can impact the next part of my day, including making me late for my next client, not having time to eat or hydrate as needed, or being late to pick up my partner after work. (This is why when you are late, the number of minutes that you are late may be deducted from the hands-on portion of your session.)

 

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON SENDING A REPLACEMENT TO YOUR APPOINTMENT:

If the person you are sending in your place is a current client, they must agree to at least the same amount of expected time (or more, if the schedule allows). In other words, a 90- minute appointment can only be replaced by someone else wanting at least a 90 minute appointment (unless the substitute person is a New Client—then see below).

​

If the person you are sending in your place has not seen me before, their appointment will be charged at the New Client rate and the hands-on portion of the session will be booked for 15 minutes less than your original booking. Typically, I charge new clients in advance for their appointments, so if you choose to send a new client in your place as a late cancellation substitution, we will follow the protocol below. (If you are wanting to book an appointment for a new client ahead of time, I will ask that you or  they pay at the time of booking. See below category of “Making Appointments for Others” for more info.)

​

For example, if you have a 90 minute appointment but wake up that day and want to send your friend Bob instead, and Bob has not seen me before, you will pay nothing if Bob shows up.* Bob’s appointment will be for 75 minutes (instead of 90) and will be charged at the New Client 75 minute rate. (This is because with new clients, I typically need approximately 15 minutes more intake and exit time than with someone I have seen many times.)

​

*If Bob is a new client who is taking your spot last minute, you will be responsible for payment in full if Bob does not show up. If Bob is a current client who is taking your spot, Bob will be responsible for the payment if Bob does not show up (provided Bob has expressly agreed to take the appointment and has confirmed that with me directly). If you have a 60 minute appointment, you will not be allowed to substitute a new client, but may substitute another person if they are already a client.

 

MAKING APPOINTMENTS FOR OTHERS:

It is acceptable to make appointments for others, especially if you are planning to gift them with the booking. If they are a new client, I require new clients to pay in full at the time of booking; I no longer make any exceptions to this rule, even if you are booking for family or good friends. Either you can pay at the time of booking, or I can invoice you (or the new client) and will make the booking when the invoice is paid, or you can purchase a gift certificate and let them make the booking with that. 

If the client you are booking for is not a new client, they must expressly agree to allowing you to book for them; if they do not show up for the appointment, you will be responsible for the appointment fee, unless I have their express consent to charge them for the missed appointment. In the case of spouses, you will jointly be considered responsible for the fee.