There will probably be fewer bootcamps during 2017, so we are changing the way we book bootcamps in 2017.
During 2016, we had 3 well attended bootcamps, and one that was cancelled, because it was under-subscribed. The people who had booked (and paid) for the cancelled bootcamp had to re-arrange – one attended another bootcamp, the others had refunds and had to cancel any travel arrangements etc.
Under the old booking system, the decision to cancel cannot be made until a month or less before the bootcamp starts, and is a finely balanced (and highly stressful) decision between “Are we likely to get a new bwtcamper or two in the next week”, and “If we leave this any longer, people are going to be on their way before we cancel”.
A bootcamp with a low number of attendees is difficult, because there are not enough people to keep fresh conversations popping up naturally, and low numbers make local attractions less likely to offer guided tours and fun activities. So, we set an upper limit of 10 people, to keep things personal and cosy, but that 10 is also a target – we need those numbers to make bwtcamp work for the bwtcampers.
So, in 2017, I will not be opening booking for any bootcamp until at least 10 people (preferably more – there’s always reasons that some have to pull back) have expressed an interest in booking. You can do that on the individual bootcamp page – just click on reply and say “me me me”. I’ll only count after having a coffee, in case I count that as 3 people…
If there’s not enough interest by a given cut-off date, then we will cancel that week – there’s no “logging in every day to see if the numbers have risen” or other stress involved for bwtcampers with travel arrangements to confirm / cancel, or indeed, for Cat and I and the half dozen or so kids that appear to come with us every time.
When there is enough interest shown, I will announce the booking period (open for 7 days starting at 09:00 GMT on 17th of Never etc). Places will be allocated on a first come first serve basis, although it’s worth noting when you express an interest if there’s some reason that you should be given preference.
As soon as a bootcamp is fully booked, then we can start to explore a new date and start the process again.
We hope that by booking in this way, we can open future dates quickly (in some cases, more quickly than before, because we don’t have to wait around for a previous week to fill first – we can just cancel a week where there’s not enough interest, and move on).
