you’re right about that.

All right, well, then we pretty much agree. I was under the impression that a lot more resorts were holding on to deposits and that they were even being advised to do so. Maybe not so many were, or are. It would be really dumb of them, from a business standpoint, to withhold deposits under these circumstances. The two that you describe, especially the second one, are going to discover that their business is going downhill in a hurry after the border finally re-opens.

If it’s me to whom you’re referring, no, still here.
If you read my comments in the thread all I was doing was attempting to clear up some confusion about whether the resorts had an obligation to return deposits if requested, and my point is that they do, in this particular case. Some of the commenters were arguing that,no, they did not. But they were confused even after repeated explanations.
If that felt abusive, sorry. I guess. No. Not really. Not sorry.

Lay off the booze, you old varmint.

A little sensitive?

All right. I give.

Can’t handle a joke old fella? Too bad.

Look: you were arguing that it was ok for the resorts to hold on to deposits because of the language in the brochure. The OP you mentioned returned deposits. Good for them. That wasn’t what we were discussing here. We were discussing whether or not they were obligated to.
We’d better never meet in court. I’ll carve you up faster than an old Ojibwa fillets a walleye. 😂

That phrase clearly applies to the GUEST. The GUEST. I will guarantee you that when the resort owner put that language in the brochure, they had in mind if the guest cancels. And it doesn’t matter that the resort owner had no control over the border. Neither did the guest.

Sorry, you’re just completely wrong on this. No one agreed that they should be required to lose their deposit if they can’t even get to the resort. You’re misinterpreting what you’re reading in the brochure. Nice that you have a special relationship with the place you use, but for most people this is a commercial transaction. A good business practice – – and a smart one – – would be to offer people the option of rolling the deposit or getting it back. A lot of people would probably roll it, but it should be voluntary.

👍

ahhh, yes. I am. This isn’t about feeling sorry for the resort owners.

The government closed the border!

Just don’t agree with you. Deposits are NOT non-refundable. They are non-refundable if the guest fails to show up. In this case, the failure to show is not the fault of the guest. And what the resort operator is doing with the deposit money – – fixing up cabins or whatever – – is completely immaterial. It’s a tough deal for the resort owners and I’m sympathetic but it is not the obligation of their guests to help them out. Again: holding onto deposits is a bad business practice.

It seems to me that the Canadian resorts are essentially forcing customers to give them interest-free loans and also take the risk that they go bankrupt or sell the resort to someone else. I understand that this is a tough time for them, but holding onto deposits is just plain bad business. The Canadian government closed the border: the Canadian government should help these resort owners out, perhaps by fronting the money for the return of deposits. I don’t know: maybe some sort of program is already in place. But it’s a bad look for the resorts to hold on to these deposits.