Cancellation & Refund Policy

"Booking" means a confirmed lesson reservation between a Customer and an Instructor through the Platform. "Lesson Start Time" means the scheduled start of the Lesson as confirmed in the booking details. "Cancellation" means any action by the Customer or Instructor that terminates a confirmed Booking before the Lesson Start Time. "No-Show" means the Customer fails to arrive at the agreed meeting location within the grace period defined in §5 without having cancelled the Booking in advance.

A Booking is created when a Customer submits a lesson request, the Instructor accepts it, and the Customer completes payment through the Platform. Until all three steps are complete, there is no confirmed Booking and no obligation under this Policy. A Booking confirmation is sent to both parties via the email address associated with their Platform account.

A Customer may cancel a confirmed Booking up to 24 hours before the Lesson Start Time and receive a refund in accordance with this Policy and applicable payment-processing rules. Cancellations initiated through the Platform within this window are processed automatically unless a dispute or chargeback is pending.

The refund will generally cover the amounts paid by the Customer for the Lesson, less any non-refundable payment-processing fees where permitted by law. See §7 for details on processing fees.

Cancellations made by the Customer less than 24 hours before the Lesson Start Time are considered late cancellations. Late cancellations are generally non-refundable, except in the circumstances described in §9 (Unsafe Conditions) or §12 (Administrative Discretion).

Instructors are not obligated to offer refunds for late cancellations and AWECEAN is not required to issue a refund of amounts paid unless this Policy expressly provides for it or AWECEAN exercises discretion under §12.

If the Customer fails to arrive within 15 minutes of the agreed meeting time and location, unless otherwise agreed by the Instructor in writing through the Platform, the Lesson may be treated as a no-show. No-shows are non-refundable.

Instructors are encouraged to attempt to contact the Customer through the Platform before declaring a no-show, but are not required to do so. The Instructor may document the no-show in the booking record. Repeated no-shows by a Customer may result in suspension or termination of the Customer's Platform account under the Terms of Service.

If an Instructor cancels a confirmed Booking for any reason, the Customer is entitled to a refund in accordance with this Policy and applicable payment-processing rules. The Customer may also be offered the opportunity to reschedule with the same Instructor or book a replacement Lesson with another Instructor at no additional Platform fee.

Instructors must provide as much advance notice as possible. Repeated or unexplained instructor cancellations may affect the Instructor's search ranking, result in temporary suspension, or lead to permanent removal from the Platform.

All payments on the Platform are processed by Stripe, Inc. ("Stripe"). Payment-processing fees, cross-border fees, and currency-conversion differences charged by Stripe or the Customer's card issuer may be non-refundable in whole or in part, depending on Stripe's policies and the Customer's bank or card network rules. AWECEAN does not control these fees and cannot guarantee their refund.

Where permitted by law and Stripe's terms, refunds will be issued for the net amount received by AWECEAN, which may differ from the total amount originally charged to the Customer due to the fees described above.

Approved refunds are issued to the original payment method used for the Booking whenever technically possible. Refunds typically appear within 5–10 business days, though the exact timing depends on the Customer's bank, card issuer, or payment provider.

If the original payment method is no longer valid, the Customer must contact AWECEAN support to arrange an alternative refund method, which may require additional verification and processing time.

If weather, ocean, or beach conditions are unsafe for surfing or the booked activity — as determined by the Instructor in good faith based on local knowledge, lifeguard warnings, official beach closures, or applicable safety regulations — the Instructor may cancel or reschedule the Lesson. In such cases, the Customer is entitled to a refund in accordance with this Policy and applicable payment-processing rules, or to reschedule at no additional charge.

"Unsafe" conditions include, without limitation: lightning or electrical storms, dangerous rip currents beyond the Instructor's safe teaching capacity, water contamination advisories, marine-life hazards that make entry unsafe, or official beach closures. Mere inconvenience, discomfort, or suboptimal surf quality does not constitute unsafe conditions unless the Instructor determines that proceeding would present an unreasonable risk of injury. See also the Risk Waiver & Release.

Both Customers and Instructors may propose rescheduling a confirmed Booking through the Platform. Rescheduling is voluntary and must be mutually agreed. If the other party does not accept the proposed new time within a reasonable period, the original Booking remains in effect or may be cancelled under the terms of this Policy.

If a Customer-initiated reschedule moves the Lesson to a time less than 24 hours from the original Lesson Start Time, the reschedule is treated as a late cancellation of the original Booking and a new Booking request for the rescheduled time, and standard refund rules apply to the original Booking.

Instructors receive payouts through Stripe Connect. If a refund or chargeback is issued for a Booking, AWECEAN may reverse, offset, or recover the corresponding instructor payout through Stripe Connect, including by debiting the Instructor's connected Stripe account or withholding funds from future payouts. The Instructor authorizes AWECEAN and Stripe to take these recovery actions.

Instructors are responsible for maintaining sufficient funds in their connected account or otherwise ensuring that payout reversals can be processed. Negative balances may be subject to Stripe's collection procedures.

Notwithstanding the default rules above, AWECEAN reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to issue a refund or credit in exceptional circumstances. These may include, without limitation: documented medical emergencies; documented technical failures of the Platform that prevent the Lesson from occurring; fraud or unauthorized transactions; or other circumstances that AWECEAN determines, in good faith, warrant an exception.

The existence of this discretionary authority does not create an automatic entitlement to a refund. Each request is evaluated individually. AWECEAN's decision is final and binding as to Platform-level refunds; it does not affect any separate legal rights the Customer may have against the Instructor or any chargeback rights with the Customer's bank.

AWECEAN may update this Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated by email to registered Users and by posting a revised version on the Platform with a new effective date. Bookings confirmed before the effective date of a change are governed by the Policy in effect at the time of confirmation, unless otherwise required by law.

For questions about cancellations, refunds, or this Policy, contact AWECEAN support at support@awecean.com.