Recreation Guy

It’s no secret that the economy is still in bad shape. Parents still want to send their kids to camp though.

Not long ago I spoke with a neighboring recreation department and they told me that last year they offered payment plans for camp. It was sort of like a lay-away plan. The recreation office would take a deposit and then bill their credit or debit card monthly until the balance was paid off. The monthly payments were based on how far out summer was.

Because of the extra administration time it took to set up and track the payment plan, there was a nominal service charge added. The normal cancellation policies and fees still applied.

I was told that a handful of parents took advantage of the payment plans for their summer camps, and were very grateful for the service.

I think it’s a great idea. It’s definitely something parents would talk about to others. In fact, why not offer payment plans for after school programs as well?