Terms & Conditions Acceptance vs. Signatures: What Parks Should Know

Overview

Some campgrounds wonder if requiring a guest signature at the time of booking helps prevent chargebacks or enforces cancellation policies. In practice, this isn’t standard or recommended.

Requiring a signature adds friction to the booking process without providing stronger protection against disputes. Instead, having guests acknowledge your terms and conditions via a checkbox, and keeping clear, accessible records of those terms is sufficient and considered best practice.

Key Points

1. Checkbox Acceptance is Sufficient

Guests checking a box to acknowledge your terms and conditions is enough to demonstrate agreement. A signature does not provide additional protection against chargebacks.

The images and soundless clip below show the guest view and required acceptance of terms & conditions during online check out. 

 

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2. Display Policies Clearly on Your Website

It’s important to make your park’s rules, policies, and terms and conditions easy for guests to find on your website, ideally before they begin the booking process. This helps reinforce expectations early and gives guests the opportunity to review your policies in advance.

Clear visibility of your cancellation, refund, and property rules not only supports smoother guest experiences but can also help reduce the likelihood of disputes later.

The soundless clip below shows an example of policies clearly displayed on a campground's website.

3. Signatures Are Not Standard in the Industry

In the broader travel and hospitality industry, it’s uncommon to require a signature at the time of booking. Most hotels, airlines, and vacation rental platforms, such as Airbnb and Vrbo, confirm reservations without this extra step.

If requiring a signature offered a clear advantage in preventing chargebacks, it would likely already be standard practice across these major brands.

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4. Card Network Requirements

Major card networks, like Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover, do not require a signature to prove a guest agreed to your terms.

Each allows electronic evidence (like a booking confirmation or a checked box acknowledging your policies) as sufficient proof in the event of a dispute.

In other words, a signature isn’t needed to meet card network requirements.

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5. When Signatures Are Used

Signatures are typically required at check-in, not at booking, to limit liability or ensure compliance with facility rules. In Campspot, you can require a signature on the T&C either prior to or at check-in.

Guests have the option to complete the signature during the online express check-in process or in person upon arrival. 

Learn more about our online express check-in feature at our support article [HERE].

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Takeaways

• A signature at the time of booking isn’t necessary to protect your business from chargebacks. Instead, it’s best reserved for check-in when guests are on-site and can acknowledge property rules or liability waivers in person.
• The checkbox in the booking flow serves as the industry-standard way to confirm that guests have reviewed and accepted your terms and conditions online. This provides sufficient documentation should a chargeback occur.
• Finally, focus on clear, visible communication of your cancellation and refund policies—both in confirmation emails and on your website—to help reduce disputes before they start.

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Chargeback Guidance

While signatures at booking aren’t required, it’s still important to understand how to handle disputes if they arise. Many payment processors provide guidance on best practices for chargebacks.

For example, Fiserv offers a helpful dispute handling guide that outlines steps to document and respond to disputes effectively.

Keeping clear records of your terms, cancellation policies, and guest acknowledgments, like the checkbox in the booking flow, supports your case in the event of a chargeback.