*****************************************************
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) announced today (May 30) that the penalty imposed on organisation hirers with priority booking status who failed to take up booked sessions without timely cancellation (a "no-show") would be tightened from June 1.
A spokesman for the department said the Conditions of Use of Recreation and Sports Facilities have been revised to tighten the no-show penalty on organisation hirers. To increase the deterrent effect, an organisation hirer that fails to take up its booked sessions on two occasions within 12 months will have its priority booking status suspended, as opposed to the current system whereby penalty will be imposed if a no-show occurs on four occasions within 12 months.
Under the revised guidelines, if an organisation cannot take up a booked session at a leisure facility, it should notify the LCSD to cancel its booking no less than 20 days before the date of the facility booking, so that the session can be released for public booking. A default notice will be served on the organisation if it breaches the above condition and fails to give a valid reason for its no-show. Within 12 months after the serving of the first default notice, if the organisation concerned breaches the condition in respect of the same venue for a second time without giving a valid reason, the Department will serve a second default notice notifying that its priority booking status has been suspended for six months in respect of all land-based leisure facilities in the same district.
The spokesman said the revision was made in response to the recommendations made by the Ombudsman on improving the booking mechanism for leisure and sports facilities, and after a review of the prevailing penalty system and the actual operation.
"Public demand for recreation and sports facilities has always been keen. There have been instances where organisation hirers did not take up their booked facilities and failed to give us advance notice, thus causing wastage of facility resources. We believe that the above measure could help reduce the chance of organisation hirers not taking up booked sessions so as to achieve better utilisation of resources and avoid wastage," he said.
"We believe that with the shortening of the notice period for cancellation of bookings from 40 to 20 days since June 2013, organisation hirers are now in a better position to assess whether they can actually take up the use of the booked sessions, and inform us 20 days in advance," the spokesman added.
At present, organisations such as schools, National Sports Associations, district sports organisations and corporations can enjoy priority booking status with an advance booking period from three to 12 months. The LCSD has written to inform them of the revised penalty system.
As for individual hirers, the LCSD is now formulating administrative penalty measures to deal with the problems of no-shows, unauthorised transfer of user permits, and abusive use of concessionary rates. The measures, to be rolled out shortly after the upgrading of the computerised system, will be announced in due course.
For details of the revised penalty system for breaches of bookings and uses of land-based recreation and sports facilities by organisation hirers, please refer to the LCSD webpage (www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/ls_fac_improve.php) or contact the venue staff of Leisure Link Services counters.
Ends/Friday, May 30, 2014
Issued at HKT 16:30
NNNN
