SXSW and Ultra Music Festival Will Not Be Giving Refunds After Canceling Due to Coronavirus

written by @kaylabrantley

The annual Ultra Music Festival will not be issuing refunds to disappointed festival-goers after the events were canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Instead, the festival will honor tickets when they return next year.

In an email sent to ticket-holders Monday, Ultra said tickets for this year’s festival will “remain valid and will be honored at either the 2021 or 2022 Ultra Miami event”, the Miami Herald reports.

According to festival organizers, the event is not canceled but postponed until next year. Customers have 30 days to decide if they will attend the 2021 or 2022 festival. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Tickets range from $50-$800.

In the meantime, SXSW, held in Austin, Texas, every year, is sticking by their no refund policy, as well. Tickets range from $800 to almost $2,000.

“Any and all payments made to SXSW are not refundable for any reason, including, without limitation, failure to use Credentials due to illness, acts of God, travel-related problems, acts of terrorism, loss of employment and/or duplicate purchases,’ the website said.

SXSW co-founder Roland Swenson told the American-Statesman that the festival does not have an insurance policy for such a virus and that the company is hurting badly. SXSW even laid off a third of its employees Monday.

In a statement, SXSW said the company “has been rigorously reviewing our operations, and we are in the unimaginable position of reducing our workforce. We are planning for the future, and this was a necessary, but heartbreaking step.”

There have so far been 804 confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. and 28 deaths.