Most sibling-discount disputes aren't caused by the discount. They're caused by the policy living in the operator's head. One family "got a deal last time," another did the math on the group chat, and suddenly you're arbitrating percentages.
The fix is a written policy — short, specific, published where parents book. Here's a template you can adapt in five minutes. Fill in the brackets, publish it on your site and in your booking flow, and apply it identically to everyone.
[Club/Camp name] — Sibling & Multi-Child Discount Policy
Effective: [date] | Applies to: [all programs / holiday camps / term courses]
1. The discount
- Second child: [10]% off program fees
- Third and subsequent children: [15]% off
- Discounts apply per booking, per additional child, on top of the first child's full price.
2. Who qualifies
- Children must be siblings from the same family/guardian account and booked under the same parent/guardian.
- Discounts apply to [term bookings / camp weeks / courses]: [list what qualifies].
- [Optional: The discount applies to standard pricing only and cannot be combined with early-bird or promotional rates.] ← pick one and stick to it
- [Optional: Member families receive member pricing instead of the sibling discount, whichever is greater — not both.]
3. How it's applied
- The discount is applied automatically at booking — no code, no request, no emailing the club.
- The discounted amount is shown on your invoice before payment.
- If a discount is missing from an invoice, contact us and we'll correct it — but with automatic application, that should be rare.
4. Cancellations and changes
- If one child cancels and only one remains booked, the discount no longer applies to the remaining booking(s) and the invoice is adjusted accordingly.
- Discounts are recalculated automatically if bookings change; you'll see the updated invoice in your parent portal.
5. Fair use
- One discount structure per family, applied consistently across all sessions.
- We may adjust rates between terms, but any booking made under the published policy keeps its terms for that booking.
Questions? [contact@email] — we'd rather answer the question than have you guess.
Operator notes (not for parents)
Why percentage-off-the-additional-child: it's the market-standard shape (10–15% second child), easy to communicate, and mathematically simple to automate. Capped structures ("max 3 children") protect margin if you have very large families in your area.
The three rules that prevent disputes:
- One policy, published. If it's not written down, it's negotiable — and you'll lose every negotiation.
- Automate the application. A discount applied by hand will eventually be applied inconsistently. In Club Term, sibling discounts are a rule: type, value, and scope (all programs or specific program types like holiday camps), applied automatically when the invoice is generated at booking. Member-only rates key off the family's membership flag, so member pricing never leaks to non-members.
- Never apply discounts as favors. An off-policy discount given quietly to one family is a pricing precedent you'll regret. If a family needs help, that's a hardship conversation — separate from the published policy.
Where to publish: your booking page, your registration confirmation email, and your FAQ. If parents have to ask, the policy isn't doing its job.
Automate your discount rules → — Club Term applies sibling, member, and holiday-camp discounts automatically at booking, on every invoice, with no spreadsheets involved.