New - Secure Payments Gateway for Bookings

The new booking system makes it easy for the club to offer a more secure way of paying for bookings. The eWay payment gateway conforms to financial industry security standards to protect the privacy of your card details.
We have delayed turning on this facility until the end of the priority booking period for members, AAC members and family.
On or about 15 March this facility will be turned on to allow you to pay easily and securely from within the booking system.

When you receive an invoice for your booking, log on to the booking system, and use menu Members/View My Bookings.

Find the booking you want to pay for and, click on Pay or Cancel Booking at the end of its row.

The booking details will be displayed. Scroll down to the bottom and see a group of buttons. Click Pay for this booking. This will take you to the eWay payment gateway. Enter your credit or debit card details and click Process transaction then wait until you are returned to the booking system page.

Do not attempt to pay before you receive an invoice. Premature payment will not confirm your booking. Similarly, it is safest to avoid paying the outstanding balance because you may inadvertently pay for bookings which have not yet been approved. If a paid-for booking cannot be approved there may be delay in organising a credit or refund.

The User Guide has been updated to include these instructions.

Please don't pay for bookings until you receive an invoice

Bookings need to be approved by the Booking Officer. From 1 February until 15 March, many bookings have to wait in accordance with the booking priority policy before they can be approved.
When you booking is approved, you will be emailed an Invoice. That is the time to pay.

Premature payment will not confirm a booking. There may be delays in organising a credit or refund if the booking cannot be aproved.

Tips for using the new booking system

Now that many members have used the new system, we can see that there some things that catch a few people out:

1. Make sure that you are up-to-date with subs and any other payments a few days before opening of bookings to allow time for the booking system to be updated.
2. Scroll to make sure all the dates that you want are visible on the screen before starting to select beds/dates.
3. Before selecting a bed, check which other beds in the room are already booked. Especially important if you are planning to add guests later.
4. At Step 2, you are asked to enter Guest's names. In this context, guests includes members and AAC members. 
5. As you type in the surname, the system will look for matches in its database and suggest these to you in a "drop-down". To get Member or AAC rates, you must select one of the suggested names. Otherwise the name won't be recognised and you will only be offered Guest rates.
6. For winter, the system will enforce the AAC rules for weekend bookings and any other  bookings that are not 5 or 7 days beginning on a Sunday (other than opening  weekend and race weekend). If you try to make such a booking, you will be asked if you would like to be waitlisted. In that case, the beds will not be held, but your interest will be noted and at the appropriate time (eg 19 days prior for members) the booking officer will see if your booking can be approved. This automates the informal practice where members have given the booking officer early notice that there were weekends that they would like if possible.
7. If you wish to book for more than 14 consecutive days (requires committee approval in peak), break up your booking so that no booking exceeds 14 days
8. If all else fails, read the instructions 😉

Do you have any tips to pass on to other members? Share them in the comments below.

Longest Lunch

It's on again on  this Friday 16 March. Barry Iddles from Elk will be catering for the Falls Creek Longest Lunch as part of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.
There are other special activities on offer over the weekend too.

More info

Eagle Chair Replacement

This project is well underway. The bowl is fenced off. Dismantling of the old lift started in late January. Gully car park is full on interesting new bits of chairlift. Helicopters will soon be busy putting the new towers in position.

Check out progress on the webcam

For those who came in late...
It will be a quad detachable in almost the same position as the old chair. The new chair will be much faster and will make it much easier to take beginners up to the excellent learning slope at Monkey Bar. The old lift was 37 years old and parts were very hard to get. A new alignment closer to Cloud 9 would have been lovely, but it was just too hard to get approval. Some parts of the old lift will be moved to Gully.

Annual Subscriptions

Just a reminder of these key dates that apply every year

• 15 January: last date to receive $50 Accommodation Voucher (adult members only)
• 31 January: due date for payments.
• 1 February: a late fee of $25 will apply to all outstanding accounts
• 1 April: an additional late fee of $25 will apply to all outstanding accounts

The onus is on members to pay by the due date. If you have not received your invoice by early January, you need to contact Jenny Noye at Proacct (03) 9880 9600.

Members cannot make bookings until subscriptions (and any other amounts owing) have been paid. Bookings for members open on 1 February. Payments may take a few days to be received and recorded in the booking system.

Working Bee 2018

The annual club working Bee will be Sat 5-Sun 6 May.

Working Bee weekend is the time when we get the lodge ready for the upcoming season. Professional services are used for major items, but we rely on members to do many of the tasks. We usually make a few improvements, but much of the work is maintaining and replenishing.

Attendance is optional. People with trade skills are particularly welcome, but all willing hands are appreciated.

Most people arrive late on Friday night. Andrew & Myra provide brekkie & lunch on Saturday & Sunday as well as Saturday dinner. It's great to stock up your locker and catch up with people before the season. For new members it is a great opportunity to meet old hands and quickly feel at home in the lodge. However it is first and foremost a working weekend.

The tasks very from year to year but typically would include

• moving firewood into the store
• stocktaking (eg cereal, juice, toilet paper)
• painting (eg walls, railings, architraves)
• cleaning & organising the kitchen cupboards & contents
• turning mattresses & mending protectors
• minor repairs
• small carpentry jobs
• small metalwork jobs
• checking & replacing light globes
• cleaning bathroom fans
• tidying & cleaning boiler room, ski room
• weeding and other gardening

If you can help this year, please contact our Lodge Supervisor Justin Checcucci

Save the date: AGM

The Annual General Meeting will be on Tue May 22nd at Royal Brighton Yacht Club

Don't forget that AGM notices and associated documents will now be sent by email, not post.

Make sure that your correct email address and mobile number are registered with the club. You can do this online or contact ProAcct jnoye@proacct.com.au or 0398809600.