*******************************************************
From June 5 onwards, telephone reservation for leisure facilities will have to be made at least three days in advance of using the facilities and payment will have to be made at least a day before using the facilities, a spokesman for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department announcing the new arrangements said today (May 22).
At present, hirers can reserve leisure facilities through the telephone reservation service from 7am to 9pm daily, and they can settle payment within three days from the day of making a reservation. This gives room to hirers to hold off payment until the day of using the facilities if they make the reservation two days or less in advance of the day of using the facilities.
The spokesman said the new arrangements would improve on the old system. Under the new arrangements, people would no longer be able to exploit the three-day payment period by making repeated bookings and cancellations and holding off payment until the last minute.
"The new measure requires payment for a booking to be made at least a day in advance of using the facility, thus lowering the chance of abuse and achieving better use of venue resources and reducing wastage," he said.
Hirers can still reserve leisure facilities within three days of using the facilities through the Leisure Link counter service, the Internet booking service and self-service kiosks with immediate payment, the spokesman added.
For enquiries regarding the new arrangements for Leisure Link telephone reservation, please call 2314 7702 or visit the following website: w1.leisurelink.lcsd.gov.hk/index/index.jsp.
Ends/Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Issued at HKT 14:00
NNNN
