How does the reservation process work?

STEP 1: SIGN THE COVID POLICY ACKNOWLEGEMENT

Prior to making your first reservation, your facility must submit a signed acknowledgement of our COVID-19 and Public Health Policy. This is to ensure that we are all on the same page and to avoid last minute cancellations that will only disappoint your residents and create administrative costs on both ends. This acknowledgement may require recompletion annually, or more frequently if policies are updated.

Contact the Zoo Education Department at zooeducation@lafayette.in.gov to get the process started!

STEP 2: WE WILL SET YOU UP AS A CLIENT

Once your facility has submitted this acknowledgement, we will set your facility up in our reservation system, CivicRec, as an approved client for Creature Comforts. (You need not interact with CivicRec or maintain any facility accounts – it is simply the system we use internally to ensure we adhere to state accounting rules for publicly-owned institutions.)

Each facility can have a single organizational account. However, facilities with multiple wings (memory care, assisted living, etc) can have separate sub-accounts each with their own contact person if you prefer. Your invoice will list your facility, the sub-account (if applicable) for which the service was reserved, the fee billed for the reservation, and a total account balance which will reflect all open invoices for all sub-accounts. Sorry, we are unable to adjust the way your invoice appears. You can view a sample invoice on our website at the link here:  https://www.lafayette.in.gov/DocumentCenter/View/14630/Creature-Comforts-Sample-Invoice-Explanation

STEP 3: RESERVE YOUR DATE AND TIME

Contact our Education Department at zooeducation@lafayette.in.gov to reserve your date and time. You can also reserve by phone by calling (765) 807-1555. We are a small team with a very busy program schedule, so we appreciate your patience in receiving a call back.  Email is generally the most efficient way to reach us!

STEP 4: WE’LL INVOICE YOU

Once you have made a reservation, you will receive an invoice and a copy of our W-9 by email. This email will generally come from do_not_reply@lafayette.in.gov or from zooeducation@lafayette.in.gov. We will send one invoice per visit date. This invoice will reflect a due date of 30 days after your scheduled visit. Facilities with unpaid balances more than 90 days past due will be unable to schedule additional programs until their account is brought up to date.

Please note, for facilities working within a larger parent corporation: We understand that some such facilities use an accounts payable system which requires account creation and submission of invoices through a third-party platform. We are happy to work with you to get the Zoo set up initially as an approved vendor and will provide a W-9 with each invoice. We can also provide a certificate of insurance upon request. However, we are unable to submit invoices through third-party website or vendor management systems – due to the volume and diversity of programs we book, we simply do not have the administrative manpower to track and manage multiple different submission systems. We will send the invoice to you, and you may submit it through your own internal AP system as necessary. Likewise, we are unable to hold invoices or send them to you on a specific schedule. All invoices will be created and sent within a few days of making your reservation. You may always request a duplicate copy at a later date if you misplace one, or another need arises and we can happily send it again.

Show All Answers

1. What is a Creature Comforts program?
2. When is the Creature Comforts Program available?
3. How far do you travel?
4. What animals will you bring?
5. What type of space do you need to set-up?
6. What are your COVID-19 policies?
7. What are your payment policies?
8. How does the reservation process work?
9. What is the cancellation/reschedule policy?
10. Do you offer monthly visit packages?