Most teachers require a fee and travel expenses, as someone said this can be quite expensive for a guild to put on and have no shows, this guarantees they are not out a lot of money paying for the teacher. 25 dollars is really not that much as some teachers fees can be into the hundreds and if they are traveling out of state you also have to pay travel fees if its a well known teacher. I have seen some of the fees of some of my favorite quilters to teach workshops and guilds, they can be even in the thousands. Believe me there are expenses they can't recoup if you and several others decide not to show, and what is the true likelihood of an emergency. Even at a quilt show there is a date you can get a refund by, but it is not the day of and then you are out even more than 25 dollars