Booking Conditions
The following Booking Conditions and the Property Holiday Information form the basis of your agreement with Hoseasons Villas, a trading name of Hoseasons Holidays Abroad Ltd, registered in England No: 1814765. Registered Address: Surrey House, Raglan Road, Lowerstoft, Suffolk NR32 2LW. (‘Hoseasons’ and ‘we’) and the property owner/other suppliers. Please read this information carefully.
Special Note: Hoseasons acts as agents for the owners of the properties we feature. We also act as agents for the ferry companies and other service providers mentioned in our brochure and on our website. When making your holiday arrangements, we do so as agents for these third parties with whom you will have a contract. Hoseasons Holidays Abroad Ltd is an appointed representative of Hoseasons Holidays Ltd which is authorised and regulated by The Financial Services Authority No: 312463.
1. BOOKING & PAYMENT
You must book in accordance with the booking information pages at the back of our brochure and on our website. The information and requirements contained in the brochure and on our website form part of your contract. We do not automatically remind you that payment is due. Failure to pay the full holiday cost when due may result in our treating the booking as cancelled by you and cancellation charges may be applied as set out in Para 7 below. Hoseasons reserve the right to treat a dishonoured cheque as a cancellation of booking, or apply an administration charge. Any booking request may be declined before confirmation without a reason being given. Except for flight inclusive bookings, all monies you pay to one of our authorised travel agents for your holiday with us will be held by the agent on your behalf until we issue our confirmation invoice. After that point, your agent will hold the monies on our behalf. For flight inclusive bookings, all monies paid to such agents for your holiday with us will be held on our behalf until they are paid to us or refunded to you.
2. THE CONTRACT
A binding contract between you and the owner(s) of your confirmed property and/or the provider(s) of other confirmed services will come into existence on completion of the booking process. All parties agree that this contract is deemed to have been made at the UK offices of Hoseasons. The contract, and all matters arising out of it, is governed by English Law and any dispute, claim or other matter of any description shall be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales.
3. INSURANCE
You are recommended to take up our Holiday Insurance. The necessary premium is included in your deposit. You must tell us if you wish to arrange your own insurance in which case it must be at least comparable with, or superior to, our insurance. Please read your policy details carefully and take them with you on holiday. It is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance cover you purchase is adequate for your particular needs. We do not check alternative insurance policies. All insurance premiums include Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) at the applicable rate and are subject to change if the rate or application of IPT changes. In the event of a change in the rate of IPT during the course of the year, you will be invoiced at the rate applying on the date you purchased the insurance. Please note that our insurance only covers persons aged 85 years or under at the date your policy is issued..
4. SURCHARGES
The prices quoted in this brochure and on our website are based on known costs and an exchange rate of 1.42 Euros to 1 pound. Once the price of your chosen holiday has been confirmed at the time of booking, we will only increase or decrease it in the following circumstances: Price increases or decreases after booking will be passed on by way of a surcharge or refund. A surcharge or refund (as applicable) will be payable, subject to the conditions set out in this clause, if our costs increase or decrease as a result of transportation costs or dues, taxes or fees payable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports or airports increasing or decreasing, or our costs increase or decrease as a result of any changes in the exchange rates which have been used to calculate the cost of your holiday. Even in the above cases, only if the amount of the increase in our costs exceeds 2% of the total cost of your holiday (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), will we levy a surcharge. If any surcharge is greater than 10% of the cost of your holiday (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), you will be entitled to choose one of the three options detailed in clause 10 below. Although insurance (where purchased through us) does not form part of your contract with us or of any “package”, we will consider an appropriate refund of any insurance premiums you have paid us if you can show you are unable to use/reuse or transfer your policy in the event of cancellation or purchase of an alternative holiday. Please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place. A refund will only be payable if the decrease in our costs exceeds 2% as set out above. Where a refund is due, we will pay you the full amount of the decrease in our costs. You have 14 days from the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice to tell us if you want to cancel or purchase another holiday. If you do not tell us that you wish to do so within this period of time, we are entitled to assume that you will pay the surcharge. Any surcharge must be paid with the balance of the cost of the holiday or within 14 days of the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice, whichever is the later. We promise not to levy a surcharge within 30 days of the start of your holiday. Please note, changes and errors occasionally occur. You must check the price of your chosen holiday at the time of booking..
Even in the above cases, only if the amount of the increase in our costs exceeds 2% of the total cost of your holiday (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), will we levy a surcharge. If any surcharge is greater than 10% of the cost of your holiday (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), you will be entitled to choose one of the three options detailed in clause 10 below. Although insurance (where purchased through us) does not form part of your contract with us or of any “package”, we will consider an appropriate refund of any insurance premiums you have paid us if you can show you are unable to use/reuse or transfer your policy in the event of cancellation or purchase of an alternative holiday.
Please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place. A refund will only be payable if the decrease in our costs exceeds 2% as set out above. Where a refund is due, we will pay you the full amount of the decrease in our costs. You have 14 days from the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice to tell us if you want to cancel or purchase another holiday. If you do not tell us that you wish to do so within this period of time, we are entitled to assume that you will pay the surcharge. Any surcharge must be paid with the balance of the cost of the holiday or within 14 days of the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice, whichever is the later.
We promise not to levy a surcharge within 30 days of the start of your holiday.
Please note, changes and errors occasionally occur. You must check the price of your chosen holiday at the time of booking.
5. PRICES
Prices quoted are inclusive of gas, water, electricity and taxe de séjour unless otherwise stated. They are based on normal consumption (electricity 8kw per day). Excessive use of any of these services may incur an additional charge, which may be collected locally by the property owner, or by us. Verbal quotations are not binding. We reserve the right to correct errors in advertised prices of unsold holidays. Please note: changes and errors occasionally occur. You must check the price of your chosen holiday at the time of booking. When booking online on our website, the price is confirmed on acknowledgement of your booking and not before.
6. LIABILITY
The accommodation and transport services featured in this brochure and on our website belong to and are managed by independent owners and suppliers. We act as agents for property owners and service providers. Once your holiday is confirmed, we promise to make sure that all parts of the holiday which we and/or the property owners and other suppliers have agreed to make, perform or provide as part of your contract are made, performed or provided with reasonable care and skill. This means that we will accept responsibility if, for example, you suffer death or personal injury or your contracted holiday arrangements are not provided as promised or prove deficient as a result of the failure of ourselves, our employees, agents or suppliers to use reasonable skill and care in making, performing or providing, as applicable, your contracted holiday arrangements. Please note it is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make a claim against us. In addition, we will only be responsible for what our employees, agents and suppliers do or do not do if they were at the time acting within the course of their employment (for employees) or carrying out work we had asked them to do (for agents and suppliers). We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss (for example loss of enjoyment), damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which results from the following :-
• the fault of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or
• the fault of a third party not connected with the provision of your holiday which neither we nor the property owner nor other supplier (as applicable) could have predicted or avoided or
• ‘Force majeure’ as defined below In addition, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss, expense or other sum(s) of any description (1) which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you or (2) which did not result from any breach of contract or other fault by ourselves or our employees or, where we are responsible for them, our suppliers.
Additionally we cannot accept liability for any business losses. Please note we cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of your contract. This includes, for example, any additional services or facilities which the property owner/supplier of the services in question agrees to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised in our brochure or on our website and we have not agreed to arrange them. In addition, regardless of any wording used by us on our website, in any of our brochures or elsewhere, we only promise to use reasonable skill and care as set out above and we do not have any greater or different liability to you. The promises we make to you about the services we have agreed to provide or arrange as part of your contract – and the laws and regulations of the country in which your claim or complaint occurred – will be used as the basis for deciding whether the services in question had been properly provided. If the particular services which gave rise to the claim or complaint complied with local laws and regulations applicable to those services at the time, the services will be treated as having been properly provided. This will be the case even if the services did not comply with the laws and regulations of the UK which would have applied had those services been provided in the UK. The exception to this is where the claim or complaint concerns the absence of a safety feature which might lead a reasonable holiday maker to refuse to take the holiday in question. As set out in these booking conditions we limit the maximum amount we may have to pay you for any claims you may make against us. For all claims which do not involve death or personal injury, if we are found liable to you on any basis the maximum amount we will have to pay you is twice the price (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges) paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total unless a lower limitation applies to your claim as discussed below. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your holiday. Where any claim or part of a claim (including those involving death or personal injury) concerns or is based on any travel arrangements (including the process of getting on and/or off the transport concerned) provided by any air, sea or rail carrier or any stay in a hotel, the maximum amount of compensation we will have to pay you will be limited. The most we will have to pay you for that claim or that part of a claim if we are found liable to you on any basis is the most the carrier or hotel keeper concerned would have to pay under the international convention or regulation which applies to the travel arrangements or hotel stay in question (for example, the Warsaw Convention as amended or unamended and the Montreal Convention for international travel by air and/or for airlines with an operating licence granted by an EU country, the EC Regulation on Air Carrier Liability No 889/2002 for national and international travel by air, the Athens convention for international travel by sea). Please note: Where a carrier or hotel keeper would not be obliged to make any payment to you under the applicable international convention or regulation in respect of a claim or part of a claim, we similarly are not obliged to make a payment to you for that claim or part of the claim. When making any payment, we are entitled to deduct any money which you have received or are entitled to receive from the transport provider or hotelier for the complaint or claim in question. You must provide us and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require. You must also tell us and the property owner/supplier concerned about your claim or complaint as set out in clause 13 below. If asked to do so, you must transfer to us or our insurers any rights you have against the property owner/supplier or whoever else is responsible for your claim or complaint (if the person concerned is under 18, their parent or guardian must do so). You must also agree to cooperate fully with us and our insurers if we or our insurers want to enforce any rights which are transferred. Many of the services which make up your holiday are provided by independent suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions. These terms and conditions may exclude or limit their liability to you, usually in accordance with international conventions. A copy of these conditions may be obtained from us on request. A full list of all passenger names and ages must be provided at the time of booking to comply with legislation. We regret we, the property owners and other service providers cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our respective contractual obligations is prevented or affected by, or you otherwise suffer any damage or loss (as more fully described above) as a result of ‘force majeure’. In these booking conditions ‘force majeure’ means any event which we, the property owners or other supplier(s) of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include adverse weather conditions, water restrictions, war, threat of war, civil strife, industrial action, natural or nuclear disaster, fire (including forest fires), epidemics, terrorism, Acts of God, closure of ports, governmental action and all other events outside our/their control. If you or any member of your party suffers illness, injury or death, through misadventure, as a result of an activity which does not form part of your contracted holiday arrangements, we will provide you with all reasonable assistance. This assistance may include our making a contribution towards your initial legal costs in taking action against the person(s) responsible providing you request this within 90 days of the incident in question. All assistance (financial or otherwise) is subject to our reasonable discretion and a maximum total cost to ourselves of £5,000 per booking form. If you are entitled to have any costs and expenses arising from such an incident met by or from any insurance policy or if you obtain a costs order against anyone in relation to the incident, you must repay to us the costs and expenses we spend in assisting you.
7. IF YOU CANCEL YOUR HOLIDAY
Should you or any other member of your party need to cancel your confirmed holiday, cancellation charges will be payable as detailed below. Please note, cancellations can only be accepted from the party leader, in writing. We strongly recommend that notices of cancellation are sent to our office in Fareham by recorded delivery or on email with request for a read-receipt. The cancellation charge is calculated from the date we receive written notification. NB Some transport providers may impose stricter and/or different cancellation charges/cancellation timetables. Where applicable to your booking, you will be advised of these at the time of booking.
| France | |
|---|---|
|
Period before scheduled departure date within which written cancellation is received |
Cancellation charges as % of total costs date (excluding insurance premiums, and amendment charges) |
| More than 90 days | 30% |
| 90 - 57 days | 50% |
| 56 days or less | 100% |
| Spain, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus & Gozo | |
|
Period before scheduled departure date within which written cancellation is received |
Cancellation charges as % of total costs date (excluding insurance premiums, and amendment charges) |
| More than 42 days | 30% |
| 42 – 29 days | 60% |
| 28 – 15 days | 80% |
| 14 – 1 day/s | 90% |
| Day of departure | 100% |
Insurance premiums and amendment charges are non-refundable in any event.
8. DAMAGES AND SECURITY PREMIUMS
You are required to have personal insurance that covers you for accidental damage and personal liability. We reserve the right to request proof of your insurance at any time, if you have not taken out our own policy. You will be required to check and sign an inventory on your arrival at the property. If at this time you discover that anything is missing or damaged then this must be reported to the owner/keyholder immediately otherwise it will be presumed that the damage/loss was caused by yourselves and a charge will be made. In the event of any damage, breakages, losses, additional cleaning or other costs including supplements for any additional guests not previously notified to us, charges may be made by the owner/keyholder on site or by ourselves. We and the owner reserve the right to pursue you for any costs relating to a property left excessively dirty, and any breakages or damage to the material structure of the property. All costs will be charged at 1.42 Euros to the pound. All bookings will be subject to a non-refundable insurance security premium and/or breakage deposit. All details are provided on your Confirmation Invoice. This insurance premium provides cover for the cost of any minor damage and/or breakages caused by you in, at or to the property and is payable to us with the final balance. If the insurance security premium is not sufficient to cover the cost of any breakages and/or damage caused, you will be responsible for full payment of any additional charges, costs and/or losses incurred on request. If you prefer not to pay the non-refundable insurance security premium then you will be asked to pay a refundable security deposit of £500 to Hoseasons at the time of booking. If you have not caused any damage and/or breakages as described above, the security deposit will be returned to you in full within 3 weeks of your return. In a few properties, you will be required to lodge a security deposit directly with the property owner for the duration of your holiday. This is specified on each property description, if applicable.
9. IF YOU CHANGE YOUR HOLIDAY
Requests for amendments after your booking has been confirmed must be in writing. If it is possible to make the amendment, we will charge a £30 administration fee together with any costs or charges imposed by our suppliers and any applicable increase in the price if the amendment relates to a change of date. Amendments after ferry tickets have been issued will incur a £50 fee plus any charges or fees imposed by the ferry company. For flight inclusive bookings, you must pay the charges levied by the airline concerned. As most airlines do not permit name changes after tickets have been issued for any reason, these charges are likely to be the full cost of the flight.
10. IF YOUR HOLIDAY IS CHANGED OR CANCELLED
Occasionally, changes have to be made and errors corrected in the brochure, on the website and other details both before and after bookings have been confirmed, and confirmed bookings cancelled. Whilst changes and cancellations are always avoided where possible, we must reserve the right to do so on behalf of the property owners and other service providers.
Most changes are minor. Occasionally, a ‘significant change’ has to be made. When we refer to a ‘significant change’ in these Booking Conditions we mean one or more of the following changes where made before departure: change of departure point to one which is significantly more inconvenient to you, change of outward departure time and overall length of time you are away of twelve hours or more, a change of property to that of a lower standard for the whole or a major part of your holiday, a change of area outside a 40 mile radius of the one originally confirmed, or an advertised swimming pool being withdrawn for an extended period, provided that our UK office has been informed. All other changes are treated as minor changes. N.B. A withdrawn or unavailable property is a cancellation. If a booking has to be cancelled or significant change made, we will tell you as soon as possible. If there is time to do so before departure, you will be offered a choice of accepting the changed arrangements (for significant changes) or booking an alternative property where available from our brochure/ property supplement (if the alternative arrangements are less expensive than the original ones we will refund the difference, but if they are more expensive you will have to pay the difference), or accepting the cancellation, in which case we will refund all monies paid to us. Please note the above options are not available where any change made is a minor one. If your holiday has to be cancelled or a significant change made 8 weeks or less before departure, we will in addition pay you compensation as set out below depending on the circumstances and when the significant change or cancellation is notified to you, subject to the following exceptions. Compensation will not be payable and no liability beyond offering the above mentioned choices can be accepted where a change or cancellation results from unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care or when the property you have booked is withdrawn due to lack of bookings - in the latter case you will be notified not less than 2 weeks prior to your scheduled departure date. No compensation will be payable where cancellation results from your failure to make all payments due in full and on time.
| Period before departure when significant change or cancellation is notified to you | Compensation per person (excluding children under 4) |
|---|---|
| More than 8 weeks |
NIL |
| 28 - 56 days |
£20.00 |
| 14 - 27 days |
£25.00 |
| 13 days or less |
£30.00 |
In all cases, our liability and that of the property owner/other supplier(s) for significant changes and cancellations is limited to offering you the above-mentioned options and, where applicable, compensation payments. We regret that no expenses, costs or losses, incurred by you as a result of any change or cancellation to your accommodation booking can be paid. This includes transport and accommodation arrangements booked independently by you. No compensation is payable for minor changes or where a change or cancellation is made more than 8 weeks before departure. Where you receive, or are due to receive compensation from any transport operator, other supplier or insurance policy, this will be deducted from any compensation payable by us. Very rarely, due to ‘force majeure’ (see clause 6) it may be necessary to change or terminate your holiday after departure but before the scheduled end of your time away. This is extremely unlikely but if this situation does occur we regret we will be unable to make any refunds (unless we obtain any refunds from our suppliers), pay you any compensation or meet any costs or expenses you incur as a result.
11. TRANSPORT
One-way ferry bookings cannot be made under any circumstances nor can refunds be made in respect of unused portions of a ticket. This brochure and our website are our sole responsibility. They are not issued on behalf of and do not commit any independent organisation/carriers whose services are featured on them. We are unable to offer any assistance in the event of a delay to your flight and any such assistance is the responsibility of, and at the discretion of, the carrier.
12. TRAVEL DOCUMENTS
You are responsible for your party’s passports, insurance documents, inoculations etc. For British citizens, a full ten-year British passport (but no visa) is required. A full British passport presently takes approximately 8 weeks to obtain. If you or any member of your party is 16 or over and haven’t yet got a passport, our recommendation is that you should apply for one at least 6 weeks before your holiday. The UK Passport Service has to confirm your identity before issuing your first passport and from October 2006 will ask you to attend an interview in order to do this. Requirements may change and you must check the up-to-date position in good time before departure. Information on health is contained on the Department of Health website (www.dh.gov.uk) or in the Department of Health leaflet T7.1 (Health Advice for Travellers). For European holidays you should obtain a European Health Insurance Card prior to departure. You can apply for the card online, by post or on the phone. E111’s are no longer valid. If you or any member of your party is not a British citizen or holds a non-British passport, you must check passport and visa requirements with the Embassy or Consulate of the country(ies) to or through which you are intending to travel.
13. COMPLAINTS
(a) If you have a justifiable complaint concerning your holiday, then you must first try to resolve it with the owner/keyholder/other supplier yourself. (b) If they are unable to resolve the complaint, or you experience problems with the owner/keyholder/ other supplier, you must contact our UK office or the Emergency Contact number as indicated in the key details and request assistance, so that the matter can be resolved on the spot. You must give us the opportunity to try to resolve any problems or complaints you may have whilst you are at the property. Any refusal of this or of reasonable rectification may prejudice your rights to compensation or repayment. Please ensure you leave a telephone number and a time for us to contact you back. If your phone is a mobile, ensure it is switched on and that you are in a clear reception area. We may need time to make arrangements. Owners/keyholders/repair people must be given access to the property if you have a problem. We reserve the right to contact the owner/ keyholder/other supplier at any time during this process, and you must agree to meet with the owner/keyholder directly to discuss any situation which may arise. We also reserve the right to send an independent witness to the property to establish facts. This person is not available to make direct comment. If despite having contacted us the problem remains unresolved, it is essential that you contact our UK office again as we are entitled to assume that you are satisfied if we do not hear from you again. (c) You must not independently move to other accommodation without first allowing our UK office the opportunity to assist you in resolving your complaint or problem. If you do so, or you refuse reasonable rectification, you may prejudice your rights to compensation or repayment. (d) You must also formally confirm your complaint in writing to us within 21 days of your return from holiday. (e) We will deal with all observations and/or comments received in writing. (f) We cannot accept liability in respect of any claims which are not notified entirely in accordance with this paragraph. In the unlikely event that disputes arising out of, or in connection with your contract, cannot be settled amicably between us we can offer you an arbitration scheme. The arbitration scheme is arranged by ABTA and administered independently by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. It provides for a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on you in respect of costs. Full details will be provided on request or can be obtained from the ABTA website http://www.abta.com/heretohelp.shtml. The Scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £5,000 per person. There is also a limit of £25,000 per booking form. Neither does it to apply to claims which are solely in respect of physical injury or illness or their consequences. The Scheme can however deal with compensation claims which include an element of minor injury or illness subject to a limit of £1,000 on the amount the arbitrator can award per person in respect of this element. The application for arbitration and Statement of Claim must be received by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators within nine months of the date of return from the holiday. Outside this time limit arbitration under the Scheme may still be available if the company agrees, but the ABTA Code does not require such agreement. For injury and illness claims, you may like to use the ABTA / Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Mediation Procedure. This is a voluntary scheme and requires us to agree for mediation to go ahead. The aim is to help you resolve your dispute in a quick and cost effective way. Details on request or from www.abta.com.
14. BROCHURE AND WEBSITE ACCURACY
We have taken care to ensure accuracy at the time of publication of our brochure and continuously with the website. We cannot be held responsible for changes occurring after publication throughout the year, or for information relating to third parties. We will endeavour to inform you of any material inaccuracies or changes of which we receive notice. Some temporary changes, e.g. swimming pool maintenance, fixtures, fittings, features and facilities cannot be predicted. Distances and sizes quoted are approximate. Recent legislation requires all pools in France to have an appropriate security system installed. The information provided for each property’s security system may be subject to change and you should check before booking. Not all pool photos available show fencing or their designated security system to comply with the legislation, and as such the images shown in the photos may have changed slightly by the time of your visit. Also certain items in photos (furnishings, etc) are subject to change, and may not always be exactly as shown. Regrettably, errors in information and prices do occasionally occur. You must therefore ensure you check all details of your chosen holiday (including the price) with us at the time of booking..
15. THE ACCOMMODATION
Europeans have vastly different standards in terms of electrical fittings, plumbing, ventilation, decoration and building requirements, although properties conform to local building standards. Many properties have septic tanks and not mains sewerage, and occasionally an odour may be noticeable. Houses often have steep and open staircases and some do not have banisters. It is not unusual for there to be bare electrical wires and often lights do not have lampshades. Furniture may be old, the décor may not be to your taste and mattresses may not be as comfortable as your own. Many houses are shut up during the winter months and therefore may appear musty on arrival. If your property is particularly old or rustic be prepared for patches of damp or cracks in the plaster. Please note, it is the requirements and standards of the country in which any services which make up your holiday are provided which apply to those services and not those of the UK. .The monitoring, enforcement and compliance with such regulations and standards is the responsibility of the specific authorities and the supplier of the services concerned. Clients must take all reasonable precautions to protect themselves whilst on holiday. In certain respects, a European countries’ safety standards may be lower than those of the UK. You will be expected to provide basics such as toilet rolls, cleaning materials, cooking basics, bin liners, etc. Remember that you are staying in someone’s private property. Treat the accommodation and its furnishings and fittings carefully. Please respect your neighbours and avoid causing noise and/or any nuisance. Some European countries have laws prohibiting noise and disturbance after 10pm. Electric fences, which may adjoin your property, are not dangerous and must be accepted. The maximum party size in each property is stated in the description. This figure includes children under the age of 4. Changes to the numbers quoted at the time of booking must be requested in writing in advance of the clients’ arrival at the property. We must be informed of any guests, not advised to us at the time of booking, staying at the property or using the property’s facilities, for which an additional charge may be payable. Pitching tents or parking caravans to accommodate more people than the maximum is strictly forbidden. Animals are not allowed in the properties without permission. Take sensible security precautions and ensure all windows are closed and doors locked, and any alarm system where fitted is set when leaving the property. Certain areas of Europe, especially France, Spain and Portugal are subject to forest fires, the use of barbeques may be restricted and incur heavy fines, even if our description shows a barbeque is available. Please ensure that you check before using one. Property owners enter a contract with you on the condition that you abide by these simple rules and that the occupation of the property is not connected with any professional or commercial purpose.
16. BEHAVIOUR
When you book with us, you accept responsibility for any damage or loss caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or loss must be paid direct at the time to the accommodation owner or manager or other supplier. If you fail to do so, you will be responsible for meeting any claims subsequently made against us (together with our own and the other party’s full legal costs) as a result of your actions. We expect all clients to have consideration for other people. If in our reasonable opinion or in the reasonable opinion of any other person in authority, you or any member of your party behave in such a way as to cause or be likely to cause danger, upset or distress to any third party or damage to property, we or any person in authority are entitled, without prior notice, to terminate the holiday of the person(s) concerned. In this situation, the person(s) concerned will be required to leave the accommodation or other service. We will have no further responsibility toward such person(s) including any return travel arrangements. No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination. Although pets may be allowed at certain properties, in the interest of safety we are unable to accept the following types of dog in accordance with government legislation: American Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Fila Brasileiro and Dogo Argentino even where these types of dog are muzzled as required by government legislation.
17. ARRIVAL & DEPARTURE
You must arrive at your property between 2pm and 8pm (In France between 4pm and 8pm), and depart by 10am. If you arrive later than 8pm you may not be able to access your property and will have to make alternative accommodation arrangements until the following day. You are responsible for any resulting cost. It is imperative that you contact the keyholder at least 24 hours beforehand to make alternative arrangements. On departure clients are expected to remove all their personal items including all foodstuffs, empty fridges/freezers, empty all bins, empty dishwasher and filter, flush toilets, wash up and put away all used kitchen equipment, return all items to their original positions, wipe surfaces, sweep floors and dispose of all household rubbish at the designated disposal point. The property must be left as clean as you would expect to find it. Failure to do so will incur costs to you. You must leave enough time at the end of your stay for the owner/keyholder to conduct an inspection of the property in your presence. If you do not allow this and any damage, breakages, losses, etc are found after your departure it will be presumed that these have been caused by you and you will be charged.
18. CONDITIONS ABROAD
European customs, habits and lifestyles may be different. You may find domestic, farm and wild animals in the vicinity and associated noise, smell and droppings. Insects (including stinging/biting insects), spiders and rodents do find their way into properties. Spiders can produce webs within 12 hours, and this does not indicate poor cleanliness. These are local prevailing conditions totally outside our control for which we cannot accept any liability. Cuts in water and electricity supplies may occur at any time without warning. Electricity supplies cannot always support several appliances being used simultaneously, and may fail if overloaded. We cannot be held responsible for technical problems with the property/facilities or technical/chemical problems with pools, or any problems with any electrical appliance as a result of interruption to the electricity supply. In some areas barbecues are forbidden (see clause 15 above). Swimming pools and gardens do have to be maintained and this may occur during your stay without notice. Notice of fêtes, festivals and local celebrations or events is not automatically given and may result in increased levels of traffic and subsequent noise. We cannot be held responsible for any seasonal increase in traffic levels, noise or disturbance. Building or road works may take place in the vicinity of the property. We cannot accept responsibility for noise or disruption caused by any of these events.
19. PLEASE CHECK ALL DETAILS
Please check the confirmation invoice carefully immediately on receipt and advise us straight away of any apparent error. We regret we cannot accept liability for any inaccuracies or omissions in any document if we are not notified of it within 7 days of issue date of the document concerned. The itinerary is your personal decision; we do not check your timings or make special arrangements for late or early arrival, therefore you must ensure that your chosen travel arrangements allow you plenty of time to reach your property at the appropriate time. You must inform us in writing at the time of booking of any disability or medical condition any member of your party has and of any other circumstances which may affect your holiday (for examples babies and small children, elderly persons, late or early arrival at the property, specific allergies). At the same time, you must also give us full details in writing of any special requirements you may have. Although we will endeavour to pass any reasonable requests on to the owner of the property, we regret we cannot guarantee any request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part. Confirmation that a special request has been noted or passed on to the owner or the inclusion of the special request on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation is not confirmation that the request will be met. Unless and until specifically confirmed, all special requests are subject to availability. We regret we cannot accept any conditional bookings, i.e. any booking which is specified to be conditional on the fulfilment of a particular request. All such bookings will be treated as ‘standard bookings’ subject to the above provisions on special requests. If we reasonably feel unable to properly accommodate the particular needs of any member of your party, we must reserve the right to decline your booking, or, if full details are not given at the time of booking, cancel when we become aware of these details.
20. EARLY OR PRE-BROCHURE BOOKINGS
If we have given you a quotation for a booking of a property featured in any of our earlier brochures, please note that such a quotation does not constitute a binding contract between us until you pay your deposit and we issue our confirmation invoice. Therefore, if you have received a quotation from us, please ensure that the description relating to the property in question accords with your expectations prior to paying your deposit.
21. CONSUMER PROTECTION AND FINANCIAL SECURITY
the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tour Regulations 1992 require us to provide security for the monies that you pay for the package holidays booked from this brochure and for your repatriation in the event of our insolvency. We provide this security by way of a bond held by ABTA. If you book arrangements other than a package holiday from this brochure, the financial protection referred to above does not apply. We are a member of ABTA, membership number V0118. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA’s Code of Conduct. Further information on the Code can be found at http://www.abta.com/heretohelp.shtml.
22. PRIVACY STATEMENT
In the interests of staff training and improving customer service we may occasionally record and monitor telephone conversations with clients. In order to process your booking, we need to collect certain personal details from you. These details will usually include the names and addresses of party members, credit/debit card or other payment details and special requirements such as those relating to any disability or medical condition which may affect the chosen holiday arrangements. If we need any other personal details, we will tell you before we obtain them from you. We need to pass on your personal details to the companies and organisations who need to know them so that your holiday can be provided (for example the property owner, hotel, other supplier, credit/debit card company or bank). Such companies and organisations may be outside the European Union, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein if your holiday is to take place or to involve suppliers outside these countries. Where you give us details relating to your physical or mental health or condition, we will ask you to give us your written consent to our holding, using and passing on such information. Except where expressly permitted by the Data Protection Act, we will only deal with the personal details you give us as set out above unless you agree otherwise. For example, if we wish to use any of your personal details for marketing purposes, we will tell you this when we ask for the details and give you the opportunity to say no if you do not want us to do so. We promise to keep all personal details you give us in connection with your booking confidential. We have appropriate security measures in place to protect this information. Printed August 2007.