Terms and Conditions

BOOKING TERMS AND CONDITIONS – UPDATED AUGUST 2023

These Booking Conditions, together with our privacy policy and where your holiday is booked via our website, our website terms and conditions of use, together with any other written information we brought to your attention before we confirmed your booking, form the basis of your contract with Volcanoes UK Limited, Registered Office: 402 Linen Hall, 162-168 Regent Street, London, W1B 5TE (“we”, “us”, “our”). Please read them carefully as they set out our respective rights and obligations. In these Booking Conditions references to “you” and “your” include the first named person on the booking and all persons on whose behalf a booking is made or any other person to whom a booking is added or transferred.

By making a booking, the first named person on the booking (the lead name) agrees on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking that:

1. He/she has read these terms and conditions and has the authority to and does agree to be bound by them;

2. He/she agrees to provide accurate and full information to the remainder of the travelling party in relation to the booking, including any changes thereto;

3. He/she consents to our use of personal data and information accordance with our Privacy Policy and is authorised on behalf of all persons named on the booking to disclose their personal details to us, including where applicable special categories of data (such as information on health conditions or disabilities and dietary requirements).

4. He/she is over 18 years of age and where placing an order for services with age restrictions declares that he/she and all members of the party are of the appropriate age to purchase those services;

5. He/she accepts financial responsibility for payment of the booking on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking.

Our obligations to you will vary depending upon whether we act as a Package Organiser in the sale of a Package Holiday (i.e. a Safari) or as a Principal in the sale of single-element bookings (i.e. a lodge only bookings); our differing obligations are set out below, in three separate sections: Section A contains the conditions which will apply to all bookings. Section B contains the conditions which will apply when you make a booking with us where we act as the Package Organiser. Section C contains the conditions which will apply where you make a single-element booking with us, where we are acting as Principal.

SECTION A – APPLICABLE TO ALL BOOKINGS

1. Booking Your Arrangements

When you enquire with us, we will provide you with a quote based on the travel arrangements you have enquired about. If you choose to accept this quote, you will be required to pay us the deposit or full payment if you are booking within the balance due date which will be notified to you. A booking is made with us when a) you tell us that you would like to accept our written or verbal quotation; b) you pay us a deposit (or full payment if required at the time of booking, please see Sections B and C below); and c) we issue you with a booking confirmation. We reserve the right to return your deposit and decline to issue a confirmation at our absolute discretion.

A binding contract will come into existence between you and us as soon as we have issued you with a booking confirmation that will confirm the details of your booking. Upon receipt, if you believe that any details on the confirmation or any other document are wrong you must advise us immediately as changes can not be made later and it may harm your rights if we are not notified of any inaccuracies in any document within ten days of our sending it out.

2. Accuracy

We endeavour to ensure that all the information and prices both on our website and in any advertising material that we issue are accurate; however occasionally changes and errors occur and we reserve the right to correct prices and other details in such circumstances. You must check the current price and all other details relating to the arrangements that you wish to book before your booking is confirmed.

3. Insurance and Standards

It is a condition of booking that you must have appropriate insurance for the type of holiday being taken with us. You must be satisfied that your insurance fully covers all your medical expenses including pre-exisiting conditions, personal injury, medical expenses, death, repatriation in the event of accident or illness or death, cancellation or curtailment of the holiday by either side and loss of, damage to, or theft of the clients’ personal property. Activities with a greater inherent risk, such as mountaineering, animal tracking on foot, white-water rafting should be covered.

Conditions in Africa are not the same as those in developed countries and standards of service, medical facilities, safety and security may often be lower than those in your home countries. Please note that it is the laws and regulations of the country in which services are provided which apply to your holiday arrangements and not those of your home country.

4. Special Requests

Any special requests must be advised to us at the time of booking. You should then confirm your requests in writing. Whilst every effort will be made by us to try and arrange your reasonable special requests, we cannot guarantee that they will be fulfilled. The fact that a special request has been noted on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation or that it has been passed on to the supplier is not confirmation that the request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part unless the request has been specifically confirmed. We do not accept bookings that are conditional upon any special request being met.

5. Cutting Your Holiday Short

If you are forced to return home early, we cannot refund the cost of any services you have not used. If you cut short your holiday and return home early in circumstances where you have no reasonable cause for complaint about the standard of accommodation and services provided, we will not offer you any refund for that part of your holiday not completed, or be liable for any associated costs you may incur. Depending on the circumstances, your travel insurance may offer cover for curtailment and we suggest that any claim is made directly with them.

6. Fitness to Travel and Medical Conditions

We are not a specialist disabled holiday company, but we will take reasonable steps to cater for any special requirements you may have. If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your stay, please provide us with full details before we confirm your booking so that we can try to advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements. Acting reasonably, if we are unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm your booking or if you did not give us full details at the time of booking, we reserve the right to cancel it and impose applicable cancellation charges when we become aware of these details.

7. Behaviour and age restrictions

All guests staying with us are expected to conduct themselves in an orderly and acceptable manner and not to disrupt the enjoyment of other guests. If in our opinion or in the opinion of any person in authority, your behaviour or that of any member of your party is causing or is likely to cause distress, danger or annoyance to any of our other guests or any third party or damage to property, or to cause a delay or diversion to transportation, we reserve the right to terminate your booked arrangements with us immediately. In the event of such termination our liability to you and/or your party will cease and you and/or your party will be required to leave your accommodation or other service immediately. We will have no further obligations to you and/or your party. No refunds for lost accommodation or any other service will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of termination. You and/or your party may also be required to pay for loss and/or damage caused by your actions and we will hold you and each member of your party jointly and individually liable for any damage or losses caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or losses must be paid directly to the supplier prior to departure. If you fail to make payment, you will be responsible for meeting any claims (including legal costs) subsequently made against us as a result of your actions together with all costs we incur in pursuing any claim against you. We cannot be held responsible for the actions or behaviour of other guests or individuals who have no connection with your booking arrangements or with us.

Children of all ages are welcome at Mount Gahinga Lodge, Bwindi Lodge, Kyambura Gorge Lodge.

Children under the age of 12 are not permitted at Virunga Lodge.

Volcanoes Safaris does not provide childcare services.

Children under the age of 15 are not allowed to track gorillas.

8. Excursions

Excursions or other tours that you may choose to book or pay for whilst you are on holiday are not part of your contracted arrangements with us. For any excursion or other tour that you book, your contract will be with the operator of the excursion or tour and not with us. We are not responsible for the provision of the excursion or tour or for anything that happens during the course of its provision by the operator.

9. Passport, Visa and Immigration Requirements and Health Formalities

We can provide general information about the passport and visa requirements for your trip, but this is for guidance and only and it remains your responsibility to check and fulfil the passport, visa, health and immigration requirements applicable to your itinerary. We can only provide general information about this. You must check requirements for your own specific circumstances with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates and your own doctor as applicable. Requirements do change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure.

Most countries now require passports to be valid for at least 6 months after your return date. If your passport is in its final year, you should check with the Embassy of the country you are visiting. Please note some countries require 2-3 blank pages at the end of your passport.

You should obtain up to date advice on passport and visa requirements from the Embassy, High Commission or Consulate of your destination or country(ies) through which you are travelling.

We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel, or incur any other loss because you have not complied with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities. You agree to reimburse us in relation to any fines or other losses which we incur as a result of your failure to comply with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities.

Health facilities, hygiene and disease risks vary worldwide. You should take health advice about your specific needs as early as possible.

10. Complaints

We make every effort to ensure that your holiday arrangements run smoothly but if you do have a problem during your holiday, please inform the relevant supplier or representative immediately who will endeavour to put things right. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please contact us as soon as possible on [email protected] or +250 (0)788302069 (if you are in Rwanda) or [email protected] or +256 (0)772741720 (if you are in Uganda). If the problem cannot be resolved and you wish to complain further, you must send formal written notice of your complaint to us at our office or by email to the appropriate e-mail address listed above (depending upon your destination) within 28 days of the end of your stay, giving your booking reference and all other relevant information. Please keep your letter concise and to the point. This will assist us to quickly identify your concerns and speed up our response to you. Failure to follow the procedure set out in this clause may affect ours and the applicable supplier’s ability to investigate your complaint, and will affect your rights under this contract.

Please note that we do not offer an Alternative Dispute Resolution service. You can however access the European Commission Online Dispute (ODR) Resolution platform at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. This ODR platform is a means of registering your complaint with us; it will not determine how your complaint should be resolved.

11. Delays, Missed Transport Arrangements and other Travel Information

If you or any member of your party miss your flight or other transport arrangement, it is cancelled or you are subject to a delay of over 3 hours for any reason, you must contact the airline or other transport supplier concerned immediately. Please also contact us so that we can take steps to prepare for your late arrival, if possible. A delay or cancellation to any flight or travel arrangement that you may decided to book yourself does not automatically entitle you to cancel any other arrangements that you have booked with ourselves.

Where you have booked a Package: The Package Travel (etc.) Regulations 1992 and/or Package Travel Directive provide that in the event that you experience difficulty on the occurrence of circumstances described in clauses 23 (2) (a) (b) (c) or (d) of these booking conditions, we will provide you with prompt assistance. Where you experience a delay which is not owing to any failure by us, our employees or sub-contractors, this prompt assistance is likely to extend to providing help in locating refreshments, accommodation and communications but not paying for them. Any airline or other transport supplier may however pay for or provide refreshments and/or appropriate accommodation and you should make a claim directly to them.

12. Force Majeure

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions we will not be liable or pay you compensation if our contractual obligations to you are affected by any event which we or the supplier(s) of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. These events can include, but are not limited to war, threat of war, civil strife terrorist activity and its consequences or the threat of such activity, riot, epidemics, pandemics, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination (including the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and any future strains of the Coronavirus), the act of any government or other national or local authority including port or river authorities, industrial dispute, labour dispute, lock closure, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, chemical or biological disaster unavoidable technical problems with transport and natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, or adverse weather conditions which make it impossible to travel safely to the travel destination or remain at the travel destination, sea, ice and river conditions and all similar events outside our or the supplier(s) concerned’s control. Advice from the FCDO to avoid or leave a particular country may constitute Force Majeure.

13. Conditions of Suppliers

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 which will form part of your contract with us. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier’s liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions. Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from us or the supplier concerned.

14. Low Season Rates

Low season rates are valid on new bookings for accommodation bookings and safaris travelling in low season only, being 1st March to 31st May and 1st October to 15th December.

Low season rates (for accommodation only) are subject to availability.

Low season rates are only available on Volcanoes Safaris accommodation and safaris to Volcanoes Safaris lodges (Bwindi Lodge, Mount Gahinga Lodge, Kyambura Gorge Lodge and Virunga Lodge). Discounts will not be granted on any safari to 3rd party properties. Only one offer may be used on any booking and offers cannot be combined with any other offer or discount. Volcanoes Safaris full terms and conditions still apply.

15. Transportation

Every effort is made to ensure that vehicles are provided in a roadworthy condition. Our guides are instructed to follow our code of conduct for Guides (available on request), which you must not ask them to break in any way. In the event that a Guide does not follow the code, please inform the Transportation Safari Manager in Kigali or Kampala, as applicable. Company vehicles must only be driven by the company’s Guide whose decision on all matters, such as the route taken, is final. You will be liable for any damage caused to a vehicle by any interference by you with the vehicle, including legal costs.

16. Law and Jurisdiction

These terms and conditions are governed by English law and any dispute arising between the parties is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales (unless you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, in which case you can bring proceedings in your local court under Scottish or Northern Irish law, as applicable).

SECTION B: PACKAGE HOLIDAY BOOKINGS

This section only applies to Package Holidays booked with us as Organiser. Please read this section in conjunction with Section A of these Booking Conditions.

17. Definition of Package

A “Package Holiday” exists if:

a) You make a direct booking with us and you are resident of a country in the European Union; and

b) You book a pre-arranged combination of at least two of the following components when sold or offered for sale at an inclusive price and when the service covers a period of more than twenty-four hours or includes overnight accommodation: (a) transport; (b) accommodation ; (c) other tourist services not ancillary to transport or accommodation and accounting for a significant proportion of the package.

Where you have booked a Package Holiday with us, we will accept responsibility for it in accordance with these Booking Conditions as an “Organiser” under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992. Where you have booked a Package Holiday with us, the provisions set out in this Section B will apply. If you have not booked a Package Holiday with us (either because you are a resident of a country outside of the European Union or because you have not booked the necessary components) the terms set out in this Section B will not apply to your booking.

18. Paying for your Safari, Package Holiday

To book your safari you will need to pay a non-refundable and non-transferable deposit of the full value of the gorilla and chimpanzee permits plus 20% of the value of the rest of your safari. For Group Bookings (4 or more rooms) the deposit required is the full value of the gorilla and chimpanzee permits plus 35% of the value of the rest of your safari. The balance of the cost of your safari (including any applicable surcharge) is due not less than 45 days prior to scheduled arrival.

If you are booking within 45 days of arrival, full payment will be required at the time of booking. If we do not receive this balance in full and on time, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you in which case the cancellation charges set out in the relevant section below will become payable.

Please Note: Gorilla and chimpanzee permits can only be purchased upon receipt of deposit and are subject to availability.

19. Pricing

The price of your travel arrangements is quoted (and purchased by ourselves) in US Dollars.

We reserve the right to amend the price of unsold holidays at any time and correct errors in the prices of confirmed holidays.

The price of your confirmed holiday is subject at all times to variations in:

(i) transportation costs, including the cost of fuel; or
(ii) dues, taxes or fees chargeable for services; or
(iii) the exchange rates used to calculate your arrangements.

Such variations could include but are not limited to cost changes which are part of our contracts with transport providers .

We will absorb and you will not be charged for any increase equivalent to 2% of the price of your travel arrangements, which excludes insurance premiums and any amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements. You will be charged for the amount over and above that, plus we may apply an administration charge of $5 per person together with an amount to cover agents’ commission. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the price of your confirmed travel arrangements (excluding any insurance premiums, amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements), you will have the option of accepting a change to another holiday if we are able to offer one (if this is of equivalent or higher quality you will not have to pay more but if it is of lower quality you will be refunded the difference in price), or cancelling and receiving a full refund of all monies paid to us, except for any insurance premiums and any amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements. Should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice. We will consider an appropriate refund of insurance premiums paid if you can show that you are unable to transfer or reuse your policy.

Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, by more than 2% of your confirmed holiday cost, then any refund due will be paid to you. However, 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.

There will be no change made to the price of your confirmed holiday within 30 days of your departure nor will refunds be paid during this period.

20. Changes by You to Your Package Holiday

If you wish to change any part of your booked arrangements after our confirmation invoice has been issued, you must inform us in writing as soon as possible. Whilst we will do our best to assist, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet your requested change. Where we can meet a request, all changes will be subject to payment of any applicable rate changes or extra costs incurred as well as any costs incurred by ourselves and any costs or charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers. You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible. Where we are unable to assist you and you do not wish to proceed with the original booking we will treat this as a cancellation by you. A cancellation fee may be payable. If you are prevented from travelling it may be possible to transfer your booking to another suitable person provided that written notice is given. An administration fee will be charged, details available upon request.

If any member of your party is prevented from travelling, that person(s) may transfer their place to someone else (introduced by you and satisfying all the conditions applicable to the arrangements) providing we are notified not less than 28 days before departure and you meet all costs and charges incurred by us and/or incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers and the transferee agrees to these booking conditions and all other terms of the contract between us. However, please note, as per the paragraph below, you may not be able to transfer all of the arrangements you have purchased with us; for instance, it is often not possible to transfer a permit from one person to another. If you are unable to find a replacement, cancellation charges as set out will apply in order to cover our estimated costs. Otherwise, no refunds will be given for passengers not travelling or for unused services.

Note: Certain arrangements may not be amended or transferred after they have been confirmed and any alteration could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements. A 2% admin fee is charged on all refunds due to cancellations.

21. If You Cancel Your Package Holiday

If you or any other member of your party decides to cancel your confirmed booking you must notify us in writing. Your notice of cancellation will only take effect when it is received in writing by us at our offices and will be effective from the date on which we receive it. We recommend that you use recorded delivery. Since we incur costs in cancelling your arrangements, you will have to pay the applicable cancellation charges up to the maximum shown below. The cancellation charge detailed is calculated on the basis of the total cost payable by the person(s) cancelling excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges which are not refundable in the event of the person(s) to whom they apply cancelling:

We will deduct the cancellation charge(s) from any monies you have already paid to us. A 2% admin fee is charged on all refunds due to cancellations.

Important Note: Certain arrangements may not be amended after they have been confirmed and any alteration or cancellation could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements in addition to the charge above.

If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges.

22. If We Change or Cancel Your Package Holiday

As we plan your arrangements many months in advance we may occasionally have to make changes or cancel your booking and we reserve the right to do so at any time.

Changes: If we make a major change to your booking, we will inform you as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure. Examples of minor changes include a change of accommodation to another of the same or higher standard.

Occasionally we may have to make a major change to your confirmed arrangements. ”Examples of “major changes” include the following, when made before departure:

– A change of accommodation area for the whole or a significant part of your time away.

– A change of accommodation to that of a lower standard or classification for the whole or a significant part of your time away.

– A change of overall length of your arrangements of twelve or more hours.

– A significant change to your itinerary, missing out one or more destination entirely.

Cancellation: We will not cancel your travel arrangements less than 30 days before your departure date, except for reasons of force majeure or failure by you to pay the final balance. We may cancel your booking before this date if, e.g., the minimum number of clients required for a particular travel arrangement is not reached.

If we have to make a major change or cancel, we will tell you as soon as possible and if there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of:

i (for major changes) accepting the changed arrangements;

ii having a refund of all monies paid; or

iii accepting an offer of alternative travel arrangements of comparable standard from us, if available (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value).

You must notify us of your choice within 7 days of our offer. If you fail to do so we will assume that you have chosen to accept the change or alternative booking arrangements.

Compensation
If we cancel or make a major change less than 30 days before departure, we will pay compensation as detailed below. The compensation that we offer does not exclude you from claiming more if you are entitled to do so.

IMPORTANT NOTE: We will not pay you compensation in the following circumstances:

– where we make a minor change;
– where we make a major change or cancel your arrangements more than 30 days before departure;
– where we have to cancel your arrangements as a result of your failure to make full payment on time;
– where the change or cancellation by us arises out of alterations to the confirmed booking requested by you;
– where we are forced to cancel or change your arrangements due to Force Majeure (see clause 12).

In the event of a change or cancellation, we regrettably cannot reimburse you for any incidental expenses incurred by you such as visas, vaccinations, equipment, transport, insurance or similar costs.

Please note: where arrangements with a higher price than the original arrangements are offered by us and accepted by you, the difference in price will be deducted from any compensation payable. In no case will we pay compensation if arrangements offered by us and accepted by you with a higher price than that originally booked in the same location where no additional payment is made by you.

If we become unable to provide a significant proportion of the services that you have booked with us after you have departed, we will make alternative arrangements for you at no extra charge and, if appropriate in all the circumstances, will pay you reasonable compensation.

23. Our Responsibilities in Respect of Package Holidays

(1) We will accept responsibility for the arrangements we agree to provide or arrange for you as an “organiser” under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 as set out below. Subject to these booking conditions, if we or our suppliers negligently perform or arrange the services which we are obliged to provide for you under our contract with you, as set out on your confirmation invoice, we will pay you reasonable compensation. The level of such compensation will be calculated taking into consideration all relevant factors such as but not limited to: following the complaints procedure as described in these conditions and the extent to which ours or our employees’ or suppliers’ negligence affected the overall enjoyment of your holiday. Please note that it is your responsibility to show that we or our supplier(s) have been negligent if you wish to make a claim against us.

(2) We will not be responsible or pay you compensation for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other claim of any description if it results from:-

a. the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected;

b. the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party unconnected with the provision of the services contracted for and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable; or

c. unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond ours or our supplier(s) control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or

d. an event which either ourselves or suppliers could not, even with all due care, have foreseen or forestalled.

(3) We limit the amount of compensation we may have to pay you if we are found liable under this clause:

(a) loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions and money,

The maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is an amount equivalent to the excess on your insurance policy which applies to this type of loss per person in total because you are assumed to have adequate insurance in place to cover any losses of this kind.

(b) Claims not falling under (a) above and which don’t involve injury, illness or death

The maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is twice the price paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you or your party has not received any benefit at all from your booking.

(c) Claims in respect of international travel by air, sea and rail, or any stay in a hotel

i. The extent of our liability will in all cases be limited as if we were carriers under the appropriate Conventions, which include The Warsaw/Montreal Convention (international travel by air); The Athens Convention (with respect to sea travel); The Berne/Cotif Convention (with respect to rail travel) and The Paris Convention (with respect to hotel arrangements). You can ask for copies of these Conventions from our offices. Please contact us. In addition, you agree that the operating carrier or transport company’s own ‘Conditions of Carriage’ will apply to you on that journey. When arranging transportation for you, we rely on the terms and conditions contained within these international conventions and those ‘Conditions of Carriage’. You acknowledge that all of the terms and conditions contained in those ‘Conditions of Carriage’ form part of your contract with us, as well as with the transport company and that those ‘Conditions of Carriage’ shall be deemed to be included by reference into this contract.

ii. In any circumstances in which a carrier is liable to you by virtue of the  EC261/2004 (denied boarding and flight disruption), any liability we may have to you under our contract with you, arising out of the same facts, is limited to the remedies provided under the Regulation as if (for this purpose only) we were a carrier.

iii. 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.

(4) It is a condition of our acceptance of liability under this clause that you notify any claim to ourselves and our supplier(s) strictly in accordance with the complaints procedure set out in these conditions.

(5) Where any payment is made, the person(s) receiving it (and their parent or guardian if under 18 years) must also assign to ourselves or our insurers any rights they may have to pursue any third party and must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require.

(6) Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss or expense or other sum(s) of any description: (a) 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 (b) relate to any business.

(7) We will not accept responsibility for services or facilities which do not form part of our agreement or where they are not advertised in our brochure. For example any excursion you book whilst away, or any service or facility which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you.

24. Financial Protection

The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 require us to provide security for the monies that you pay for your chosen arrangements and for your repatriation in the event of our insolvency. For these purposes, we protect money that you have paid us, the means of financial protection that we provide in this regard will be advised to you at the time of booking .

If you book arrangements other than a Package (as set out in Clause 17 – i.e. if you are not a resident of a country within the European Union or if you do not book the necessary arrangements with us) from us, your monies will not be financially protected. Please ask us for further details.

SECTION C – SINGLE ELEMENT BOOKINGS – LODGE ONLY RESERVATIONS

This section applies to all single element bookings (i.e. lodge only bookings). Please read this section in conjunction with Section A of these Booking Conditions.

25. Paying for your Lodge Only, Single Element Booking

Bookings for rooms can be held provisionally for up to 7 days. After 7 days rooms will be released if the deposit has not been paid.

To book our Lodge you will need to pay a non-refundable deposit of 20% of the cost of your booking. For Group Bookings (4 or more rooms) the deposit required is 35%. The balance of the cost of your Lodge or single element booking (including any applicable surcharge) is due not less than 30 days prior to scheduled arrival. For Group Bookings (4 or more rooms) the final balance is due not less than 60 days prior to the arrival date.

If you are booking within 30 days of arrival (or 60 days for Group Bookings of 4 or more rooms), full payment will be required at the time of booking.

If we do not receive this balance in full and on time, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you in which case the cancellation charges set out in the relevant section below will become payable.

26. Pricing

Price increases may occur any time prior to departure you will be liable to pay any such increases in full. If, before you book, we know of circumstances that may cause an increase in the price of your booking after you have paid, we will endeavour to provide details to you.

27. Changes Made by You

If you wish to change any part of your booking arrangements after our confirmation invoice has been issued, you must inform us in writing as soon as possible. This should be done by the first named person on the booking . Whilst we will do our best to assist, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet your requested change. Where we can meet a request, all changes will be subject to payment of any applicable rate changes or extra costs incurred as well as any costs incurred by ourselves and any costs or charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers. You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible. Where we are unable to assist you and you do not wish to proceed with the original booking we will treat this as a cancellation by you. A cancellation fee may be payable (see below).

Please note: Certain arrangements may not be amended, even to change a name, after they have been confirmed and any alteration could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements. A 2% admin fee is charged on all refunds due to cancellations.

28. If You Cancel Your Booking

If you or any other member of your party decides to cancel your confirmed booking you must notify us in writing. Your notice of cancellation will only take effect when it is received in writing by us at our offices and will be effective from the date on which we receive it. We recommend that you use recorded delivery. Since we incur costs in cancelling your arrangements, you will have to pay the applicable cancellation charges up to the maximum shown below. The cancellation charge detailed is calculated on the basis of the total cost payable by the person(s) cancelling excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges which are not refundable in the event of the person(s) to whom they apply cancelling:

Period before departure within which notice of Cancellation by you is received Amount of cancellation charge
More than 30 days loss of deposit
30 days or less 100% of total cost of arrangements

We will deduct the cancellation charge(s) from any monies you have already paid to us. A 2% admin fee is charged on all refunds due to cancellations.

Please note: Certain arrangements, once confirmed, may incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements, when cancelled.

29. If We Change or Cancel Your Booking

We may in exceptional circumstances be required to cancel your booking in which case a full refund of all monies paid will be made to you. We regret we cannot meet any expenses or losses that you may incur as a result of change or cancellation.

Very rarely, we may be forced by “force majeure” to change or terminate all or some of your arrangements after departure. If this situation does occur, we regret we will be unable to make any refunds, pay you compensation or meet any costs or expenses you incur as a result.

30. Our Responsibilities

(1) Subject to the remainder of this clause, we have a duty to select the suppliers of the services making up your booking with us with reasonable skill and care. We have no liability to you for the actual provision of the services, except in cases where it is proved that we have breached that duty and damage to you has been caused. Therefore, providing we have selected the suppliers/subcontractors with reasonable skill and care, we will have no liability to you for anything that happens during the service in question or any acts or omissions of the supplier, its employees or agents.

(2) We will not be responsible or pay you compensation for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other claim of any description if it results from:

(a) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected; or

(b) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party unconnected with the provision of the services contracted for and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable; or

(c) unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond ours or our supplier(s) control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or

(d) an event which either ourselves or suppliers could not, even with all due care, have foreseen or forestalled.

(3) We limit the amount of compensation we may have to pay you if we are found liable under this clause:

(a) loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions and money,

The maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is £25 per person in total because you are assumed to have adequate insurance in place to cover any losses of this kind.

(b) Claims not falling under (a) above and which don’t involve injury, illness or death

The maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is twice the price paid by you in total. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your booking.

(4) It is a condition of our acceptance of liability under this clause that you notify any claim to ourselves and our supplier(s) strictly in accordance with the complaints procedure set out in these conditions.

(5) Where any payment is made, the person(s) receiving it (and their parent or guardian if under 18 years) must also assign to ourselves or our insurers any rights they may have to pursue any third party and must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require.

(6) Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss or expense or other sum(s) of any description: (a) 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 (b) relate to any business.

(7) We will not accept responsibility for services or facilities which do not form part of our agreement or where they are not advertised in our brochure. For example any excursion you book whilst away, or any service or facility which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you.