BOOKING TERMS & CONDITIONS
A little vocabulary for clarity
A ‘booking’ is when your request to book has been lodged and accepted by us, the Owners of Merchant House.
A ‘security deposit’ is a deposit paid to cover damage or loss of content or excessive or incorrect use of the facilities.
'Check-in time' the date and time when the Property will be made available to you.
'Check-out time' the date and time when the Property should be vacated by you as set out in the Booking.
'Holiday' the period of time when the Owner provides the Property to you as set out in the Booking.
'Owner' the owner of the Property (or their representative).
'Party List' the list of people including you and is limited to the maximum number of 12 adults and/or children and 1 baby (under age 2).
‘Reference number’ relates to the number on your booking supplied at the time of booking. Please use or have this number handy in all communications with us.
Bookings
By making the booking, you and all your guests agree that the Booking will be governed by these conditions and that you will comply by these conditions. Failure to disclose all relevant information or comply with these terms may lead to a termination of the contract and loss of booking.
Deposits and payments
A 30% booking deposit is due at the time of booking. This secures your booking for you.
All bookings are provisional until the deposit payment has been received in full.
Full payment is due 70 days prior to your booking. Failure to pay the balance on your account before this time will result in your booking being released and your deposit being retained. If the booking is made less than 70 days before your scheduled arrival date, we must receive full payment of the total cost when you make the Booking.
A reminder email will be sent out at this time to remind you of payment outstanding for the remainder of your booking. If you do not pay the balance within 7 days of receiving this email, we will be entitled to assume that you want to cancel your booking and will be entitled to keep all deposits paid or due at that date and release your booking.
A security deposit is required. A pre-authorization of GBP 500.00 is held on 1 day(s) before arrival and will be returned within 10 days of the end of your holiday, less the cost of damage/breakages.
Cancellations and changes to booking
· We strongly advice that you take out comprehensive travel insurance to cover cancellations. If you choose not to, then you accept responsibility for any loss that you may incur due to your cancellation.
All cancellations and changes to booking requests must be notified in writing.
Requests to amend booking dates will be accepted only up to 70 days of your arrival date. If you want to change any details of your confirmed booking the Owner will do their best to accommodate the changes, however they cannot guarantee that they will be able to meet your request. Where changes can be made, an administration of fee of £75 will be payable and there maybe additional fees payable to the Owner.
If the Owner is unable to accommodate your request and you are required to cancel the booking, you may will be liable to a cancellation fee (see below)
You have a right to cancel. If you want to cancel your booking, you must email the Owner as soon as possible. The day the Owner receives your email to cancel is the date on which we will cancel you booking and will only be confirmed once the Owner has replied in writing to confirm receipt.
You will then we entitled to a refund of your total booking costs less a cancellation fee based on the number of days before the arrival date from the date we receive notification of your cancellation. All prices are the whole property and not on a per person per room basis.
For booking stays for 14 nights or less
More than 70 days before arrival date: Full refund
46 –70 days before arrival date: 50% of booking cost
45 days before arrival date: 100% of booking cost
For booking stays for 15 nights of more
More than 70 days before arrival date: Loss of deposit
46 – 70 days before arrival date: 50% of booking cost
45 days before arrival date: 100% of booking cost
If you have not paid your total holiday cost by the time of your cancellation, you will be liable for the balance.
For clarity, booking cost includes the total cost of booking, including any extra items, booking fees, credit card charges and administrative fees paid for making any change.
Failure to arrive for your booking is treated as a cancellation with zero reimbursement.
The Owners retain a right to cancel your booking, up to and during your booking due to events outside of their control such as fire, flood, failure of utilities or any health and safety concern. In this instance we will promptly refund all payments made for your holiday. Our liability for cancellations will be limited to payments made to us.
Booking details
· The owners reserve the right to refuse a booking without giving any reason.
Bookings can be made by over 18s only.
Bookings where the majority of guests are under the age of 25, or single-sex group celebrations, including stag/hen parties are not permitted.
No parties and events are allowed.
The maximum number of guests permitted is 12 adults/children and 1 baby.
· We require a party list at the time of booking. Any amendments to your party list need to be made in writing via our contact form.
No one other than the individuals listed in the Party List can occupy the property.
We reserve the right to terminate the booking without notice and without refund in case of a breach of this condition. If you intend to share your booking with another group, or have additional people to stay during your booking, this must be agreed in advance and may be subject to an extra fee.
The use of Merchant House is for domestic and private bookings. Use of Merchant House for commercial reasons must be notified to the owners prior to booking and is subject to their approval.
You agree to arrive on or after the check-in time of 4PM and to leave on or before the check-out time of 10AM, unless otherwise agreed.
We reserve the right to use your security deposit towards costs incurred due to late departures.
Payment details
Full payments, and deadline dates for payments, will always be detailed to you prior to your booking.
Payments can be made by debit card, credit card or bank transfer.
Payments are only accepted in pounds sterling.
Bank transfers must be in cleared funds by the deadlines for payment and in GDP. Any bank or transfer charges are the responsibility of the guest.
VAT, if present, will always be included in the total cost and detailed.
Failure to pay any sums owed before the payment deadline will result in cancellation of your booking.
Any sum outstanding at the time of check-in will mean the guest has zero access to the property.
General care and consideration for the owners’ property
During your booking, you and your party agree to keep the property clean and tidy, to leave the property and its contents (including all fixtures and fittings, furnishings, information materials) in a similar condition as you found when you arrived. You also agree not to use the property for any illegal or commercial purpose. You are responsible to the Owner for the actual costs of missing items, breakages, or damage in or to the property, along with any extra costs that may result, which are caused by your or any of your guests. The Owner can ask for an extra payment from you to cover any related costs.
If there has been any damage or breakages within your stay, we would be grateful if you could report them immediately. The house will be inspected at the end of the stay and you may be charged for any loss or damage.
The Owner reserves the right to make a charge to cover additional cleaning costs if the client leaves the property in an unacceptable condition.
Strictly no smoking and no candles are permitted inside the property.
You must allow the Owner or their representative (including workmen) access to the Property at any reasonable time during your stay (except in an emergency or if a problem needs sorting out quickly and you cannot be contacted in time.) In these situations, the Owner can enter the Property at any time without giving you prior notice).
If you make a formal request for the Owner to call out a trade person to investigate or rectify a perceived problem and it transpires that there was no actual problem or that the problem was caused by you, then you will be liable for the cost of the trade person’s visit.
The Owner reserves the right to carry out gardening on any day during your stay, but only with between the hours of 10 -4pm.
Pets are not allowed.
You are responsible for all key sets in your possession for the duration of your Booking. If you lose a key set, the Owner is entitled to charge you £50 per lost set.
Please ensure that all doors and windows are locked when you leave the property unoccupied. You will be liable for any theft resulting from not doing so.
No compensation will be given for temporary outage of electricity, gas, water, internet connection or television service.
Personal property
The Owners are not responsible for any loss or damage to any personal property on the premises. Vehicles, accessories, and contents are left at the owner’s risk.
If an item/s left behind can be posted the Owners will arrange its return to you, subject to you covering the postage and packing costs. If an item left behind cannot be posted then we will keep the item for 14 days to enable you to arrange collection. After this time, the item will be disposed.
Complaints
The Owners aim to do everything reasonably possible to ensure that you have an enjoyable stay at the Property. However, occasionally things can go wrong.
If a problem does occur, you should contact the Owner or their appointed representative immediately, during your Booking. This gives the Owner the opportunity to rectify any problems, as quickly as possible. Please note that any complaints raised after your stay at the Property has ended will not result in any form of compensation unless the Owner chooses otherwise. One of the pleasures of holiday cottages is that they are normal domestic homes. However, this does mean that they do not always have immediate, 24 hours a day, access to maintenance services and we ask that you employ a reasonable degree of patience and agree to work in a practical manner with the Owner, to resolve any problems.
Personal information
We will only communicate with you with marketing information if you have permitted us to via you signing up to our newsletter.
We will only use your personal information as set out in our privacy policy.
Final notes
We reserve the right to change or amend these Terms and Conditions at any time.
Any queries, comments or complaints can be sent to us, the owners, via the Contact Form on our website or via our email address.