Terms & Conditions @ Cheap Online Hotels

Terms & Conditions

Terms & Conditions

The following Booking Conditions form the basis of your contract with Superbreak Mini Holidays Limited t/as Superbreak; Hotel Breaks; The Luxury Hotel Collection; & Hotelnet of 60 Piccadilly, York, Y01 9WX. Please read them carefully as they set out our respective rights and obligations. All bookings are subject to these Booking Conditions.

Package Holidays

If you book a package holiday through us, once your package holiday has been confirmed 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. A "package holiday" is a combination of at least two out of (a) transport, (b) accommodation or (c) other tourist services (not ancillary to any transport or accommodation and forming a significant part of the arrangements) where booked through us at the same time, for which payment is made to us and which last at least 24 hours or include overnight accommodation.

Groups

Group reservations of over 16 adults or 10 rooms are subject to different terms and conditions, a copy of which is available on request.

1. Making your booking

The party leader must be authorised to make the booking on the basis of these Booking Conditions by all persons named on the booking and by their parent or guardian for all party members who are under 18 when the booking is made. The party leader is responsible for making all payments due to us. The party leader must be at least 18 when the booking is made. When making a booking, you must pay to us the payments referred to in clause 2 below.

If you book with us on line via a website, at the end of the booking process, you are asked to confirm that you have read and agree with our Booking Conditions. The final page gives you a booking reference which is your confirmation, which we will reconfirm to you if you have provided your email address.

If booking by telephone or any other communication channel, on receipt of your booking and all appropriate payments we will, subject to availability, confirm your holiday by issuing a confirmation invoice to the party leader or travel agent.

Please check any documentation carefully as soon as you receive it. Contact us immediately if any information which appears on the confirmation or any other document appears to be incorrect or incomplete as it may not be possible to make changes later.

2. Payment

Full payment is required at the time of booking

If you have booked via an agent, 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.

3. Your contract

A binding contract between us comes into existence when either we dispatch our confirmation invoice or, for on line bookings, when the final page of the booking confirmation procedure gives you a booking reference. This contract and all matters arising out of it are governed by English law. We both agree that any dispute, claim or other matter which arises out of or in connection with this contract or your holiday will be dealt with by the Courts of England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland as appropriate. Changes to these Booking Conditions will only be valid if agreed by us in writing.

4. The cost of your holiday

There are different ways of confirming the final price of your holiday depending upon whether you book by telephone or on line.

By Telephone

We reserve the right to increase or decrease the prices of unsold breaks at any time. The price of your chosen break will be confirmed at the time of booking.

We reserve the right to correct errors in both advertised and confirmed prices. We will do so as soon as we become aware of the error. Hotel rates and meals as described in the hotel entry may not apply over Easter/Christmas/New Year or certain dates associated with special events.

Online

The prices shown on our website are for guidance only until you enter our secure server, when the rates shown are guaranteed, subject to reasonableness with regard to any rates shown that are clearly incorrect. A total price of your chosen break will be given before you confirm your booking which you may accept or not.

Please note, the information and prices shown in brochures may have changed by the time you come to book your holiday. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the brochure and prices at the time of printing, regrettably changes and errors do occasionally occur. You must therefore ensure you check all details of your chosen holiday (including the price) with us or your travel agent at the time of booking.

5. Changes by you

Should you wish to make any changes to your confirmed break, you must notify us (by post, telephone or email) as soon as possible. If a person is prevented from travelling, we will agree to that person's booking being transferred to another person who satisfies all the conditions applicable to the booking, subject to both persons accepting joint and several liability for full payment of the booking and our charge for confirming the transfer and any additional costs arising from the transfer. Whilst we will endeavour to assist, we cannot guarantee we will be able to meet any such requests. Where we can, an amendment fee of �15 per amendment (unless it is to increase the value of the booking) will be payable together with any costs incurred by ourselves and any costs or charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers. Any alteration requested by you on the day of travel (or in the case of overseas bookings, within 7 days of travel) will be treated as a cancellation by you and you will have to pay the cancellation charges set out in clause 6.

6. Cancellation by you

Should you or any member of your party need to cancel your booking once it has been confirmed, the party leader must immediately advise us (by post, telephone or email). Cancellations made directly with the hotel will not be effective. The following cancellation charges will be payable. Where the cancellation charge is shown as a percentage, this is calculated on the basis of the total cost payable by the person(s) cancelling excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges. Insurance premiums and amendment charges are not refundable or transferable in the event of the person(s) to whom they apply cancelling.

The following charges apply to Theatre, Concert, Special Interest, Christmas and New Year Packages, Warner Breaks, Activity, Event and Entertainment Breaks and Visitor Oyster Cards (we recommend that you take out the insurance detailed on the booking form below):-

a) Cancellation/Amendment charge
i). 100% cancellation charge if you cancel at any time after confirmation of your holiday. However, we will, where possible seek to mitigate the charge by reselling any appropriate element of the break, although this may not be possible in all circumstances. ii) We cannot be held liable for the cancellation of a show/event or the non-appearance of any particular cast member in a theatrical performance. If there is a significant change to your booking as a result of one of the aforementioned circumstances, we will firstly provide you with as much notice as possible (unless the significant change has happened on the day of the show/event/activity experience). You can then choose between accepting the change/alternative offered or cancelling the booking, in which case we will refund you in full for any monies paid. b) Children's Prices
Please ask for details.

Where applicable, any rail tickets you have purchased through us must be returned to us unused before any refund can be given.

Where any cancellation reduces the number of full paying party members below the number on which the price, number of free places and/ or any concessions agreed for your booking were based, we will recalculate these items and re-invoice you accordingly.

Depending on the reason for cancellation, you may be able to reclaim these cancellation charges (less any applicable excess) under the terms of your insurance policy. Claims must be made directly to the insurance company concerned.

7. Insurance

We consider adequate travel insurance to be essential. All premiums must be paid at the time of booking, as cover will not be effective until we receive all applicable premiums in full. It is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance cover you purchase is suitable and adequate for your particular needs.

8. Changes and cancellation by us

Occasionally, we have to make changes to and correct errors in brochure and other details both before and after bookings have been confirmed and cancel confirmed bookings and we must reserve the right to do so.

Occasionally, we have to make a "significant change". "Significant changes" include the following changes when made before departure; a change of accommodation to that of a lower official classification or standard for the whole or a major part of the time you are away, a change of accommodation area for the whole or a major part of the time you are away. If we have to make a significant change or cancel, we will tell you as soon as possible. If there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of the following options:-

• (for significant changes) accepting the changed arrangements or
• purchasing an alternative break from us, of a similar standard to that originally booked if available. If the chosen alternative is less expensive than your original one, we will refund the difference but if it is more expensive, we will not ask you to pay any more
• cancelling or accepting the cancellation in which case you will receive a full and quick refund of all monies you have paid to us.

Please note, the above options are not available where any change made is a minor one.

If we have to make a significant change or cancel, we will pay you compensation where appropriate and depending on the circumstances and the length of time before your holiday we notify you of the significant change or cancellation, subject to the following exceptions. Compensation will not be payable and no liability beyond offering the above mentioned choices can be accepted where we are forced to make a change or cancel as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care. No compensation will be payable and the above options will not be available if (1) we cancel as a result of your failure to comply with any requirement of these booking conditions entitling us to cancel (such as paying on time) or (2) we have to cancel because the minimum number of bookings necessary for us to operate your holiday has not been reached - in this case we will however, give you at least 7 days' notice.

In all cases, our liability for significant changes and cancellations is limited to offering you the above mentioned options and, where applicable, compensation.

We regret we are not in a position to offer you any assistance in the event of delay at your outward or homeward point of departure.

9. Force Majeure

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions, we regret we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected by or you otherwise suffer any damage or loss (as more fully described in clause 10(1) below) as a result of "force majeure". In these Booking Conditions, "force majeure" means any event which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity or actual threatened terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside our control.

10. Our Liability to you

(1) We promise to make sure that all parts of the break we have agreed to arrange, perform or provide as part of our contract with you are arranged, performed or provided with reasonable skill and care. We will accept responsibility if any death, personal injury, failure or deficiency of your arrangements is caused by any failure by ourselves or our employees (providing they were at the time acting within the course of their employment) and (but only if you have booked a package holiday from us), our agents or suppliers (as applicable) to use reasonable skill and care in performing or providing the service in question. Please note it is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make a claim.

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 any of 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 break which we could not have predicted or avoided or
• an event or circumstance which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not have predicted or avoided even after taking all reasonable care (see clause 9)
• the fault of anyone who is not carrying out work for us (generally or in particular) at the time.

In addition, we will not be responsible where you do not enjoy your break or suffer any problems because of a reason you did not tell us about when you booked your break or where any problems you suffer did not result from any breach of our contract or other fault of ourselves or, if you have booked a package holiday from us and we were responsible for them, our suppliers or agents or where any losses, expenses, costs or other sum you have suffered relate to any business.

We cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of our contract. This includes, for example, any additional services or facilities which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised in our brochure and we have not agreed to arrange them.

(2) The promises we make to you about the services we have agreed to provide or arrange as part of our contract - and the laws and regulations of the country in which your claim or complaint occurred if not the UK - 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.

(3) Where any claim or part of a claim concerns or is based on any travel arrangements (including the process of getting on and off the transport concerned) provided by any 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 which applies to the travel arrangements or hotel stay in question (copies available on request). Please note: Where a carrier or hotel 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.

(4) You must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require. You must also tell us and the supplier concerned about your claim or complaint as set out in clause 11 below. If asked to do so, you must transfer to us or our insurers any rights you have against the 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.

11. Complaints and problems

In the unlikely event that you have any reason to complain or experience any problems with your break whilst away, you must immediately inform the supplier of the service(s) in question. Any verbal notification must be put in writing and given to the supplier as soon as possible. If you are still dissatisfied, you must notify us at the earliest opportunity. Until we know about a problem or complaint, we cannot begin to resolve it. If you remain dissatisfied, however, you must write to our Customer Relations Manager within 28 days of the end of the break you have purchased from us giving your booking reference and full details of your complaint. In the event that you do not notify us of the complaint within the above period, this may affect the company's ability to investigate complaints and may impact on the way that your complaint is dealt with.

12. 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 behaves 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 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.

13. Conditions of suppliers

Many of the services which make up your break are provided by independent suppliers (for example, where applicable, rail carriers and accommodation owners). Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier's liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions (see clause 10 (3)). Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from the supplier concerned.

14. Special requests and medical problems

If you have any special request, you must advise us at the time of booking. Although we will endeavour to pass any reasonable requests on to the relevant supplier, 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 supplier 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.

If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your holiday, please tell us before you confirm your booking. In any event, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking. If we reasonably feel unable to properly accommodate the particular needs of the person concerned, we must reserve the right to decline their reservation or, if full details are not given at the time of booking, cancel when we become aware of these details.

15. Passports, visas and health requirements

You should check the passport, visa and health requirements which are applicable to the country(ies) which you intend to visit. Requirements may change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure. For British Citizens, information on health is contained in the Department of Health leaflet T6 (Health Advice for Travellers) available from your local Department of Health office and most Post Offices. For European holidays you should obtain a European Health Insurance Card - EHIC (details in leaflet T6 referred to above) prior to departure.

It is the party leader's responsibility to ensure that all members of the party are in possession of all necessary travel and health documents before departure. All costs incurred in obtaining such documentation must be paid by you. We regret we cannot accept any liability if you are refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to failure on your part to carry correct documentation. If failure to have any necessary travel or other documents results in fines, surcharges or other financial penalty being imposed on us, you will be responsible for reimbursing us accordingly.

16. Financial security

For package holidays only, we operate a trust account. This arrangement means your money will be refunded or you will be brought back to the UK (where your contracted holiday arrangements include return travel to the UK) if already abroad in the unlikely event of our being unable to provide your break due to our insolvency.

17. Safety standards

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. As a general rule, these requirements and standards will not be the same as the UK and may sometimes be lower.

18. Hotel Breaks - Minimum stay and meals

Certain breaks / hotels may require minimum lengths of stay. Where a hotel offers dinner this may be table d'hote, a carvery or may sometimes be in the form of an allowance against the a la carte menu. Some hotels offer continental breakfast only. This normally consists of coffee or tea and bread rolls.

19. Saver Offers

Where a hotel features more than one offer at any one time (including 7 nights for 6), it may not always be possible to combine them - normally the most advantageous offer will be allowed. (7 nights for 6 prices shown do not include single supplements, which are charged in addition where applicable.) All offers are subject to availability (and are not usually available over Easter/Christmas/New Year), and may be withdrawn at any time. Leaflets and vouchers cannot be provided for bookings made within 7 days of travel, but are available for collection from our York office.

20. Children and Infants

Any policy regarding special rates for children and infants is set out in our brochure or is available on request. However, wherever possible children stay free or at 50% of the adult price and exact prices will be confirmed when booking. Free children rates do not normally include meals which are normally paid direct to hotels as taken. If you contravene this policy a supplement may be payable to us or to our suppliers directly so that the correct price for the relevant service is paid. At some hotels children may be charged a flat rate for meals, whether taken or not. Where children only pay 50% of the adult rate, half portions will be served for the meals included in the package price. Certain hotels may apply restricted access times for children into leisure facilities - please ask for details at the time of booking.

21. Rail Inclusive Breaks

Rail inclusive breaks can be booked on line for most of our UK accommodation. Rail may be booked without hotel accommodation to certain UK airport stations only if you are going onto travel outside of the UK. Please note that you may be asked to produce either your flight tickets or your Superbreak confirmation by ticket inspectors. Bookings must not be made for travel within 3 working days of booking as tickets are despatched from our office and cannot be collected at rail stations. Some rail inclusive offers that feature in our brochures cannot be booked on line and you need to call us to add these offers to your booking. Any differences to the booking conditions for rail inclusive breaks noted below are shown on the back of rail tickets - please check before traveling.

• The day on which you travel should coincide with the start of your break.
• For journeys to or via London, your rail ticket is not valid on trains scheduled to arrive before 10am (11am National Express East Coast, 11.30am Virgin) Monday-Friday inclusive. This restriction does not apply for journeys started before 2am that day - please inform us if you intend to travel overnight and your ticket can be dated accordingly.
• For rail journeys passing through London, your ticket is valid on London Underground between your arrival and departure stations.
• However, for London breaks or Heathrow Airport stopovers, London Underground travel from your mainline arrival station is not included.
• Your holiday documentation must be carried at all times and shown to a Ticket Inspector on request as our rail fares are only sold in conjunction with hotel accommodation.
• Unless otherwise requested, only one rail ticket is issued per booking and all customers must travel from the same station.
• Rail tickets may not be purchased in association with hotel bookings for single rooms for one night only Monday to Thursday inclusive.
• You should make your own seat and sleeper reservations direct with your local rail station, unless you are travelling as a group of 10 persons or more, in which case we will, on request, make your seat reservations for you. The fares quoted do not cover any incremental costs of seat reservations or sleeping car facilities.
• Some small stations are closed on Sunday and First Class travel may not be available for the entire journey. Please check before travelling as no refund can be provided where services are not available.
• Your journey may be affected by engineering works. It is your responsibility to check with National Rail Enquiries for dates and details.
• UK rail services do not operate on 25/26 December and rail travel is not available on these dates.

When you contact us to make a booking, we act as agent for all of the Train Operating Companies identified within the brochure. All tickets are issued subject to the normal conditions of the National Conditions of Carriage as published by the British Railway Board on 7 January 1997. Rail tickets are not transferable and are not valid for break of journey. Rail inclusive breaks are offered by Superbreak Mini-Holidays Limited and NOT by ATOC, Train Operating Companies or the Secretary of State for Transport. The Double Arrows symbol is a trademark owned by the Secretary of State for Transport.

22. Star Ratings

We have awarded our own star ratings which do not necessarily relate to those awarded by other organisations, but are solely designed to help you choose between the various hotels.

23. Facilities and Car Parking

• We provide as much information as possible about each hotel within the space available but you should check directly with us if you need to clarify any specific hotel description and in particular, you should note that bedroom photographs are of a room in the hotel and may not necesssarily be the room allocated to you on arrival. It is also important that you check with your chosen hotel if you require any special services such as babysitting, or if you want a room with sea view, etc. Payment for such services or special requirements should be made directly to the hotel and you therefore need to check these charges with the hotel prior to making your booking.
• Where car parking and leisure facilities are available there may be an additional charge for these services, and leisure facilities may not always be in the same building as your accommodation. Again, you should check with the hotel before making your booking. Please note that car parking may be quite limited at certain hotels.
• Airport hotels offering car parking may use additional off-site parking facilities at peak times. Cars are left at owners own risk. We accept no liability for either theft or damage to vehicles parked in hotel or off-site car parks.
• Please note that upon arrival at your hotel you may be asked for a credit card imprint or cash deposit to cover any additional expenses incurred during your stay.

24. Privacy Statement

For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998 we, Superbreak Mini-Holidays Ltd, are a data controller. In order to process your booking, we need to collect certain personal details from you. These details will include, where applicable, the names and contact details 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 and any dietary restrictions which may disclose your religious beliefs. 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 your airline, 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 involves suppliers outside these countries.

We would also like to store and use your personal details for future marketing purposes (for example, sending you a brochure or details of a promotion including by email). All details you give us in connection with your booking (including those relating to any disability or medical condition or your religious beliefs) will be kept but we will use only names and contact details for marketing purposes (unless you have asked us not to.)].

Occasionally we hire other companies to provide services on our behalf, for example mailing information to our customers. We only provide those companies with the personal details relating to our clients which they require in order to deliver the service. They are prohibited from using that information for any other purpose. We will ensure that anyone to whom we pass your details for this reason agrees to treat it with the same level of protection we are obliged to provide.

We may need to disclose our customer database, including any personal data relating to you contained therein, to a third party who acquires or attempts to acquire all or substantially all of the assets or stocks in our company or our website service whether by merger, acquisition, reorganisation or otherwise.

If you do not want us to do any or all of these things, please let our Marketing Department know as soon as possible. We are entitled to assume you do not object to our doing any of the things mentioned in this statement unless you tell us otherwise in writing.

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. We have appropriate security measures in place to protect this information.

You are generally entitled to ask us (by letter or e-mail) what details of yours are being held or processed, for what purpose and to whom they may be or have been disclosed. We will charge a fee to respond to such a request. We promise to respond to your request within 40 days of receiving your written request and fee. In certain limited circumstances we are entitled to refuse your request.

If you believe that any of your personal details which we are processing are inaccurate or incorrect please contact us immediately.

Where your booking has been made via a website, this privacy statement covers websites owned and controlled by us only. Links to other websites, and any information collated by these sites, are not covered by this privacy statement.

As our privacy statement may change due to developments in the law, we would encourage you to reread our privacy statement from time to time so that you are aware of any changes in how we gather and use personal information.

Superbreak Mini-Holidays Ltd
Trading/Registered Office: Eboracum Way, York, YO31 7RE
Registered in England: No. 1674987

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