Terms & Conditions

1. THE CONTRACT

The Contract for a short-term holiday rental will be between the owners of the property, (Gull Cottage) (referred to as “us”, “we” or “our”), and the person making the booking and all members of the holiday party (referred to as “you” or “your”) in the following booking terms and conditions. As our property is located in England, you and we agree that the laws of England will govern our contract with you (the “Contract”). If any individual term or clause stated in these terms and conditions is held to be invalid, impermissible or unenforceable permissible by law, the remaining terms shall be unaffected and shall remain valid.

The Contract will not come into force until we have received the Deposit referred to in Clause 2 below. The Contract will be subject to these booking terms and conditions, and must be complied with. The party leader must be at least 18 years of age at the time of booking and prior to arrival we must be provided with a full list containing the names and ages and contact details of all guests (which we will hold subject to Clause 13 below). Children under the age of seven are not permitted to stay in the property.

2. DEPOSIT AND PAYMENT

Your booking (“Booking”) may be placed over the telephone, by email or directly on our online reservation system. We use Supercontrol to securely manage our booking system. Where your Booking is communicated to us by telephone or by email, we will enter it onto our online reservation system, which will automatically generate a summary by email to the email address you provide in the online Booking form. However, that does not mean that your Booking is yet confirmed or that a Contract is yet in force between us and you.

Your Booking will only be confirmed and our Contract will only come into force once we have received payment in cleared funds of a deposit of thirty per cent (30%) of the full cost of your Booking (the “Deposit”).

The Deposit must be paid within three (3) days of the Booking being placed. Up to that time, it will be a provisional booking. Provisional bookings are normally held for a maximum of 7 working days. A booking fee of £40.00 is also charged when the deposit is paid.

The balance of the rental will be due for payment forty two (42) days (6 weeks) prior to your holiday commencement date (the “Holiday Commencement Date”). We will send you a payment reminder two (2) weeks before the balance is due.

If for any reason we are unable to take payment of the balance by the due date and you are unable to promptly rearrange payment (or we cannot get hold of you to arrange for payment to be made) we will be entitled to treat that as your intention to cancel the Booking.

If your Booking is made less than forty two (42) days prior to the Holiday Commencement Date then your Booking will only be confirmed and our Contract will only come into force once we have received payment in full for the Booking in cleared funds, together with the booking fee of £40.00.

No entry to our properties will be allowed without payment, in full, being cleared beforehand.

We accept payment by most major credit or debit cards and by bank transfer.

3. CANCELLATION

Cancellations must be notified to and received by us in writing (preferably by email) and once received we will confirm and process your cancellation request.

Cancellation of your holiday will result in forfeiture of the amount that has been paid by you, unless the property can be re-let. In which case a deduction equal to 5% of the rental value will be retained to cover administration. If the sum is less than or equal to the deposit, the owners shall retain the sum owing to it and return any balance as applicable.

No-one wants to pay for a holiday that they cannot take. For this reason, we strongly recommend you take out your own travel insurance for UK holidays which covers booking cancellations. This will give you the peace of mind that you will get your money back if you need to cancel your holiday at almost the last minute. If you choose not to then you accept responsibility for any loss that you may incur due to your cancellation.

4. CHANGE OF BOOKING

There will be an administration fee of £40.00 (forty pounds) for any change in booking date. Bookings may not be transferred within six weeks of the Visitor's holiday. Any rearranged booking must take place within 12 months of the original start date. Otherwise, cancellation terms will apply. If the transfer requested also involves reducing the length of the holiday, it will be regarded as a cancellation.

5. CANCELLATION BY US FOR REASONS BEYOND OUR CONTROL (“FORCE MAJEURE”)

We won’t be deemed to be in breach of this Contract, or otherwise liable to you, by reason of any delay in performance or non-performance of any of our obligations in this Contract to the extent that such delay or non-performance is caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control (for example if access to and use of our property is prevented by fire, flood, exceptional weather conditions, epidemics, pandemics, destruction/damage, internet or other communications failure, blocked roads, war/terrorism, nuclear/radioactive disaster affecting us or our property) (these are sometimes referred to as “Force Majeure Events”)

If for any reason beyond our control we are forced to cancel your Booking (or bring it to an end early) due to a Force Majeure Event affecting us or our property we will refund you the full amount of your remaining lodging costs based on the time of your Booking remaining. This will be the full extent of our liability and no additional compensation, expenses or costs (such as travel or replacement accommodation costs) will be payable.

6. PERIOD AND OTHER TERMS OF HIRE

The period from the Holiday Commencement Date to the day of departure set out in the Booking (the “Holiday Departure Date”) is the “Holiday Period”.

Unless expressly agreed by us in writing, you should not arrive before 4pm on the Holiday Commencement Date, and you must leave and vacate the property by 10am on the Holiday Departure Date. Failure to do so may result in you being charged a further day’s rental.

You must not use the property except for the purpose of a holiday during the Holiday Period, and not for any other purpose or for a longer period except with our express written agreement.

The Contract to stay in the property for the holiday period, does not create the relationship of Landlord and Tenant between the parties.

This Contract relates to a “holiday let” the purpose of which is to confer on you as a holidaymaker the right to occupy our property for a holiday only. You shall not be entitled to any private residential tenancy or other tenancy, assured short hold or assured tenancy, lease, licence or other right to occupy, nor shall you obtain any security of tenure under any applicable law, now or at the end of the Holiday Period. You may not sub-let the property.

In the event that you are required, in accordance with guidelines imposed by the UK and Government in relation to the disease known as coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and the virus known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)), to self-isolate at the property you will be responsible for the cost of (i) any additional nights out with the Holiday Period and (ii) rehousing any booked guests that are displaced as a result of the additional nights required by you in an equivalent property.

7. NUMBER OF PERSONS USING THE PROPERTY

Under no circumstances may more than the maximum number of persons stated on our website occupy the property, except with our express written permission in which case we shall be entitled to charge an additional fee. We reserve the right to refuse admittance or require you to leave our property if this condition is not observed. Any persons other than members of your party must not use our accommodation or facilities. Children under the age of seven are not permitted to stay in the property.

8. OUR LIABILITY

We, our employees, contractors, cleaners and other representatives shall not be liable to you or your party for loss or damage to property howsoever arising. You must take all necessary steps to safeguard yourselves and your property. Those with mobility issues are advised to take note of the floor plans and internal and external photographs before booking. The property and garden is located on a sloping site. The lower gardens and boules pitch are accessed via steps. Nothing in this clause shall exclude or limit any liability that we are unable to limit or exclude by applicable law, such as liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence.

9. CARE OF THE PROPERTY

You are responsible for the property and are expected to take all reasonable care of its furniture, pictures, fittings and effects, in or on the property. You must leave them in the same state of repair, and in a reasonable clean and tidy condition at the end of the rental period. You must not use the properties for any dangerous, offensive, noxious, noisy, illegal or immoral activities or carry on there, any act that may be a nuisance or annoyance to the owner or other neighbouring properties.

Visitors are asked to read the welcome folder which includes useful notes and instructions regarding the use of equipment in the house.

Smoking and vaping is not allowed in our property.

You must ensure the property is securely locked when not occupied by you.

10. DAMAGES & BREAKAGES

You are legally bound to reimburse us for replacement, repair or extra cleaning costs on demand. Any damages or breakages will have to be paid for in full on demand within seven (7) days of notification in writing (although we would not charge you for the odd glass or plate). We recommend that you have appropriate insurance in place to cover this.

If you lose a key we will replace it upon you paying for the cutting of a new one.

11. WIFI & INTERNET

Free Wi-Fi and broadband internet is provided for your reasonable use and may be subject to separate terms and conditions. You agree to reasonable and lawful usage of this service. We will not be liable for slow connections or for any interruptions to or the failure of this service.

12. Electric Vehicles

You and your guests agree that they shall not use a normal domestic power socket to charge an electric or hybrid vehicle as this may cause safety risks and damage to the property.

13. RIGHT OF ENTRY

We shall be allowed the right of entry to the property at all reasonable times for purposes of inspection or to carry out any necessary repairs or maintenance.

14. COMPLAINTS

Every effort has been made to ensure that you have an enjoyable stay. However, if you have any problem or cause for complaint, it is essential that you contact us immediately to give us the chance to resolve it. We value your custom and want you to return (and to recommend us to your friends!). Our housekeeper lives in the village and we will do our best to resolve any problem.

We cannot accept responsibility for work taking place outside the property boundary, nor for any noise or nuisance arising from the works over which the owners have no control.

Please note that guests who suffer from feather allergies are advised to bring their own duvets as we cannot guarantee that feather-free bedding will be provided.

15. DATA PRIVACY STATEMENT

See our Privacy Policy here

16. DRONES, NIGHT LANTERNS AND FIREWORKS

The use of drones is not allowed without our express written permission. Fireworks are not allowed without our express written permission. Night lanterns are expressly forbidden as they are a fire hazard.

17. PETS

We only allow dogs, and only when have they been booked in and paid for. (£25 per dog, per week). We allow a maximum of two (2) well-behaved dogs per property.

Dogs must be house-trained, kept under proper control and not allowed on the furniture, and especially the beds and sofas, nor left unattended in the property. Dog hairs are to be removed from carpets and all dog waste collected and disposed of. Dog owners will be held responsible for any damage caused to the property, contents or garden by their dog and for any extra cleaning required (usually at least £50).

We reserve the right to seek details of any dogs in advance and to refuse permission for them to be brought to the accommodation for any reason, including if they are considered unsuitable in character, size or behaviour, bark continuously, or are liable to be a nuisance or danger.

18. CARE OF YOUR PROPERTY

Your vehicles and their accessories and contents, and any property and valuables you bring with you are left entirely at your own risk.

If you leave any property behind we will use reasonable endeavours to return it to you, although we reserve the right to charge you in advance for any reasonable postal or courier costs. We may dispose of any unclaimed property after six (6) months.

Fred and Michelle Robinson – Owners of Gull Cottage, St Mawes

March 2022