Contact us Top Cover Image

Terms and Conditions

Terms & Conditions - Hotel & Private Villa Bookings

These Booking Conditions, together with our privacy policy and any other written information we brought to your attention before we confirmed your booking, apply to your booking with World Boutique Hotel Awards Ltd (a company registered in England and Wales with company number 06908460) whose registered office is at [47 Thornbury Gdns, Herts, WD6 1RB (the “BHA”) trading as “Boutique Hotel Awards” (“we” or “us”). 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.

Hotel & Private Villa Bookings

 

 

YOUR CONTRACT

BHA acts as a booking agent for the accommodation(s) it books on your behalf. When you make a booking, you are entering into a contract with the accommodation via BHA, not with BHA itself. As an agent, we accept no responsibility for the acts or omissions of the accommodation or for the services provided by the accommodation. The accommodation’s terms & conditions will apply to your booking and we advise you to read these carefully as they do contain important information about your booking. Please ask us for copies of these if you do not have them.

 

 

Accommodation’s Amendment & Cancellation Policy

If you wish to amend or cancel a confirmed booking, you must contact us. Amendments and cancellations can only be accepted in accordance with the terms and conditions of the accommodation. In all cases, once the booking is confirmed, you are subject to the terms and conditions of that accommodation’s cancellation policy for the specific accommodation room in question. Each room booking contains unique cancellation policies that the accommodation sets according to the board services and price and you are subject to these.

 

Accommodation cancellation policies may outline a period before check-in when cancellations will be subject to payment of a cancellation charge. This period does not include the day of arrival – so, for example, a cancellation policy of ‘24 hours’ means a reservation must be cancelled at least 24 hours before the accommodation's stated check-in time on the day before arrival to avoid the penalty.

 

Any cancellations must be made by emailing or phoning us as soon as possible.

 

Where applicable, refunds will be made by the same method used to pay for the booking. Any payment made by credit card will be returned to that card and any payment made by voucher/loyalty money will be refunded as a voucher or by reinstating the loyalty money as appropriate. Please note that all deposit payments and additional charges paid at the time of booking are non-refundable.

 

Any changes to a booking that involve the addition of sequential nights to a stay will be considered an amendment to the original booking, regardless of whether the extra nights are booked by the person who made the original booking, or by another guest with whom they are staying.

Payment

 

For your security, payments online are made through secure servers. For all bookings, BHA will take a credit card number that is forwarded securely to the accommodation to guarantee your booking.

 

Any advance deposits, additional fees or charges will always be clearly marked before you make your booking. Once paid, these deposit payments, additional charges and fees are non-refundable in the event of cancellation.

 

Your booking is confirmed and a contract between you and the accommodation will exist when we send you confirmation on their behalf. Please check your confirmation carefully and report any incorrect or incomplete information to us immediately. Please ensure that names are exactly as stated in the relevant passport. As we act only as booking agent, we have no responsibility for any errors in any documentation except where an error is made by us.

 

Where an offer of availability is made by the accommodation, your booking is not confirmed until you receive a booking confirmation. We therefore advise you to accept the offer as soon as possible after receipt in order to make a firm booking. You will be notified by email within 24 hours whether your booking has been confirmed. It is your responsibility to contact BHA if a confirmation email has not been received.

 

All currency conversions are based on data from currencylayer.com and are only valid on the date of booking as a guideline. Payments are taken by accommodations in the accommodation's local currency and may be subject to exchange-rate fluctuations (depending on the date charged) and charges from your bank or credit card issuer for which we have no liability. If you wish to avoid this by fully prepaying your booking to us in your preferred currency please ask at the time of booking.

 

Please note: any applicable VAT/taxes may be subject to change at any time.

 

 

 

 

Changes and Cancellations by the accommodation

We will inform you as soon as reasonably possible if the accommodation needs to make a significant change to your confirmed booking or to cancel. We will also liaise between you and the accommodation in relation to any alternative arrangements offered by the accommodation but we will have no further liability to you.

 

Accuracy of prices & descriptions

BHA cannot be held liable for errors or omissions in bookings or pricing, either made by the accommodation, or as a result of system failure of any kind. We reserve the right to amend advertised prices at any time. We also reserve the right to correct errors in both advertised and confirmed prices. Special note: changes and errors sometimes occur. You must check the price of your chosen arrangements at the time of booking.

We do our utmost to ensure all BHA accommodation information is accurate, however accommodation facilities may change at any time and any opinions expressed are subjective.

 

Our responsibility for your booking

Your contract is with the accommodation and its terms and conditions apply. As agent, we accept no responsibility for the actual provision of the arrangements. Our responsibilities are limited to making the booking in accordance with your instructions. We accept no responsibility for any information about the arrangements that we pass on to you in good faith. However, in the event that we are found liable to you on any basis whatsoever, our maximum liability to you is limited to twice the cost of the commission we earn on your booking (or the appropriate proportion of this if not everyone on the booking is affected). We do not exclude or limit any liability for death or personal injury that arises as a result of our negligence or that of any of our employees whilst acting in the course of their employment.

 

Our exclusive deals & offers

Bookings for BHA's exclusive accommodation offers or promotions are subject to the terms and conditions set by the accommodation for its particular offer. All offers are subject to availability, which may change at any time. Offers may be subject to blackout dates which may be amended by the accommodation at any time and which may not be specified on our website. Some accommodations will require a deposit or full prepayment on booking, which may be non-refundable in case of cancellation. Any special terms will be stated on the booking and included in your confirmation. accommodation offers and promotions (and any applicable terms and conditions) are frequently added or amended, and will therefore only apply to completely new bookings. Reservations made before the start of the offer or promotion cannot be cancelled and rebooked at the lower rate.

 

Complaints

Because the contract for your arrangements is between you and the accommodation, any queries or concerns should be addressed to them. If you have a problem during your stay, this must be reported to the accommodation immediately. If you fail to follow this procedure there will be less opportunity for the accommodation to investigate and rectify your complaint. The amount of compensation you may be entitled to may therefore be reduced or extinguished as a result.

 

If you still wish to complain when you return home, you can contact us and we will liaise between you and the accommodation in order to try to resolve your complaint. Please note that we do this as part of our customer service to you and as a gesture of goodwill only. We do not accept responsibility for dealing with complaints, nor do we have any liability for refunds or compensation.

 

Visa, passport and health requirements

It is your own responsibility to ensure compliance with immigration, visa and health requirements. Unless you tell us otherwise, we are entitled to assume that all members of your party are British citizens who hold or will hold full British passports valid for the entire duration of the arrangements you chose to book. Information on visa, passport and health requirements, where given and applicable, is so given on this basis. Requirements may change and you are therefore strongly recommended to check the up to date position with the supplier of the arrangements, Passport Office, appropriate embassy or consulate or your doctor as applicable in good time before departure.

 

Pricing

The price of your travel arrangements has been calculated using exchange rates quoted in www.openexchangerates.org at the time of booking.

 

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 such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports; or
(iii) the exchange rates used to calculate your arrangements.

 

Such variations could include but are not limited to airline cost changes which are part of our contracts with airlines (and their agents), cruise ship operators and any other transport providers.


Changes by you and If you cancel your booking

If you or any other member of your party decides to change or cancel your confirmed booking you must notify us in writing. Your notice of change or 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.

 

Since we are acting as agent only, each booking will have its own change and cancellation policy as determined by the accommodation. These will be provided to you at time of booking and will apply to any changes you make to the booking.

 

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


Alteration of service or amendments to the conditions

We reserve the right to make changes to our website/app, policies, and these conditions of purchase at any time. You will be subject to the policies and conditions of purchase in force at the time that you order goods from us unless any change to those policies or these conditions is required to be made by law or government authority (in which case it will apply to orders previously placed by you). If any of these conditions is deemed invalid, void, or for any reason unenforceable, that condition will be deemed severable and will not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining condition.

 

Events beyond our reasonable control

We will not be held responsible for any delay or failure to comply with our obligations under these conditions if the delay or failure arises from any cause which is beyond our reasonable control. This condition does not affect your statutory rights.

 

Special requests

If you have any special requests (for example dietary requirements, cots or room location), please let us know at the time of booking. We will pass on all such requests to the supplier, but we can't guarantee that they will be met and we will have no liability to you if they are not.

 

Insurance

Adequate travel insurance is a condition of your contract with either us or the accommodation in question, as applicable. You must take out a policy of insurance in order to cover you and your party against the cost of cancellation by you; the cost of assistance (including repatriation) in the event of accident or illness; loss of baggage and money; pre-existing medical conditions and other expenses.

 

Jurisdiction and Applicable Law

These Booking Conditions and any agreement to which they apply are governed in all respects by English law. We both agree that any dispute, claim or other matter which arises between us out of or in connection with your contract or booking will be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only. You may, however, choose the law and jurisdiction of Scotland or Northern Ireland if you live in those places and if you wish to do so.

 

Accuracy

We endeavour to ensure that all the information and prices both on our website and in our brochures 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. Please note that special offers may be withdrawn without any notice.

 

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, the act of any government or other national or local authority including port or river authorities, industrial dispute, lock closure, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, chemical or biological disaster, pandemic (including COVID-19) or endemic disease and adverse weather, sea, ice and river conditions and all similar events outside our or the supplier(s) concerned’s control. Advice from the Foreign Office to avoid or leave a particular country may constitute Force Majeure.

 

Disabilities and Medical Problems

We are not a specialist disabled holiday company, but we will do our utmost 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 you make your booking so that we can try to advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements. It is your responsibility to provide us with full and accurate details on any special assistance you may require. We may require you to produce a doctor’s certificate certifying that you are fit to participate in 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 will cancel it and impose applicable cancellation charges when we become aware of these details.

 

Your Behaviour

All guests booking accommodations and private villas via our platform 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 accommodation manager or any other 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 booking 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 accommodation manager or other supplier prior to departure from the accommodation. 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.

 

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.

 

Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)

As part of the EU Payments Services Directive (PSD2) to protect consumer rights and reduce online fraud, members may now be required to checkout online via the process of Strong Customer Authentication (SCA).

 

This process requires members to use two independent sources of validation for payments. Depending on members’ banks, members will be required to select a combination of two out of three categories (commonly known as the 'two-factor authentication') at online checkout:

● Something you know (e.g. PIN)
● Something you have (e.g. Card/phone)
● Something you are (e.g. fingerprint)

 

Data Protection and Privacy

Please see our data protection and privacy policy for full information regarding the way in which we use and store your personal data.