Terms & Conditions
1. Contract
The Contract for a short-term holiday rental shall be made between the Client and Bruern Holiday Cottages. The Contract shall be governed by UK Law. It will be entered into when the deposit is processed and Bruern Holiday Cottages issues the confirmation letter. The Contract will be subject to all the following booking conditions.
2. Payment
A deposit of one half of the rental fee is payable if the booking is made more than thirteen weeks before the commencement of the rental. Non-payment of the balance of the rental on or before the due date shall be construed as a cancellation of the contract by the Client. For bookings made less than thirteen weeks before the commencement of the rental the total rental fee is payable on booking. Payment can only be accepted by cheque if it is denominated in sterling (UK pounds) and received not less than two weeks before the commencement of the rental. All payments shall be made to Bruern Holiday Cottages at the address at the top of the Booking Form.
3. Cancellations
Any cancellation made by the Client for whatever reason shall be in writing. If the booking is cancelled within two weeks of the arrival date, the entire rental fee will be forfeit.
For cancellations made prior to two weeks before the arrival date, a percentage of the rental fee will be refundable, the percentage being calculated according to a sliding scale and increasing with the length of time between the date of cancellation and the arrival date. For full details of our policy regarding cancellations and movement of bookings see paragraph 17. Bruern Holiday Cottages strongly recommends Clients to take out Cancellation Insurance, details of which are set out in paragraph 4.
4. Cancellation Insurance
Cancellation Insurance is not compulsory but Bruern Holiday Cottages does strongly recommend such insurance cover to protect against the cancellation penalty. Accordingly, a Holiday Insurance proposal form will be enclosed with your booking form and should be sent back to the holiday insurance company or you may choose to take out Holiday Insurance through your own insurance brokers.
5. VAT
VAT is included in the rental fee where applicable. Current rates in the UK at 17.5%. If you require a VAT receipt, please ask for it.
6. Period of Hire
Rentals commence, unless otherwise notified, at 4 p.m. on the day of arrival and terminate at 10 a.m. on the day of departure.
7. Number of Persons in the property
The number of persons occupying the property must not exceed the maximum number stipulated in the brochure and the website. Bruern Holiday Cottages reserves the right to refuse entry to the entire party if this condition is not observed.
8. Complaints
Should there be any cause for complaint during the occupation of the property, it must be notified promptly to Bruern Holiday Cottages and in the case of a serious problem confirmed in writing.
9. Care of the property
The Client shall take all reasonable and proper care of the property and its furniture, pictures, fittings and effects in or on the property and leave them in the same state of repair and in the same clean and tidy condition at the end of the rental period as at the beginning.
10. Breakages or damage
The Client is legally bound to reimburse Bruern Holiday Cottages for replacement, repair or extra cleaning costs on demand.
11. Pets
Bruern Holiday Cottages regrets that it does not accept pets.
12. Liability
Bruern Holiday Cottages, its employees and agents does not accept third party liability in respect of breach of contract, negligence, misrepresentation or otherwise.
13. Warranties
Bruern Holiday Cottages does not warrant and is not responsible for the accuracy of any verbal information given or statements made by any of its servants or agents.
14. Right of entry
Bruern Holiday Cottages 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.
15. Children
Guests must accept responsibility for the safety of their children; no child may use the swimming pool unaccompanied.
16. Late Availability Bookings
Regrettably, welcome baskets cannot be provided free of charge for late availability bookings. Welcome baskets can, however, be purchased separately for these bookings.
17. Deposits, Cancellations and Transfers
A deposit of 50% of the booking fee is payable at the time of the booking, the balance being due thirteen weeks before the arrival date. The balance will be collected automatically if we hold the guest's credit card details, but if the deposit was paid by some other method, then the guest must remit the balance so that we receive the payment by the due date. Should we not receive the balance by the due date (or should the credit card company refuse the payment if the deposit was paid by that method) then we will attempt to contact the guest using the contact details with which we have been supplied, but it nonetheless remains the guest's responsibility to ensure the balance is paid on time. If we have still not received the balance three weeks after the due date, then the booking will be deemed to have been cancelled, the deposit will be forfeit and we will be free to rebook the property.
When a booking is cancelled, the percentage of the booking fee charged as a cancellation fee (i.e. not refunded) will depend upon the amount of time still to elapse before the arrival date as per the table on the following page:
Percentage of the booking fee charged as a cancellation fee
0-2 weeks - 100% of booking fee
2-4 weeks - 90% of booking fee
4-6 weeks - 80% of booking fee
6-8 weeks - 70% of booking fee
8-10 weeks - 60% of booking fee
10-13 weeks - 50% of booking fee
13-16 weeks - 80% of deposit
16-20 weeks - 60% of deposit
20 weeks and over - 40% of deposit
Deposits, Cancellations and Transfers Notes
1. In the case of transfers, there is no penalty provided the new booking fee exceeds the price of the old one and the transfer is to an earlier date.
2. If the transfer is to an earlier date but the new booking fee is less than the old one then the difference is treated as a cancellation as per the above table.
3. If the transfer is to a later date but the new booking fee exceeds the price of the old one, then it is treated as a cancellation as per the above table, except that the percentage total of the booking fee charged as a cancellation fee (i.e. not refunded) is the difference between a) the percentage that would have been charged as per the table for the old booking had it been cancelled rather than transferred and b) the percentage that would have been charged as per the table for the new booking if the new booking had been cancelled on the date of the transfer. For example, if a booking with a week to go before the arrival date is moved to a date three weeks away then the cancellation fee would be 10%, as the difference between a cancellation 1 week away (0-2 weeks i.e. 100% per the table) and a cancellation 3 weeks away (2-4 weeks i.e. 90% per the table) is 10%.
4. Where the transfer is to a later date and the new booking is less in price than the cancelled one, the difference is treated as a straightforward cancellation as per the above table. The rest of the price of the cancelled booking is dealt with as per 3. above.