Terms & Conditions

TERMS & CONDITIONS

1) Website Description

All information and prices are correct at the time of compilation but may be subject to change. There may be changes in some of the facilities available during the low season or due to weather conditions or lack of support such as the closure of a restaurant or pool for cleaning/maintenance or closures for Religious holidays or festivals. Similarly, air conditioning and swimming pools mentioned may, at the resorts’ discretion only be available at certain times of the day and/or year. All prices quoted for all accommodation, ancillary services and sporting/leisure activities are accurate at the time of compilation. We reserve the right to change prices during the holiday season, depending on commercial factors and it may be that third parties change their prices without notifying us. Design Holidays operate a Surcharge Fidelity Protection (SFP) scheme which, for a one-off compulsory charge of £15 per booking, protects your holiday cost against any price increases after receiving your confirmation and invoice in writing from us.  This includes but is not exclusive to changes in the currency market and hotel surcharges.

2) Bookings

1. Online bookings

When submitting your offer to purchase any product on this website at the suggested price, we will be able to accept this offer within 3 days of you submitting it. In the case of a holiday booked within 14 days of the departure date we will notify you by return e-mail if we have accepted your offer. Where you book your holiday 15 or more days in advance of the departure date we will confirm the information you have given us by return e-mail but no contract will exist until we accept your offer by sending you a booking confirmation. We will not have any contract with you for the supply of any product at the price offered until we have confirmed your booking. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

(ii) All bookings are subject to our terms & conditions

1. The minimum age to make a booking is 18. Please note that the age requirements for car hire varies from 21-26 and some private villas may not take a party under 25 yrs – please phone for further information if any of these apply

2. The person who makes the booking is described as ‘party leader’ and is deemed to have read and understood all the terms and conditions. We are entitled to assume that all the passengers listed on the booking form have read and understood the terms and conditions. The party leader is responsible for all costs and charges related to the booking.

3. When we confirm your booking (whether verbally or online), an invoice will be sent to you. You are responsible for supplying the correct spelling of names, dates and all other information regarding your holiday and checking that all the information we have on our confirmation/invoice is accurate. Any corrections or alterations will incur a charge as shown below, if they can be made.

4. Bookings may not be transferred or passengers substituted without the appropriate cancellation or amendment charges being levied.

5. We cannot be held responsible for any services booked by yourself in association with this reservation but not made with Design Holidays

3) Deposits and Payments

1. If you book more than 10 weeks before departure you must pay a non-refundable deposit, which varies dependent on the resort, but is generally 20% of the total value of the booking. We offer a super low deposit  of £100 per person for certain destinations – please ask your sales advisor for details.

2. Final payment must then be made at least 10 weeks prior to departure. Cheques must be received 11 weeks prior to departure to allow for clearance.

3. If you book less than 10 weeks before departure you must pay the full cost of the holiday.

4. All payments made by credit card are subject to a 2.5% surcharge. No charge will be levied for balances paid by debit cards, bank transfer or cheque. (Bookings cannot be confirmed until cleared funds are received so cheques are not accepted at deposit stage)

5. All payment must be received by the due date; otherwise we will consider the holiday as being cancelled by you. Cancellation charges will then be imposed. (Condition 5d) No tickets will be issued until your holiday has been paid in full.

4) Insurance

It is a condition of booking that you have adequate holiday insurance which can be purchased with our insurance partner, Columbus Insurance via our website, or can be arranged independently. It is your responsibility to arrange additional cover if required (e.g. any activities not covered as standard) or provide cover for additional areas of liability, if necessary, and to check the suitability of any insurance booked. Any pre-existing medical conditions must be reported to the insurance company prior to purchasing any cover.

If you or your party suffer any injury or accident during your holiday then you must report it to the resort Manager in order that an insurance claim form can be filled out on behalf of the property owner at the time, in addition to your own insurance.

5) Your Financial Security

Design Holidays was founded in 1994 and is a specialist accommodation only booking agency featuring only the finest hand picked resorts in Europe.

Bookings can be taken by credit card either online or via telephone. Travel Industry Advice  ‘Never book with any company or ‘private villa owner’ that does not allow you to pay via credit card, thus guarantees your money’.

6) Alterations or Cancellations made by you

1. A minor amendment to your holiday may incur an administration charge of £50, if it can be made (please enquire)
2. We are not obliged to reimburse you for any services not used during your holiday.
3. Any cancellation by you or any member of your party will only be valid once received in writing at our office.
4. Bookings into specific private property numbers are non transferable.  Any request for change of accommodation or resort will be deemed as a cancellation
5. The following cancellation charges will then apply.

*Please check your insurance policy to see if you can claim against the reason for your cancellation.*

7) Alterations or cancellations made by us

1. Sometimes minor amendments need to be made to your booking. These include altering the property number of any private accommodation you are staying in or the times of your flights/operating airline or aircraft. We reserve the right to make changes to these arrangements and will inform you as soon as possible.

2. Occasionally we may have to make a significant change* to your booking. We will endeavour to inform you as soon as possible. If this happens you may:

1. 1. 1. Accept a rider to the contract, specifying the alterations and the impact on the price.
      2. Withdraw from the holiday contract without penalty and with a full refund

*A significant change includes (but is not restricted to): change of accommodation to lower grade or size, change of resort or date.

In any event, we cannot be held responsible for any loss, however incurred, to any service booked in conjunction with this reservation that has not been made directly with Design Holidays.

3. Force Majeure

No compensation is payable if the change is the fault of the consumer or is forced upon us by Force Majeure . This defines any unusual or unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided. This includes (but is not restricted to) war or threat of, riot, civil strife, industrial dispute, terrorist action or threat of, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, unavoidable technical problems with transport, closure or congestion of airports, and adverse weather conditions.   Advice from the Foreign Office to avoid or leave a particular country may constitute Force Majeure.  In these circumstances no compensation is payable.

Electricity or water supply is often not as reliable as in the U.K and short breaks in supply do sometimes occur, we cannot be held responsible for this or any other lack of facility which is beyond our control. Building work and noise are unavoidable as the demand for new accommodation increases. It is the case that some resort areas featured on our website are still being developed and therefore there is a possibility of building work or construction work, which may be carried out by local authorities or private developers. Many of our villas are also situated in residential areas and work may begin on a neighbouring property over which we have no control, nor are we given prior notice. However in any event we will always do our best to inform you in advance but if this is not possible, please accept our apologies.

A credit card will be required in all accommodation types, as a guarantee against any damages or breakages and will be asked for upon check in along with a copy of your Passport for security.

4. Behaviour

At all times during your holiday, you are expected to have consideration for your fellow passengers and other third parties. If in the opinion of ourselves, any airline pilot, accommodation owner or other person in authority, you are, or appear to be behaving in such a way as to cause, or to be likely to cause, danger, distress, annoyance to other parties or damage to property; either ourselves or the supplier concerned may terminate your holiday arrangements. In this situation, we will have no further liability to you and will not be responsible for meeting any expenses you incur as a result, making any refund or paying any compensation. In addition, you will be responsible for any expenses we incur as a result of your behaviour, such as the cost of diverting an aircraft.

8) Flight Information, Delays, Passports, Visas and Insurance

1. Some airlines change flight dates and times. We will advise you as soon as we know when these flights are booked through us. However we cannot be held liable for any losses or expenses that are incurred by you or your party.
2. If flights are cancelled due to weather or technical problems then we cannot be held liable for expenses or losses however incurred. If flight times are changed by more then 12 hours then you are entitled to cancel those flights and book alternative ones, if available, either through ourselves or independently. The accommodation element, however, will still be bound by our cancellation terms and conditions as outlined in 5d).
3. If you request any particular menu for dietary needs, or request wheelchair assistance or any other ancillary service offered by the airline, we will inform the airline but cannot be responsible for any failure on their part to provide the request.
4. Please check your passport is valid for six months past your date of return and if you are not a British citizen please check whether you require a visa before booking. We cannot be responsible for any failure on your part to provide these documents. A full ten year machine readable passport is required for all travellers including children. Should you require further information please contact the passport office on 0870 5210410 or visit www.ukpa.gov.uk
5. In accordance with the CAA rules, we act as agents for ATOL HOLDERS, and you will be subject to the terms and conditions imposed by your individual airline for the transport element of your booking.

9) Our Responsibility

(a) We accept responsibility for the proper performance of our obligations under this contract. We will perform such obligations with reasonable skill and care. We are not responsible for any failure that is: • attributable to you or a member of your party; • attributable to a third party unconnected with the provision of the services to you, and is unforeseeable or unavoidable; • due to circumstances that could not have been prevented despite all reasonable precautions being made; • due to Force Majeure (see the section entitled “Force Majeure” 7 (c)

(b) Our liability is limited according to international agreements as are the liabilities of the carrier and hoteliers. Airlines have their own conditions of carriage which set out their obligations and liabilities. We are limited to the extent of their liability and no more.

LIMITATIONS ON OUR LIABILITY

Our liability to you for any loss or damage which you may suffer is limited to three times the price of your holiday. This excludes personal injury resulting from the non-performance or improper performance of the services involved in the holiday, and is subject to the limitation of liability described above. Health and safety standards applicable to the services provided by us under this contract should meet the local standards applicable to your holiday destination. However you should be aware that these vary widely across our programme and may not match those standards we enjoy in the UK. Any compensation payable by Design Holidays shall be limited in accordance with the lowest limit allowed under applicable International Conventions governing the services, or the amount you can recover from them under the laws of the UK or the country in which they operate. Transport operators have their own conditions of carriage, which form part of your contract with us. These conditions, and the provisions of the International Conventions, generally limit the liability of transport operators.

10) Complaints

In the unlikely event of there being something not to your liking whilst you are holiday you must report it to on-site management. Our representatives will do their best to correct the problem immediately but if you are in any way still unhappy with the situation then you must advise our office in the UK (normal office hours). Unless there is a valid reason why you fail to report your complaint and therefore not give us the opportunity to rectify it, we will not accept responsibility. If it is not possible to report the complaint then a letter must be sent to us within 28 days of your return.  A reply will be given up to 28 days after receipt of a written complaint to allow us to gather reports and investigate with resort management.

IF YOUR LETTER OF COMPLAINT IS RECEIVED LATER THAN 28 DAYS AFTER YOUR RETURN THEN WE CANNOT ACCEPT LIABILITY

11) Applicable Law

Claims against us concerning liability and/or compensation shall fall exclusively within the jurisdiction of the English Courts. If any part of the conditions proves to be invalid or unenforceable, the rest of the conditions will remain valid

12)  Data Protection Policy

In order to process your booking and to ensure that your travel arrangements run smoothly and meet your requirements, we need to use the information you provide, such as name, address, any special needs/dietary requirements etc. We take full responsibility for ensuring that proper security measures are in place to protect your information. We must pass the information on the to the relevant suppliers of your arrangements such as airlines, villa management companies/villa owners, or credit checking companies, public authorities such as customs/immigration if required by them, or as required by law. Additionally, where your holiday is outside the European Economic Area (EEA), controls on data protection in your destination may not be as strong as the legal requirements in this country. We will not, however, pass any information on to any person not responsible for part of your travel arrangements. This applies to any sensitive information that you give to us such as details of disabilities, or dietary/religious requirements. In making your booking you consent to this information being passed on to the relevant persons.

Disclaimer: The information contained on this website is subject to change without notice. Whilst every effort has been made by Design Holidays to ensure the accuracy of this information it may be possible that certain changes will have occurred that are outside our direct control or knowledge.