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Short Term Rental Holiday Letting Agreement
​Booking Terms and Conditions​
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Please Read​
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If you make a booking or a reservation request with us, these Terms & Conditions are deemed to have been accepted by you.
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Please ensure your stay complies with restrictions relating to the area you are travelling from and the area you are travelling to.
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1. Contract of Hire
The hiring contract is between yourself the Renter and the Owner of the Vacation Rental. Vacation Rental Stays (VRS) acts as Hosting Manager for the Owners of the Property and are not Principals. The hire of the property is for holiday purposes only unless otherwise agreed in writing with Vacation Rental Stays. The accommodation must not be used for stag parties, hen parties, weddings or any special event without prior discussion and written agreement with Vacation Rental Stays. We do not accept bookings from Renters under 25 years of age unless otherwise agreed in writing with the Vacation Rental Stays. Your contract is between you and the Owners of the property and is subject to the following conditions.
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2. Payments
2.1 Initial Payment, Deposit, Reservation
2.1.1 Direct Bookings: Direct bookings are bookings made directly via a website owned and / or operated by VRS or by phone or by email. Payment of direct bookings must be made online with credit or debit card.
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2.1.2 Payment 'Cooling Off' Period for Direct Bookings Only:
For direct bookings (not bookings via OTA's such as Airbnb, TripAdvisor etc) there is a 72 hour cooling off period from the time the payment is made. During this time, the booking may be cancelled by yourself or VRS and a full refund issued; no reason for the cancellation need be given.
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2.1.3 OTA Bookings such as Airbnb, TripAdvisor, Booking.com:
Bookings made through OTAs (Online Travel Agents such as Airbnb etc) must be booked and paid for according to the instructions, terms and conditions on the specific OTA site through which this booking is made.
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2.2 Remaining Balance Payment
2.2.1 Remaining Balance Payment For Direct Bookings: For bookings made direct, the rental payment balance is due for payment on the date stipulated during the booking process, normally 8 weeks prior to the arrival date. Balancing payment for the booking will normally be charged by VRS to the original card of payment on, or shortly after, the due date. If payment is not able to be taken from the booking card and we have not received the full outstanding balance by, or shortly after (48 hours), the due date, an overdue reminder email or phone call will be made to the holidaymaker and a charge of £10.00 will be added to the balance due. Where the full outstanding balance is still not received within a further 72 hours or 3 working days, we reserve the right to cancel the holiday booking and will retain the deposit paid by the holidaymaker. The holiday maker shall have no claim against us for compensation or reimbursement whatsoever.
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2.2.2 For OTA Bookings such as Airbnb, TripAdvisor, Booking.com:
Bookings made through OTAs (Online Travel Agents) must be booked and paid for according to the instructions, terms and conditions on the specific OTA site.
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3. Confirmation of Booking
Confirmation of the booking will be sent to the Renter via email and is subject to the 72 hour 'cooling off' cancellation period by either party.
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4. Numbers of Guests at the Property
If more than the maximum number of persons are in a Vacation Rental accommodation we have the right to terminate the contract immediately without refund. Under no circumstances may more than the maximum number of persons as stated in the property advertisement or website occupy a property.Overnight visitors not listed on your reservation are not allowed. The person who completes the booking, i.e. the lead name, certifies that he or she is authorised to agree to the Booking Conditions on behalf of all members of the party, including any changes. The lead name must be over 25 years of age and a member of the party occupying the property. The lead name agrees to take responsibility for all members of the party. Vacation Rental Stays reserve the right to refuse or revoke any bookings from parties that may, in their opinion, (and at their sole discretion) be unsuitable for the property concerned. Exceeding the maximum number of persons may invalidate the property insurance.
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5. Your Personal Data
The Personal Data that you provide will be managed by Us (Vacation Rental Stays) and may also be forwarded to the Owner of the property. You may be contacted by Us with regard to your forthcoming reservation. Your details will not be shared with any third party other than that stated in our Privacy Policy. For further information regarding GDPR and how we handle Personal Data please refer to our Privacy Policy.
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6. Vacation Rental Arrival and Departure
Standard arrival time is 17:00 hours (subject to unavoidable delays) unless otherwise notified or stated. You must leave your Vacation Rental by the time stated in your rental information (normally 10.00am). You are responsible for any damage done or loss sustained during your stay. The standard departure time is 10:00 hours unless otherwise notified or stated. The arrival policy at most properties is 'self-entry' via keys kept in a coded 'lock box'. If the policy for your rental property is different this will be noted either on the booking site or in the communications sent to you.
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7. Condition and Cleanliness of Your Vacation Rental
You are obliged to leave everything in a clean and tidy condition. You are responsible for any damage done or loss sustained during your stay.
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8. Specific Health or Mobility Difficulties
The property details aim to give accurate descriptions of the property. Should there be any specific health or mobility difficulties which may affect a party member this must be pointed out at the initial reservation stage so that the suitability of the property can be assessed.
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9. Keys
The Renter is responsible for the return of all keys to the property. The fee for a lost key is £35. The fee for replacement lock is an additional £120.00. Fee will be deducted from damage deposit.
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10. Pre-Existing Damage
Upon arrival, if you become aware of any pre-existing damage to the property or its inventory, please inform us. You must notify any shortcomings with your Vacation Rental to reception staff immediately so that remedial action, if appropriate, can be taken. We cannot accept subsequent claims for shortcomings not so notified, and are unable to enter into correspondence with guests who have failed to register any dissatisfaction to us whilst resident in their Vacation Rental accommodation. Any ongoing correspondence will be forwarded to the owner as necessary. Any operational failure of appliances must be reported to the VRS immediately. Where the appliance cannot be repaired within 48 hours, a substitute appliance will be attempted to be provided where possible, however, we cannot guarantee the availability of a substitute appliance. We will not be liable for any loss or damage resulting from incorrect operation of any appliance. For all complaints and claims which do not involve personal injury, illness or death, we regret we cannot accept any liability if you fail to notify us of any complaint or claim during your holiday and write to us with full details within 28 days of the end of your holiday.
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11. Smoking
All accommodations are non-smoking. If smoking is detected inside the accommodation following your stay a fee of £120 will be made against your Damage Deposit.
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12. Damage Deposit
A Damage Deposit pre-authorization against your payment card will be made of the amount and manner shown during the booking process.
Provided the property is left at the end of the rental in a similar condition to when you arrived, no claim will be made against the Damage Deposit. We will notify you of any damage caused by you to the property, fixtures and fittings, any extra cleaning costs, breakages and lost items. If any charges apply then they will be deducted from the Damage Deposit or in some cases from the credit or debit card of payment.
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13. Claim Arising
If there is a claim for loss, damage or additional cleaning following your departure, a charge/deduction will be made from your Damage Deposit and you will be informed. We will notify you of any damage caused by you to the property, fixtures and fittings, any extra cleaning costs, breakages and lost items. If any charges apply then they will be deducted from the Damage Deposit or in some cases from the credit or debit card of payment.
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14. Eligibility Limitations
VRS is not required to accept bookings for the accommodation from persons who are under the age of 25 or all male or all female groups or bookings for stag parties, hen parties, weddings or any special event without prior discussion and agreement with Vacation Rental Support or the Owner, nor are Owners or Vacation Rental Support required to honour such bookings. Approval for such bookings may be applied for by emailing Vacation Rental Support at: admin@vacationrentalsupport.co.uk . Approval for such a booking may be refused with no explanation given. Permission is at the sole discretion of Vacation Rental Stays. Vacation Rental Stays will be entitled to request Guests to immediately leave the accommodation if the occupants are all under the age of 25 or do not meet the booking eligibility requirements. The Renter will not be entitled to any refund of any of the rental charges in these circumstances.
For some properties and/or some letting instances, a team member from Vacation Rental Stays may need to greet you prior to the handing over of the keys for the accommodation. If this is the case, then details will be sent to you via email during the booking/enquiry stage.
For some properties and/or some letting instances, a higher than usual Damage Deposit may be required and/or additional proof of ID and/or proof of the number of people staying at the property. There will be an enhanced Damage Deposit for certain types of booking: weddings, stag/hen parties, film shoots etc, if such a booking is accepted.
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16. Cancellations
For direct bookings, either the renter, Vacation Rental Support or the owner may cancel a reservation within 72 hours of the reservation being made without charges or penalties of any kind being applied to either the Renter, Vacation Rental Stays or the Owner. No reason need be given. Any monies paid by the renter will be refunded in full normally within 10 working days.
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16.1 Booking Cancellation or Adjustment by Us
VRS hopes that it does not have to either cancel or adjust your reservation in any way: however, as unforeseen problems do occur, we would contact you immediately to inform of any such cancellation or adjustment. In cases of a direct booking all monies paid by the renter would be refunded to the renter. If the rental was booked via an OTA such as Airbnb or Tripadvisor etc, then the policies of the respective OTA will be followed. Except where otherwise expressly stated the Owner and Vacation Rental Support shall not be liable for changes beyond the control of VRS or beyond the control of the Owner. We have the right to refuse to hand over accommodation to any person(s) who, in our reasonable opinion, are not suitable to take charge of it. In such cases, all hire charges paid will be refunded in full, the contract shall be terminated and we will have no further liability. If, in the reasonable opinion of ourselves, any person(s) is not suitable to continue the holiday because of unreasonable behavior, damage to property or danger or significant annoyance to others, the Contract may be terminated, in which case we will not have any further liability. In this event, you will remain liable to pay the hire price and no refund shall be due. You will also be liable for any damage caused in the Vacation Rental. We have the right to enter any accommodation (without prior notice if this is not practical or possible) if special circumstances or emergencies arise (for example if repairs need to be carried out).
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16.2 Cancellation by You (See below for COVID-19 related cancellations)
Please consider taking out Cancellation Insurance
If you are forced to cancel your holiday, you must inform Vacation Rental Stays by email as soon as possible after you are aware of the need to do so. If you notify us of the cancellation by phone, please also confirm the cancellation with us via email. The day we receive your notice to cancel is the date on which we will cancel your booking. Please see the Cancellation Policy relating to your particular reservation for further details. We strongly advise that you ensure that your holiday insurance covers you for the above.
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16.3 COVID-19 Related Cancellations
COVID-19 related cancellations can now be received up to 7 days prior to arrival date. Please notify us a soon as possible if you need to cancel due to COVID-19 Government issued restrictions or if you have COVID-19. If you need additional time beyond the 7 day deadline please contact us and we will work with you to see if your stay can go ahead. If there is a possibility that the reservation can't go ahead for your chosen dates, please contact us so that we can stop your balancing payment from being charged. Balancing payments are charged to your payment card approximately 7 days prior to your arrival date. There is a 3% deduction for any refunds after they have been paid.
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17. Pets
Please refer to the individual property policy regarding pets. Pets are accepted in some properties at the cost of £7 per pet per night with a maximum of one pet per booking unless otherwise stated in the property information or agreed in advance with Us. All pets must be kept under control at all times and must not be left alone in any property at any time. Any damage or additional cleaning required both inside and out the property is payable by the Holidaymaker. Please note that no pets are allowed in bedrooms or on furniture. All Pet Friendly Properties have fencing but we cannot guarantee that they are 'escape proof'. Please monitor your dog whilst it is in the garden and remove all Pet Poop. An additional charge of up to £50 may be made if Pet Poop is not removed.
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18.1 Liability
In completing the booking, you agree to indemnify Vacation Rental Stays against all loss and damage arising directly or indirectly to the property and its contents from any deliberate or negligent act or omission by yourself, or any other person or animal accompanying you or any member of your party.
The Owner of any property for which Vacation Rental Stays provides any services is insured against loss or injury through their negligence. In the absence of any negligence or other breach of duty by the Owner, the use by Tenants/Renters of any property or its facilities is entirely at their own risk. Except where otherwise specified in these Conditions of Hire, we cannot accept liability for any damage, expense, injury death or loss of any nature whatsoever suffered by any persons from any cause whatsoever other than, in the case of proven negligence. All our guests are encouraged to ensure that they have adequate property and accident insurance for their holiday.
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18.2 Availability and 'Force Majeure': Your booking is accepted on the understanding that your confirmed Vacation Rental will be available for your use on the agreed date. Very occasionally ‘Force Majeure’ does not make this possible. Where ‘Force Majeure’ arises, we have the right to cancel your booking. In this event, we will endeavor to offer you an alternative Vacation Rental if available. If we cannot do so or if you do not wish to accept the alternative we offer, the Owner will refund all monies you have paid in full. Where any cancellation or charge results from ‘Force Majeure’ our liabilities are limited to offering you an alternative property (where available) or full refund as set out above. We regret we cannot pay any compensation or meet any expenses or costs you may incur as a result of any such cancellation or charge.
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19. Law Jurisdiction
The contract between you and the Owner is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Scottish Courts.
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20. Changes to these Booking Conditions
20.1 We may make changes to these Booking Conditions at any time by sending you an email with the modified Booking Conditions or by posting a copy of them on the Site. Any changes will take effect 7 days after the date of our email or the date on which we post the modified terms on the Site, whichever is the earlier. If you continue to use the Site after that period or date, it means that you accept any such changes. The modified Booking Conditions will not apply to any Bookings that we confirm with you before the date the modified Booking Conditions come into effect.
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20.2 No representative, agent or salesperson has the authority to vary, amend or waive any of these Booking Conditions. No amendment, variation or waiver of any of these Booking Conditions will be valid or have any effect unless accepted and confirmed by us in writing.
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21. Wifi
All properties offer free wifi to guests. However we can not be held responsible for the loss or interruption of internet access during your stay.
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22. Accuracy of Information
We have inspected all of the properties described in markeing media and have tried to ensure that the information given is accurate, but we cannot be held responsible for inaccuracies or misrepresentations however they may have occurred. All information contained in any marketing media is believed correct at the time of issuing but we reserve the right to make alternations to prices and details at any time without notice but shall endeavor to inform the Holidaymaker of any such alterations.
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23. Vehicle Parking
Each accommodation has its own parking area, which must be used. Vehicles should not be left on the road and they, their accessories and contents are left at your own risk. We cannot be held responsible for loss or damage thereto from any vehicle except through proven negligence of our staff.
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24. Lost Property
Should any property be found to be left in an accommodation we will store it in a safe place usually at the property. For the return of property there will be an administration charge of £10.00, plus postage and packaging, payable in advance by debit card. Any items not claimed within 28 days will be disposed off.
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26. Single-sex group bookings
We cater primarily for family holidays, but we may allow single sex groups, if notified to us when requesting to book. We generally do not cater for Stag/Hen Groups. A person booking for such a party may be asked to pay an additional refundable security deposit of £500. This deposit will be refunded within 7 days after departure in full, providing the accommodation, equipment and environment is left as found. Any damage found will be charged against the security deposit. If the deposit amount is insufficient then the card of payment will be charged. The person booking the accommodation will be held accountable for the group's actions in the holiday accommodation. If we are not informed that your party is a single sex group, we reserve the right to refuse entry to the property.
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27. Telephone Bookings
Telephone bookings will normally be held as provisional bookings for up to 5 days only outwith high seasons and up to a maximum of 24 hours within high season and MUST be confirmed by credit or debit card payment immediately. Should a material change be made to any booking once the booking documentation has been issued an automatic administration fee of £10.00 will be levied. Any change of holiday dates is only possible with the agreement of VRS.