Booking Protect Terms and Conditions

What is ‘Booking Protect?

For a fee, detailed on the booking form, Booking Protect enables our customers to amend the dates of their reservation or receive a refund in specified unforeseen circumstances. It also covers accidental damage during your stay at the property up to the value of the Accidental Damage Deposit for the booked property.

Booking Protect will cover any shortfall in refund due to you, of the total cost of your holiday, if you need to cancel (excluding extras booked in addition to your accommodation) due to illness – of either you, a member of your immediate family or any person(s) in the group due to attend the holiday with you. This includes being diagnosed with COVID-19 caused by the Coronavirus, which most travel insurance companies will not provide a refund for.

Booking Protect provides refunds up to a certain level, on a sliding scale. This depends on the lead time to the holiday when the booking is cancelled, and if the holiday dates have been re-sold. Booking Protect will cover the difference between what we are able to refund, and the total rental rate paid (excluding extras booked in addition to your accommodation).

Booking Protect will enable a refund to Luxury Cottages guests that covers the total rental cost of the holiday booking (excluding extras booked in addition to your accommodation) less the Booking Protect purchase fee and £75 cancellation fee which are non-refundable.

Booking Protect is available through Luxury Cottages to provide you with the option to amend dates or receive a refund for cancellation in certain circumstances. We recommend you include this option in order to receive a refund for the rental cost of your holiday (excluding extras booked in addition to your accommodation) should you or anyone in the party be unable to attend for a reason covered by the Booking Protect terms and conditions.

Booking Protect can be added at the time of booking, whether the booking is made via the website or by phone or email to Luxury Cottages. If not added at the time of booking, it can be added at any time up to the final balance being paid. It cannot be purchased once the holiday has been paid in full. Cover commences 3 days after the date it is paid for.

Booking Protect will enable guests to amend the dates of their holiday, should you be unable to travel as originally planned at the time of the booking.

Included with Booking Protect is an Accidental Damage Waiver up to the value of the security deposit for the booked property to cover accidental damage caused during your stay at the property.

Terms and Conditions of Cover

Booking Protect will enable customers to amend the dates of their reservation or provide you with a refund of the rental cost (excluding extras booked in addition to your accommodation) that you have paid on any unused booking if you are unable to start your holiday on its commencement date due to any of the circumstances set out below. Please note that this is not an insurance policy. If you purchase Booking Protect, these terms and conditions are added to our general terms and conditions and applied to the booking you make.

Definitions

The following words or phrases have the meaning shown below wherever they appear in bold in this document.

You/Your/Yourself – A person who has made a booking alone or as part of a group with us.
Doctor – A qualified medical practitioner registered with a recognised professional body. A doctor cannot be you or a member of your immediate family.
Emergency Services – The Police, Fire and Rescue Service or Emergency Medical Services.
Booking – The pre-planned and pre-booked service(s)/event(s)/ticket(s) including booking and service fees transacted with us by you.
Group – Any number of people who have made a booking with us with Booking Protect in the same transaction.
Illness – A physical or mental condition confirmed by a doctor that prevents you from attending the booking.
Immediate family – Your husband, wife, partner, civil partner, parent, child, brother or sister.
Injury – A bodily injury confirmed by a doctor that prevents you from attending the booking.
Public Transport Network – Any mode of public transport other than public hire taxis licensed for public use on which you had planned to travel to a booking.
Ticket/Voucher – A confirmed non-refundable booking of a holiday with us where Booking Protect has been purchased at the same time as booking the holiday (or prior to payment being made in full).
We/us/our – Luxury Cottages, with whom you made the booking.

Under what circumstances will Booking Protect refund the cost of your booking?

Booking Protect will refund the cost of your booking (excluding extras booked in addition to your accommodation) if you are unable to start the holiday on the commencement date
due to:

Unexpected disruption of the public transport networkyou could not have reasonably known about before the date of the booking;
An injury, or an illnessaffecting you or a member of your immediate family;
Death happening to you at any time before the bookingor a member of your immediate family within a 4-week period of the booking;
The mechanical breakdown, accident, fire or theft en route of a private vehicle taking youto the booking;
Jury service which youwere unaware of at the time of the purchase;
Burglary or fire at your residence in the 48 hours immediately before the bookingthat required the attendance of the emergency services;
Youbeing summoned to appear at court proceedings as a witness which you were unaware of at the time of purchase;
Youbeing a member of the armed forces and being posted overseas unexpectedly;
Adverse weather including snow, frost, fog or storm where the Police services or other Government agency have issued warnings not to travel. Youmust provide confirmation of relevant road closures from the Police or the relevant Government agency;
Youbeing relocated permanently for work by your employer more than 100 miles from the booking which you were unaware of at the time of purchase or you are unexpectedly made compulsory redundant.

Under what circumstances will Booking Protect not refund?

Booking Protect will not provide a refund where:

you cannot provide a doctor’s report for injury or illness;
you cannot return all unused tickets or vouchers forming part of the booking;
your sole reason for not attending is due to another member of your group no longer being able to attend for any reason;
you are unable to attend a booking because you are unable to obtain a visa to travel;
the booking is cancelled, abandoned, postponed, curtailed or relocated;
you decide not to attend a booking other than for a reason included within this Booking Protect;
you are prevented from travelling to a booking due to disruption of the public transport network which is public knowledge prior to the booking scheduled arrival date/time;
you are being relocated temporarily for work by your employer at the time of booking or you have applied for relocation more than 100 miles from the booking;
you can recover any part of the booking;
in our reasonable opinion, you did not allow sufficient time to travel to a booking;
you carry out a criminal act which prevents you attending a booking;
you are prevented from travelling to a booking due to an outbreak of a contagious disease and the Government or any agency acting on behalf of the Government has imposed a ban on travel;
you make a false or fraudulent Booking Protect refund or support a Booking Protect refund by false or fraudulent document, device or statement;
you submit your refund request more than 45 days after the booking scheduled arrival date/time.

Booking Protect will not pay for travelling or associated expenses (unless travel costs are included as part of the total package price), or any loss other than the purchase price, including booking fee.

Booking Protect will not pay any consequence of war, invasion, acts of foreign enemies, hostilities (whether war be declared or not), civil war, rebellion, revolutions, insurrection, military or usurped power, riot, civil commotion, strikes, lockout, terrorism, malicious intent or vandalism, confiscation or nationalisation of or requisition or destruction of or damage to property by or under the order of any government or public or local authority.

Booking Protect will not pay any costs you incur in submitting or providing evidence to support your Booking Protect refund.

General Conditions

a) you must make all necessary arrangements to arrive on time.
b) you must not be aware of any material fact, matter or circumstance, at the time Booking Protect is purchased, which may give rise to a refund request.
c) you must take all reasonable precautions to prevent or reduce any request for a refund.
d) unless we agree otherwise:
i) the language of this document and all communications relating to it will be English; and
ii) all aspects of the contract, including negotiation and performance, are subject to English laws and the decisions of English courts.
e) Booking Protect is non-refundable unless cancelled within 14 days of purchase and the booking has not taken place. To cancel the Booking Protect you need to contact the vendor within 14 days.

Amending dates

You must contact our Guest Services team who will liaise with the owner of the booked property on your behalf to arrange the change of the dates.

The terms and conditions associated with change of dates are the same as cancellation, as detailed above.

Booking Protect will not cover any increase in accommodation rental cost and you will be required to cover the difference. You will not be entitled to any refund if the accommodation cost for the new dates is less than that of the original booking.

Requesting a Refund

You must contact our Guest Services team as soon as possible after becoming aware of circumstances that may lead you to request a refund but no more than 45 days after the
booking scheduled arrival date/time.

You will be asked to provide at your own expense the following within 45 days of your refund request:

the original unused tickets/vouchers for all parts of the booking;
a doctor’s report where your refund request is for injury or illness or a death certificate where your refund request is for death;
an official notice from the transport service provider in the event of delay, cancellation, mechanical breakdown or accident in relation to the public transport network;
for the breakdown of a private vehicle, a vehicle recovery service report (AA, RAC or equivalent), copy of garage repair bill or parts receipt or in the case of vehicle repairers or police;
the original jury invitation inviting you to be a juror;
in the event of a burglary the police report with crime reference number;
the original witness summons requesting you to appear in court;
a copy of a valid visa permitting your travel to the booking;
confirmation of relevant road closures from the Police or the relevant Government agency if requesting a refund due to an official weather warning being issued;
any reasonable additional evidence that we ask for.

Accidental damage.

It is a requirement when booking certain specified properties with us, to pay either an Accidental Damage Deposit or Booking Protect.

The Accidental Damage Deposit is due with the balance and it will be cashed on receipt and held by us to be applied against the reasonable costs of miscellaneous repairs to and/or replacement of and/or additional cleaning of furnishings, kitchen equipment, crockery, glass, keys, bedding and towels damaged or soiled otherwise than by usual wear and tear during the period of the booking by you or other holidaymakers. The balance of the Accidental Damage Deposit will be returned to you within 14 working days of the departure date. Where such costs exceed the Accidental Damage Deposit you agree to pay such excess to the owner promptly and in any event within 14 days of being notified.

Where you have agreed to purchase Booking Protect, the Accidental Damage Deposit is not payable. Booking Protect is a non-refundable payment by you to us in lieu of the Accidental Damage Deposit. Booking Protect will normally, but at our sole discretion, cover the costs of making good any loss or damage to the property and/or its contents caused through act or omission during the period of the booking by you or other holidaymakers and up to the value of the Accidental Damage Deposit for the booked property. Where any such damage caused exceeds this amount, you agree to pay to us, acting on behalf of the owner, upon written demand, any reasonable costs incurred by us or on behalf of the owner to make good any such loss or damage above the predetermined amount. Criminal or wilful damage will not be covered by the Accidental Damage Deposit Waiver.

Frequently Asked Questions

At what point can I purchase Booking Protect for my booking?

You can purchase Booking Protect when placing your booking online or over the phone. If you have only paid your deposit, Booking Protect can be added on at any time up until you have paid your final balance. For bookings made less than 2 calendar months before the holiday commencement date, where the full amount must be paid at the time of booking, Booking Protect can only be added at the point the booking is made. Once paid in full, you can’t add Booking Protect to your booking.

What if I change my mind and no longer want Booking Protect after purchasing it and adding it to my booking?

If you change your mind about Booking Protect there is a 14-day cooling off period for you to cancel. Simply contact us in writing to inform us and we will refund the purchase cost of the insurance via the method used to pay for it.

Is Booking Protect arranged by Luxury Cottages or is it third party protection?

Booking Protect is arranged by Luxury Cottages and is handled and organised solely by Luxury Cottages and all correspondence regarding cancelling or amending your booking must be with Luxury Cottages.

What do I do if I need to cancel my holiday and make a claim or amend my dates?

If you need to make a claim for a refund or amend dates for your holiday, you will need to contact Luxury Cottages’ Guest Services team.

If my Booking Protect refund claim is successful, when will payment be made?

If your Booking Protect refund is successful, you will receive an immediate notification via email that the refund will be sent to your nominated bank account within 14 days.

What happens if my Booking Protect refund is not successful?

If your Booking Protect refund is rejected, one of the Guest Services team will respond to your request and explain the reasons for it being unsuccessful. Luxury Cottages will always refer to the terms and conditions when making a final decision.