PAYMENT
Bookings are confirmed on receipt of the booking form and receiving the deposit of 25% of the holiday cost. The balance of the rental will be due for payment six weeks before the start of your holiday. We will send you a reminder when the balance is due. The balance should be paid within 3 days of receipt of the reminder. We reserve the right to cancel a holiday where payment has not been made within a week of notification of the balance being due. If the booking is made within six weeks of the holiday start date, then payment will be due in full. For more information and enquiries, please contact Unique Retreats.
CANCELLATION
Cancellation by You
Cancellations must be immediately notified to us and confirmed in writing. The treatment of a cancellation will depend on
- a) the date the booking was made
- b) when the cancellation is made and
- c) the reason for the cancellation
Bookings placed between 6th June 2020 and 08 January 2021 are covered by Master Cancel, and are subject to different T&Cs (see below).
Bookings placed from 09 January 2021 will be treated based of the reason for the cancellation, the length of time between cancellation and your holiday, and our ability to re-let the property, as follows:
National Lockdown – In the event of a national lockdown that coincides with your holiday, where you are unable to travel, and we are prevented from opening, you will receive a full refund.
Regional/Local Lockdown – In the event that the address given on the booking is put into Local/Regional Lockdown, rendering you unable to travel, and the period of restriction covers the period of your booking, you will receive a full refund. Please note that this applies only to the address given on the booking by the lead booker, and does not apply if an unidentified party member at a different address is unable to travel due to local lockdown.
Your inability (or the inability of any, some or all of your intended occupants) or disinclination to travel to and stay at your hired Cottage for any reason. This includes – but is not limited to – illness (including Covid), a requirement or recommendation to self-isolate or quarantine, a call to jury duty, incarceration, change in personal or work circumstances, family emergencies, travel delays, vehicle breakdown, and delays with public transport. These remain at your risk and do not give rise to a right to cancel or to receive a refund unless we re-let the property, other than according to the sliding scale below. You are strongly recommended to take out UK travel insurance to cover these eventualities. If you choose not to take out UK travel insurance then you accept responsibility for any loss that you may incur due to your cancellation.
TRAVEL INSURANCE
It is the responsibility of the Lead Guest to acquire suitable travel insurance to cover their holiday, including Cancellation and Curtailment Protection Insurance. We strongly recommend that you take out suitable insurance which will cover you for possible cancellation of your UK holiday. There are several suitable options which include cover for COVID-related cancellation (see below), or you can look for suitable cover on comparison sites such as www.gocompare.com. We are not selling, promoting, endorsing or recommending any particular product, and do not benefit financially or have any formal relationship with any of these providers.
https://www.coverwise.co.uk/Travel-Insurance/corona-virus.aspx
https://www.allianz-assistance.co.uk/travel-insurance/Covid-19-travel-insurance.html
REFUNDS
All refunds will be subject to deduction of a non-refundable administration fee of £75 to cover our costs and third party costs related to the cancellation and re marketing (these costs include our admin costs, re-marketing costs, bank fees, accounting fees and agency fees or commission payments).
A cancellation charge will be made based on the number of days notification of cancellation given by the person making the booking to Kernock Cottages, and whether the cottage is re-let for the period of the cancelled stay. Kernock Cottages will apply the scale shown in the table below to determine the amount of the refund payable to you. If the cottage is not re-let, this will be a percentage of the total cost of the holiday. If the cottage is re-let, the amount refunded will be the rebooking value (which may be less than you paid) less the non-refundable administration fee of £75. For the purposes of this Condition, the total cost of the holiday shall include any extra items ordered by the Holidaymaker.
Part Cancellations – If any person(s) in your party needs to cancel, this will not affect the total cost of your booking. In addition, no refunds are payable in the event that you cut short your stay.
Refunds for cancellations more than 6 weeks out will be made within 3 working days of the date of cancellation, which must be in writing (by email). Refunds for cancellations made less than 6 weeks out will be made within 3 working days of the earlier of the rebooking date, or the start date of the holiday (as the refund amount will depend on the rebooking value).
| Time from Cancellation to Arrival | Cottage not rebooked | Cottage rebooked |
| We Refund to you | We Refund to you | |
| > 6 weeks | Deposit less £75 | Deposit less £75 |
| 36-42 days | 60% of total cost | Rebooking value less £75 |
| 29-35 days | 50% of total cost | Rebooking value less £75 |
| 22-28 days | 40% of total cost | Rebooking value less £75 |
| 15-21 days | 30% of total cost | Rebooking value less £75 |
| 8-14 days | 20% of total cost | Rebooking value less £75 |
| 0-7 days | 10% of total cost | Rebooking value less £75 |
Bookings placed between 6 June 2020 and 08 January 2021 have Cancellation Protection cover under our Master Cancel Policy if you cancel up to 2 days prior to arrival.
If you cancel up to and including 2 days before check-in date, you will receive a full refund of the lodging costs you have paid. Refund payment for cancelled booking will be released back to the cancelling guest at the latest within 2 weeks of cancellation. Cancellations made 1 day prior to, or on the day of check-in will not be eligible for refund. Example: for a check-in on Saturday you could cancel the prior Thursday before 16.00 and be reimbursed in full, but not on Friday (1 day prior) or Saturday (day of check-in). For this reason we strongly recommend you take out your own travel insurance for UK holidays which covers booking cancellations. This is available at very affordable rates, and gives you the peace of mind that you will get your money back if you need to cancel your holiday. If you choose not to then you accept responsibility for any loss that you may incur due to your cancellation.
Cancellation by Us
If we (Unique Retreats) have to cancel your booking for any reason, including a Force Majeure event, meaning any of the following circumstances which may hinder or prevent the performance by us of the Contract, you will be refunded in full.
(a) acts of God, flood, drought, earthquake or other natural disaster;
(b) epidemic or pandemic;
(c) terrorist attack, civil war, civil commotion or riots, war, threat of or preparation for war, armed conflict, imposition of sanctions, embargo, or breaking off of diplomatic relations;
(d) nuclear, chemical or biological contamination or sonic boom; (e) any law or any action taken by a government or public authority, including without limitation imposing a restriction, prohibition, or failing to grant a necessary licence or consent;
(f) collapse of buildings, fire, explosion or accident;
(g) any labour or trade dispute, strikes, industrial action or lockouts;
(h) non-performance by suppliers or contractors; and
(i) interruption or failure of utility service, and the period of closure covers you booking.
Bookings placed before 6th June 2020 are not cancellation protected, meaning that if you cancel before the date the balance is due, and we are able to re-let your dates, we will refund you the deposit amount (which may be less than you paid – e.g. if the final letting price was discounted or only some of the days are re-let). If we are unable to re-let you remain responsible for the deposit and there will be no refund under any circumstances. You will be reimbursed at check-out date of original booking. From 42 days before check-in to the day of check-in, you remain responsible for the full rent and there will be no refund unless we are able to re-let your dates, in which case we will refund you all or part of the sum you have paid, depending on the value of the replacement booking, less a 10% administration fee. You will be reimbursed at check-in date of the original or replacement booking, whichever has the later arrival date. We would strongly advise that guests take out a travel insurance policy which covers booking cancellations. This is available at very affordable rates, and gives you the peace of mind that you will get your money back if you need to cancel your holiday. If you choose not to then you accept responsibility for any loss that you may incur due to your cancellation.
Questions, comments and requests regarding this cancellation policy are welcome
For further information please make your enquiries through the Enquiries Page or email us directly at holidays@unique-retreats.co.uk