Staying Away Ltd Booking Conditions

Staying Away Ltd trading as I Know Holidays; I Know Majorca; I Know Canary Islands; I Know Portugal; I Know Spain

Your Holiday Contract

When you make a booking you guarantee that you have the authority to accept and do accept on behalf of your party the terms of these booking conditions. A contract will exist as soon as you confirm your reservation. This contract is made on the terms of these booking conditions, which are governed by English Law, and the jurisdiction of the English Courts. Please note that where a suppliers services form part or all of your booking, the suppliers standard terms and conditions will also apply. This applies when Staying Away Ltd acts only as an agent between you and our suppliers. All travel arrangements that include flights are subject to the airlines conditions of carriage.
Your Holiday Price
1. We reserve the right to alter the prices of any of the holidays shown in our brochure or on our website. You will be advised of the current price of the holiday that you wish to book before your contract is confirmed.
2. When you make your booking you must pay a minimum deposit of £25 or as specified on your confirmation invoice. The balance of the price of your travel arrangements must be paid at least 8 weeks before your departure date, or as otherwise stated on your confirmation invoice. Many airlines require full payment at the time of booking and, on the majority of flights, fares only become guaranteed on full payment. If the deposit and/or balance is not paid in time, we shall remove any discounts and reserve the right to cancel your travel arrangements without prior notification. If the balance is not paid in time we shall retain any deposits paid. In any case, Travel Documents will not be released until we have received full payment. If you have booked through a Travel Agent all monies you pay to the travel agent are held by them on your behalf until we issue our confirmation invoice. After this the travel agent holds the monies on our behalf. The price of your travel arrangements was calculated using exchange rates quoted on the www.xe.com currency website at the time your reservation was confirmed.
3. Changes in transportation costs, including the cost of fuel, dues, taxes or fees chargeable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports and exchange rates mean that the price of your travel arrangements may change after you have booked.
  
  We will absorb and you will not be charged for any increase equivalent of up to 2% of the price of your travel arrangements, which excludes insurance premiums and any amendment charges. You will be charged for the amount over and above that, plus an administration charge of £1.00 per person together with an amount to cover agents’ commission.
  
  However, provided full payment has been received, there will be no change within 30 days of your departure.
  
  Prices are inclusive of all prepayable charges. There may be some additional charges, such as local taxes or airline baggage handling charges which we cannot collect, and may not be aware of, at the time of your reservation and these have to be paid locally to the hotelier or airline.
4. Telephone bookings, or bookings otherwise made in person, will be subject to a minimum £10 booking fee to reflect the higher administration charges we incur.
If You Change Your Booking

If, after you have confirmed your reservation, you wish to change your travel arrangements in any way, for example your chosen departure date or accommodation, we will do our utmost to make these changes but it may not always be possible. Any request for changes to be made must be in writing from the person who made the booking or your travel agent. You will be asked to pay a minimum administration charge of £25, and any further cost we incur in making this alteration. You should be aware that amendment costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible.

Note: Certain travel arrangements (e.g. Airline tickets which, unless otherwise stated, are non changeable and non-refundable) may not be changeable after a reservation has been made and any alteration request could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% for that part of the arrangements.
If You Cancel Your Holiday

You, or any member of your party, may cancel your travel arrangements at any time. Written notification from the person who made the booking or your travel agent on your behalf must be received at our offices. Since we incur costs in cancelling your travel arrangements you will have to pay the applicable cancellation charges up to the maximum shown in clause 5.

Note: If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges.

If We Change or Cancel Your Holiday

It is unlikely that we will have to make any changes to your travel arrangements, but we frequently have to plan the arrangements many months in advance. Occasionally, we may have to make changes and we reserve the right to do so at any time. Most of these changes will be minor and we will advise you or your travel agent of them at the earliest possible date. We also reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your travel arrangements. For example, if the minimum number of clients required for a particular travel arrangement is not reached, we may have to cancel it. However, we will not cancel your travel arrangements less than 4 weeks before your departure date, except for reasons of force majeure or failure by you to pay the final balance. If we are unable to provide the booked travel arrangements, you can either have a refund of all monies paid or accept an offer of alternative travel arrangements of comparable standard from us, if available (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value). If it is necessary to cancel your travel arrangements, we will pay to you compensation as set out in this clause.

Please note that carriers such as Airlines used in our brochure, on our website, or any other promotional media, may be subject to change. Such a change is deemed to be a minor change. Other examples of minor changes include alteration of your outward/return flights by less than 12 hours, changes to aircraft type, change of accommodation to another of the same standard.

If we make a major change to your holiday, we will inform you or your travel agent as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure. You will have the choice of either accepting the change of arrangements, accepting an offer of alternative travel arrangements of comparable standard from us if available (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value), or cancelling your booked holiday and receiving a full refund of all monies paid. In all cases, except where the major change arises due to reasons of force majeure, we will pay compensation as detailed below.

	IF WE MAKE A MAJOR CHANGE TO YOUR HOLIDAY	IF WE CANCEL YOUR HOLIDAY	IF YOU CANCEL YOUR HOLIDAY
Period before departure within which notice of Cancellation or major change is received by us or notified to you		Amount you will receive from us	Amount of cancellation charge
More than 56 days	Nil	Deposit Only	Deposit Only
More than 29 - 55 days	£20	100% of holiday cost (+£20)	100% of total costs
More than 8 - 14 days	£25	100% of holiday cost (+£25)	100% of total costs
7 days or less	£30	100% of holiday cost (+£30.)	100% of the total cost

The compensation that we offer does not affect your statutory rights.

Force Majeure: This means that we will not pay you compensation if we have to cancel or change your travel arrangements in any way because of unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control. These can include, for example, war, riot, industrial dispute, terrorist activity and its consequences, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather conditions.

If You Have A Complaint

If you have a problem during your holiday, please inform the relevant supplier (e.g. your hotelier), or resort representative, immediately who will endeavour to put things right. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please follow this up within 28 days of your return home by writing to our Customer Services Department at Staying Away Ltd , Centurion House, Centurion Way, Farington, Leyland PR25 3GR giving your booking reference and all other relevant information. Please keep your letter concise and to the point. This will assist us to quickly identify your concerns and speed up our response to you.

It is strongly recommended that you communicate any complaint to the supplier of the services in question as well as to our representative without delay and complete a report form whilst in resort.

If you fail to follow this simple procedure we will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify your complaint whilst you were in resort and this may affect your rights under this contract.
Our Liability to You

If the contract we have with you is not performed or is improperly performed by us or our suppliers we will pay you appropriate compensation if this has affected the enjoyment of your travel arrangements. However we will not be liable where any failure in the performance of the contract is due to: you; or a third party unconnected with the provision of the travel arrangements and where the failure is unforeseeable or unavoidable; or unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or an event which we or our suppliers, even with all due care, could not foresee or forestall. Neither shall we be liable for any consequential losses.

Our liability, except in cases involving death, injury or illness, shall be limited to a maximum of twice the cost of your travel arrangements. Our liability will also be limited in accordance with and/or in an identical manner to:
(a) The contractual terms of the companies that provide the transportation for your travel arrangements. These terms are incorporated into this contract; and
(b) Any relevant international convention, for example the Montreal Convention in respect of travel by air, the Athens Convention in respect of travel by sea, the Berne Convention in respect of travel by rail and the Paris Convention in respect of the provision of accommodation, which limit the amount of compensation that you can claim for death, injury, delay to passengers and loss, damage and delay to luggage. We are to be regarded as having all benefit of any limitation of compensation contained in these or any conventions.

You can ask for copies of the transport companies' contractual terms, or the international conventions, from our Customer Services Department.

Under EU law you have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation from your airline in cases of denied boarding, cancellation or delay to flights. Full details of these rights will be publicised at EU airports and will also be available from airlines. However reimbursement in such cases will not automatically entitle you to a refund of your holiday cost from us. Your right to a refund and/or compensation from us is set out in clause 5. If any payments to you are due from us, any payment made to you by the airline will be deducted from this amount. If your airline does not comply with these rules you should complain to the Air Transport Users' Council on 020 7240 6061 www.auc.org.uk
Personal Injury Unconnected With Your Booked Travel Arrangements

If you, or any member of your party, suffer death, illness or injury whilst overseas arising out of an activity which does not form part of your package travel arrangements or an excursion arranged through us, we shall at our discretion, offer advice, guidance and assistance. Where legal action is contemplated and you want our assistance, you must obtain our written consent prior to commencement of proceedings. Our consent will be given subject to you undertaking to assign any costs, benefits received under any relevant insurance policy to ourselves. We limit the cost of our assistance to you or any member of your party to £5,000.
Passport, Visa and Immigration Requirements and Other Important Information

Your specific passport and visa requirements, and other immigration requirements are your responsibility and you should confirm these with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates. We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel because you have not complied with any passport, visa, immigration or health requirements. Advise on passport, visa, and health issues can be found at www.ukpa.gov.uk , www.fco.gov.uk , and www.cdc.gov/travel respectively (please note, Staying Away Ltd do not accept any responsibility in the unlikely event of inaccuracies in information displayed on any of these websites).

Smoking: With very few exceptions airlines operate a no smoking policy on all flights. If you particularly require flights which allow smoking we recommend you contact airlines, on which you intend to travel, direct regarding current smoking policies.

Seat Requests: Where possible, Staying Away Ltd will pass on any seat request to the relevant airline. However, we must stress that seating requests cannot be guaranteed and we cannot be held responsible for requested seating being unavailable at the time of check-in.

Special Meals: For travellers with special dietary requirements, on flights which offer an in flight meal service, special meals can normally be requested and must be done so, well in advance of the travel date. Staying Away Ltd do not accept liability for any requested special meals not being available.

Direct/Codeshare Flights: Direct flights showing one flight number may require a change of aircraft or touchdown en-route. Some flight routings, especially to the USA, may also require customs and immigration clearance at the first arrival airport. Due to an increasing number of global airline alliances, ’codeshare’ flights, where one airline operates a service on behalf of another, are commonplace.

Photo Identification: airlines operating within the British Isles, and on any other domestic routes, require photographic identification for each passenger. Staying Away Ltd recommend passengers provide this by means of a valid passport, which is universally accepted by all airlines. If a passport is not available passengers should check directly with airlines which forms are identification are acceptable.

Flight Reconfirmation: Passengers must reconfirm flights 72 hours prior to departure directly with airlines.

Special Requests: any special requests (e.g. low floor, adjoining room) will be passed on to the relevant supplier. However, we cannot guarantee that it will be met and we have no liability to you. We will however, make every reasonable effort on your behalf. Some special requests may incur extra charges e.g. room with sea view, where this is the case the supplementary charge will be added to your confirmation invoice.

Overseas Departure Taxes: Many countries impose airport or departure taxes. Where these can be paid in advance, the cost will be included in the ticket price quoted. Other taxes may be payable in cash at the destination.

Wherever possible, tickets and travel vouchers will be sent electronically. If this is not possible tickets and travel vouchers will be sent by normal Royal Mail Services or, if requested and at an appropriate fee, by guaranteed delivery services. Staying Away Ltd do not accept any responsibility for loss or consequential loss due to any tickets, travel vouchers, or travel documentation being lost or delayed due to vagaries in the postal or other delivery services.

It is a condition of booking that all passengers take out adequate Travel Insurance. Such insurance should ensure that all passengers are fully covered against unexpected cancellation charges, medical expenses, loss of luggage or money and personal liability claims. It is strongly recommended that you accept the Travel Insurance offered by Staying Away Ltd. However, you are entirely free to make your own arrangements provided that the resultant policy affords cover comparable to that offered by the Staying Away Ltd. If you decide to decline the Travel Insurance offered by Staying Away Ltd, and elect to make your own arrangements, you undertake on behalf of yourself and all members of your party to;
- Arrange Travel Insurance which provides comparable cover to that offered by Staying Away Ltd.
- To indemnify Staying Away Ltd against any costs incurred as a result of your failure to arrange adequate Travel Insurance for you and your party.
Our website, brochure, and any other promotional material are our responsibility, as your tour operator and/or travel agent. It is not issued on behalf of, and does not commit the airlines mentioned herein or any airline whose services are used in the course of your travel arrangements. Please note that in accordance with Air Navigation Orders in order to qualify for infant status, a child must be under 2 years of age on the date of its return flight. Similarly, child ages are based on the date of return travel.
Event Tickets

If booking travel to attend a specific event unless it is specifically stated that tickets for the event are included in the package price it is the passengers responsibility to purchase their own ticket. Staying Away Ltd accept no responsibility in the event of the passenger being unable to acquire a ticket for the event to which they are booking travel. Staying Away Ltd accept no responsibility if flight delays cause a passenger to miss an event to which they have purchased a ticket. Staying Away Ltd accept no responsibility in the event of losses incurred as a result of the cancellation or change of time and/or date of any event to which the passenger is travelling. Under these circumstances Staying Away normal terms and conditions applicable to cancellation and amendment of bookings shall apply.
Your Protection

We are licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority, ATOL number 9253, and you are protected under the terms of the licence for flights and flight inclusive packages.

Agency Terms of Business

These are the terms on which we will make a booking for your travel or holiday requirements when acting as agents for other principals. When making your booking we will arrange for you to enter into a contract with the principal (tour operator/airline/cruise company or other supplier) named on your receipt. For most bookings we act as agent for the principal but we act as your agent when making a booking with most no frills airlines and some hotels. Details will be given at the time of booking. As agent we accept no responsibility for the acts or omissions of the principal or for the services provided by the principal. The principal’s Terms & Conditions will apply to your booking and we advise you to read these carefully as they do contain important information about your booking. Our Terms of Business are governed by English Law and the jurisdiction of the English Courts.

BOOKING DETAILS: When a booking is made all details will be read back to you. Alternatively, if you book on our website all details will be displayed for your perusal before the booking is confirmed. Once you have confirmed these details we will proceed to confirm the booking with the principal. Please check that all names, dates and timings are correct on receipt of all documents and advise us of any errors immediately. Any changes to these details will incur the charges stated below. Please ensure that the names given are the same as in the relevant passport. The booking information that you provide to us will be passed on only to the relevant suppliers of your travel arrangements or other persons necessary for the provision of your travel arrangements. The information may therefore be provided to public authorities such as customs or immigration if required by them, or as required by law. This applies to any sensitive information that you give to us such as details of any disabilities, or dietary and religious requirements. Certain information may also be passed on to security or credit checking companies. If you are travelling to the United States, the US Customs and Border Protection will receive this information for the purposes of preventing and combating terrorism and other transnational serious crimes. This policy is likely to extend to other countries in the future. If you travel outside the European Economic Area, controls on data protection may not be as strong as the legal requirements in this country. If we cannot pass this information to the relevant suppliers, whether in the EEA or not, we will be unable to provide your booking. In making this booking, you consent to this information being passed on to the relevant persons. Full details of our data protection policy are available upon request.

PAYMENT: You will be required to pay a deposit or make full payment for your booking at the time of booking as required by the principal. Where you only pay a deposit you must pay the full balance by the balance due date notified to you on our documentation. If full payment is not received by the balance due date on our documentation, any discounts will be withdrawn and we may notify the principal who may cancel your booking and charge the cancellation fees set out in their Terms and Conditions.

PRICES: Prices are inclusive of all prepayable charges. There may be some additional costs, such as local taxes or airline baggage handling charges which cannot collect at the time of your reservation by the tour operator, airline, car hire company, hotelier, or other travel arranger and these have to be paid locally.

CANCELLATION and AMENDMENT: Any cancellation or amendment request must be sent to us in writing and will not take effect until received by us. If you cancel or amend your booking the principal may charge the cancellation or amendment charge shown in their Terms and Conditions (which may be 100% of the cost of the travel arrangements) and you must pay us the cancellation or amendment charge stated below.

INSURANCE: Many principals require you to take out travel insurance as a condition of booking with them. In any event, we strongly advise that you take out a policy of insurance in order to cover you and your party against the cost of cancellation by you; the cost of assistance (including repatriation) in the event of accident or illness; loss of baggage and money; and other expenses. If we have issued your policy please check it carefully to ensure that all the details are correct and that all relevant information has been provided by you (eg. pre-existing medical conditions). Failure to disclose relevant information will affect your insurance. If you decline to accept the insurance offered by the tour operator or Staying Away Ltd, and elect to make your own arrangements for travel insurance, you undertake on behalf of yourself and all members of your party to indemnify the tour operator and Staying Away Ltd against any costs incurred as a result of your failure to arrange adequate Travel Insurance for you and your party.

DELIVERY OF DOCUMENTS: All documents (eg. invoices/tickets/Insurance policies) will be sent to you electronically or, if not possible, by Royal Mail postal services. Once documents leave our offices we will not be responsible for their loss or delay due to vagaries in the postal service, unless such loss is due to our negligence. Under any circu8mstances, Staying Away Ltd do not accept responsibility for any consequential loss. If tickets or other documents need to be reissued all costs must be paid by you (please note, conditions applying to some airline reservations do not allow tickets to be reissued). You can ask for delivery by courier or insured delivery services subject to the charges stated below.

PASSPORTS, VISAS AND HEALTH: General information about the passport and visa requirements for your trip are available on our website. Your specific passport and visa requirements, and other immigration requirements are your responsibility and you should confirm these with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates. Neither we nor the principal accept any responsibility if you cannot travel because you have not complied with any passport, visa or immigration requirements. Most countries now require passports to be valid for at least 6 months after your return date. Please take special note that for all air travel within the British Isles, and other domestic travel, airlines require a valid passport as photographic identification. Our website can provide general information about any health formalities required for your trip but you should check with your own doctor for your specific circumstances.

FINAL TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS: Please ensure that all your travel, passport, visa and insurance documents are in order and that you arrive in plenty of time for checking in at the airport. All flights must be reconfirmed direct with the airline at least 72 hours prior to departure. You should take a note of any reference number or contact name when reconfirming. If you fail to reconfirm you may be refused permission to board the aircraft by the airline and you are unlikely to receive any refund.

COMPLAINTS: Any dissatisfaction regarding your travel or holiday arrangements must be reported to the principal or their local supplier or agent immediately. If you fail to follow this procedure there will be less opportunity to investigate and rectify your complaint. The amount of compensation you may be entitled to may be reduced or you may not receive any at all depending upon the circumstances.

SERVICE CHARGES: In certain circumstances, especially when principals do not pay commissions, we apply a service charge for the services we provide. This is not a definitive list of all services we can provide and we reserve the right to apply appropriate service charges, at our discretion, to ensure it is economically viable for us to process a booking on your behalf.

*SERVICE*	*CHARGE*
Booking fees - No Frills airlines	£10 per person min
Booking fees - full published airfrares	Economy £15 pp min; Business £30 pp min; First £50 pp min
Booking fees - all other zero commission rated services	£10 per person min.
Cancellation or amendment	Principal’s charge + £25 per person
Special requests after booking has been confirmed	Principal’s charge + £10 per person
Credit card charge	Visa/Mastercard 2%; Amex/Diners 3%
Collection of surcharges/additional taxes	Principal’s charge + £5 per person
Pre-booking airline seats.	Principal’s charge + £5 per person
Delivering tickets by hand	£20 + 40p per mile. Minimum charge £30
Tickets despatched by courier	Cost of courier + £10
Tickets despatched by insured delivery	£10
International telephone/fax calls	Cost of calls + £5
Tailor made itinerary planning	£25 min (subject to complexity; deducted from confirmed booking)
All other bookings under £150 in value	£10 min

4 February 2008