Bookings terms & conditions
1. Holiday contract, law and jurisdiction
By making a booking, the first named person on the booking agrees on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking that:
- He/she has read these Booking Conditions and has the authority to and does agree to be bound by them;
- He/she consents to our use of personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and is authorised on behalf of all persons named on the booking to disclose their personal details to us, including where applicable special categories of data (such as information on health conditions or disabilities and dietary requirements);
- He/she is over 18 years of age and, where placing an order for services with age restrictions, declares that he/she and all members of the party are of the appropriate age to purchase those services;
- He/she accepts financial responsibility for payment of the booking on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking.
These Booking Conditions and any agreement to which they apply are governed in all respects by English law. We both agree that any dispute, claim or other matter which arises between us out of or in connection with your contract or booking will be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only. You may, however, choose the law and jurisdiction of Scotland or Northern Ireland if you live in those places and if you wish to do so. No variation to our contract with you shall be of any effect unless made in writing and with our authority.
2. Booking and paying for your holiday
When you book your holiday, you must pay the following non-refundable holiday deposit and any additional amount specified at the time of booking for additional requirements:
Type of holiday | Deposit (per person) | Final balance due |
---|---|---|
Holidays at our UK country houses (less than 7 nights) | £150 | 6 weeks prior to departure |
Holidays at our UK country houses | £200 | 6 weeks prior to departure |
European holidays | £250 | 12 weeks prior to departure |
Trail & Island-Hopping holidays (less than 7 nights) | £150 | 12 weeks prior to departure |
Trail & Island-Hopping holidays (7 nights or more) | £250 | 12 weeks prior to departure |
Worldwide holidays | £350 | 12 weeks prior to departure |
A booking is made with us when you pay us a non-refundable deposit in accordance with the above table (or full payment if you are booking on or after the final balance due date specified above) and we issue you with a booking confirmation. We reserve the right to return your deposit and decline to issue a booking confirmation at our absolute discretion. It is your responsibility to provide correct details at the time of booking, including ensuring all passenger details exactly match their passport information.
A binding contract will come into existence between you and us as soon as we have issued you with a booking confirmation that will confirm the details of your booking and will be sent to you or your travel agent. If your confirmed arrangements include an applicable flight, we (or if you booked via an authorised agent of ours, that agent) will also issue you with an ATOL Certificate.
Upon receipt of your booking confirmation and any other documents including ATOL Certificate, if you believe any documents are wrong then you must advise us immediately as changes may not be possible. We will have to pass on any additional charges that results from incorrect booking information being given to us.
The balance of the cost of your arrangements (including any applicable surcharge) is due by the final balance date stated above. If we do not receive this balance in full and on time, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you in which case the cancellation charges set out in clause 7 will become payable.
Any money paid to an authorised agent of ours in respect of a booking covered by our ATOL is held by that agent on behalf of and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust at all times, but subject to the agent’s obligation to pay it to us for so long as we do not fail financially.
If we do fail financially, any money held at that time by the agent or subsequently accepted from the consumer by the agent, is and continues to be held by that agent on behalf of and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust without any obligation to pay that money to us.
3. Brochure and website accuracy
The information and prices in our brochures and website have been carefully checked and we believe they are correct at the time of publication. However, occasionally changes and errors can occur, and we reserve the right to make changes and/or correct any errors. Such instances include:
- Advertised prices in print publications may have changed by the time you come to book your holiday; therefore, we may confirm a more up-to-date and correct price at the time of booking.
- For any bookings which have been made and where such errors do occur, we will contact you within 72 hours of you making your booking, to correct such errors. Where we have contacted you within the 72 hours to correct any errors, you will be given a choice to pay the correct price, or offered a refund.
Walks and activities may be subject to variation or cancellation due to party size, weather, or operational considerations, and we cannot guarantee that a particular walk will operate during a holiday. We cannot guarantee that any specific leader or number of guests or leaders will be present on any holiday.
4. Promotional offers with HF Holidays
Unless stated on promotional materials, all offers sent from HF Holidays are for new bookings only and cannot be used retrospectively. Offers also exclude Group Bookings, Family Holidays, Festive Holidays and holidays already discounted by 50% or more.
All offers sent from HF Holidays are save 'up to' prices and subject to promotional availability on selected dates. Upgrade or double for sole occupancy supplements may also apply.
5. If you change your booking
If, after your booking has been confirmed, you wish to transfer to a different holiday or departure date, we will make every effort to satisfy your requirements; however, this may not always be possible. Any request to change arrangements must be made in writing by the person who made the booking, or their travel agent, before the final balance payment date. You can amend your booking to the same holiday on a different date, or to a holiday of equivalent value, once.
If your amendment includes a change of travel date or location, your total holiday cost will be recalculated and based on the current advertised price. We cannot carry over previously applied promotions, except for the Welcome Home promo code, if applicable to your booking.
Where we can meet a request, all changes will be subject to payment of an administration fee of £40 per person per change, as well as any costs and charges incurred by us and/or incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers in making this change. Costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made and could be up to 100% of the holiday price.
If changes are requested after the final payment balance date of your booking, or if we are unable to assist you and you do not wish to proceed with the original booking, we will treat this as a cancellation by you. A cancellation fee may be payable in accordance with our booking conditions clause 7.
If you wish to make a change to your booking, please contact us as soon as possible.
6. Transfer of booking
If you wish to transfer your confirmed booking to another person, you can do so, provided that the following conditions are met:
- That person is introduced by you and satisfies all the conditions applicable to the holiday.
- We are notified not less than 7 days before departure.
- You pay any outstanding balance payment, an amendment fee of £40 per person transferring, as well as any additional fees, charges or other costs arising from the transfer; and
- The transferee agrees to these booking conditions and all other terms of the contract between us.
Important Note: Certain arrangements may not be amended or transferred after they have been confirmed and any alteration could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements.
7. Your participation in the holiday
Should you, or any member of your party, decide to cancel your holiday booking you must advise us in writing, either by letter or by email or by calling us on 020 3974 8865. To cancel by email, please send a copy of your cancellation letter along with the original email confirmation to cancellations@hfholidays.co.uk. A cancellation will take effect from the date that written notice is received at our office.
Should one or more member(s) of a party cancel, it may increase the per person holiday price of those still travelling and you will be liable to pay this increase.
As we incur costs in cancelling your arrangements you will have to pay the applicable cancellation charges shown in the table below – these show the proportion of the full holiday cost, including VAT, and are applicable to both individual and group bookings.
Period before departure in which you notify us of your cancellation | Proportion of the full holiday cost | ||
---|---|---|---|
Days | UK House Based Holidays | Europe | Trails & Worldwide |
More than 84 days | Deposit | Deposit | Deposit |
57-84 | Deposit | 30% | 50% |
50-56 | Deposit | 50% | 50% |
43-49 | Deposit | 60% | 60% |
29-42 | Deposit | 70% | 70% |
21-28 | 50% | 80% | 80% |
15-20 | 70% | 100% | 100% |
8-14 | 90% | 100% | 100% |
7 days or less | 100% | 100% | 100% |
If you return home early from your holiday (or are unable to take part in the activity), we cannot refund the cost of any services you have not used. Depending on the circumstances you may be able to claim on your insurance.
Cancellation by you due to unavoidable & extraordinary circumstances:
You may terminate the package travel contract at any time without paying a cancellation charge in the event of “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” occurring at the place of destination or its immediate vicinity which will significantly affect the performance of the holiday or carriage to your holiday destination. In these circumstances, we shall provide you with a full refund of the monies you have paid but we will not be liable to pay you any additional compensation. You must be able to show at the time you wish to cancel that there is no reasonable possibility of your trip going ahead, in order to rely on this condition.
For the purposes of this clause, “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” may include warfare, other serious security problems such as acts of terrorism, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination, or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which significantly affect travel to the travel destination, as agreed in the package travel contract.
This clause 7 outlines the rights you have if you wish to cancel your booking. Please note that there is no automatic statutory right of cancellation under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.
8. Your participation in the holiday
Participation on our walks and activities requires an appropriate level of fitness. We reserve the right not to accept participants on our walks and activities if, in the reasonable opinion of the leader, this would compromise the safety or enjoyment of an individual or the group as a whole.
If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your booking, please provide us with full details before you make your booking so that we can try to advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements. We may require you to produce a doctor’s certificate certifying that you are fit to participate. Acting reasonably, if we are unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm your booking or, if you did not give us full details at the time of booking, we will cancel it and impose applicable cancellation charges when we become aware of these details.
All our customers are expected to conduct themselves in an orderly and acceptable manner and not to disrupt the enjoyment of others. If in our opinion or in the opinion of any hotel manager or any other person in authority, your behaviour or that of any member of your party is causing or is likely to cause distress, danger or annoyance to any other customers or any third party, or damage to property, or to cause a delay or diversion to transportation, we reserve the right to terminate your booking with us immediately.
In the event of such termination our liability to you and/or your party will cease and you and/or your party will be required to leave your accommodation or other arrangements immediately. We will have no further obligations to you and/or your party. No refunds for lost accommodation or any other arrangements will be made, and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of termination. You and/or your party may also be required to pay for loss and/or damage caused by your actions, and we will hold you and each member of your party jointly and individually liable for any damage or losses caused by you or any member of your party.
Full payment for any such damage or losses must be paid directly to the hotel manager or other supplier prior to departure. If you fail to make payment, you will be responsible for meeting any claims (including legal costs) subsequently made against us as a result of your actions together with all costs we incur in pursuing any claim against you.
We cannot be held responsible for the actions or behaviour of other guests or individuals who have no connection with your booking arrangements or with us.
If you or any of your party do not take up your accommodation within 24 hours of the date of arrival shown on your confirmation and do not contact us to notify us of the delay, it will be offered for re-letting and no refund will be offered.
Smoking, vaping and the charging of vaping units is prohibited at our UK country houses and on coaches.
Children Participation
In the UK children aged 15 and over may join walks with our groups without the need of a parent or legal guardian being present. The parent/legal guardian must give written consent for this to occur and make sure their child is fully aware of what they are signing up to do.
Children aged 14 and under must be accompanied at all times by a parent/legal guardian or someone acting in loco parentis.
9. Prices
Prices on our website are updated regularly. However, we:
- Reserve the right to alter the prices of any of our unsold holidays at any time;
- Are unable to honour prices where an obvious pricing error has been made; and
- Reserve the right to correct errors in the prices of confirmed holidays.
In any instance, we will advise you of the current price of the holiday before your booking is confirmed or contact you within 72 hours of the correct price, as per clause 3 above.
In addition, we also reserve the right to increase the price of confirmed holidays solely to allow for increases which are a direct consequence of changes in:
- The price of the carriage of passengers resulting from the cost of fuel or other power sources;
- The level of taxes or fees chargeable for services applicable to the holiday imposed by third parties not directly involved in the performance of the holiday, including tourist taxes, landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports; and
- The exchange rates relevant to the package.
Such variations could include but are not limited to airline cost changes which are part of our contracts with airlines (and their agents), cruise ship operators, and any other transport providers.
However, if this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 8% of the price of your confirmed holiday (excluding any insurance premiums, amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements), you will have the option of accepting a change to another holiday if we are able to offer one (if this is of equivalent or higher quality you will not have to pay more but if it is of lower quality you will be refunded the difference in price), or cancelling and receiving a full refund of all monies paid to us, except for any insurance premiums and any amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements. Should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 7 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice. We will consider an appropriate refund of insurance premiums paid if you can show that you are unable to transfer or reuse your policy.
Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, then any refund due will be paid to you less an administrative fee of £10. However, please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place. There will be no change made to the price of your confirmed holiday within 20 days of your departure nor will refunds be paid during this period.
A non-member fee of £30 per person will apply for all holidays and for all non-member passengers on the booking. Full membership is available for a minimum investment of 100 x £1 shares.
Please note, for any special requests or extra add-ons, additional charges and/or a higher and/or non-refundable deposit may be incurred. The total price will be notified to you before your booking is confirmed. Please see clause 16 for further details.
Children Pricing
We welcome accompanied children on all holidays, particularly our Family Holidays. Costs for children joining non-Family holidays at our UK country houses are 50% of the advertised adult rate.
All children’s prices are based on sharing a bedroom with one or more adults and may include rooms with bunk beds. Please check at the time of booking. Children’s prices and terms for Europe Family Holidays may differ, and we will confirm the prices and terms at the time of your booking.
Promotional rates apply for children joining our Family holidays. For more information go to https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/offers/kids-go-free
10. If we alter your holiday plans
As we plan your holiday arrangements many months in advance, we may occasionally have to make changes or cancel your booking, and we reserve the right to do so at any time.
If we have to alter your holiday before departure, any alteration will either be significant or minor. Where an alteration is minor, we will, if practicable, advise you or your travel agent before departure, but we are not obliged to pay you compensation. 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 or higher standard, changes of carriers. Please note that carriers such as airlines used in the brochure may be subject to change.
Occasionally we may have to make a significant change to your confirmed arrangements. Examples of “significant changes” include the following, when made before departure:
- A change of accommodation area for the whole or a significant part of your time away.
- A change of accommodation to that of a lower standard or classification for the whole or a significant part of your time away.
- A change of outward departure time or overall length of your arrangements by more than 12 hours.
- A change of UK departure airport except between:
- The London airports: Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Stansted, London City and Southend
- The South Coast airports: Southampton, Bournemouth
- The South Western airports: Cardiff, Bristol and Exeter
- The Midlands airports: Birmingham and East Midlands
- The Northern airports: Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds Bradford
- The North Eastern airports: Newcastle and Teesside
- The Scottish airports: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Prestwick and Aberdeen
- A significant change to your itinerary, missing out one or more destination entirely.
If a significant alteration occurs, we will advise you as soon as is reasonably possible and if there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of: (i) accepting the alteration, (ii) taking an alternative holiday (and where this is of a lower price, we will refund the difference), or (iii) withdrawing from the contract and accepting a full refund of all monies paid.
You must notify us of your choice within 7 days of our offer. If we do not hear from you within 7 days, we will contact you again to request notification of your choice. If you fail to respond again, we will assume that you have chosen to accept the change or alternative booking arrangements.
11. Compensation
In addition to a full refund of all monies paid by you, we will pay you compensation as detailed below, in the following circumstances:- If, where we make a significant change, you do not accept the changed arrangements and cancel your booking;
- If we cancel your booking and no alternative arrangements are available, the compensation that we offer does not exclude you from claiming more if you are entitled to do so.
Period in which we notify you | Amount you will receive from us |
---|---|
Before balance due date | A full refund |
Between balance due date and up to 14 days before departure | A full refund + £20 compensation per person |
Less than 14 days before departure | A full refund + £30 compensation per person |
- Where we make a minor change;
- Where we make a significant change or cancel your arrangements before your balance due date;
- Where we make a significant change and you accept those changed arrangements or you accept an offer of alternative travel arrangements;
- Where we must cancel your arrangements as a result of your failure to make full payment on time;
- Where the change or cancellation by us arises out of alterations to the confirmed booking requested by you;
- Where we are forced to cancel or change your arrangements due to Events Beyond Our Control (see clause 13).
12. If we cancel your holiday
We make every endeavour to operate all of our holidays.
If we have to cancel your holiday, you will have the choice of (i) taking an alternative holiday (and where this is of a lower price we will refund the difference) or (ii) withdrawing from the contract and accepting a full refund of all monies paid. We shall not cancel a holiday or travel arrangements after the date when the payment of the balance becomes due, unless this is as a result of Events Beyond Our Control or failure by you to pay the final balance or because the minimum number required for the package to go ahead hasn’t been reached. The minimum number required will be provided to you prior to booking.
13. Events beyond our control
We will not be liable or pay you compensation if our contractual obligations to you are affected by “Events Beyond Our Control”. For the purposes of these Booking Conditions, Events Beyond Our Control means any event beyond our or our supplier’s control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Examples include warfare and acts of terrorism (and threat thereof), civil strife, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination, epidemics, pandemics (including the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic) or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which make it impossible to travel safely to the travel destination or remain at the travel destination, the act of any government or other national or local authority including port or river authorities, industrial dispute, labour strikes, lock closure, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, chemical or biological disaster, unavoidable technical problems with transport and all similar events outside our or the supplier(s) concerned control.
14. Travel and transport
We make group flight bookings for our holidays in advance. Once these seats have been filled, extra seats are requested on a booking-by-booking basis. Sometimes there may be the need for a further supplement to be paid in addition to any holiday costs shown in our brochure. This is beyond our control and comes from the airline provider and in such cases, clause 22 (Conditions of Suppliers) will apply. Any additional supplements will be quoted at the time of confirming your booking.
15. Your insolvency protection
1. We provide financial security for flight-inclusive packages and ATOL protected flights by way of our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence number 0710, issued by the Civil Aviation Authority, Gatwick Airport South, West Sussex, RH6 0YR, UK, telephone 0333 103 6350, email: claims@caa.co.uk. When you buy an ATOL protected flight or flight inclusive package from us you will receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong.
We, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL Certificate, will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where neither we nor the supplier are able to do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL Scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable).
If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL Certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL Scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us, the travel agent (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims may be re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL Scheme.
2. We provide full financial protection for our package holidays which don’t include flights, by way of a bond held by ABTOT (The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited), membership number 5008, 69 Leadenhall Street, London, EC3A 2BG, 020 7065 5311, membership@abtot.com. ABTOT provides financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for HF Holidays Ltd, and in the event of our insolvency, protection is provided for non-flight packages. ABTOT cover provides for a refund in the event you have not yet travelled or repatriation if transportation was included in your package. Please note that bookings made outside the UK are only protected by ABTOT when purchased directly with HF Holidays Ltd, company number IP05713R.
ABTOT
In the unlikely event that you require assistance whilst abroad due to our financial failure, please call ABTOT’s 24/7 helpline on 01702 811397 and advise you are a customer of an ABTOT protected travel company. You can access The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 here:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/contents/made
You can find out more about ABTOT here: https://www.abtot.com/
16. Our responsibility
- We will accept responsibility for the arrangements we agree to provide or arrange for you as an “organiser” under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, as set out below and as such, we are responsible for the proper provision of all travel services specifically included in your package, as set out in your confirmation invoice and the information we provided to you regarding the services prior to booking. Please note that we shall not be responsible for any additional services provided to you, whether provided by the travel service providers or otherwise, which are not set out in your confirmation invoice and the information we provided to you.
- We will not be responsible or pay you compensation for any personal injury or death unless you are able to prove that it was caused by our negligence or the negligence of our suppliers.
- We will not be responsible or pay you compensation for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other claim of any description if it results from:
- The acts and/or omissions of the person affected; or
- The acts and/or omissions of a third party unconnected with the provision of the services contracted for and which were unavoidable and extraordinary; or
- Events Beyond Our Control (as defined in clause 13).
- We limit the amount of compensation we may have to pay you if we are found liable under this clause:
- Loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions and money: the maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is an amount equivalent to the excess on your insurance policy which applies to this type of loss per person in total because you are required to have adequate insurance in place to cover any losses of this kind.
- Claims not falling under (3a) above and which don’t involve injury, illness or death: the maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is up to three times the price paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you or your party has not received any benefit at all from your booking.
- Claims in respect of international travel by air, sea and rail, or any stay in a hotel:
- The extent of our liability will in all cases be limited as if we were carriers under the appropriate Conventions, which include The Warsaw/Montreal Convention (international travel by air); The Athens Convention (with respect to sea travel); The Berne/Cotif Convention (with respect to rail travel) and The Paris Convention (with respect to hotel arrangements). You can ask for copies of these Conventions from our offices. Please contact us. In addition, you agree that the operating carrier or transport company's own 'Conditions of Carriage' will apply to you on that journey. When arranging transportation for you, we rely on the terms and conditions contained within these international Conventions and those 'Conditions of Carriage'. You acknowledge that all of the terms and conditions contained in those 'Conditions of Carriage' form part of your contract with us, as well as with the transport company and that those 'Conditions of Carriage' shall be deemed to be included by reference into this contract.
- In any circumstances in which a carrier is liable to you by virtue of the Denied Boarding Regulation 2004, any liability we may have to you under our contract with you, arising out of the same facts, is limited to the remedies provided under the Regulation as if (for this purpose only) we were a carrier.
- When making any payment, we are entitled to deduct any money which you have received or are entitled to receive from the transport provider or hotelier for the complaint or claim in question.
- Subject to these Booking Conditions, if we or our suppliers negligently perform or arrange those services set out in the confirmation invoice and the information we provided to you regarding the services prior to booking and we don’t remedy or resolve your complaint within a reasonable period of time, and this has affected the enjoyment of your package holiday you may be entitled to an appropriate price reduction or compensation or both. You must inform us without undue delay of any failure to perform or improper performance of the travel services included in this package. The level of any such price reduction or compensation in respect of any claim for damages or compensation whatsoever will be calculated taking into consideration all relevant factors such as but not limited to: following the complaints procedure as described in these Booking Conditions and the extent to which ours or our employees’ or suppliers’ negligence affected the overall enjoyment of your holiday. Please note that it is your responsibility to show that we or our supplier(s) have been negligent if you wish to make a claim against us.
- It is a condition of our acceptance of liability under this clause that you notify any claim to us and our supplier(s) strictly in accordance with the complaints procedure set out in these conditions.
- Where any payment is made, the person(s) receiving it (and their parent or guardian if under 18 years) must also assign to us or our insurers any rights they may have to pursue any third party and must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require.
- Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss or expense or other sum(s) of any description:
- Which, on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you; or
- Relate to any business; or
- Indirect or consequential loss of any kind.
- We will not accept responsibility for services or facilities which do not form part of our agreement or where they are not advertised in our brochure or on our website. For example, any excursion you book whilst away, or any service or facility which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you.
- Where it is impossible for you to return to your departure point as per the agreed return date of your package, due to “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances”, we shall provide you with any necessary accommodation (where possible, of a comparable standard) for a period not exceeding three nights per person. Please note that the 3-night cap does not apply to persons with reduced mobility, pregnant women or unaccompanied minors, nor to persons needing specific medical assistance, provided we have been notified of these particular needs at least 48 hours before the start of your holiday. For the purposes of this clause, “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” mean warfare, acts of terrorism, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination, or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which make it impossible to travel safely back to your departure point.
17. Special requests and add-ons
Any special requests must be advised to us at the time of booking e.g. diet, room location, a particular facility at a hotel etc. You should then confirm your requests in writing. Whilst every effort will be made by us to try and arrange your reasonable special requests, we cannot guarantee that they will be fulfilled. The fact that a special request has been noted on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation or that it has been passed on to the supplier is not confirmation that the request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part unless the request has been specifically confirmed by us. We do not accept bookings that are conditional upon any special request being met.
We may provide you the option to request extras in addition to our standard packages (‘add-on(s)’). Such add-on(s) options may include extensions, extra accommodation, upgrades and/or domestic flights, but will vary depending on when you make a booking with us. Such add-on(s) may result in a higher non-refundable deposit and/or non-refundable charges in addition to our standard package and you will be notified of the total price of your holiday before your booking is confirmed. Please note that where a flight upgrade has been booked and there is a change of airline prior to your departure date it may not be possible to offer an equivalent upgrade or there may be an additional cost payable (we will refund you the difference if the upgrade with the new airline is of a lower value). In this situation, we will offer you the opportunity to revert to economy class and refund you the cost of the upgrade, pay any additional costs for the equivalent upgrade or cancel with a full refund of all monies paid. Compensation will not be payable.
18. Disabilities and medical problems
We will do our utmost to cater for any special requirements you may have. If you or any member of your party has any medical condition you must provide us with full details before you make your booking so we can try to advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements. If any further health conditions arise before your travel date, please let us know as soon as you can. We may require a doctor's certificate to confirm that you are fit to participate.
Acting reasonably, if we are unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm your booking or if you did not give us full details at the time of booking, we will cancel it and impose applicable cancellation charges when we become aware of these details.
19. Entry, passport, visa and immigration requirements and health formalities
We can only provide general information regarding the entry, passport, visa, immigration requirements and safety and health formalities applicable to your itinerary. It is your responsibility to check such requirements (in good time before departure) in order to make your decisions to fulfil such requirements regarding your destination and/or the country(ies) through which you may be transiting.
Such information which you may need to check includes (but is not limited to) passport requirements including (but not limited to) how valid your passport must be after return date, whether your passport must be machine readable or which visas/waivers may be required for entry such as ESTA for USA travel and/or ETIAS for EU travel).
You must check requirements for your own specific circumstances with the relevant bodies as applicable. We have provided a few useful resources below, though it is your responsibility to check and see if such a body would be relevant to yourself.
- The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (“FCDO”, https://www.gov.uk/travelaware) (applicable to UK residents);
- UK Passport Office (0870 5210410 or https://www.gov.uk/browse/citizenship).
- Embassies, High Commission and/or Consulates;
- Own doctor.
For UK residents booking European travel you should obtain a UK Global Health Insurance Card (UK GHIC) prior to departure unless you are able to rely upon an existing European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). For travel to Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, UK GHIC and EHIC cannot be used for medical treatment. Passengers to these destinations should obtain comprehensive medical insurance prior to departure, including cover for emergency medical treatment and associated costs.
We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel or incur any other loss because you have not complied with any entry, passport, visa, immigration requirements or safety and health formalities. You agree to reimburse us in relation to any fines or other losses which we incur as a result of your failure to comply with any entry passport, visa, immigration requirements or safety and health formalities.
20. Insurance
Adequate travel insurance is mandatory for everyone travelling on a holiday with us and is a condition of booking (UK and overseas holidays). You must be satisfied that your insurance fully covers all your personal requirements including pre-existing medical conditions, cancellation charges, medical expenses and repatriation in the event of accident or illness. If you choose to travel without adequate insurance cover, we will not be liable for any losses howsoever arising, in respect of which insurance cover would otherwise have been available.
21. Complaints
If you have a complaint during your holiday, you must notify our management, leader or local representative immediately and they will do their best to resolve the problem. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please contact guestrelations@hfholidays.co.uk (020 8732 1233). Should it not be possible to resolve your complaint there and then, you should write to our Borehamwood office within 28 days. Failure to follow the procedure set out in this clause may affect ours and the applicable supplier’s ability to investigate your complaint and will affect your rights under this contract. All complaints that are received are thoroughly investigated and guests are kept informed. Sometimes investigations can take time, especially when awaiting a response from suppliers. We aim to settle all complaints amicably.
22. Conditions of suppliers
Many of the services which make up your holiday are provided by independent suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions which will form part of your contract with us. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier's liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions. Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from us or the supplier concerned.
23. Prompt assistance
If, whilst you are on holiday, you find yourself in difficulty for any reason, we will offer you such prompt assistance as is appropriate in the circumstances. We will provide you with appropriate information on health services, local authorities and consular assistance, and assistance with distance communications and finding alternative travel arrangements. Where you require assistance, which is not owing to any failure by us, our employees or sub-contractors we will not be liable for the costs of any alternative travel arrangements or other such assistance you require. Any supplier, airline or other transport supplier may however pay for or provide refreshments and/or appropriate accommodation, and you should make a claim directly to them. Subject to the other terms of these Booking Conditions, we will not be liable for any costs, fees or charges you incur in the above circumstances, if you fail to obtain our prior authorisation before making your own travel arrangements. Furthermore, we reserve the right to charge you a fee for our assistance in the event that the difficulty is caused intentionally by you or a member of your party, or otherwise through you or your party’s negligence.
24. Delays, missed transport arrangements and other travel information
If you or any member of your party misses your flight or other transport arrangement, or it is cancelled or you are subject to a delay of over 3 hours for any reason, you must contact us, and the airline or other transport supplier concerned immediately.
A delay or cancellation to your flight does not automatically entitle you to cancel any other arrangements even where those arrangements have been made in conjunction with your flight.
Under UK Law, you have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation from the airline in cases of denied boarding, cancellation or delay to flights. Full details of these rights will be publicised at UK airports and will also be available from airlines. If the airline does not comply with these rules you should complain to the Civil Aviation Authority at www.caa.co.uk/passengers. Reimbursement in such cases is the responsibility of the airline and will not automatically entitle you to a refund of your holiday price from us. If, for any reason, you do not claim against the airline and make a claim for compensation from us, you must, at the time of payment of any compensation to you, make a complete assignment to us of the rights you have against the airline in relation to the claim that gives rise to that compensation payment.
We cannot accept liability for any delay which is due to any of the reasons set out in clause 12 of these Booking Conditions (which includes the behaviour of any passenger(s) on any flight who, for example, fails to check in or board on time).
We strongly recommend that you purchase adequate travel insurance to cover any losses associated with flight delays or cancellations.
The carrier(s), flight timings and types of aircraft shown in our brochures or on our website and detailed on your confirmation invoice are for guidance only and are subject to alteration and confirmation. We shall inform you of the identity of the actual carrier(s) as soon as we become aware of it. The latest flight timings will be shown on your final holiday departure document which will be despatched to you approximately two weeks before departure. You should check your tickets very carefully immediately on receipt to ensure you have the correct flight times. If flight times change after tickets have been despatched, we will contact you as soon as we can to let you know.
Please note the existence of a “UK Air Safety list” (available for inspection at https://www.caa.co.uk/commercial-industry/airlines/licensing/requirements-and-guidance/third-country-operator-certificates/) detailing air carriers that are subject to an operating ban within the UK.
This brochure and our website are our responsibility, as your tour operator. The brochure and website are not issued on behalf of and do not commit the airlines mentioned herein or any airline whose services are used in the course of your travel arrangements.
25. Excursions
Excursions or other tours that you may choose to book or pay for whilst you are on holiday are not part of your contracted arrangements with us. For any excursion or other tour that you book, your contract will be with the operator of the excursion or tour and not with us. We are not responsible for the provision of the excursion or tour or for anything that happens during the course of its provision by the operator.
26. Advance Passenger Information
The Government requires air carriers to provide personal information about all travellers on their aircraft to the Authorities before the aircraft leaves the UK. We will ask you for this information at the point of booking, or prior to departure in order to pass on to the air carrier. We may also need to pass this information on to hotels, and destination management companies associated with your holiday. You are advised to allow extra time to check in for your flight. Where we collect this data, we will treat it in accordance with our privacy policy.