General terms & conditions
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G1 - For your security [ top ]
Your booking is made through Winter Sunshine Holidays Limited (WSH from hereon) company registration number 5495248. Our company is Trust Account operated for your security.
The money to pay for your holiday is retained in our Trust Account until your arrival date and cannot be accessed by our company with the exception of the appropriate cancellation fee or holiday deposit.
Winter Sunshine Holidays Ltd act as a booking agent on behalf of all hotels, apartment, villas and product providers shown on it's websites and your contract will be made with these providers on your behalf.
Winter Sunshine Holidays completely guarantee the safety of your money. Secure payment within 128-bit SSL encryption by Protx and Trust account protection of your money is the maximum possible protection you could have when purchasing accommodation through any online operator.
For more information on the security we offer our clients, please click here.
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G2 - Our price guarantee & prices on our site [ top ]
The total value of your chosen travel products including any applicable card fees can be located on the booking detail page. This amount will be deducted from your credit/debit card. In the event of any problems with our website causing incorrect pricing/availability, we will endeavour to contact you within 24 hours. If payment has been taken already, then you will be given the opportunity to pay the remaining outstanding balance (or deposit if applicable) or the option of having all monies paid refunded to your card without charge. Please note, prices provided over the telephone are to be used as a guide only. We will not honour any rate that is claimed to have been given over the telephone.
Our website contains live availability of thousands of travel products worldwide. Special offers and availability can be added and removed at a moments notice, and as such we cannot guarantee the length of time offers will be available on our site. Any offers based on stay for a certain number of nights, and pay for another number of nights, do not apply during fair periods.
As the site is live, prices are based on constantly fluctuating exchange rates, which means that our prices can rise and fall at any time. Some products have floating rates that change daily. We will not accept any requests for a refund on the basis that our selling price was, on the day, close to or above the rack rate.
Some accommodations in Turkey, Spain and the U.A.E. insist that bookings made by their own nationals, or containing their own nationals, will be charged at a higher rate than visitors from other countries. The item number five, in the left hand search panel on our homepage helps us provide you with the best rate for the accommodation of your choice, dependent on your nationality. It is your choice whether you complete the action offered. If you decide against this we cannot accept any additional charges that may be requested from you by the accommodation on checking-in. Nationals from those countries listed above, who reach our websites through third party websites such as Travelsupermarket.com and others, are advise to revert to our homepage and complete their search through the action suggested above. As stated above, if you choose not to complete the action advised above, we will not be able to accept any additional charges requested from you by the accommodation on checking-in.
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G3 - Loyalty discount & site promotions/offers [ top ]
After your first booking with us, you are entitled to a loyalty discount off the total value of all future travel products purchased from our website, making your holiday even cheaper. To apply loyalty discount to your booking, enter the email address you used in your last booking with our company in the discount/coupon box on any of the search facilities. The results page showing all availability will now display the total cost with your discount applied. It will also show you how much you are saving on our standard web pricing. You may now continue with your booking as normal. Your documentation will be sent by email after booking. This will include an invoice clearly showing the total web price, total discounted price & the exact discount amount deducted.
You can also apply loyalty discount on our basket page (page showing total cost booking) if you forget to enter your address in the discount/coupon box. Press the "apply discount" link and our basket page will refresh showing you a new grand total for your chosen travel products.
Please note that loyalty discount cannot be applied in retrospect and it cannot be combined with any other discounts being offered (e.g. telephone booking discount).
Please be advised that only one website discount can be applied to your booking at any one time.
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G4 - Deposit bookings and balance payments [ top ]
In the case of a deposit booking, your balance due date will be shown on your invoice which unless otherwise stated should be no later than 30 days prior to your arrival date. None or late payment of your balance can result in cancellation of your booked travel products. Full payment is due no later than 30 days before your arrival date. Written reminders of payment dates will not be sent following initial booking invoice.
Please note that group bookings of 6 rooms or more may be subject to a deposit greater than 20%. The amount of deposit required is determined by the supplier of the product and supply agent involved in the booking, and will be advised before your booking is confirmed.
- G5 - Changing a 'paid in full' booking to a 'deposit booking' [ top ]
At the basket page in our online booking process (page that first tells you your full total to pay), please make sure you select the correct payment option by clicking either pay total or pay 20% deposit. Once your booking has been made, confirmed and paid in full, it can only be changed to a deposit booking up to 24 hours after that time and providing that the arrival date is more than four weeks after the original booking was made. The cost for changing a booking to a 'deposit booking', will be the credit card cost of 1.5% of the original booking for general credit cards (such as Visa, Mastercard etc.), 3% for American Express cards + an administration charge of £25, together with all charges associated with re-booking as a 'deposit booking' if the accommodation shows as available when re-booking takes place. If a debit card is used for the original booking then a charge of £5 is made + an administration charge of £25 together with all charges associated with the re-booking.
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G6 - Confirmations and documentation [ top ]
All documentation will be sent out by email, unless otherwise agreed. therefore if you have not received your documentation within 1 hour of booking, please contact us by either email or telephone so we can arrange for your documentation to be re-sent.
Please bear in mind, occasionally free internet service providers (hotmail) and strictly policed providers (AOL, Yahoo etc.) can have problems receiving automatically generated confirmations such as ours.
If you have a fax machine available, we can have your documentation sent to you that way if email attempts continue to fail due to the above reason.
If your full booking is made via multiple suppliers or you have booked different travel product types (e.g. accommodaiton, car hire and a ticket/excursion), you will receive multiple confirmation vouchers. Please ensure that the vouchers you have received show all the travel products you have booked.
We will not accept responsibility for refusal of any product if you do not present a correct voucher for your valid dates of stay, as booked with, and provided by our company. Nor will we accept responsibility if you are refused because you do not have all required vouchers. Check your vouchers as soon as you have booked (they are sent instantly) to make sure the vouchers show all products you booked.
Any extension to your stay, beyond the dates shown on your vouchers, are solely your responsibility and must be paid for by yourself direct to the property concerned.
We advise that you keep a valid copy of all your vouchers (print two copies) that you hand into the reception/agent. All vouchers contain very important information that you will need in case of an emergency.
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G7 - Booking/payment problems during booking on our website [ top ]
If for any reason your booking/payment fails, your chosen travel products may still be booked and held until payment can be taken. In the event of a booking failure, we will contact you within at least 24 hours to resolve the problem. In the case of a booking made on a weekend, contact will be made on the first working day of the new week (Monday). Please contact us if you decide you no longer require the booking before we contact you, so that we may release any held products back onto our system.
Many booking problems arise from multiple 'book' button presses. Please ensure that you press the 'book' button only once. Every time the book button is pressed, a new request for authorisation of funds is sent to your bank, this can result in multiple debits from your account.
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G8 - Cancellation procedure & charges [ top ]
We must receive either written or emailed confirmation from the lead traveller on your booking, stating that you wish to cancel, and that you understand that the below applicable charge will be made. We will respond confirming receipt of your cancellation request. If you have not received confirmation from us within 3 days, it is possible that we may not have received your notice. On request, a cancellation invoice can be provided for insurance purposes.
If you wish to cancel only part of your product (e.g. in the case of accommodation, one room), the below applicable cancellation charge will be made only on the rooms/apartments being cancelled. In addition you will also be required to pay the amendment/modification administration charge of £25. This additional charge must be made as there is more administrative work involved in cancelling parts of bookings.
If we have to cancel accommodation arranged directly with a hotel, through no fault of our own, we will endeavour to offer an equivalent or better substitute, or all monies paid will be returned to you. Should you decide to cancel your accommodation after we have confirmed your booking, the following charges will be applicable.
STANDARD WEBSITE BOOKINGS (5 rooms or less)
- up to 30 days prior to arrival date… 20% of the total cost of the product
- within 30 days prior to arrival date… 100% of the total cost of the product
MANUAL GROUP BOOKINGS (6 rooms or more)
- up to 30 days prior to arrival date… equal to the total cost of the deposit paid
- within 30 days prior to arrival date… 100% of the total cost of the product
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G9 - Refunds [ top ]
After refunds have been issued, they can take up to 14 working days to appear back on your card/account statement. This period of time is caused by the credit card refund procedure and not by our company. If you have not received your refund after 14 working days, please contact us by email on support@wshtravel.com. We will then track the refund to find out its current status.
- G10 - No show [ top ]
Non-arrival / No-show / No-collection of any of your booked travel products, on the date of your booking and confirmed commencement date of your stay/tour/hire, without at least 24 hours notice on working days, is taken by ourselves and hoteliers as a "no show", and as such curtailment of your booking. No refunds can be guaranteed.
- G11 - Circumstances beyond our control [ top ]
We will not pay compensation or accept any liability where any change is due to circumstances outside of our reasonable control, including (without limitation) any strikes, lock-outs, or other industrial action, labour disputes, acts of god, war riot, civil commotion, malicious damage, compliance with any law or governmental order, rule regulation or direction, impossibility of the use of any means of public or private transport or any action of any government or regulatory body, accident, breakdown, of plant and machinery, fire, flood or storm, other adverse weather conditions (including heavy rainfall, hail, snow, fog or frost) affecting any airport, port or any other transport link, embarkation, or disembarkation point and their operation, flight delays, other matters affecting air traffic control (including failure of equipment, systems and software), siege, acts of terrorism, police or security alerts or precautionary measures taken.
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G12 - Disruptive behaviour [ top ]
If you are prevented or refused access to your booked travel products because your behaviour or condition is considered to be disruptive, by any person in authority, our responsibility for the travel product provision will thereby end and no refunds or compensatory payments will be issued.
- G13 - If you have any problems in resort [ top ]
We hope that you have a trouble free and enjoyable holiday, but we recognize that things can, and occasionally do, go wrong. The procedure below must be carried out. If you fail to follow the procedure and no contact is made with us, we cannot accept responsibility as we have been deprived of the opportunity to rectify the problem(s).
Once we have been contacted, we will make arrangements for our agents to contact you and/or the management at the property at the very earliest opportunity in an effort to rectify your situation. In the unlikely, but not impossible, event that you are charged directly for the product service you booked in resort, for whatever reason, please ensure you retain a copy of the receipt bill. Investigations into in-resort charges cannot be started without proof of payment for services.
By agreeing to these terms & conditions, you confirm that you will follow the below procedure (in this order) should you experience problems in resort :-
- For accommodation - Contact the accommodation reception (most problems can be resolved quickly and easily by the reception/management).
- Contact our agents in resort (if there is a number on your accommodation voucher).
- If an amicable conclusion cannot be reached, contact Winter Sunshine Holidays on +44(0) 1332 871 990. (24 hour voicemail is available if we are not available to take your call).
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G14 - Complaints [ top ]
If the above procedures are followed exactly, and you still wish to make a complaint, contact must be made within 14 days of your return from holiday, by either email (preferred) or lettered post, giving your original booking invoice ID, reference number and all relevant information to us at the earliest opportunity. Preferred method for receiving complaints is by email to support@wshtravel.com. This will enable you to attach any digital photographs (under 5Mb total) you may have taken to add further explanation to your complaint, if the complaint warrants the need for photographic evidence.
As soon as your complaint has been received, we will confirm receipt within 14 days by return. It will then be sent to our agents in resort and investigated thoroughly. When we receive our agent’s official response, and that of the accommodation, we will contact you in an effort to resolve your complaint within six weeks of first receiving it. Unfortunately no telephone contact can be accepted for complaints, as all communications need to be documented for our records should we ever need to refer to them.
We will not accept any complaints or request for compensation unless our procedures (see 14. If you have any problems in resort) are carried out in the order requested. Complaints sent to us on your return home, without the relative contact history requested in the above procedures, will not be accepted.
- G15 - Insurance and liability [ top ]
By accepting these terms & conditions, you confirm to us that adequate travel insurance has been taken out by yourself, the lead traveller, and your fellow travellers for the duration of the stay. It is recommended that travel insurance is taken out as close as possible to the time of purchase. Clients are reminded that they should ensure that their travel insurance covers all aspects of their holiday travel. They are also reminded to ensure that Tours and Excursions taken whilst in resort are covered by their holidays insurance.
The limitation of our liability to you is limited to the price of the product purchased. We do not accept liability for any claim (other than claims for improper performance of any services). In contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise for consequential, economic or indirect loss or damage.
Any claims against Winter Sunshine Holidays / Find-Rooms.com will only be made under English/Welsh jurisdiction.
- G16 - Age of travellers [ top ]
We will accept bookings for any person of any age, however, any persons under the age of 18 not travelling with their parent/guardian, must provide a letter of consent from their parent/guardian. Be advised that accommodations in North America will only accept guests under the age of 21 years if accompanied by an adult.
- G17 - Additional requests at time of booking [ top ]
At time of booking you have an opportunity to list any special requests you may have. Examples of these requests are late arrival, infant name & age, cot required etc.
Please note that whilst all requests are processed, we cannot guarantee that they will be fulfilled.
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G18 - Passports [ top ]
It is common practice for holiday services to request to see your passport. Please make sure you have your passports ready. No liability can be accepted by our company if you are refused admission for your failure to provide a valid and up to date passport for identification and the required visa's for the countries you are travelling to. Accommodations are within their rights to turn you away if you do not have an up-to-date passport. If you are turned away because you did not have a passport, we can offer no refunds or compensatory payments.
- G19 - Travel guides [ top ]
The information contained in the travel guides shown on the Winter Sunshine Holidays group of websites is the property of Globe Media. Any/all information is subject to change at short notice and travellers are urged to verify information on which they're relying with the relevant authorities before they travel.
Whilst Globe Media makes every effort to ensure that the travel guides are kept as up-to-date as possible, Winter Sunshine Holidays & Globe Media cannot accept any responsibility for loss or inconvenience to any person as a result of any incorrect information contained within the guides.
- G20 - Transaction card fee [ top ]
Every credit/debit card transaction will be subject to a contributory card fee of £2.00. The fee's go towards our card authorisation charges levied against us by our merchant banks, which enables us to keep our prices extremely low and competitive. Sometimes, when booking, multiple invoices must be created resulting in multiple card transactions taking place. For every invoice that has to be created a separate card fee will be applied as the payment for each amount must be taken seaprately as well. You will always be informed of the fee prior to booking at the top of the booking detail page.
- G21 - Booking of package and products OFFLINE [ top ]
On payment of either a deposit, or full payment, if within the full payment period, the client agrees to be bound by the terms and conditions of trading with Winter Sunshine Holidays Ltd as found online and enclosed here.
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