Terms & Conditions
Serendipity Cottage is a holiday rental home business.
We arrange the booking and provision of holiday rental accommodation.
We reserve the right to amend Serendipity Cottage’s details and prices quoted on the internet
due to error or omission. In this unlikely event, you will be notified immediately and may
cancel your provisional booking accordingly.
Deposit
To secure your holiday dates you must pay a deposit of £100 or if your holiday is within 6 weeks of the start of your holiday the full amount must be paid. The booking is confirmed once we have
sent you a booking confirmation (usually by email). This deposit is non-refundable.
We strongly urge you to ensure you have adequate travel insurance as by paying the deposit you areagreeing to pay the full payment for your holiday, damage deposit and any dog charges.
It is possible to secure bookings by Cheque, Credit Card or Bank Transfer.
Full payment
The balance of your payment is due 6 weeks before your holiday starts, at which point
Serendipity Cottage will request full payment of your holiday plus a returnable damage deposit of £100 if the balance is not received by the date due onthe booking confirmation, we reserve the right to make the cottage available for re-booking.
The balance can be paid by Cheque, Credit Card or Bank transfer. You and your fellow guests must keep the property clean and in good order and will be re-sponsible for any damages or breakages. During the period of occupation, you are responsible for the care of Serendipity Cottage and its contents.
It is expected that you treat the cottage with the respect that you treat your own home and
leave the house and its fixtures and fittings in a clean and tidy condition, including correct disposal of rubbish/waste for recycling and disposal of dog mess from gardens/grounds.
Following your safe departure, we are allowed up to 7 working days to assess the property in order to ascertain whether any damage has been caused. If damage has been caused, over and above what we consider to be classed as ‘general wear and tear’, then we will contact you.
The lead guest will be notified with photographic evidence to explain why we are holding some or all the Security Deposit. This deposit will be refunded to you within 10 working days, but a deduction will be made for any breakages or damages done to the property or if it is not left in a clean and tidy condition, including correct rubbish/waste disposal, dog mess removal or any untoward expenses.
Cancellation
If we can re-book any cancelled dates we will refund you all monies paid minus a £20 administration fee and any financial or other discounts/offers made in order to secure a new booking. Again, we strongly urge you to ensure you have adequate travel insurance in place.
Once a booking has been confirmed by Serendipity Cottage it can only be changed to different dates by treating the original booking as a cancellation.
We reserve the right to refuse any booking and to cancel any booking already made if the property is unavailable (e.g. through fire, flood, failure of utility services etc.) for any reason whatsoever subject to a full refund of all monies paid.
We are not under any other liability if such a cancellation occurs.
Force Majeure
We cannot accept liability or responsibility for any alterations,
delay or cancellation or any other loss or damage caused by war, civil strife, terrorist action, industrial disputes, fire, sickness, bad weather, livestock, epidemics, acts of any government, or public authority, changes imposed by re-scheduling of airlines, ferries or any event outside our control.
Dogs
We welcome 2 dogs of all breeds to stay free of charge, £25 for an extra dog. Maximum of 3.
We require you to advise us of the dog breed and only dogs mentioned on the booking will be allowed to stay. They must be over 6 months of age at the time of the holiday, house trained, clean, no bitches in season, up to date with flea prevention treatment and well behaved. Your dogs are permitted on the sofas in the property provided owners bring throws with them however we request that they do not go up to the first floor. It is their holiday as well and we ask that they are never left unattended at Serendipity Cottage.
Guest conduct, safety and belongings
Only guests listed on the booking confirmation are allowed to stay at Serendipity Cottage. No more than 4 people and 1 baby/toddler may stay in the cottage.
We reserve the right to revoke or refuse prior to, or during the stay, any booking from parties which we consider to be unsuitable for the property. Due respect and consideration to neighbours must be observed at all times.
As the Owners of Serendipity Cottage we are not liable to you the guest or any member of your party, including your dogs for any injury, loss or damage to your property or person, however caused.
You should ensure that all personal possessions are removed on departure from the property. Our housekeepers to Serendipity Cottage reserve the right to dispose of any personal belongings after your departure day without any further reference to you.
Serendipity Cottage is a non-smoking, non-vaping property.
Special requirements
If you have any special requirements or medical needs for either you or your fellow guests or your dogs included on the booking form, please don’t hesitate to email us prior to booking. We will be able to answer any questions and help you establish if Serendipity Cottage is suitable for you. We will try to make any reasonable adjustments we can but it may not be possible to accommodate all your requests or requirements. In those cases it is your decision if you feel Serendipity Cottage is suitable and wish to book. We will not be held liable if you discover on arrival that the house is not suitable for your needs.
Third Party Providers
We cannot be held responsible for any 3rd party breakdowns, malfunctions or cuts of utility services such as electricity, gas, water supplies, sewage disposal although every attempt will be made to remedy a problem where possible, should it occur.
In the case of television and telecommunications (mobile reception, Wi-Fi/ broadband etc.) we cannot be held responsible for the services to Serendipity Cottage. We expect these services to be operating as normal for all guests’ enjoyment but these can be subject to interruptions in our rural area. Every line of enquiry will be made with the provider in an effort to resume service but no refund or relocation will be considered for interruptions to telecommunications or television.
Privacy Statement - We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.
This statement explains how and when we collect information about you, how we use this information and when and who it may be shared with.
It also explains how you can request information held about you.
Serendipity Cottage collects information about you (our guest) to:
Process your booking
Communicate throughout the process of booking and managing your holiday experience.
Carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into by you and us
Seek your views or comments on the services we provide
Notify you of any changes to our services
Send you communications which may be of interest to you, for example, sending you emails or details of future promotions and offers
Analyse and review and for marketing purposes of Serendipity Cottage.
How do we treat your information?
All details you give to Serendipity Cottage at any time will be kept for the period of your booking/holiday and will be destroyed after 21 days after your last day of your holiday. We keep your information securely and do not share this information with any other parties.
The Information Commissioner’s website contains further useful information and
advice: www.ico.org.uk
COVID-19 Addendum
Important Additional Covid-19 Information
What we are doing to help during the Covid-19 outbreak.
We have introduced new safety measures to reduce the risk of infection to guests, staff and owners and following our risk assessment have achieved the 'We're Good to Go' seal of approval to highlight this.
Increased protection
All cleaners will be provided with PPE including aprons, gloves and masks and a supply of hand sanitiser.
Additional cleaning will take place between changeovers to ensure a deep clean and extra time will need to be left between guest leaving and cleaning staff accessing the cottage. This will mean temporary changes to existing check in and out times to facilitate this.
Hand sanitiser will be available in the cottage for guests use as well as cleaning fluids and cloths should you wish to use these during your stay.
We are continually looking at possible additional measures and will keep this information updated.
What we’re asking guests to do to help:
Please DO NOT travel if you're experiencing any Coronavirus symptoms.
These include a high temperature, a new continuous cough, or loss or change to your sense of smell or taste.
Wash your hands before travelling and if you can, bring extra hand sanitiser gel for use during your stay and when visiting the local area.
To help with social distancing please do not arrive in advance of earliest check in time.
Please keep to the designated cottage area throughout your stay unless going to and from your car.
If you develop symptoms of Covid-19 whilst staying at the cottage, please notify the owner immediately as per attachment below and follow all up to date guidance from the
Government at www.gov.uk/coronavirus to ensure we all remain as safe as possible.
