Booking Terms and Conditions
YOUR CONTRACT IS WITH Alpine Winter Sports Ltd, trading as Ski Gower (hereafter referred to as Ski Gower), a Member of Protected Trust Services, Membership Number 5813.
Overview
These terms and conditions govern the Contract between you and us to the exclusion of all other terms and conditions save for those implied by law, and no variation to these terms and conditions shall be valid unless in writing and signed by you and a company director.
Your holiday Contract
No contract shall arise between you and us until we have received the deposit payable and we have sent to you written confirmation (This can be in the form of an email) of our acceptance of your booking.
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 we issue our confirmation invoice. This Contract is made on the terms of these booking conditions, which are governed by English Law, and the jurisdiction of the English Courts. You may however, choose the law and jurisdiction of Scotland or Northern Ireland if you wish to do so.
[If you had not seen these terms and conditions when you made your booking and you are not happy to proceed with the booking now that you have seen them, please return all documentation to us within 7 days of receiving these booking conditions. Your booking will be cancelled and your monies will be returned in full, provided you have not commenced your travel. This clause does not apply if your booking was made within 10 weeks of travel].
Lead name
The lead name on any booking with us accepts the full responsibility of collecting the full balance payable for the booking and indemnifies Ski Gower against any loss from any individual failing to pay within your group. The lead name of the group is also responsible for ensuring that all group members are aware they are bound by our terms and conditions. The lead name is also responsible for the completion of the guest list on behalf of all persons on the booking. It is understood that those booking via email or telephone agree to, and accept our terms and conditions.
Your financial protection
For package holidays, the tour operator must ensure that your money is safe and that you will get to your return destination should your tour operator go out of business (financially fail) when you are on holiday. When you buy a package holiday that doesn’t include a flight, protection is provided by way of a trust fund. For further information about the Protected Trust Services (PTS) please follow this link:
https://www.protectedtrustservices.com/consumer/
To check our membership number use this link:
https://www.protectedtrustservices.com/consumer/assistance-we-offer/check-a-member/
and to clarify our Trust Account Details use this link:
https://www.protectedtrustservices.com/consumer/assistance-we-offer/check-trust-account-details/
Protected Trust Services
We are a Member of PTS. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by PTS’s Code of Conduct and being compliant with the Package Travel and Linked Arrangements Regulation 2018.
Alpine Winter Sports Ltd trading as Ski Gower, is a company committed to customer satisfaction and consumer financial protection. We are therefore pleased to announce that, at no extra cost to you, and in accordance with ''The Package Travel, Package Tours Regulations'' all passengers booking with Ski Gower are fully protected for the initial deposit, and subsequently the balance of monies paid as detailed in your booking confirmation form. Your money is fully protected and paid into an independent Trust Account, managed by Protected Trust Services Ltd of 307-315 Holdenhurst Rd, Boscombe, Bournemouth BH8 8BX and its Trustees, chartered accountants - Elman Wall Ltd of 8th Floor, Becket House, 36 Old Jewry, London EC2R 8DD.
Your Holiday Price
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.
When you make your booking, you must pay a non-refundable, non-transferrable deposit of
£200.00 per person and a further deposit of £400.00 per person by 20 weeks prior to the travel date.
The balance of the price of your travel arrangements must be paid at least 10 weeks before your departure date.
If the deposit and/or balance is not paid in time, we shall cancel your travel arrangements. If the balance is not paid in time, we shall retain your deposit.
The price of your travel arrangements was calculated using exchange rates that are stipulated in your Contract and are in relation to Swiss Francs (CHF).
Supplier changes
If due to circumstances beyond our control it becomes necessary to substitute an alternative supplier, or make any other alterations to the event (including accommodation) we shall inform you of the changes as soon as possible. You must pay any additional cost due to such changes. If the changes are, in the view of Ski Gower so substantial as to materially alter the event and you are unwilling to accept them then you may cancel the event and we will give a refund of the cost of the event to us. Surcharges may be applicable where an event requires a minimum number of participants to proceed, and the group does not meet this minimum number. This could lead to the cancellation of the event of which we are not held responsible and alternatives may be offered of an equal or greater value. If this value is greater, then you must pay us the difference in price. If the final number of a group is an odd number, then a single supplement surcharge will apply if the booking or an event (including accommodation) which is number dependent.
Variation in supplier costs
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. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the price of your 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, except for any amendment charges. Should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice. Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, then we may choose to refund you. 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.
Damage to Suppliers Property, fixtures, fittings & equipment
Any existing damage to suppliers’ property, facilities or equipment must be reported at the earliest opportunity to either the Ski Gower representative or to the management of the service provider.
If you or your group cause damage or loss of any kind to the accommodation, other guests or their property, you will be responsible for that damage or loss, and you shall be liable to pay to the service provider the amount required to make good or remedy such damage or loss.
Alpine Winter Sports Ltd will not be held responsible for intentional damage to suppliers’ property or equipment and will not be liable for any refund or compensation in such circumstances.
If You Change Your Booking
If, after our confirmation invoice has been issued, 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. You should be aware that these 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 may not be changeable after a reservation has been made and any alteration request could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of 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. Notification from an authorised person responsible 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 below:
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If We Change or Cancel Your Holiday
It is unlikely that we will have to make any changes to your travel arrangements, but we do 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 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 10 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.
If we make a major change to your holiday, we will inform you 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:
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The compensation that we offer does not exclude you from claiming more if you are entitled to do so. For Force Majeure event, 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, epidemics and pandemics, unavoidable technical problems with transport.
Equipment and special care
Passengers who need assistance and/or have special requests or need special facilities, care or equipment with regard to accommodation, seating or services required or their need to bring medical equipment must notify us at the time of booking.
In the event of this requirement, Ski Gower will provide supplementary Terms and Conditions at the time of booking or immediately thereafter.
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. Our liability, except in cases involving death, injury or illness, shall be limited to a maximum of three times the cost of your travel arrangements.
Our liability will also be limited in accordance with and/or in an identical manner to the contractual terms of the companies that provide the transportation for your travel arrangements. These terms are incorporated into this contract and 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 offices. Under EU law (Regulation 261/2004). Your right to a refund and/or compensation from us is set out in clause 11. If any payments to you are due from us, any payment made to you by the airline will be deducted from this amount.
If You Have A Complaint
If you have a problem during your holiday, please inform the relevant supplier immediately (e.g., your hotelier) or our resort representative, if one is available, or contact us on the emergency phone number provided. We/they will endeavour to put things right. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please follow this up in writing within 28 days. 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, if available and contact us on the emergency phone number provided without delay whilst in resort. If you fail to follow this simple procedure of reporting your complaint, 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.
Prompt assistance in resort
If the contract we have with you is not performed or is improperly performed as a result of failures attributable to a third party unconnected with the provision of the services, or as a result of failures due to 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, and you suffer an injury or other
material loss, we will offer you such prompt assistance as is reasonable in the circumstances.
Passport, Visa and Immigration Requirements
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 or immigration requirements.
Excursions
Excursions or other tours that you may choose to book or pay for whilst you are on holiday are not part of your package holiday provided by 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.
Once a Contract has been formed the travel arrangements are our responsibility, as your tour operator. It is not issued on behalf of, and does not commit the airlines, coach operators of cross-Channel companies mentioned therein or any transport operator 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.
Definitions
"We/us" Means Alpine Winter Sports Ltd trading as Ski Gower.
"The Event" Means any holiday, accommodation, activity or function organised or advertised by us.
“You" Means the person who has signed the booking form and includes all the people on whose behalf you have signed.
"Supplier" Means the company or person that is holding or providing the event or any part of it.
"Price" Means the total cost of the event.
“Force Majeure” Means certain acts, events or circumstances beyond the control of the parties, for example war, riot, industrial dispute, terrorist activity and its consequences, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather conditions, epidemics and pandemics, unavoidable technical problems with transport, which precludes either party from being able to perform the obligations of the contract.
