General Booking Terms and Conditions

General booking Terms and Conditions – Relevant to all self-catering holidays featured on this site

Our mission to you the customer

Is to provide the best possible honest good value service. Our marketing aim is provide accurate detailed information for every property website listing. In the event that further information does not appear present and is required in order for you to make a booking. We would “really like to help” and respectfully request you ask us to help you obtain the required information

info@self-catering-scotland.com quoting the appropriate Property name or Reference number

1. The non returnable deposit of up to 25% is payable at the time of booking. Provisional reservations (without payment) cannot be held, or Guaranteed until a full deposit is received.

2. An accepted non returnable deposit and completed booking form is a contract and in the event of cancellation, no monies are obliged to be refunded. Failure to complete and return a booking form could result in your booking being lost / cancelled. The booking form is an essential part of your booking, to advise us of any special requirement’s, and most importantly your exact group make up because we have know way of knowing that example your group is made up of example 2 families, or single sex groups, which some locations cannot accept. After making the standard securing deposit it is yours / the customers responsibility, not us the agency, or the holiday home owner to make sure the full balance payment is received on time. Failure to settle a balance in full may result in self-catering-scotland.com or the holiday home owners re-letting the accommodation without notice to the hirer. Reservations made within 6 weeks of the planned arrival date always require full payment at the time of booking.

3. Standard cancellations must be received by us in writing at least 6 weeks prior to the due arrival date, to avoid being liable for the full balance payment. In the event that the cancelation notice is beyond / less than the the 6 weeks / 42 days cancelation period, you will be liable for the full balance payment, however in the spirit of Goodwill we normally apply every effort possible to re-let cancelled accommodations with a view to recovering / forwarding any monies over and above the original non-returnable deposit, less an administration fee of 7.5% / or minimum £50 of the total booking value (whichever greater)

Very Important – We do not sell Holiday cancellation insurance with any of our bookings, so strongly you are fully covered for any unseen illness, issues, weather and travel related problems when you have booked, as refunds of non returnable deposits and balances are not possible.

4. It is a firm condition of letting that guest’s leave their accommodation in as clean condition, just as they would expect to find it. Any damage or shortage found subsequently will be charged for. The proprietors reserve the right to inspect the accommodation before departure and charges may be levied if the unit is not left in a clean and tidy condition. A good house keeping Security Deposit is often required with reservations. This is normally returned within 7 days of the end of the tenancy unless there is damage to the property or its contents, items missing, the accommodation is left unfit or untidy, or there is disruptive or abusive behaviour.

5. Smoking. Unless specifically stated, all Properties are strictly non-smoking. The Tenant may not smoke within the Property or allow any member of their party, or other invited persons to smoke within the Property. Any breach of this rule will result in the termination of the Tenant’s booking and a request to vacate immediately. All monies paid will be forfeited. Smoking is permitted in the outside areas of the Property; however the Tenant must ensure that all evidence of smoking in the outside areas is removed prior to departure.

6. If the holiday home is not claimed and occupied within 24 hours of the due time of arrival any right to the property may be forfeited unless a prior special arrangement is made due to travel related delays, work or health matters. In the event of late arrival on the due date, early departure, or any delay, inaccessibility incurred due to detrimental travel or weather conditions is not the responsibility of the proprietors and the hirer has no right to any refund or discount.

7. The Caretaker / Holiday Home Owner is responsible for all matters relating to the condition and content of the accommodation hired. Therefore on arrival and occupation of the accommodation, the hirer should satisfy themselves that the accommodation is in good clean condition and that the equipment in the inventory is complete. By occupying the accommodation without registering any observation example fault, breakage, cleanliness issue or general area of concern with the Caretaker / Holiday Home owner within the first 24 hours, the hirer accepts the accommodation and responsibility for it and its equipment throughout the period of hire. Under no circumstances can compensation be claimed for complaints raised only after the tenancy has ended should the hirer fail to advise the Proprietor / Caretaker verbally during their tenancy, or an early departure due to any registered minor breakage, fault or cleanliness issue that can be rectified. Listing issues in a guest book at the end of a rental are not acceptable, issues can only be immediately addressed once they are reported. Any formal complaints must be addressed to the property owner in writing no later than 7 days after the occupation has ended.

8. The hirer has no right to sub-let the accommodation or permit more than the agreed number of persons to occupy it.

9. The Proprietors reserve the right to either upgrade or provide a different type of accommodation with the same or greater number of beds, should an unexpected emergency or major breakdown occur with the original property allocated. If a substitute accommodation cannot be provided your booking fee can either be transferred to a new booking at the same location or refunded less an administration fee and the proprietors will not be liable to any further claims. Tenants should be aware that should there be a failure in extreme weather, a weekend, bank holiday or over the Christmas / New Year holiday period, it may not be possible to provide a trades person until the morning after or the next working day, this often due to the Remoteness of the Property. The Proprietors must with prior notice be allowed entry to the property during your stay to carry out any essential / additional maintenance that cannot be completed during a changeover. The Proprietors must be allowed to carry out any essential / emergency maintenance as soon as they are made aware. An after hours Emergency call out (1800 to 0900 hours) is – Fire Damage, Flood Damage, complete power or heating failure, structural damage. Any other non emergency issues will be attended as soon as humanly possible and intentionally within 1 working day of notice.

10. The Proprietors do not warrant that all equipment including the electric, central or solid fuel heating system, water, gas supply and electricity system will operate throughout the tenancy. Should the heating system, water, gas or electricity system unexpectedly fail, the owner will take all reasonable steps to rectify the fault and will not be liable for any downtime suffered by the hirer. The owner or trades person must be permitted access to the property to rectify the fault. The Proprietor and self-catering-scotland.com also take no liability for happenings outside their control, example – the effects of unusual or extreme weather, insect / wildlife incursions, power cuts, water shortages, gas failure, coastal or farming disasters, epidemic or pandemic as declared by the Department of Health, DEFRA or WHO.

11. Many of our properties are equipped with extras example Swimming Pools, Hot Tubs, Saunas, Jacuzzis, Boats, Bikes, Fishing and tackle. In some cases the hire of these items is built into the standard rental rate, in other cases they are added optional extras with hire supplements payable in advance. In either scenario we cannot be held responsible for poor weather conditions, health, or any other reasons dictating the none usage of these facilities during your actual hire. Whether you use the facility or not will solely be your own choice, and the supplement paid will be non-refundable.

12. The Proprietors reserve the right to refuse or cancel an advance reservation, in this unlikely scenario any paid monies will be refunded and the proprietors will not be liable to any further claims.

13. The Proprietors also reserve the right to expel a resident for conduct that is detrimental to the well-being or comfort of other holiday makers or neighbours.

14. Most cottages, Lodges and Cabins featured are in quiet places – please do not disturb others by unnecessary noise from cars, TVs, radios or musical instruments etc. especially after 10pm.

15. A maximum of 2 well behaved clean Pets are permitted in some of the properties featured and an extra charge for cleaning is normally payable, pets must be entered on all booking forms. Pet owners are requested to bring either a basket and or bedding, keep pets off any seating and must not under any circumstances leave there Pets unattended in the property or allow their pets to enter the bedrooms.