1. Making a Booking
Please call our reservations team on 01372 372742 to check the availability of the holiday you would like to book. To confirm the booking we require you to make the appropriate payment, email the names of those travelling as per their passports and have read the booking conditions. When you make a booking you are confirming that you understand and have accepted on behalf of yourself and all members of your party, our company booking conditions. The person booking must be over 18 years of age and will be treated as doing so on behalf of, and with the consent of, all the persons for whom the booking is made and is responsible for ensuring due payment of all monies (including any cancellation or amendment charges) in respect of this booking. All deposit payments are non-refundable and non-transferable. Travel documentation and other correspondence regarding the holiday will be sent to the person who books the holiday.Passport Photocopy
It is important that we have passenger names exactly as shown in passports (first name, any middle names and surname) as increasingly suppliers are refusing to amend passenger names that are booked incorrectly. In some instances airlines will apply full cancellation and rebooking charges to amend names, so we cannot stress how important it is for you to forward this information. If you are unable to do so at the time of booking please forward a copy of the photograph page of each person’s passport as soon as possible.
2. Payments
When booking we require a minimum deposit of 25% of the total cost of your holiday. Should any service such as airlines or hotels require full payment at the time of booking or earlier than the 10 week final payment date you will be advised at the time of booking and this will be charged to you over and above the aforementioned 25% deposit. These payments will carry the same conditions as the normal deposit and will be non-refundable.
Full payment will be required if booking within 10 weeks of departure. A contract will exist as soon as the deposit payment has been made. The balance of your holiday must be received by us no later than 10 weeks prior to your departure date. If payment is not received on the due date the holiday or travel arrangements will be liable to cancellation which will lead to loss of deposit and relevant cancellation charges. Please note that all airfares and taxes are subject to increase until full payment is received and tickets are issued. It would therefore be to your advantage to make full payment as soon as you can.
Payment by Credit / Debit Card: No Charge (Except American Express not accepted)
3. On receipt of your deposit
We will make the necessary reservation according to the information you have provided. Your deposit is accepted as part payment of the agreed costs of the booking and credited to your account. We will raise a confirmation invoice detailing the travel services you have booked and would ask you to check this very carefully and advise us immediately if any discrepancies are found. A contract exists between us from the date shown on your confirmation invoice which will be the date the deposit is paid.
4. If you change your booking before departure
If, after we have issued the confirmation invoice, you want to change any aspect of your booking, we will endeavour to assist you. After an initial conversation the request has to be made in writing from the lead name on the booking. If the change is possible we charge a £25 amendment fee. In addition, you must pay any additional costs incurred by us from the service provider. Please note that all airlines charge a very high amendment fee to alter dates or the routing. This makes it uneconomic in most cases to amend the flights in any way.
5. If you make changes whilst overseas
We regret that no credit or refund is possible for any unused services provided in the cost of your holiday. If you decide to alter your travel arrangements whilst abroad we will help you, but it is your responsibility for any extra cost or difficulties that may arise with onward travel as a result of such alterations. No credit or refund is possible for any lost, mislaid, stolen or destroyed documents which could be the subject of a claim on your own insurance.
6. Cancelling your holiday
Cancellation must be made in writing by the person who completed the booking. The cancellation will take effect from the day the written cancellation is received by the company and at this time a cancellation invoice will be raised. The following scale of charges are our standard cancellation charges, however for certain holidays these may vary and you will be notified accordingly at the time of booking. Cancellation charges will be payable depending on when written notification is received and exclude the day of departure.
Prior to 70 days:Deposit paid
69 - 45 days:65% of total holiday cost or deposit paid if greater
45 - 35 days:85% of total holiday cost
35 days or less:100% of total holiday cost
The cancellation charge is calculated as a percentage of the total holiday cost, excluding insurance premiums.
Clients are strongly urged to insure against cancellation at the time of booking.
7. If we change/cancel your holiday before you depart
We plan the arrangements for holidays featured on our website many months in advance using independent suppliers such as airlines, hotels and ground agents over whom we have no direct control. It is the case that on occasions changes do have to be made and we reserve the right to make these at any time. Any changes that do occur are usually minor ones and we will inform you of them as soon as possible. If, however we consider the change to be significant, such as a change of resort; change of hotel to one of a lower category and/or price or a change of flight time of over 12 hours, we will offer you the following alternatives: -
1. Accept the alternative offered (at additional cost if applicable) along with the compensation payment, which may apply (on the scale shown below) if we have received your full payment.
2. Choose another holiday with us at the advertised price.
3. If the alternative arrangements offered are not acceptable, cancel your holiday with a full refund of all monies paid, although no compensation will be payable.
Period before departure within which a
SIGNIFICANT change is notified to youCompensation per person
Prior to 60 days:Nil
59 - 41 days:£20
40 - 21 days:£30
20 days or less:£50
8. Changes due to circumstances beyond our control
We will not be liable to pay any compensation or refund unused services if we are forced to cancel or in any way change your holiday as a result of situations outside of our control which neither we nor our suppliers could foresee or forestall even with all due care. These circumstances include (without limit to this definition) technical or maintenance problems with transport, changes imposed by rescheduling or cancellation of flights by an airline, the alteration of the airline or aircraft type, war or threat of war, civil strife, industrial disputes, natural disaster, bad weather or terrorist activity.
9. Flight routings and timings
The flight timings detailed on your confirmation invoice are for general guidance only and are subject to change. The latest timings will be shown on your tickets. Therefore you must check your tickets carefully on receipt. It is possible that flight times may be changed even after tickets have been dispatched and we will contact you as soon as we are advised that this has occurred. The name(s) detailed on the confirmation invoice will appear on the airline tickets and must match the name(s) on the relevant passports otherwise you will not be allowed to check in.
Longhaul flights can be tiring, particularly in economy class. We recommend you to consider booking an upgrade. We also recommend (particularly if you are flying economy class), that you check in early if you have particular seat requests. We have no control over the allocation of seats by the airline and even if a request has been made with the airline to book seats, no guarantee can be made that they will still be available on departure. The provision of particular seats does not constitute a term of your contract with us. We cannot guarantee the type of aircraft you will travel on as this may be subject to change and general availability.
Some itineraries require a change of aircraft en route. A flight that is described as direct is one where there is no need to change aircraft during the journey. However stops may be made en route for refuelling or to let passengers on and/or off. Details of any stops will be given on your itinerary. Should you require this information at an earlier stage, please check with us at the time of booking.
It is common practice for scheduled airlines to use a code share system, which may mean that you fly with a partner airline. Where this situation arises, it is not classed as a major change and we may not be in a position to advise you prior to departure.
In the event of a flight being delayed, we will do our best to make arrangements for your comfort wherever possible. However, this will depend on such factors as the expected length of delay, local availability of accommodation, immigration ruling and so on. Where long flight delays result in lost holiday time, no refunds are given by hotels for unused accommodation, as rooms are held for delayed arrivals, not re-let. Your travel insurance policy may offer compensation for certain flight delays.
10. Our responsibility for your holiday
The Great Holiday Collection is licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority, ATOL No.10296 and bonded with major insurance companies to protect customer holiday payment and repatriation. We apply all reasonable checks to ensure that those involved in the preparation and provision of your holiday maintain the appropriate standards. The descriptions, information and opinions on our websites in respect of airlines, hotels and other suppliers whose services are used are given in good faith, based on the latest information available. We will accept liability for matters that arise as a direct result of our negligence and/or breach of our contractual duty to exercise care in making arrangements for you, including any acts/or omissions by our employees or agents. Further we will accept liability for any negligent act or omission of our suppliers whilst they are acting within the scope or in the course of their employment to provide any service or arrangement forming part of the holiday that you have booked with us, including any claim involving death, personal injury or illness. In respect of carriage by air, sea and rail and the provision of accommodation, our liability in all cases will be limited in accordance with the relevant international conventions. It is important to note that travel with a particular carrier will be subject to the conditions of carriage of that carrier, some of which may limit or exclude liability. Operational decisions may be taken by air carriers and airports resulting in delays, diversions or rescheduling. The Great Holiday Collection has no control over such decisions, and is therefore unable to accept responsibility for them.
11. Holiday price
External forces can affect the price of your holiday so all prices are reconfirmed at the time of booking. Once you have paid your deposit we guarantee not to increase the cost of you holiday except in the following circumstances when a surcharge will apply; currency fluctuation, fuel charges, government action, airport charges and increases in scheduled airfares. In the event of a surcharge being levied, we will absorb an amount equivalent to 2% of the holiday price at the time of booking, which excludes insurance premiums and any amendment charges referred to in clause 4 of these Terms. Only amounts in excess of this 2% will be surcharged, but where a surcharge is more than 10% of the holiday price you will be entitled to cancel your holiday with a refund of all monies paid, less any premium paid to us for insurance premiums and modification charges. Should you decide to cancel because of this, you must exercise your right to do so in writing within fourteen days of the date printed on the surcharge invoice. All holiday prices are calculated on commercial rates of exchange current at the time of costing.
12. Special requests and medical needs
Where special requests such as diet, room location, twin or double bedded room, a particular facility or flight seat are an important factor in the choice of holiday, you must advise us before a booking is made. We will pass your request on to the hotel or airline but cannot guarantee that it will be accommodated. We will also pass on any dietary requests to airlines but we recommend that you check directly with the airline once your tickets have been issued. The provision of any special request does not constitute a term of your contract with us unless we have confirmed in writing that your requirement will be met. If you have any medical needs that may affect the arrangements booked you must advise us in writing at the time of booking giving full details. If we feel unable to properly accommodate your particular needs, we reserve the right to decline/cancel your booking.
13. Your responsibilities
Any passports, visas, health certificates, inoculations, International Driving Licences and other travel documents required for the holiday must be obtained by the client, whose responsibility it remains to ensure that these are all in order and to meet any additional costs incurred (whether by the client or by The Great Holiday Collection on the clients behalf) as a result of failure to comply with such requirements. You are responsible to arrive at stated departure times and places and any loss or damage which you suffer through failure to do so lies with you. The Great Holiday Collection has no liability whatsoever to you through your failure to do so.
14. Behaviour
When booking with us the lead person accepts responsibility for any damage or loss caused by any member of the party. Full payment for any such damage or loss must be paid direct at the time to accommodation owner, manager or other supplier. If you fail to do so, you will be responsible for meeting any claims subsequently made against us (together with our and other party’s full legal costs) as a result of your actions.If, in the opinion of our company representative/guide/tour manager, the behaviour of anyone in the party is such that it is likely to cause distress, damage, danger or annoyance to any third party, we reserve the right to terminate all holiday arrangements immediately without refund.
15. Complaints procedure
In the unlikely event of a complaint whilst on holiday you must tell your guide, local hotel or our appointed agent who will then try and solve the problem there and then. Unless there is a valid reason why your complaint is not reported in this manner, we will not consider ourselves liable in respect of those complaints. If the problem cannot be resolved in resort, you must send us a written complaint to reach us within 28 days of the end of your holiday in order that we can investigate fully. We regret we can not accept liability for any claims received outside this period. We certainly hope that we can settle any holiday complaints amicably, however should this prove not to be the case you may refer any dispute relating to this contract to an arbitrator appointed by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The scheme provides for a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration, on documents alone, with restricted liability of the client in respect of costs. The scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £5,000 per person or £25,000 per booking form, or to claims that are solely or mainly in respect of physical injury or illness, or the consequences of such injury or illness. An application for arbitration must be made within nine months of the date of return from the holiday.
16. Juristiction
Your contract is made on the terms of these booking conditions which are governed by English law and the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
17. Data protection policy
In order to process your booking and to ensure that your travel arrangements run smoothly and meet your requirements we need to use the information you provide such as name, contact details and any special needs/dietary requirements etc. You are responsible for ensuring that other members of your party are aware of our booking conditions and data protection policy and that they consent to you acting on their behalf in your dealings with us. We may disclose this information to our service providers (who may be located outside the UK/EEA) for the purpose of providing you with your travel arrangements and insurance. The information may also be provided to security or credit checking companies, public authorities such as customs/immigration and for any other purpose imposed on us by governments or airlines. In making this booking, you consent to this information being passed on to relevant persons. We will not pass any information onto any person not responsible for part of your travel arrangements.
