| RENTAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS |
| Booking Request and Confirmation
Every attempt is made to keep the information in the availability calendar on the property’s web site accurate, but no arrangements (eg, flights) should be made that rely on the property being available for booking until a formal booking enquiry has been submitted to the Owner, and the Owner has confirmed the property’s availability for the dates that have been requested. The Owner will confirm the availability of the property and the Rental Rate as soon as possible after receiving the booking enquiry, and will issue a Provisional Booking, reserving the dates requested for up to 10 days. A Booking Deposit of 20% of the total Rental Rate must be paid to the Owner within 10 days to secure the booking. If the Booking Deposit is not received within 10 days, the Provisional Booking will lapse, and the dates requested will no longer be reserved. Payment of the Booking Deposit confirms acceptance of the terms and conditions set out within this document, and shall be binding on all persons (hereinafter known as the “Guests”) staying at the property during the rental period. A copy of these terms and conditions, signed by the party leader (hereinafter known as the “Signatory”), must be submitted to the Owner at the same time as the Booking Deposit. On receipt of the Booking Deposit, the Owner will issue a Booking Confirmation for the dates that have been requested. It is the responsibility of the Signatory to check that the arrival and departure dates and the Rental Rate in the Booking Confirmation are correct. The Rental Rate is inclusive of electricity and hot water, but does not include Pool and Spa Heating, which is available for an additional charge on request. If Pool and Spa Heating has been requested, the fact will be stated explicitly in the Booking Confirmation. Payment of the total Rental Rate (less the Booking Deposit) must be made no less than 30 days prior to the arrival date. On receipt of the final payment, the Owner will send a Villa Information Pack to the Signatory, including detailed directions to the property, a front door key code (which the Guests will use to access the property during their stay), local management company contact information, and information about the property’s amenities. Cancellation, Changes and Refunds If the booking has to be cancelled, the Signatory must notify the Owner in writing or by email. Any cancellations are subject to a charge as follows:
If the due balance is not paid at least 30 days prior to the arrival date, the Owner reserves the right to cancel the booking. In this event, the Booking Deposit will be forfeited. It is the responsibility of the Guests to make sure they have adequate Travel Insurance to cover any losses in the case where cancellation is due to an insured event beyond their control resulting in a financial loss. If required by the insurance company, the Owner will provide documentary evidence of the booking, and the total payment received. Payment Methods Payment can be made by any of the following methods:
The Owner accepts no responsibility for any payments lost by the postal service. If the method of payment is a bank draft or money order, it is recommended that it should be sent by Registered Mail. Security Deposit A Security Deposit of US$250 or £150 must be paid in addition to the Rental Rate. This must be paid at the same time as the final payment (not less than 30 days before arrival). The Owner will return the Security Deposit to the Signatory within 21 days of the end of the rental, subject to the property being left in a satisfactory condition. The Signatory agrees to accept full liability for all loss or damage caused by any of the Guests, during their occupation of the property (excluding breakages caused by manufacturing faults and normal wear and tear), and confirms that the full cost of repair or replacement will be met. Any excessive use of utilities and/or leaving the property in such condition that warrants extra cleaning may be paid for using all or part of the Security Deposit. The Owner reserves the right to seek recompense from the Signatory and/or the other Guests for any damages caused which may exceed the value of the Security Deposit. All damage and faults caused or found at the property must be reported to the Owner’s management company at the earliest opportunity. Use of the Property Florida State Law requires that only the persons registered at the time of booking be allowed to use the rental property. The legal maximum occupancy for the property is 10 (ten) persons, including infants – if the occupancy limit is exceeded, this will result in the immediate termination of the rental agreement without refund of monies. Any unauthorised occupancy by persons not registered will be subject to immediate termination of the rental agreement without refund of monies. The property cannot be sub let. Travel Arrangements The Guests accept full responsibility for making travel arrangements to ensure their occupation of the property for the period reserved. The Owner accepts no responsibility or liability in respect of loss or damage, or alterations to the dates caused by flight delays or cancellations, weather conditions, industrial disputes, terrorist activity, or any other event outside of the Owner’s control. All passports, visas, travel insurance and health certificates are the Guests’ responsibility and the Owner accepts no responsibility for any delay or expense incurred or any irregularities with the Guests’ documentation. Arrivals and Departures Check in time is from 4pm on the day of arrival and check out time is before 10am on the day of departure. These times can only be changed with the prior written approval of the Owner or the Owner’s management company. The Owner and the management company will make every effort to accommodate time changes, but this may not be possible due to the arrival/departure of other guests on changeover days, and the schedule of the cleaning service. Cleaning The property will be cleaned and all towels and bed linens washed prior to the Guests’ arrival date. The charge for the cleaning service is included in the Rental Rate. If extra cleaning is required during the rental period, this can be arranged for an additional charge. Smoking Policy For the safety and comfort of all guests, smoking is not permitted inside the property. If any additional cleaning of furniture, fabrics, or carpets is required as a result of the presence of tobacco smoke, the cost will be deducted from the Security Deposit. Pet Policy No pets are allowed inside the property or in the pool area. Air Conditioning In a sub-tropical climate it is vital that doors and windows are kept closed at all times to keep out the heat and humidity. Failure to do this will result in excessive air conditioning electricity charges, which may be deducted from the Security Deposit. The air conditioning controls have been preset at a comfortable level. Guests should not need to adjust the air conditioning controls. In Florida’s humid climate it is all too easy to freeze up the air conditioning condenser units causing the system to fail. A frozen condenser unit will require the attention of a service engineer and the repair cost will be deducted from the Security Deposit. Trash Collection The trash is collected twice a week from the property’s driveway. The collection days are posted on a notice in the kitchen. The Guests agree to place the trash container next to the road on the night before the collection day (collection may be made at any time after 6am in the morning), and to bring the trash container back into the garage before the end of the collection day. Local ordinances prohibit the placing of trash outside the property at any time other than on a collection day or after 6pm on the evening prior to a collection day. Pool and Spa Heating Pool and Spa Heating is an optional extra, and can be arranged at time of booking for an additional charge – it is not included in the Rental Rate, unless this is explicitly stated in the Booking Confirmation. It can also be arranged by calling the Owner’s management company at any time during the rental period, although guests must be aware there may be a short delay before it is activated. There will also be a further delay before the water reaches the desired temperature, however payment is required from commencement. Should the water heater fail for any reason every effort will be made to repair the equipment. If heating has been paid for, there will be a refund for the days when it is not available. The pool and spa heater is set to heat the water to 85° Fahrenheit. Heating is subject to weather conditions, the colder the weather the longer the heater will take to warm the water in the pool and spa. The heater works on a principle of heat transference, extracting heat from the air to raise the temperature of the water – if the daytime air temperature drops below 60° Fahrenheit, the heater may not be able to heat the water in the pool and spa to a comfortable temperature. Guests are not permitted to adjust the heater controls, any sign of tampering will result in the heating being turned off and the Pool and Spa Heating payment will be forfeited. Any problems with the pool and spa should be reported to the management company immediately. Pool Service The management company provides a regular pool cleaning service. The pool maintenance staff will call from time to time to adjust the chemical balance of the pool water and clean the sides and bottom of the pool and spa. Pool Safety Use of the pool and spa is at each Guest’s own risk. No diving is permitted. All exit doors to the swimming pool are fitted with an audible alarm, in accordance with Florida State Law. Guests must not allow unsupervised children to use the pool and spa at any time. For safety reasons, glass and crockery is not permitted in the pool area at any time. Telephone A telephone is provided in the property, with local calls and calls to toll-free numbers being free of charge, but calls to numbers outside of the local call area can only be made by utilising a pre-paid telephone calling card, or through other credit payment services. Internet Connection The Rental Rate includes free Internet Access, which is provided through a DSL connection on the property’s telephone line, and a wireless router. The property is not equipped with a computer – the Guests must provide their own computer(s) to access the Internet. A 128-bit WEP (encryption/security) key is used to protect wireless connections to the router. If wireless access is required, it is the responsibility of the Guests to ensure that their computer(s) supports the WEP protocol, and to correctly configure their computer(s) with the router’s SSID and WEP key, which are printed on the front of the router. Computer(s) may also be connected directly to the wireless router using the Guests’ own Ethernet network cable(s). The Guests must not use the property’s Internet Access for any activity that is illegal under US Federal Law or Florida State Law. The Owner will cooperate fully with law enforcement agencies in any investigation of unlawful use. Should Internet Access be unavailable for any reason (including but not limited to failure of the equipment in the property, the phone line, or the equipment of the telephone company), no compensation will be given for the period when it is unavailable. Owner Access The Owner or the management company shall be allowed access to the property at any reasonable time, but in practice this is only necessary if maintenance has been requested, or if there has been a breach of these Terms and Conditions. Code of Conduct Rolling Hills is a residential community. The actions of the Guests should not interfere with the enjoyment the residents of Rolling Hills, or other holidaymakers. Please do not use the swimming pool, play loud music or engage in any activity that may cause inconvenience to the property’s neighbours after 10:30pm or before 7:30am. In the event that any Guest behaves in a way that is likely to cause distress, danger or annoyance to any other residents of Rolling Hills, or damage to any property, the Owner reserves the right to terminate the rental agreement immediately. The Owner will not be liable for any costs incurred, nor will they pay any compensation, nor make any refunds due to this action. Liability Limitations The Owner or their agents will not be held responsible for loss or delay, howsoever caused beyond the Owner’s control, including but not limited to strikes, riots, fire, war, threat of war, terrorist activity, industrial dispute, flight delays or cancellations, natural disasters, adverse weather conditions, flood, transport problems of any kind, or any other event. The Owner and their agents accept no liability whatsoever for death, personal injury, illness, accidents, loss or damage to persons or personal effects however caused as a result of use of the property, including the pool and spa. It is the Signatory’s responsibility to make sure that children are always supervised properly around the pool and inside the property. The Owner accepts no responsibility for Guests’ property while they are in the house or the pool area. The owner accepts no responsibility for lost, misplaced or stolen property, which Guests may have left in the property or its surroundings. The Owner cannot accept responsibility for the sudden failure of equipment at the property, but will take reasonable steps to rectify any such failure upon notification by the Guests. In the event of the failure of the pool heater, if pool heating has been paid for, a refund will be given for any days when the pool is not heated. The Owner is not responsible if the pool heater cannot reach optimum temperature due to adverse cold weather conditions. In the event that circumstances beyond the Owner’s control (including, but not limited to, destruction of, or severe damage to the property) necessitate the cancellation or curtailment of the rental agreement, the Owner will, through their agents, make best efforts to provide alternative accommodation of a similar type, size and location at no extra cost to the Guests, but if this is not possible, or if the alternative arrangements are unacceptable to the Signatory, the Owner reserves the right to cancel the booking, and will only be liable to refund any monies already paid in respect of the rental of the property. This will be the full extent of the Owner’s liability in such circumstances, and the Owner shall not be responsible for any other costs connected with any such cancellation, howsoever arising. Complaints In the event that you wish to make a complaint during your stay, the management company must be contacted immediately. If the matter cannot be resolved to your satisfaction, you should contact the Owner, by telephone, e-mail, or in writing, immediately or within 14 days of the end of the rental period. If the problem has not been reported to the management company in the first instance, the Owner cannot accept any responsibility. Data Privacy The Owner and the management company will treat all guest personal data in commercial confidence. Any data supplied will be used for the sole purpose of letting the property, and will not be passed to any other party, except where required by law. Law The rental contract is subject to and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of England, and all parties hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts. |
