ACCEPTANCE OF BOOKING CONDITIONS:
Your booking contract is with Steuart Holidays a Sri Lanka travel company, also trading as George Steuart Travels Ltd. Any use of services from George Steuart Travels Ltd or written communication with us for the purposes of travel arrangements, confirms that you are aged 18 or over and that you have read and fully accept these booking conditions. These booking conditions are devised for the protection of all parties.
CONFIRMING YOUR BOOKING:
Upon receipt of a confirmation invoice, you must immediately make arrangements to pay your holiday invoice and confirm that you accept our booking conditions. If you fail to meet the payment deadlines stated on the Confirmation Invoice, we reserve the right to cancel your booking and will inform you of this. Bookings should be paid either by: (i) telegraphic money transfer to our USD/GBP accounts (ii) Bank cheque for bookings two months prior to travel (iii) By credit card (online payment gateway) or at our business office (working hours – 08.30 am to 5.00pm (we accept Visa/Master & American Express credit cards)
PAYMENT SCHEDULES:
• Upon receipt of Travel Voucher: 25% of your holiday cost should be paid to guarantee your hotel bookings, normally within seven days.
• Not less than two months before departure: 50% per cent of cost.
• All payments to be received prior to arrival.
• Note on flights: In some cases it may be necessary to request immediate full payment to secure flights.
• Flight cancellation charges can be advised on request.
• Note on villas: In some cases it may be necessary to request full payment in advance for a villa booking. Villa cancellation charges can be advised on request.
• Note on Cricket & other sports tours: In some cases it may be necessary to request 50% payment in advance for a sports tours in order to reserve the ground bookings & hotel rooms as they are booked under group reservations.
• Late payments or bouncing cheques will be liable, at our discretion, to an administrative charge of USD10 and risk of cancellations.
• Local customers – Payment by credit-card at our head office prior to the holiday (2.5% bank charges will apply)
• Customer must pay all bank charges in the case of a bank transfer. There will be no additional postage fees or booking fees.
CANCELLATION BY US:
We regard your holiday seriously. But we reserve the right to cancel your holiday because of unforeseen circumstances. In this event we will return all money paid by you and, wherever possible, offer an alternative holiday of comparable type and quality for your consideration. We cannot be held liable for any incidental expenses that you may incur during arrangements for a holiday that is subsequently cancelled by us.
CANCELLATION BY YOU:
In event of cancellation, in whole or part, we voluntarily return all recoverable costs . Individual terms and conditions in event of accommodation and flight cancellations are published where available and will provide the basis for a refund. Any other cancellation charges (including transport, entrance fees etc) are determined on a case-by-case basis, whether provided directly or indirectly by us. We reserve the right to levy additional admin costs of up to 5 per cent of total booking cost. We do not normally refund for early checkouts or no-shows.
Any individual wishing to cancel a booking with Steuart Holidays must immediately notify their sales consultant by email, quoting their reference number. The cancellation is timed from when we contact the supplier on your behalf and a delay is normal outside normal working hours. In the event of a group cancellation (by the tour leader), we will hold each individual equally liable for cancellation costs.
Total cancellation charges on your booking will not exceed these maximum levels:
After payment of deposit: Up to 100% of deposit or 25% of booking cost, whichever is lower.
Less than two months before departure (three months if your booking has a villa element): Up to 50 per cent of booking cost.
Less than one month before departure: Up to 100 per cent of booking cost.
You should check whether your travel insurance policy covers you for refunds.
NOTE: We offer additional guarantees concerning refunds in the clause on Terrorism and Personal Safety.
TERRORISM AND PERSONAL SAFETY IN THE EVENT RIOTS:
Your personal safety is our prime concern. If the your government body advises — after your booking has been made – against travel to Sri Lanka we will guarantee the following refunds in the event of a cancellation by you or us. This clause overrides other cancellation clauses:
Two months or more before travel: Minimum 100 per cent of holiday cost.
Less than one months before travel: Minimum 85 per cent of holiday cost.
During your holiday: All recoverable costs.
INFORMATION PROVIDED BY YOU:
All information provided by you should be true and accurate. We will treat it confidentially and not forward it to any third party. We do not spam or supply mailing lists. We take responsible steps to protect personal information such as credit card details.
INFORMATION PROVIDED BY US:
Steuart Holidays does not guarantee that all information available is free from errors or omissions but we will use all reasonable endeavours to correct any errors or omissions once notified of them. Our opinions are our own. Whilst we rigorously strive for accuracy, these opinions are necessarily subjective to some degree. Occasionally, temporary local circumstances – for example, emergency maintenance work, power cuts or off-season closure – can make advertised facilities unavailable.
ITINERARY CHANGES MADE BY US:
All efforts will be made to provide your exact itinerary. Steuart Holidays reserves the right, however, in unavoidable or overriding circumstances, to make adjustments. All efforts would be made to ensure that these adjustments are in the spirit of the original itinerary and you will be informed as soon as possible. If exceptional circumstances (eg overbooking of hotel) demand an emergency change of accommodation while you are on holiday, we will refund you appropriately if the replacement hotel is cheaper.
ITINERARY CHANGES REQUESTED BY YOU:
We aim to offer flexible itineraries. Once an itinerary is finalized, requests for changes to a group or individual itinerary will be considered, but they cannot be guaranteed and may, under certain circumstances, incur an additional premium.
BEHAVIOUR:
We expect reasonable behaviour at all times. If, in the considered opinion of our representatives or suppliers, your behaviour could cause danger, damage or persistent offence (including racism), you will be informed of the fact, and your holiday may be terminated without compensation. This is for the safety and benefit of fellow travellers. You may also be held responsible for wilful damage.
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE:
Any complaints must be pursued as soon as possible with the supplier of the service (eg. hotel manager), our local representative (if present), If matters are not satisfactorily resolved, you must notify the company within 24 hours, by fax or e-mail, in a further effort to rectify the situation amicably. We provide you with appropriate contact numbers before travel and it is your responsibility to keep them safely. We reserve the right to refuse any liability or compensation if this arbitration procedure is not strictly adhered to.
FLIGHT TIMES AND OTHER ESSENTIALS:
Check your flight times on receipt of your tickets carefully. Minor adjustments to flight times may be made by the airline after the issue of our confirmation invoice. We do not accept responsibility for these. You must also ensure that your travel documents, passports, visas, driving licence, insurance details and moneys are in order.
FORCE MAJEURE:
We cannot accept responsibility for Force Majeure – defined in these booking conditions as any specific event which we, as the supplier of the services, could not reasonably have foreseen, influenced or avoided. These include war, or threat of war, riots, civil strife, terrorism, contamination, extreme or unusual weather conditions, industrial disputes, changes to sports itineraries, natural and nuclear disasters, fire, flight cancellations or rescheduling by airlines or any similar event beyond our control.
INDEPENDENT TRAVEL:
In the event of an itinerary only part-booked by Steuart Holidays, we cannot be held responsible for the failure of any component of the holiday for which it does not have direct responsibility with us. If customers choose to book accommodation-only deals and arrange direct transport.
INSURANCE:
Every holidaymaker, without exception, must possess valid travel insurance, and details of the policy must be stated before travel. Individuals must ensure that this travel insurance offers acceptable cover for the type of holiday undertaken.
INNOCULATIONS:
All tourists are strongly advised to check with their own medical advisers at least a month before travel on recommended inoculations, the need for malaria tablets, and to take other medical advice where their own health record suggests it is necessary.
NATURE OF OVERSEAS TRAVEL:
Holidays offered by Steuart Holidays Ltd. can range from luxury itineraries to programs for the more budget-conscious. We will make every effort to ensure that our planning is meticulous. But amenities and infrastructure in many of the countries offered can at times be comparatively underdeveloped. Delays, moments of discomfort and risk can naturally occur in all travel. In the tropics, insects in rooms are common. Tourists booking any of our arrangements implicitly accept this as a fact of life. Clients are advised to take sensible precautions at all time, and before booking a holiday should take steps to familiarize themselves with up-to-date information from sources such as the Foreign Office. We carry a link to Foreign office advice on Sri Lanka and independent news reports on request.
NEGLIGENCE AND BREACH OF CONTRACT:
We will only accept liability for incidents that arise as a direct result of our proven negligence, or that of our suppliers, in respect of arrangements forming part of your holiday itinerary, in cases where all your holiday accommodation and transfers are arranged by us for the entire extent of your stay. This applies to illness, injury and/or death.
NOTE: WE DO NOT ACCEPT LIABILITY FOR THE NEGLIGENCE OF OUR SUPPLIERS IN ACCOMMODATION-ONLY BOOKINGS. IN ALL SUCH CASES WE ACT SOLELY AS A BOOKING AGENT AND ACCOMMODATION IS CHOSEN AT YOUR OWN RISK.
PERSONAL LOSS, INJURY AND ILLNESS (UNCONNECTED WITH ARRANGEMENTS MADE BY US):
Should you, or any member of your group, suffer loss (such as baggage or valuables), serious illness, personal injury or death during your holiday, we, or our stated representatives, will provide sympathetic advice and guidance at our/their discretion. This must be carried out in conjunction with your personal travel insurance policy.
PRICE GUARANTEE:
We guarantee that your holiday will not be subjected to surcharges, except where our costs rise because of substantial fluctuations in the exchange rate (above 10 per cent at time of booking) or flight levies, including increased flight insurance premiums. No surcharges will be levied less than 30 days before departure. In the event of surcharges, you have the right to cancel – with a full refund – as long as you exercise this right within 14 days of the date on the surcharge letter. The relevant exchange rate for each individual tour will be quoted upon request.
REPRESENTATIVES:
The full-time presence of Steuart Holidays representatives is not automatic. This depends on your choice of holiday and/or the extent of the support you have requested. It is your responsibility to confirm that these arrangements are adequate. A 24 hour hotline number is provided for all confirmed bookings in case of emergency.
Note: This section applies to cricket tours (playing and watching) only:
CRICKET MATCHES (PLAYING AND WATCHING):
(i) George Steuart Travels (Steuart Holidays) cannot be held responsible for the postponement of matches due to inclement weather, or the failure of opponents to raise a side. Groundsman ship is an unpredictable art and the character of pitches cannot be predicted with certainty. Cricket is an unpredictable game, and a well-balanced contest cannot be guaranteed. In the case of spectator tours, all arrangements of matches are outside our control and we cannot be held responsible for changes in itineraries, including cancellations. However, on playing tours arranged by us, all reasonable efforts will be made at all stages of planning to ensure that designated matches run smoothly, that conditions are acceptable and that opponents are of a satisfactory and comparable standard. In the event of a side cancelling a fixture, at whatever stage, all efforts will be made to provide a suitable replacement. Cricket tours generally run during months of lightest rainfall, although it is an unavoidable fact of cricket that rain-affected matches are possible at any time of year. Steuart Holidays can provide advice upon rainfall figures on request.
(ii) Groups on a playing tour must designate a tour leader. The tour leader shall organize the collection of deposits in line with booking conditions, provide a flights list and rooming list, and consult on itinerary changes.
(iii) It is advisable that travel insurance on a playing tour must cover the playing of cricket matches.
(iv) Late withdrawals put playing cricket tours at risk of cancellation. Tour groups are advised safeguards, – such as privately-arranged deposits. We accept no responsibility for monies lodged with tour group leaders for these purposes.
(v) Cricket fixtures can never be entirely guaranteed. However we makes all efforts to confirm requested cricket fixtures at the earliest stage, but late changes are sometimes unavoidable and beyond our control. All effort is made to ensure that any changes are in the spirit of the original itinerary. Full explanations will be provided for any changes to confirmed fixtures.
