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Your attention is particularly drawn to the provisions of clause 10 (Limitation of liability).
1. Definitions
Access Bookings, we, us, our: Access Bookings Limited, as specified at clause 2.1.
Agency Terms: these Booking Terms & Conditions.
Agreement: the Framework Agreement, these Agency Terms and any accompanying Schedules.
Booking: a confirmed booking for Accommodation made by us under your instruction.
Booking Confirmation: the document provided by us to you confirming a Booking has been made and signifying the creation of a Booking Contract.
Booking Contract: the contract between you and the Accommodation Provider for the provision of the Arrangements in accordance with the Booking.
Charges: the sums you are liable to pay for the Accommodation Arrangements, pursuant to the Booking.
Client, you, your: a person seeking to make a booking for Accommodation Arrangements under these Agency Terms, and all persons named on the Booking (and where applicable, all guests using the Accommodation Arrangements).
End-Date: The check-out date, or last day of the Accommodation Arrangements and any stipulated room check-out times.
Extras: Additional services provided to you during your stay by the Travel Provider or their associates to include but not limited to: Mini-bar, meeting room hire, gym usage, Wi-Fi usage, room service, equipment hire, meals etc.
Framework Agreement: the general framework agreement signed by both parties for the booking of corporate accommodation services by Access Bookings on behalf of the Client;
Start Date: the check-in or start date for the Accommodation Arrangements, and any stipulated room access times.
Accommodation Arrangements: accommodation (including hotels, motels, lodgings), excursions, facilities and services (or any of them either individually or in any combination) provided by or on behalf of the Accommodation Provider.
Accommodation Provider: the third-party supplier of the Accommodation Arrangements, or any persons acting on their behalf.
2. About us
Company details. Access Bookings Limited (company number 04758650) (we and us) is a company registered in England and Wales and our registered office is at Highlawns, 53a Tamworth Road, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS14 9HG. Our VAT number is GB 902022194. We operate the website www.accessbookings.com.
Contacting us. To contact us telephone our customer service team at 01543 272575 or e-mail contactus@accessbookings.com.
3. Our Service
Access Bookings act as an intermediary to help you arrange and pay for Accommodation Arrangements. We do not supply the Accommodation Arrangements ourselves but as a booking agent on behalf of the Accommodation Provider and acting under your instructions. When we make a Booking on your instruction, we will enter you into a separate contract with the Accommodation Provider who will be named on the Booking Confirmation. Your Booking will be subject to the Accommodation Provider's terms and conditions, in addition to these Agency Terms, and we will endeavour to make you aware of the Accommodation Providers' terms and conditions, as they shall be binding upon you.
Our contract. These Agency Terms and the Framework Agreement (“Agreement”) govern the contractual relationship between you and us under which we provide you with the Booking Services. They apply to the exclusion of any other Agency Terms that you seek to impose or incorporate, or which are implied by law, trade custom, practice or course of dealing.
The Booking Contract. All Bookings are made directly with the Accommodation Provider and the Booking Contract for the provision of the Accommodation Arrangements is between you and the Accommodation Provider, on the Accommodation Provider's terms and conditions. We are not a party to the Booking Contract, nor shall we have any responsibility to you for the provision of the Accommodation Arrangements. The Booking Contract will relate only to the Accommodation Arrangements confirmed in the Booking Confirmation.
Entire agreement. The Agreement is the entire agreement between you and us in relation to its subject matter. You acknowledge that you have not relied on any statement, promise or representation or assurance or warranty that is not set out in the Agreement.
Your copy. You should print off a copy of these Agency Terms or save them to your computer for future reference.
4. Making a Booking
Placing your Booking. You can make a Booking via telephone, online or via email. We will provide you with a range of options based on your requirements, using the information you have provided to us. If you have any specific needs or requirements it is important to make us aware of these as early as possible in the process. Once you have reviewed your options you will need to contact us either by email or telephone. When you seek to make a Booking online, you'll be asked to select your choice on the browser.
Making a Booking. Should the Accommodation Arrangements requested by you be available, we shall place a booking request for the Accommodation Arrangements with the relevant Accommodation Provider on your behalf. Please note that all Accommodation Arrangements are subject to availability.
Booking Confirmation. Should the booking request be accepted by the Accommodation Provider, the Accommodation Provider shall then issue a booking confirmation, or we shall issue a booking confirmation on behalf of the Accommodation Provider, and either post or email this to you. The Booking Confirmation is the point at the Booking is confirmed and a separate contract between you and the Accommodation Provider shall exist. The Booking Confirmation represents a binding legal obligation on your behalf to pay the Charges. We will detail in our Booking Confirmation who you will need to pay.
Checking the details. It is your responsibility to check the Booking Confirmation. You should check the dates, times, the location of the Accommodation Arrangements, the Cancellation Policy as well as any specific requirements, which, will be recorded in the Special Instructions. If anything is incorrect, please inform us without delay. We can normally make changes to the Booking (subject to the cancellation or amendment policy of the Accommodation Provider) provided we are notified as soon as possible. This may not be possible if you leave it until a few days before the Start Date or the Start Date itself. All rates are quoted on a per room per night basis and include any foreign taxes.
Correcting input errors. Our booking process allows you to check and amend any errors before submitting your Booking request to us. Please check the Booking carefully before confirming it. You are responsible for ensuring that your Booking request is complete and accurate.
Availability. All Accommodation Arrangements and rates are subject to availability and changes. In the event of a rate or availability change we will endeavour to notify you as soon as we are made aware. Rates may be average rates based on the total relation of the stay. Any adjustments to the length of the stay will be subject to the rates applicable on the added or cancelled days. We are unable to guarantee the same rate for any changes you may seek to make to the Booking including but not limited to any changes to Start Date, End Date, or any cancelled or additional days. However, in event of changes to your Booking we will endeavour to obtain the same or better rate from the Accommodation Provider on your behalf.
5. Cancellations & Amendments to Bookings
5.1 Booking amendment and cancellation requests by You
If you wish to cancel or amend a Booking or any part thereof, you must advise us immediately.
Cancellations and amendments can only be accepted in accordance with the Accommodation Provider's terms and conditions and will be subject to Accommodation Travel Provider's cancellation/amendments charges and policy. You will be liable to pay any cancellation or amendment charges, or price increase imposed by the Accommodation Provider.
We reserve the right to charge you an administration fee for dealing with your amendment or cancellation requests in accordance with the fee schedule.
It is important that if you are unable to check-in on the Start Date set out in the Booking Confirmation, you must notify us as soon as possible as the Accommodation Provider will often be entitled to treat this as a “no-show” and cancel your Booking without further reference to you.
Subject to the Accommodation Provider's terms and conditions, you may be charged the Charges for the full period of your proposed stay as set out in the Booking Confirmation, even if you or your booking party (or any number of them) depart prior to the End Date set out in the Booking Confirmation.
5.2 Amendment or Cancellation by the Travel Provider
We will inform you of any changes or cancellations made to a Booking by the Accommodation Provider as soon as reasonably possible after we receive notification of the same from the Accommodation Provider.
If, as part of any such amended or cancelled Booking, the Accommodation Provider offers alternative arrangements or a refund, you must inform us whether you wish to accept the alternative arrangements or a refund within the time frame stipulated.
Where no alternative arrangements are offered by the Accommodation Provider, or you, acting reasonably, reject the alternative arrangements, we shall assist you in sourcing alternative arrangements, at your request.
Access Bookings accepts no liability for any changes or cancellations made by the Accommodation Provider to any Booking or Arrangements.
No show and cancellation charges may be treated by Accommodation Providers as outside of the scope of VAT, resulting in the Accommodation Provider treating the non-refundable total cancellation charge as an increased net cost with no VAT reclaimable. If an Accommodation Provider applies this allowable VAT treatment, we will have no choice but to reflect this increased cost and VAT treatment on the sales invoice and pass this cost on to you.
5.3 Refunds and credit notes
Credit notes or refunds (if any) issued for cancelled Bookings may only be issued upon you returning the relevant documentation relating to the Booking and are subject to the Agency Terms and conditions of the Accommodation Provider.
If any cancellation or refund requires the consent of or calculation by the relevant Accommodation Provider, then payment of the Charges will remain due and payable under Clause 6 and any sum refunded by the Accommodation Provider will only be credited to you when we receive it from the Accommodation Provider.
If you are unsure as to the cancellation and/or refund provisions of a Booking or the charges levied by an Accommodation Provider, then clarification should be sought from us.
5.4 Changes & Cancellation by Us
From time to time, as a result of human or computer error, there may be an error in your Booking Confirmation, including in relation to the price or availability of Accommodation Arrangements. Where such a mistake is plain and obvious, we reserve the right to cancel the Booking without liability.
We also reserve the right to cancel any Bookings in the event of fraud or suspected fraud, or if you have an overdue invoice with us on another Booking.
6. Charges & Payment
You are responsible for paying, in full, all sums payable to the Accommodation Provider for the Accommodation Arrangements requested by you. If full payment of such sums is not received by the applicable due date, we reserve the right to notify the Accommodation Provider who may refuse to confirm your Booking, or if a Booking has been confirmed, cancel your Booking and charge the cancellation fees set out in the Accommodation Provider's terms and conditions.
You are obliged to discharge our invoices within the timescales set out in this clause 7, or as otherwise agreed between us in writing.
You hereby authorise us to make payment on your behalf to the Accommodation Provider of the Charges and/or cancellation/amendment fees.
We earn a commission from Accommodation Providers for booking Accommodation Arrangements with the Accommodation Provider. The commission may be paid by the Accommodation Provider directly or in the form of a discount on the Booking rate. The price paid by you will always be inclusive of any commission we have earned.
Our normal payment terms are 15 days from the Start Date but this may vary. In any instances where our normal payment terms do not apply, we will notify you accordingly.
You and/or your guests are responsible to pay for any Extras which are charged by the Accommodation Provider. Normally these Extras will need to be paid for prior to the End Date. If for any reason the Accommodation Provider charges us for any Extras, you agree to indemnify us against these charges and to discharge any invoice we may issue to you relating to them.
You will pay all amounts due to us in full without any set-off, counterclaim, deduction or withholding (except for any deduction or withholding required by law). We may, at any time, without limiting its other rights or remedies, set off any amount owing to us as against any monies which we may be obliged to pay to you.
We take all reasonable care to ensure that the prices stated for the Accommodation Arrangements are correct at the time when the relevant information was entered into the system. However, please see clause 6.11 for what happens if we discover an error in the price of the Accommodation Arrangements you booked.
The Charges are exclusive of VAT. Where VAT is payable in respect of some or all of the Booking, you must pay us such additional amounts in respect of VAT, at the applicable rate, at the same time as you pay the Charges.
It is always possible that, despite our reasonable efforts, some of the Accommodation Arrangements may be incorrectly priced. Where the correct price for the Accommodation Arrangements is less than the price stated by us, we will charge the lower amount. If the correct price for the Accommodation Arrangements is higher than the price stated by us, we will contact you as soon as possible to inform you of this error and we will give you the option of continuing with the Booking at the correct price or cancelling the Booking. We will not confirm your Booking until we have your instructions. If we are unable to contact you, we will treat the Booking as cancelled and notify you in writing. However, if we mistakenly confirm your Booking where a pricing error is obvious and unmistakeable and could reasonably have been recognised by you as a mispricing, we may cancel the Booking on behalf of the Accommodation Provider and refund you any sums you have paid.
Research Charges. If having received options from us, you subsequently make your own booking (i.e. not through Access Bookings Limited) for the same Accommodation Arrangements on the same or substantially similar terms than those set out by us in the options, then we reserve the right to charge you the commission we would have earned from the Accommodation Provider if you had booked the Accommodation Arrangements through us.
7. Indemnity
In this clause, a reference to Access Bookings shall include Access Bookings' subsidiaries and group companies, and the provisions of this clause shall be for the benefit of Access Bookings and each such subsidiary and group company, and shall be enforceable by each such subsidiary and group company, in addition to Access Bookings.
You shall indemnify Access Bookings against all liabilities, costs, expenses, damages and losses (including but not limited to any direct, indirect or consequential losses, loss of profit, loss of reputation and all interest, penalties and legal costs (calculated on a full indemnity basis) and all other reasonable professional costs and expenses) suffered or incurred by Access Bookings arising out of or in connection with:
Your breach or negligent performance or non-performance of these Agency Terms or Framework Agreement;
your breach or negligent performance or non-performance of the Booking Contract with the Accommodation Provider, including any breach by you of the Accommodation Provider's terms and conditions;
Any costs incurred by you or your guests directly with the Accommodation Provider, including any additional services purchased directly from the Accommodation Provider, and any charges imposed by the Accommodation Provider due to damage caused by your or your guests' negligence or behaviour;
the enforcement of the Agreement.
This indemnity shall not cover Access Bookings to the extent that a claim under it results from Access Bookings' negligence or wilful misconduct.
8. Intellectual property rights
All intellectual property rights in or arising out of or in connection with the Booking Services will be owned by us.
9. How we may use your personal information
We will use any personal information you provide to us to:
provide the Booking Services;
process your payment for the Booking Services; and
inform you about similar services that we provide, but you may stop receiving these at any time by contacting us.
Further details of how we will process personal information are set out in our Privacy Policy.
10. Limitation of liability YOUR ATTENTION IS PARTICULARLY DRAWN TO THIS CLAUSE.
References in this clause 10 to liability include every kind of liability arising under or in connection with this Agreement including but not limited to liability in contract, tort (including negligence), misrepresentation, restitution or otherwise.
Neither party may benefit from the limitations and exclusions set out in this clause in respect of any liability arising from its deliberate default.
The Booking Contract is between you and the Accommodation Provider, and the Accommodation Provider's terms and conditions apply. As an intermediary, we accept no responsibility for the Booking Contract or the actual provision of the Accommodation Arrangements.
Nothing in this Agreement limits any liability which cannot legally be limited, including but not limited to liability for:
death or personal injury caused by negligence;
fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; and
breach of the terms implied by section 2 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (title and quiet possession).
Subject to clause 10.4, our total liability to you in respect of all breaches of duty occurring within any contract year shall not exceed the value of the booking confirmed with Access Bookings. For the purposes of this clause, a contract year means a 12-month period commencing with the date of this Agreement or any anniversary of it.
This clause 10.6 sets out specific heads of excluded loss:
subject to clause 10.4, the types of loss listed in clause 10.6(b) are wholly excluded by the parties.
The following types of loss are wholly excluded:
loss of profits;
loss of sales or business;
loss of Agreements or contracts;
loss of anticipated savings;
loss of use or corruption of software, data or information;
loss of or damage to goodwill; and
indirect or consequential loss.
11. General
Assignment and transfer.
We may assign or transfer our rights and obligations under the Agency Terms to another entity but will always notify you in writing if this happens.
You may only assign or transfer your rights or your obligations under the Agency Terms to another person if we agree in writing.
Variation. Any variation of the Agency Terms only has effect if it is in writing and signed by you and us (or our respective authorised representatives).
Waiver. If we do not insist that you perform any of your obligations under the Agency Terms, or if we do not enforce our rights against you, or if we delay in doing so, that will not mean that we have waived our rights against you or that you do not have to comply with those obligations. If we do waive any rights, we will only do so in writing, and that will not mean that we will automatically waive any right related to any later default by you.
Severance. Each paragraph of these Agency Terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them is unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.
Third party rights. The Agreement is between you and us. No other person has any rights to enforce any of its terms.
Governing law and jurisdiction. These Agency Terms are governed by English law and we each irrevocably agree to submit all disputes arising out of or in connection with the Agency Terms to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.