Dear Guests, Claire and Peter (Jackson) welcome you to the Premises of Maison Flamant and hope that you will enjoy your stay here. This document contains the underlying Terms and Conditions for all Bookings for the Gite. They may look intimidating, but they are an important way of communicating the precise nature of the agreement between each individual Guest and the Proprietors. We hope that they will forestall any future potential disputes. The Principal Guest is responsible for ensuring that all Guests are made aware of these Terms and Conditions to the extent that they are relevant to their stay. The Principal Guest is identified by name in the booking communications, which may take one of several different forms, depending on the source of the Booking.
The Gite Information Folder also forms part of these Terms and Conditions, although it is primarily a set of instructions, advice and hints about how to get the most from your stay.
The Parties
1.1 The Booking is a contract between the Proprietors (Claire and Peter Jackson) and the Principal Guest, as named on the various booking communications.
1.2 The Booking comprises any and all communications between the Principal Guest and the Proprietors.
The Charges
- Details of the Rental Charge are set out on the booking confirmation. Charges will be inclusive of all services of the gite.
Guest list
4.1 The Principal Guest must be a member of the Guest Party, all of whose names and full contact details must be set out on the “Fiche Individuelle de police Pour Les Touristes Etrangers”.
4.2 No person other than those pre-notified on the above-mentioned Fiche may join the Guest Party, or substitute for another identified member of the Party, without the formally notified agreement of the Proprietors.
4.3 Parties which are booked through an external booking site must also complete the “Fiche Individuelle de Police Pour Les Touristes Etrangers”, which is an additional legal requirement, and obtains information which will not normally be notified to the Proprietors by the external booking site.
Day Visitors
- Guests are not permitted to invite third parties to the gite who have not been named in the Booking, without the prior notification to and consent of the Proprietors before the first day of the Rental Period. The facilities of the gite, and particularly the grounds and pool, are for the exclusive use of Guests who will have paid for the privilege, and can be bound by these terms and conditions. Third parties not identified on the Booking cannot practically be bound by these conditions and so cannot be entertained at the Premises without the Proprietors’ consent.
Occupancy Capacity
6.1 The registered maximum capacity of the Gite is fourteen persons.
6.2 Upon a failure of any of the Guests to abide by this occupancy limit, the Proprietors reserve the right to terminate the Booking and require all the Guests to leave, without refund or compensation of any kind.
Duration of the Booking
7.1 The Booking shall not commence before the earliest prescribed arrival time on the first day of the booked period, and shall end on or before the final date and time for departure as specified in the Booking details. These times will normally be confirmed before the Booking commences, by the Proprietors by email. All guests must abide by those arrival and departure times.
7.2 Guests who arrive early, and particularly without prior notification of so doing, may not be permitted to enter any part of the property if preparations for their arrival have not been completed by the Proprietors. Guests arriving early in the area are advised to occupy their spare time in the local town of Saint-Genies-de-Fontedit until the due time for arrival at the Gite.
7.3 Guests who leave after the agreed latest departure time will impede the Proprietors’ ability to prepare the gite for the next arriving Guests. This cannot be permitted under any circumstances, unless previously agreed, and in any case will not extend to continued occupation of the house beyond the agreed departure time.
7.4 Any breach of these conditions will lead to forfeiture of all or part of the Principal Guest’s Deposit.
7.5 The details on the Booking Form (ie name of the Principal Guest, Amount of the Booking, Dates of the Booking, and Schedule of Payments) form part of these Terms and Conditions.
Cancellation Terms
8.1 The Booking does not come into existence until the first part payment (the Main Deposit) is received in the Proprietors’ bank account. Receipt of the Main Deposit will be confirmed by email. The Booking will not be valid until Receipt of the Main Deposit has been confirmed. The Booking will not be finalised until the final payment has been made in full settlement of the Price and received into the specified Bank Account. The Proprietors reserve the right to cancel the Booking if the stage payments are not received by the specified Due Dates.
8.2 The Proprietors also reserve the right to cancel the Booking and re-let the Gite to another Principal Guest if Payments have not been received by the Due Dates as in the Schedule. If the gite is re-let on the same terms (ie as regards price and duration) the Proprietors will refund all the deposits paid in full. If the gite is let on reduced terms, only the difference between the full Agreed Price with the initial Principal Guest, and any lesser amount received from the further Booking will be refunded. This will ensure that the Proprietors do not lose financially overall from the cancellation of the first Booking.
8.3 It is the personal responsibility of the Principal Guest to ensure that all Payment deadlines are met in the specified Amounts as in the Schedule. Whilst the Proprietors will do their best to remind the Principal Guest of all deadlines, the Proprietors will not be responsible in any way to any member of the Booked Party for the failure of the Principal Guest to meet those deadlines.
8.4 In case of a cancellation for other reasons, the Principal Guest will be charged cancellation fees that depend on the time of cancellation. Cancellation must be made in writing. The cancellation costs will be calculated as follows:
Full refund: 100% refund up to 4 weeks before check-in.
No refund: No refund if cancelled less than 4 weeks before check-in.
Deposits
- An initial payment secures the Booking until such time as the Final Balance of sums due is paid. Only at that time does it become a Completed Booking. If the Final Balance is not received by the Due Date, the Principal Guest may lose some or all sums already paid, in accordance with the Cancellation Terms above.
Retention Deposit
- The Security Deposit is in addition to the payment that secures the potential Booking. The Security Deposit will be taken as a security against the costs of any potential damages caused to any part of the Gite or associated Grounds, by any of the Guests or any other person allowed by them onto the Gite Premises, which includes the Grounds (Territory).
10.2 All or part of the Security Deposit may be taken as a full or partial contribution towards the costs of repair or replacement of any fabric or equipment of the Premises (ie the Damages). Any such damage will be evidenced by the Proprietors before deduction, but the decision whether or not to deduct such Damages will be the decision of either of the Proprietors alone.
10.3 Tanning/bronzing products may stain the fabric of the Premises or the liner of the Pool, and are hereby not permitted to be used anywhere on the Territory. The repair or replacement costs of articles damaged by the use of tanning products will be deducted from the Retention deposit
10.4 Guests are advised to report any defects in the Gite accommodation, including any missing items from the Inventory, to the Proprietors within 24 hours of arrival. After that point in time, the Principal Guest may be held liable by the Proprietors for any damage found after departure such as during preparations of the gite for the next Guests’ arrivals. The Deposit therefore cannot be refunded until after each group of Guests has departed.
10.5 The Proprietors cannot agree to any request of immediate refund of the Deposit at the point of departure of the Guests, since it will take time during deep cleaning to identify any new damage or defects since the arrival of the Guests.
10.6 The decision of the Proprietors on whether or not to deduct from the Security Deposit for any damage caused to the fabric of the Gite or contents, will be final and not subject to challenge by the Principal Guest.
Insurance
- All Guests Are required to be covered by holiday travel insurance that covers Third Party Liability, including for damage caused to the Gite premises and grounds. In the case of significant material damage caused by the actions of any Guests or their unauthorised invited visitors, which cannot be reclaimed from the Proprietors’ own insurance, the Principal Guest may be made personally liable whether or not she or he has taken out insurance to cover the Booking.
Condition of the Gite and grounds
- Some parts of the Gite are based on a 400-year-old structure. Whilst it will have all the equipment and services described on the web site or Booking site, its character and fabric will reflect its age and practical condition. Guests will be responsible, through the contracted Principal Guest, to avoid further deterioration to the fabric or contents of the Premises beyond that which was apparent when all or any of them arrived.
Cleaning arrangements
13.1 The Proprietors will deep clean the Premises after the Guests’ departure, but ask that Guests leave the premises in a reasonably clean and tidy condition on leaving, removing all rubbish and Guests’ personal effects from the gite, and attending to any and all spillages as and when they occur during the stay.
13.2 The costs of removing or remediating any residual stains discovered after Guests’ departure which require special remedial treatments, may be charged to the Principal Guest, or retained from the deposit if covered by it in full, at either of the Proprietor’s discretion. Any accidental damage or spillages must therefore be reported immediately to the Proprietors during the period of the stay so that appropriate action can be taken to mitigate any potential lasting harmful effects. This does not infer nor imply that the Proprietors will take the full responsibility away from the Guests or otherwise absolve them from any responsibility for dealing personally with any such actual or consequential damage.
Not A Party Location
14.1 The gite is offered as a relatively peaceful rural location for Guests to relax and enjoy the facilities. The Proprietors cannot be held responsible for any disruptive noises or inconveniences caused by activities beyond the Premises, such as in the surrounding locale, nor for any utilities or emergency services which may need to enter the premises to deal with unforeseen events or emergencies.
14.2 Guests are asked not to treat the Premises like they might a venue for a party. Non-Guests shall not be invited by any Guest to participate in any celebrations at the Premises, unless by specific prior arrangement with the Proprietors, and only then in accordance with any restrictions stated at the time, including on loud or otherwise intrusive noise or activities, or duration of their stay.
Smoking/Vaping
- Smoking of tobacco products is only permitted outside the Gite, and under no circumstances within any part of the Gite building, which also excludes tobacco use sitting inside at open windows or doors. All used tobacco filters must be disposed of in the appropriate non-recyclable containers. They cannot be disposed of in the yellow waste containers. The same rules apply for vaping and e-cigarettes.
Gite Manual
16.1 The Gite Information Folder contains useful information and tips about how to get the optimum enjoyment from the Premises and Territory during the stay. The contents should be read together with these Terms and conditions as requirements particularly but not exclusively as regards:
- Official “green” considerations of energy and resource conservation, recycling, composting, and minimisation of non-recyclable waste;
- Proper and sensible use of equipment, including the pool and pool area;
- Avoidance of damage to bed linen, supplied towels, furniture, and the pool area, from sharp and dangerous objects, or tanning products;
- Compliance with usage and prohibition requirements of toilets.
16.2 Whilst most Guests may not wish to read these Terms and Conditions personally, since it is in any case the responsibility of the Principal Guest to ensure all Guests’ compliance with them, all occupants of the Premises should be aware of all the contents of the Gite Information Folder. Ignorance of its contents will be no defence against liability for damages caused to equipment of the fabric of the Premises through ignorance of the offered advice and guidance.
Due Care of Selves and Gite Property
17.1 All Guests must exercise reasonable due care during their stay at the Premises. The Proprietors will not be held responsible for any personal harm caused to Guests by Guests’ reckless or negligent acts committed by any Guest, or by any third party that they invite or otherwise allow to enter onto the premises.
17.2 The manual warns of hazards with regard to stairs and steps at the Premises. Guests should be sensible about how they conduct themselves at the premises, and take particular care to safeguard children and any persons of diminished responsibility, including those whose judgement may be temporarily affected by alcohol or drugs.
17.3 The abuse of excess alcohol and use of recreational drugs is not condoned by the Proprietors.
Reasonable use
- The Price for the Booked stay is inclusive of all reasonable costs involved in occupying and using the Premises. Meter readings are taken at the commencement of each group of Guests’ stay for monitoring and information purposes. Any undue usage which is not justifiable may be charged for. In using personal bathing facilities, laundry equipment, and other consumers of scarce resources, Guests must not unreasonably over-use them and cause greater environmental harm as a consequence. Guests should bear in mind that the Price for the Booking only includes reasonable usage, and is not a licence to indulge in behaviours which they would not condone at their own homes.
Personal information and Data Protection
19.1 All guests must supply basic personal information capable of identifying them to public Authorities in case of any emergency or other relevant occurrence.
19.2 Any personal information collected by the Proprietors will be held for at least 18 months in order to satisfy police and tourist authority requirements; except Finance-related details, which will be retained for six years.
Applicable Laws
- These Terms and Conditions and the Booking Contract are set out in accordance with French Law and shall be interpreted under French Law.