Booking conditions

The following Booking Conditions together with the General Information contained in this website form the basis of your contract with The Thinking Traveller Ltd (“we”, “us” and “our”)  whose registered office is at 91-95 Brick Lane , London E1 6QL .  Please read them carefully as they set out our respective rights and obligations.   Save where otherwise stated, all bookings are subject to these Booking Conditions.

Please note, where we take or make a thinkPaythere and/or thinkExperiences booking for you we act in our capacity as booking agent only.  Your contract will be directly with the thinkPaythere property supplier or thinkExperiences supplier as applicable.  For all other bookings, your contract will be directly with us.

1. Making your booking
You can initiate a booking by telephoning us direct, sending an enquiry online at our website or by email. We will then send you a completed booking form which must be signed by the party leader and returned to us. For all bookings, the party leader must be at least 18 and must be authorised to make the booking on the basis of these Booking Conditions by all persons named on the booking.    The party leader is responsible for making all payments due to us. All correspondence will be sent to the party leader.

Once we have received your completed booking form and all appropriate payments (see clause 2 below), we will, subject to availability, confirm your holiday by issuing a confirmation invoice. This invoice will be sent to the party leader.  Please check this invoice carefully as soon as you receive it.  Contact us immediately if any information which appears on the confirmation or any other document appears to be incorrect or incomplete as it may not be possible to make changes later.  We regret we cannot accept any liability if we are not notified of any inaccuracies in any document within ten days of our sending it out.

2. Payment
In order to confirm your chosen property(ies) or any other services (except for enriching add ons – see below), a deposit of 30% of the total cost of the booking (or full payment if booking within nine weeks of departure) must be paid at the time of booking.  For all thinkPaythere bookings you must pay us the deposit (regardless of when you book) and pay the balance on check out. For thinkExperiences you must either pay the deposit to us and the balance locally to the supplier of the service concerned or the full balance to us at the time of booking (as advised).  You will be advised of the payment requirements (and the amounts due) for the thinkExperiences concerned on enquiry/at the time of booking. We accept the following methods of payment: Credit cards: Visa, Mastercard, Amex. Debit cards: Delta, Switch. Cheques payable to “The Thinking Traveller” and bank transfers.
The balance of the cost of your booking must be received by us not less than nine weeks prior to departure (except for thinkPaythere bookings and thinkExperiences – see above.).  This date will be shown on the confirmation invoice.  Reminders are not sent.   If we do not receive all payments due (including any surcharge where applicable) in full and on time, we reserve the right (on behalf of the thinkPaythere owner for B&B bookings or the thinkExperiences supplier, on our own behalf for all other bookings) to treat your booking as cancelled by you.  In this case the cancellation charges set out in clause 6 below will be payable. The currency of the invoice is set when the booking is confirmed and the balance payment must be paid in the same currency as the deposit.

3. Your contract
A binding contract between us (for all bookings except for thinkPaythere or thinkExperiences bookings) or between you and the thinkPaythere owner for thinkPaythere bookings or between you and the thinkExperiences supplier for bookings of thinkExperiences comes into existence when we despatch your confirmation invoice to the party leader. 

We both agree that English Law (and no other) will apply to your contract and to any dispute, claim or other matter of any description which arises between us (except as set out below). We both also agree that any dispute, claim or other matter of any description (and whether or not involving any personal injury) which arises between us must be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only unless, in the case of Court proceedings, you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland. In this case, proceedings must either be brought in the Courts of your home country or those of England and Wales . If proceedings are brought in Scotland or Northern Ireland  you may choose to have your contract and any dispute, claim or other matter of any description which arises between us governed by the law of Scotland/Northern Ireland as applicable (but if you do not so choose, English law will apply). 

4.  The cost of your holiday 
Prices on our website are quoted in Euros, Sterling and US Dollars. You may pay in Euros, Sterling or US Dollars. The price you pay will be the price we agree with you when you book and subsequently confirm on the booking form and on your confirmation invoice. This price will be calculated using the exchange rate indicated on our website at that time.
We reserve the right to increase or decrease prices at any time before confirmation at the time of booking. Errors occasionally occur which we will correct as soon as we become aware of them.  Balance payments must be paid in the currency set at the time of booking.

All bookings except thinkPaythere and thinkExperiences bookings.

Once the price of your chosen property and any other services has been confirmed at the time of booking, it is guaranteed and will not be increased (unless an obvious mistake was made at the time of booking which we correct as soon as we become aware of it – in this very unusual situation, you will be given the choice of cancelling the booking and receiving a full refund of all money you have paid or paying the correct price).

thinkPaythere and thinkExperiences bookings

As we act only as agent for the thinkPaythere property supplier and/or thinkExperiences supplier concerned, we reserve the right to pass on to you in full all additional costs and charges of whatever nature imposed by the property supplier or thinkExperiences supplier in accordance with its own terms and conditions.

5. Changes by you
Should you wish to make any changes to your confirmed booking, you must notify us in writing as soon as possible.  Whilst we will endeavour to assist, we cannot guarantee we will be able to meet any such requests.  Where we can, an amendment fee of £25 will be payable together with any costs incurred by ourselves and any costs or charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers or thinkPaythere property supplier or thinkExperiences supplier. If you wish to increase your party size this will only be possible if the property you have chosen can accommodate additional persons.   Changes in party size made nine weeks or less before departure which result in a decrease in the overall cost of the booking will be treated as a cancellation and our normal cancellation charges will apply.

If you wish to transfer your booking to someone else, the transfer must be to a person or persons who agree to our terms and conditions and who meet the requirements of the property in question.  If in our reasonable opinion the person or persons to whom you wish to transfer the booking is not suitable for the property in question we reserve the right to refuse to make the transfer.  If these requirements are not met, your booking will be treated as cancelled by you and you will have to pay our normal cancellation charges.  

6. Cancellation by you
Should you need to cancel your booking after confirmation, the party leader must immediately advise us in writing.  Your notice of cancellation will only be effective when it is received in writing by us at our offices.  As we (or for thinkPaythere or thinkExperiences bookings, the property or thinkExperiences suppliers ) incur costs from the time we confirm your booking and may be unable to re-sell your holiday/add on concerned, the following cancellation charges will be payable.  Where the cancellation charge is shown as a percentage, this is calculated on the basis of the total invoice cost excluding insurance premiums and any amendment / cancellation charges which have already been incurred.  Insurance premiums and amendment / cancellation charges are not refundable in the event of the person(s) to whom they apply cancelling.

All bookings other than thinkPaythere and thinkExperiences bookings:

Period before departure           Cancellation charge (% of total invoice)

within which written

notification of cancellation

is received by us

Up to 64 days                         Deposit only
63-43 days                             60%
42-29 days                             80%
28-0 days                               100%

thinkPaythere bookings
The booking fee you pay us is non refundable. Regarding the amount to pay locally, the cancellation policies vary.  The policies for each property are listed in the appendix to these booking conditions.  Any cancellation fee will be taken from your credit card.  The cancellation policies applicable to the thinkExperiences we feature can be found on our website www.thinksicily.com or by calling us on                +44(0)20 7377 8518        .

Depending on the reason for cancellation, you may be able to reclaim these cancellation charges (less any applicable excess) under the terms of your insurance policy.  Claims must be made directly to the insurance company concerned.
 
7.  Insurance
It is a condition of booking that you take out adequate travel insurance.  As a minimum this should include cover for medical expenses, personal accident and repatriation in the event of illness or accident, loss or damage to/of personal possessions or money, cancellation charges and third party liability cover.  Your signature on the booking form will be treated as confirmation that every member of your party has such insurance.  We reserve the right to ask for further evidence that you have purchased comprehensive insurance cover.
Please read your policy details carefully and take them with you on holiday.  It is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance cover you purchase is adequate for your particular needs. 

8.  Changes and cancellation by us
All bookings except thinkPaythere and thinkExperiences bookings.

Occasionally, we have to make changes to and correct errors in brochure and other details both before and after bookings have been confirmed and cancel confirmed bookings.  Whilst we always endeavour to avoid changes and cancellations, we must reserve the right to do so.
Most changes are minor. Occasionally, we have to make a “significant change”.
A “significant change” means a change of property to one of a lower standard  or a change to a major facility at the property eg swimming pool.  All other changes will be minor changes.
If we have to make a significant change or cancel, we will tell you as soon as possible.  If there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of the following options:-
(a) (for significant changes) accepting the changed arrangements or
(b) booking an alternative property of a similar standard to that originally booked if available (subject to the rest of this clause, if the chosen alternative is less expensive than your original one, we will refund the difference but if it is more expensive, we will ask you to pay the difference) or
(c) cancelling or accepting the cancellation in which case you will receive a full and quick refund of all monies you have paid to us.
Please note, the above options are not available where any change made is a minor one. 
If we have to make a significant change or cancel 9 weeks or less before departure, we will pay you compensation set out below subject to the following exceptions.  Compensation will not be payable and no liability beyond offering the above mentioned choices can be accepted where we are forced to make a change or cancel as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care. No compensation will be payable if we cancel as a result of your failure to comply with any requirement of these booking conditions entitling us to cancel (such as paying on time) or where any change is a minor one.

Period before departure                 Compensation per person (excluding infants)

a significant change or

cancellation is notified to you

more than 56 days                         nil
29-56 days                                   £10
14-28 days                                   £20
0-13 days                                     £30

In all cases, our liability for significant changes and cancellations is limited to offering you the above mentioned options and, where applicable, compensation payments. No compensation is payable for minor changes or where we make a significant change or cancel more than 9 weeks before departure. 

Very rarely, we may be forced by "force majeure" (see below) to change or terminate your contracted services after departure but before the scheduled end of your time away. This is extremely unlikely but if this situation does occur, we regret we will be unable to make any refunds (unless we obtain any refunds from our suppliers), pay you any compensation or meet any costs or expenses you incur as a result.

thinkPaythere and thinkExperiences bookings

If there is a change to your thinkPaythere or thinkExperiences booking we will pass on the new details to you together with any compensation that the B&B owner or thinkExperiences supplier may offer.  As agent only for the thinkPaythere owner / thinkExperiences supplier we cannot accept any liability for any changes or cancellations made to these bookings.

9. Force Majeure
Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions, we regret we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected by or you otherwise suffer any damage or loss as a result of "force majeure".  In these booking conditions, "force majeure" means any event which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity or actual threatened terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside our control.

10. Our Liability
All bookings except thinkPaythere and thinkExperiences bookings

(1). We promise to use reasonable skill and care in making your booking and selecting the property owners and any other suppliers we work with. We have no responsibility for the properties themselves or for any services provided by property owners or other suppliers or for the acts or omissions of any property owner or other supplier or any of their employees, agents, suppliers or subcontractors.  Please note it is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used by us in our selection of property owners or other suppliers  if you wish to make a claim against us.
Please also note; sub clauses 10(2)-(6) below are subject to sub clause 10(1) above.

(2). We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss (for example loss of enjoyment), damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which does not result from any failure on our part to use reasonable skill and care in selecting the property owners and any other suppliers we work with as referred to above. By way of example and not by way of limitation, we will not be responsible any claim which results from any of the following: -
(a) the fault of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or
(b) the fault of a third party not connected with the provision of the contracted services which we could not have predicted or avoided or
(c) an event or circumstance which we or the property owner / supplier of the service(s) in question could not have predicted or avoided even after taking all reasonable care (see clause 9)
(d) the fault of anyone who is not carrying out work for us (generally or in particular) at the time.

In addition, we will not be responsible where you do not enjoy your stay or suffer any problems because of a reason you did not tell us about when you booked your arrangements or where any problems you suffer did not result from any breach of our contract or other fault of ourselves or, where we were responsible for them, our suppliers or agents or where any losses, expenses, costs or other sum you have suffered relate to any business.

(3).  We limit the maximum amount we may have to pay you for any and all claims or parts of claims which do not involve personal injury, illness or death.  Except where loss of and/or damage to luggage or personal possessions is concerned or a lower limitation of liability applies to your claim, the maximum amount we will have to pay you for such non personal injury claims if we are found liable to you on any basis is twice the price (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges) paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total.  This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from the contracted services. 
Where we are found liable for loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions (including money), the maximum amount we will have to pay you is £50 per person affected as you are assumed to have taken out adequate insurance at the time of booking. 

 thinkPaythere and thinkExperiences bookings only

(4) In respect of thinkPaythere and thinkExperiences bookings we act only as an agent for the property supplier or thinkExperiences supplier concerned.  Your contract for your accommodation or thinkExperiences is directly with the property or thinkExperiences supplier concerned.  We accept no liability in relation to the accommodation or thinkExperiences itself or for the acts or omissions of the property or thinkExperiences supplier concerned or any of its employees, agents, suppliers or subcontractors.  The terms and conditions of the property or thinkExperiences supplier will apply to your contract (copies available on request from us).  However, in the event that we are found liable on any basis whatsoever our maximum liability to you is limited to twice the cost of the booking in question.  We do not exclude or limit any liability for death or personal injury which arises as a result of our negligence or that of our employees whilst acting in the course of their employment.

11. Complaints and problems
In the unlikely event that you have any reason to complain or experience any problems with your holiday whilst away, you must immediately inform our representative (if available) and the property owner or manager / supplier of the service(s) in question. Any verbal notification must be put in writing, and given to our representative and the property owner or manager / supplier as soon as possible. Until we know about a problem or complaint, we cannot begin to resolve it. Most problems can be dealt with quickly.  If you remain dissatisfied, however, you must write to us within 28 days of your return to the UK giving your booking reference and full details of your complaint. We regret we cannot accept liability if you fail to notify the complaint or claim entirely in accordance with this clause.  

For thinkPaythere and thinkExperiences bookings, we act only as agent for the  property or thinkExperiences supplier   concerned and therefore cannot accept any liability for your accommodation. Any assistance provided in resolving a complaint in relation to any thinkPaythere or thinkExperiences booking is provided on a goodwill basis and in our capacity as agent.

12. Behaviour
When you book with us, you accept responsibility for any damage or loss caused by you or any member of your party.  Full payment for any such damage or loss must be paid direct at the time to the property owner or 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 own and the other party’s full legal costs) as a result of your actions.  We (or we on behalf of the thinkPaythere property or thinkExperiences supplier for thinkPaythere and thinkExperiences bookings) reserve the right to invoice you or charge your credit card the total amount of the security deposit pledged by you in the “credit card guarantee” section of the order form in respect of the cost of any damage or bills incurred by you that remain unpaid at the time of your departure from the accommodation or other service concerned. Should the bills or damages exceed the total amount of the security deposit, we (or we on behalf of the thinkPaythere property or thinkExperiences supplier for thinkPaythere bookings) reserve the right to pursue you to the full extent of any claim made against us. You agree to reimburse us in full for all losses, damages or expenses (including legal expenses) we incur as a result of or arising out of any such claim, and also the costs of pursuing you. We and/ or the property and/or the thinkExperiences supplier also reserve the right to pursue you for the cost of any damage or unpaid bills not covered by your credit card provider
We expect all clients to have consideration for other people.  If in our reasonable opinion or in the reasonable opinion of any other person in authority (for example a property supplier), you or any member of your party behaves in such a way as to cause or be likely to cause danger, upset or distress to any third party or damage to property, we are entitled, without prior notice, to terminate the holiday of the person(s) concerned.  In this situation, the person(s) concerned will be required to leave the accommodation or other service.  We will have no further responsibility toward such person(s).  No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.  Please note animals and/or pets are not allowed on the holidays and/or at the properties we feature without prior written permission from us.
We and/or the owner/other supplier of the property concerned reserve the right to terminate your stay without notice if we or the owner/other supplier discover that the number of persons staying at the property exceeds the number stated on your confirmation invoice and you have not gained our or the owner’s/supplier’s prior written permission for this and/or paid any extra associated costs.  In this situation, no refunds will be made and we will have no further responsibility to you.

13.  Swimming Pools 

Swimming pools by their very nature carry their own inherent risks.  You must ensure that you and all members of your party take great care when using or being near any swimming pool(s) at the property where you are staying.    You should for example make sure you and all members of your party are aware of the depth(s) and layout of the pool by physically checking it prior to use and that all persons walk rather than run around or near the pool. You must ensure that no one dives into the pool at any time or enters it while under the influence of alcohol. You must check the pool every day before use and immediately report any apparent defects. Many pools in Italy are not fenced. If you require a fenced pool, you must inform us of that requirement before you make your booking to allow us to locate one for you. Whether the pool is fenced or not, children must be supervised at all times by a responsible adult.   We and the property owner have no liability for any death or personal injury arising from use of or connected with the swimming pool except to the extent such liability cannot legally be excluded. Please also see clause 10 of our booking conditions. We and the property owner have no liability for any death or personal injury which results from failure to comply with the above requirements.

14. Conditions of suppliers.
Property owners and other suppliers may have their own terms and conditions.  Where this is the case,  these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the property owners / supplier's liability to you.  Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from ourselves or the property owner / supplier concerned.

15. Special requests and medical problems
If you have any special request, you must advise us at the time of booking and clearly note it on your booking form. Although we will endeavour to pass any reasonable requests on to the relevant property owner or manager / other supplier, we regret we cannot guarantee any request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part.  We regret we cannot accept any conditional bookings, i.e. any booking which is specified to be conditional on the fulfilment of a particular request.  All such bookings will be treated as “standard” bookings subject to the above provisions on special requests. 

If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your holiday, please tell us before you confirm your booking.  In any event, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking or if the problem or disability only develops after you have booked, as soon as you become aware of it..  If the property owner/manager or other supplier reasonably feels unable to properly accommodate the particular needs of the person concerned, we must reserve the right to decline their reservation or, if full details are not given at the time of booking, cancel when we become aware of these details. 

16. Passports, visas and health requirements
British citizens (including children and infants) require a full British passport for travel to Sicily.  A full British passport presently takes approximately 3 weeks to obtain.  Requirements may change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure.  Information on health is contained in the Department of Health leaflet T6 (Health Advice for Travellers) available from your local Department of Health office and most Post Offices.  For European holidays you need a European health insurance card (EHIC). It replaces the old E111 form, which is no longer valid. Without the card, you may end up paying for some forms of emergency or ‘necessary’ care, which you would otherwise get free or at reduced prices. To obtain the card, pick up a form at your Post Office, call                0845 606 2030        , or apply online at www.ehic.org
It is your responsibility to ensure that you are in possession of all necessary travel and health documents before departure.  All costs incurred in obtaining such documentation must be paid by you.  We regret we cannot accept any liability if you are refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to failure on your part to carry correct documentation.  If you or any member of your party is not a British citizen or holds a non British passport, you must check passport and visa requirements with the Embassy or Consulate of the country(ies) to or through which you are intending to travel.  If failure to have any necessary travel or other documents results in fines, surcharges or other financial penalty being imposed on us, you will be responsible for reimbursing us accordingly.

17. Brochure and Website Accuracy
Please note, the information and prices shown in our brochure/on our website may have changed by the time you come to book your holiday. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of this information and prices at the time of printing, regrettably errors do occasionally occur.  You must therefore ensure you check all details of your chosen holiday (including the price) with us at the time of booking.

Please note, the photographs in our brochure/on our website are intended to give a general overall impression of the standard of the properties we feature.  Some aspects of the property may have changed by the time you come to make your booking, for example, items of furniture may have been removed by the owner or the layout of gardens may have been changed.  We cannot accept any liability if this situation should arise.
The brochure and website are our sole responsibility. They are not issued on behalf of and do not commit any independent organisation/carriers whose services are featured in it.

18. Safety standards
Please note, it is the requirements and standards in Italy which apply to your holiday arrangements and not those of the UK .  As a general rule, these requirements and standards will not be the same as the UK and may sometimes be lower.

19. Packages
Please note, we do not sell or offer for sale any “packages” or act as an “organiser” within the meaning of the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 and these Regulations do not apply to any booking you may make.

Appendix: cancellation conditions of thinkPaythere properties

Please note that all cancellations must be made in writing. Deposits paid to thinkSicily for thinkPaythere bookings are non-refundable.

The information below shows the cancellation conditions of each thinkPaythere property and the % of the balance you would have to pay.