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Skills Holidays - Holiday Information
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Please take a few moments to read the following Skills Motor Coaches Ltd trading as Skills Holidays, Skills Worldwide Ltd trading as Skills.
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1. HOW TO BOOK
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By Telephone and Post
Telephone us on 08456 665544. We will check availability and hold a provisional booking for you for 48 HOURS pending receipt of the completed booking form with deposits and insurance premium. You may also book over the telephone and pay by credit or debit card. When booking a Skills Holiday the deposit plus the insurance premium per person is required on all holidays. If the booking is within 28 days of travel, we will require the full holiday cost at the time of booking.
In Person
Call into any of our offices and make your booking in person. (Locations on back cover of the Skills Holidays brochure).
With your Travel Agent
Call into your local ABTA Travel Agent. They will do the checking and complete the booking form for you.
Via the internet
Visit our website at www.skillsholidays.co.uk
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2. CAN I BOOK MY SEATS?
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A seating plan is held for each holiday. Requests for particular coach seats can be made on most coach holidays at the time of booking and you will be told when you book. We cannot accept bookings which are conditional on the provision of specific seats. We will do everything possible to conform to the seating plans shown and to provide the seat numbers booked by customers, however, this may not always be possible. We do not allocate specific seats on coaches operating feeder services between your joining point and the main interchange point. Bookings by post are allocated the seats available nearest the front of the coach unless otherwise requested. These seats are kept throughout the holiday except on feeder coaches. Please note that occasionally we use coaches with a different seating plan and the seat position may alter. Seating plan can be found on the back page.
NB There is a charge of £1.50 per person per day for front seats..
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3. LOCAL JOINING POINTS & INTERCHANGES
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To cover our large pick-up area and to reduce your travelling time, on many holidays featured in this brochure you will be picked up by a feeder vehicle. This may be a coach, minibus or car and seat numbers do not apply to this part of your journey. You will then be taken to our interchange to join your tour coach. Our interchanges are manned by our
experienced staff, who are there to ensure that everything runs smoothly and to offer help and advice to our passengers. At the end of your holiday we will, of course, return you to your original joining point. Please note: We regret that, due to time constraints, we are unable to pick up or drop off at any place other than those published. We reserve the right to make amendments to published pick up points, however, no changes of joining
point will be made within 14 days of your departure. Feeder coaches, including taxis and minibuses, operate to and from our interchanges (feeder coaches may not have toilets, reclining seats, air-conditioning or drinks facilities). We may operate a passenger interchange at the Channel port.
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4. LUGGAGE
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We insist that all passengers must keep luggage to a medium sized suitcase weighing no heavier than 15Kg. In addition a small hold-all may also be taken on the coach. We reserve the right to refuse to carry any passengers exceeding the above limits and you will be asked to remove excess weight. Overnight bags can be used but any luggage left on the coach is at your own risk and we cannot be held responsible for any damage or loss to your property. Please note that at some hotels, particularly on the Continent, porterage is not always available between the coach and the hotel. It is unlikely that luggage or personal belongings will be covered by your insurance if left unattended or in an empty vehicle overnight and you must therefore take all belongings with you at overnight stops. Luggage and belongings should be insured to full value and all personal items such as jewellery, cameras, watches etc, should be carried on your person. It is your responsibility to ensure that your luggage and belongings are loaded on to the coach on which you are travelling, especially at ports, interchange points and on leaving the hotels. You should ensure that you attach the Skills colour coded luggage label provided by us to your suitcase. We accept no responsibility if you leave or lose your luggage or your luggage gets damaged in transit.
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5. HOTEL ACCOMMODATION
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Accommodation throughout the UK, Europe and Eire varies and our range of hotels includes everything from 5 star establishments to homely, family-run hotels. We go to great lengths to ensure that your holiday accommodation will be of an acceptable standard and every effort will be made to provide precisely the kind of room you have booked.
(A) Hotel Grading
Hotel grading and classification systems vary so widely throughout the UK and Europe that they do not represent a consistent method of comparing accommodation standards from one country to another. We advise you to look upon them merely as a general guide. The absence of a rating simply means that this particular hotel is not a member of any particular grading body – it does not mean that the hotel is of a lower
standard.
(B) Additional Facilities
Our liability for the provision of additional facilities for which a supplement has been paid is limited to the published price of that supplement. Rooms with en suite facilities will include EITHER bath and WC OR shower and WC. Where you specify a preference for either a bath and WC or a shower and WC we will make every effort to accommodate your request. We cannot however, guarantee your preference will be
met. Please note that in Continental Europe it is not normally the custom to have tea or coffee facilities in rooms.
(C) Room Type
When booking a double room you should clearly request either a double bed or twin beds, otherwise we shall assume that either is acceptable. Please note that many hotels in Europe have a majority of twin bedded rooms. In some hotels, particularly in Europe, a twin-bedded room may have a single king-size base with two mattresses, each with its own bed linen. Three and four bedded rooms are normally twins or doubles with extra beds which are not suitable for adults and space will be limited. The
room description shown on your holiday confirmation refers to your main holiday hotel Overnight hotels may offer different room types.
(D) Single Rooms
Single rooms are always in short supply and early booking is advised. Occasionally, a double or twin room may be provided at the hotel’s discretion however, the payment of a single room supplement does not imply that any room allocated will be anything other than a single room.
(E) Overnight Hotels
In the best interests of our customers, it may sometimes be necessary or desirable to change the location of overnight hotel stops, We reserve the right to make such a change without notice. It may be difficult for some hotels to fulfil special dietary requirements. If in doubt, it would be beneficial for the client to telephone the hotel direct to ascertain the position and to arrange payment with them for additional charges that may be incurred.
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6. HOTEL AMENITIES
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All the amenities described on the appropriate brochure page, leaflet or advert will normally be available for the enjoyment of our customers. However some amenities (lifts, swimming pools and so on) may occasionally require servicing or cleaning and therefore we cannot guarantee that they will always be available. Some resort services may be affected by weather conditions or out of season reductions or cancellations. Unless otherwise indicated in the brochure, certain amenities may incur an additional charge. Entertainment provided by hotels is frequently subject to demand and the type or frequency may be varied if there is a lack of demand or insufficient numbers staying at the hotel. In many hotels you may be asked to share a table in the restaurant with other guests. If a hotel has lifts, these are described as serving some, most, or all, floors or rooms. Many hotel buildings are historical rather than purpose-built and therefore there may also be some steps on a floor served by a lift, which lead to or from public rooms. Most UK hotels include tea or coffee making facilities in the bedrooms. Where this facility is provided there may be a charge for additional beverage supplies.
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7. THEATRE TICKETS
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Whilst every effort is made to ensure that seats for each booking are allocated together, in rare cases this may not be possible. However, if this happens, you will be notified prior to travel.
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8. DISABLED CLIENTS
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We try our best to provide holidays which all our customers can enjoy, but we do recognise that not all our holidays will be entirely suitable for people with disabilities, poor mobility or special needs. Some coach tours, for example, involve a great deal of travelling and changes of hotel and it may not be possible for our driver(s) to provide a sufficient level of care, particularly in cases of mobility problems. If each passenger who has a disability is accompanied by a companion who is able to provide the necessary assistance and the five steps can be negotiated when boarding the coach, then you are most welcome. Book early though, as front seats are soon gone.
WHEELCHAIRS: We are pleased to carry your folding wheelchairs in the luggage compartment and we would request that you notify us or your travel agent of your intention to bring one. We regret that, due to health and safety regulations, we are unable to carry battery powered wheelchairs or mobility vehicles. Please ask our reservations staff as to the suitability of any particular holiday or hotel. If you do not advise us of any disabilities, we cannot be responsible for any inconvenience or costs incurred by you and this may include us having to refuse to take you on holiday.
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9. CHILDREN
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We are happy to carry children of all ages on our Family Breaks. However for all other tours please contact our customer services department so that we can assess the suitability for children on your chosen tour. Where we agree to take children we will offer a discount of 10% between the age of 2-13yrs inclusive, unless a different pricing structure is shown on the appropriate page. Child prices are only applicable when sharing a room with two full-fare paying passengers. Infants under 2 on the date of return travel may be carried at the company’s discretion and are subject to a charge of £25. Infants remain the responsibility of the parent/guardian at all times and must sit on their lap whilst on board the coach.
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10. LOST PROPERTY
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Any items of lost property found on our coaches will be handed into our office as soon possible and are then available for collection. We cannot, however, accept responsibility for any items of lost property left on our holiday coaches.
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11. AIR CONDITIONING
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Most of the tours in this brochure will be operated on an executive coach with the added comfort of air-conditioning. Should this air-conditioning system break down for a period exceeding 12 hours, compensation will be awarded up to a maximum of £10 per fare paying passenger per tour.
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12. CHANNEL CROSSINGS
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Generally speaking, our crossings will be by ferry or tunnel between Dover and Calais. We may vary this.
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13. BROCHURE PHOTOGRAPHY & PRODUCTION, WEB
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Much of the photography used in this brochure has been supplied by various Tourist Boards, Wholesalers or directly provided courtesy of the tourism facility/attraction. land we thank them for their assistance (British images are provided courtesy of www.visitbritain.org). Some of the pictures are used to express the atmosphere of a particular destination or to inform of local attractions that are available and it should not be implied that any particular holiday itinerary includes places or attractions featured in photographic material on any brochure page or website page. Please note embedded videos on www.skillsholidays.co.uk are supplied and provided by travel partners including visitbritain.tv or relevant travel partner Youtube channels. Embedded videos are use to demonstrate and give examples of the local tourist area which may be relevant to the area, these videos however do not imply that services, or attractions are included unless otherwise stated within the tour itineraries.
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IMPORTANT NOTICE
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It is inevitable that some of the prices or details contained within our brochure may have changed since it was printed. We also reserve the right to correct errors including typographical at any time. When you pay for your holiday you will be informed of any changes to any of the relevant details within our brochure which have occurred prior to you making your booking.
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14. DVT AND COACH TRAVEL
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Medical research has shown that DVT may be associated with any form of long distance travel whether by air, car, coach or train. We therefore recommend that you consult a doctor if you have:
• Ever had DVT or pulmonary embolism;
• A family history of clotting conditions;
• An inherited tendency to clot;
• Cancer, or treatment for cancer in the past;
• Undergone major surgery within the last three months;
• Ever suffered from a stroke, heart or lung disease.
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15. NO SMOKING
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All coaches used on holidays in this brochure are totally non smoking at all times, including when parked. Passengers who are unwilling to comply with this requirement will be subject to enforcement of item 13 of our holiday contract.
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Skills Holidays - Booking Conditions
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Your contract is with Skills Motor Coaches Limited, trading as Skills Holidays, registered company number 612324 or for holidays which have any air travel with the arrangement Skills Worldwide Ltd trading as Skills registered company number 612324. When you make a booking you guarantee that you have the authority to accept and do accept, on behalf of your party, the terms of these Booking Conditions and the Holiday Information. A contract will exist when your booking is entered on our computer and a booking reference number is produced. This contract is made on the terms of these Booking Conditions and the Holiday Information and is governed by the law of that part of the UK in which you are domiciled and we both agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the Courts at all times. These details were last updated October 2009.
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1. WHY SHOULD I READ THIS?
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Because it is important. These Booking Conditions together with the important Holiday Information, form the basis of a legally binding contract between you (the person making the booking) and everyone else named on the holiday booking and us (Skills Motor Coaches Ltd / Skills Worldwide Ltd.). If you take a few moments to study them you will see that they set out in simple terms what responsibilities we each have under the contract.
Reading it now may help to avoid problems later.
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2. HOW DO I MAKE A CONTRACT WITH YOU?
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You can make a contract in a number of ways -
1. By visiting one of our offices in person
2. By filling in the booking form and posting it to us.
3. By making your booking by telephone.
4. By booking through your travel agent.
5. By booking via the internet.
The contract between us is made when your booking is entered on our computer and a booking reference number is produced. At that moment the contract between us begins. We will send you or your agent a confirmation usually within 72 hours; please check it carefully to ensure that all the details are correct and inform us or your agent immediately of any errors. We cannot be responsible for mistakes if we are not notified. The contract appertains to all persons named on the booking form.
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3. HOW IS MY MONEY PROTECTED
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Coach Holidays: The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 require us to provide security for the monies that you pay for the package holidays booked from this brochure and for your repatriation in the event of any insolvency. Skills Motor Coaches Ltd provide this security by way of a bond held by ABTA.
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ABTA
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Skills Motor Coaches Ltd. is a member of ABTA, membership number V5770. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA’s Code of Conduct. We can also offer you an arbitration scheme for the resolution of disputes arising out of, or in connection with this contract. Further information on the Code and arbitration can be found at www.abta. com The above applies to the services offered by Skills Motor Coaches Ltd and does not apply to any services supplied by Skills Worldwide
Limited, or Skills Travel Limited or any other company.
Air Holidays: When you buy an ATOL protected air holiday package (and/or flights) from Skills Worldwide Ltd you will receive a Confirmation Invoice from us (or via or authorised agent, through which you booked) confirming your arrangements and your protections under our Air Travel Organisers License number 4001. In the unlikely event of insolvency, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For further information visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk
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4. WHEN DO I HAVE TO PAY AND HOW MUCH?
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When booking a holiday, you accept on behalf of all your party, the terms of these booking conditions and pay the deposit per person: £45 for all coach holidays, £100 for Channel Islands and short haul air holidays. Worldwide holidays and cruises may be higher. Where your tour includes pre purchased tickets, ie: theatre tickets, Ascot, Edinburgh Tattoo etc, these will have to be paid for at the time of booking. This will be classed as a booking fee and will be non refundable. Within seven days of booking you will receive a holiday confirmation/invoice, showing details of the holiday booked and you must check the details to ensure that they are correct. The final balance must be paid 28 days before the departure date (56 days on air holidays) and if you have made your holiday booking within 28 days of departure (56 days on air holidays) then the total holiday price is payable immediately.
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5. WHEN I PAY MY MONEY TO MY TRAVEL AGENT
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Until we have a contract with you, your travel agent holds your deposit on your behalf, After that he holds it for us. Any money you pay him for the balance of your holiday he holds for you until the due date on your invoice. After that date he holds it for us. As soon as you pay any money to your travel agent in respect of a booking which includes air travel, they will hold that money on your behalf at all times.
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6. CAN MY HOLIDAY PRICE INCREASE?
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Changes in transportation costs, including the cost of fuel dues, taxes, or fees chargeable for services such as landing charges, or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports and exchange rates mean that the price of your travel arrangements may change after you have booked. However there will be no change within 30 days of your departure. We will absorb and you will not be charged for any increase equivalent to 2% of the price of your travel arrangements, which excludes insurance premiums and any amendment charges. You will be charged for the amount over and above that, plus an administration charge of £1 per person together with an amount to cover agents commission. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the price of your travel arrangements, you will have the option of accepting a change to another holiday of equivalent price if we are able to offer one. If it is of lower value, you will be refunded the difference in price. Or you will be able to cancel and receive a full refund of all monies paid. We will consider an appropriate refund of insurance premiums paid if you can show you are unable to transfer or reuse your policy. Should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must excercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice. Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, by more than 2% of your holiday cost, then any refund due will be paid to you. However, please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place. The price of your travel arrangements was calculated using exchange rates quoted in the “Financial Times Market Data” (FT.com) on the 22nd October 2009 in relation to the following currencies : Euros
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7. CAN I CHANGE MY HOLIDAY ARRANGEMENTS?
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a. More than 28 days before travel - If you want to make any changes to your booking such as changing the date, room type or joining point, we will do our best to help but we cannot guarantee to make the changes that you want. If we do manage to make the changes we will charge a fee of £10 to cover our administration costs providing that all notifications of changes are received no later than the due date of the balance payment of your holiday.
b. Within 28 days of travel - Any alteration by you made later than the original balance date will be treated as a cancellation of the original booking and will be subject to the cancellation charges set out below. Other alterations such as the addition of requests or change of pick-up point that require a reconfirmation to be issued must be notified and accompanied by a payment of £25 to cover administration costs. Please note that it is not
possible to transfer any holidays to the following year.
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8. CAN I CANCEL MY HOLIDAY?
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Yes you, or any member of your party, may cancel your holiday at any time, but if you do so you will have to pay us cancellation charges based on the scale below. When you cancel you must inform us or your travel agent in writing and your cancellation only takes effect from the date we or your travel agent receive your notice in writing, signed by the person who made the booking, together with any travel tickets or vouchers we may already have sent you. Please note that if any part of a booking is cancelled this may mean that the accommodation booked will be under occupied and may result in the remaining passengers having to pay any applicable supplements e.g. changing a twin room to a single. Cancellation charges are based on the following scale:
Coach Holidays::
More than 28 days Deposit only
15 to 28 days ............45%
8 to 14 days ..............60%
7 to 2 days ................90%
Less than 2 days.....100%
Cruise Holidays:
More than 56 days (cruise) Deposit
56-42 days (cruise)..................30%
41-29 days (cruise)..................45%
28-15 days (cruise)..................60%
Less than 14 days (cruise)....100%
Alternatively, you have the right to transfer the booking to another person provided that they satisfy all the conditions applicable to the package and as long as you give the Company at least seven days written notice of your intention to do so. Both you and the person to whom you transfer the booking will be responsible for the payment of any outstanding monies and in addition there will be an administration charge of £25 per passenger to cover costs incurred.
NOTE: If the reason for cancellation is covered under the terms of an insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges.
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9. WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU CHANGE MY HOLIDAY?
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The arrangements for your holiday are likely to have been made many months in advance and changes are sometimes unavoidable. Most of these changes are likely to be minor and we will do our best to keep you informed.
(a) Changes before departure: If we have to make a significant change to your holiday after you have booked, you will have the option of withdrawing from the holiday without penalty or you may accept the changes with a variation in the price to take account of the changes. A ‘significant change’ is one that involves changing your departure date; resort area; or reducing the quality of your main hotel. Compensation for such changes is payable on the scale in (c) below.
(b) Cancellation and withdrawal: If you withdraw from the holiday because of a significant change made by us or if we have to cancel the holiday for any reason(except where it is your fault) you will be offered the choice of 1. a replacement holiday of equivalent quality where available, or 2. a replacement holiday of lower quality where available and a refund of the price difference, or 3. a full refund.
Once we have notified you of the changes and the options available, you must notify us as soon as possible of your decision. We will pay you compensation for significant changes on the following scale: Important - compensation payments do not apply to changes caused by reasons of war; riots; civil strife; terrorist activity; industrial disputes; natural or nuclear disasters; fire; epidemic or health risk; technical problems to transport; port or airport closures; adverse weather conditions and similar events beyond our control. Period before departure within which a significant change is notified to you or your travel agent
More than 28 days NIL
15 to 28 days 5% of holiday cost
0 to 14 days 10% of holiday cost
No other claims for compensation or expenses will be considered.
(c) Changes after departure If after departure a significant proportion of your holiday cannot be provided we will make suitable alternative arrangements for you to continue the holiday at no extra cost to you. If it is impossible to make alternative arrangements or you have reasonable grounds for refusing the alternative offered we will transport you back to your point of departure or another place agreed to by you.
(d) Compensation in general In all cases not specifically covered by sections (a), (b) and (c) where we are liable to pay compensation to you we limit our liability in two ways;
1. As if we were covered by the international conventions which govern the services we provide to you.
2. To a maximum of the cost of the holiday. We accept responsibility for ensuring that all component parts of your holiday, as described in this brochure are supplied to you to a reasonable standard. If any such part is not provided in the advertised manner, we will pay you reasonable compensation unless the non-provision was due to circumstances which we could not predict and which were beyond our control, such as
adverse weather, road or traffic conditions or the matters referred to in paragraph b above. For all claims other than death or personal injury which result from non performance or improper performance of the contract by us, our liability to each claimant is limited to the total cost of the holiday per person.
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10. WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THE HOLIDAY PRICE?
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Holiday prices include all coach travel, hotel accommodation and meals as specified in the holiday description and VAT where applicable. Morning coffee, afternoon tea and other refreshments are not included unless stated. Some hotels may make a small charge for porterage and tea or coffee served after dinner. Gratuities to hotel staff and driver/couriers are discretionary. Unless specifically indicated in the tour itinerary or
description, entrance fees, guide fees and city sightseeing tours are not included in the holiday cost. In the UK, breakfast is defined as an ‘English breakfast’ and in Europe it is defined as ‘Continental breakfast’ unless otherwise stated. Evening meals are generally three courses and in the UK there will usually be a choice of courses on the menu. In continental hotels, there may be a restriction in choice. Included Excursions & Routings The itinerary for your chosen holiday is summarised on the appropriate brochure page. To help you in planning your holiday, the excursions which are included in the price of your holiday are clearly shown in the brochure. Minor changes to the brochure itinerary and the final itinerary will not entitle you to compensation. Unless otherwise stated, excursions to cities and other major places of interest do not include guided tours or entrance fees to places of interest. Whilst
you are on an included excursion, a guided boat cruise, a cable car ride or entrance to an attraction may be offered as an optional activity at a reasonable charge. Refunds will not be made for excursions not taken. Skills Holidays reserve the right to return home earlier than stated on the itinerary due to unforeseen circumstances, or operational reasons, without prior notice. Routes shown in this brochure may have to be changed on occasion due to traffic conditions or for other reasons and in consequence it may not be possible to pass through all the places mentioned in an
itinerary. Furthermore stops can only be made at a limited number of places according to the time available. Some excursion itineraries include the use of ferries and other forms of transport, which can be affected by inclement weather and may have to be cancelled, in such cases we will seek to provide a suitable alternative. Published running times of services are estimates which may be affected by circumstances outside our control. We reserve the right to change excursions or itineraries without notice when appropriate for operational reasons without compensation.
Optional Excursions
On some of our coach holidays you will be offered a selection of optional excursions which can be bought only through your driver or courier. You are under no obligation to take these optional excursions, but we accept responsibility for them if you do. Customers choosing not to take an optional excursion will normally have time at leisure at the starting point of the optional excursion. Optional excursions may not operate when demand is insufficient.
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11. HOW DO I COMPLAIN?
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The driver/courier or representative on your holiday is there to deal with any queries or problems that you may encounter. If you have a problem during your holiday, you MUST inform them immediately. In most cases these difficulties can be rectified on the spot. It is never possible to reverse hotel problems (i.e. room or food) after you have returned from your holiday. Consequently, any such complaint cannot be investigated if no prior notice is made to our driver/courier and no claims will be entertained under these circumstances. If they are unable to resolve the problem to your satisfaction you should complete a Holiday Report Form which is available from your tour driver. If the matter cannot be put right on the spot, you must notify us in writing so that we are in receipt of your complaint within 21 days of the completion of your holiday and this must be sent to The Customer Relations Manager, Skills Holidays,Belgrave Road, Nottingham, NG6 8LY and must quote your booking reference number, holiday destination and departure date. Failure to establish your complaint immediately in accordance with the above procedure may affect the outcome. Please note that we can only respond to one letter per booking and that comments written on our questionnaire forms are not classed as a formal complaint.
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WHAT HAPPENS TO COMPLAINTS?
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All complaints that are received are thoroughly investigated and customers kept informed at each stage of the investigation. Sometimes these investigations can take time awaiting response from our suppliers. We can normally agree an amicable settlement of the few complaints that we receive.
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12. WHAT IF I AM NOT SATISFIED?
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It is unlikely that you will have a complaint that cannot be settled amicablybetween us. However, disputes to do with this contract for Skills Motor Coaches Ltd, that cannot be settled amicably, may (if you wish) be referred to Arbitration under a special scheme which is arranged by ABTA, but is administered quite independently by the IDRS part of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. It provides for a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on you in respect of costs. Full details will be provided on request, or can be obtained from the ABTA website. The scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £5000 per person. There is also a limit for £25,000 per booking form. Neither does it apply to claims, which are solely in respect of physical injury or illness or their consequences. The scheme can however deal with compensation claims, which include an element of minor injury, or illness subject to a limit of £1000 on the amount the arbitrator can award per person in respect of this element. The application for arbitration and Statement of Claim, must be received by IDRS within 9 months of the date of return of the holiday. For injury and illness claims you may like to use the ABTA/Charted Institute of Arbitrators Mediation Procedure. This is a voluntary scheme and requires us to agree for mediation to go ahead. The aim is to help you resolve your dispute in a quick and cost effective way. Details on request or from www.abta.com. The above applies to the services offered by Skills Motor Coaches Ltd
and does not apply to any services supplied by Skills Worldwide limited or Skills Travel Limited or any other company.
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13. WHAT IF I ADOPT ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR?
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If you, or a member of your party, are persistently disruptive or seriously affect the enjoyment of other holidaymakers, we have the right to terminate the contract. In such circumstances we will have no further obligations or liability to you. After consultation with his manager, the coach driver is entitled to refuse boarding to you if, in their opinion, you are unacceptably under the influence of drink or drugs. If you are refused boarding on the outbound journey or flight for this reason we will regard this as a cancellation of the contract by you and cancellation charges will be levied according to the scale in section 9. If the refusal is on the return journey or flight we have the right to terminate the contract. In such circumstances we will have no further obligations or liability to you. If you are disruptive during the journey, the coach driver may have to divert to off load you. In those circumstances you will also be liable to us and/or airline for the costs incurred by the diversion. Furthermore, for the comfort and enjoyment of the rest of our passengers, you may not:-
(a) Bring a pet, livestock or any other animal.
(b) Play a radio or a cassette player on a coach.
(c) Smoke at any time on our coaches.
(d) Bring alcohol onto the coach for the purpose of consumption of it.
NB: You are responsible for ensuring that you are at the correct pick up point, on time, throughout the holiday. We would also ask you to consider other passengers and refrain from using mobile phones on the coach.
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14. DO I HAVE TO BUY SKILLS INSURANCE?
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No, you can choose to buy your own insurance if you want to but, if you do so, you MUST have insurance which is as good as or better than the insurance we offer. This is essential as we prefer you to take insurance because a happy holiday needs peace of mind. There is no upper age limit and the premium which includes government taxes is added to the cost of your holiday at the time of booking. Details of cover can be found on the holiday insurance page within the Skills Holidays website. Please note that our insurance is only valid for residents of the UK.
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15. PICK UP POINTS, TRAVEL DOCUMENTS & ITINERARIES
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You are responsible for ensuring that you are at the correct departure point at the correct time and we cannot be held liable for any loss or expense suffered by your party because of late arrival at the departure point. Your booking confirmation confirming your departure point will be sent to you or your agent after we have received your deposit payment. Certain travel documents may have to be retained by us and your driver/courier will then issue them to you at the relevant time. If you lose any of your travel documents we will replace these for an administration charge of £10. Skills Holidays reserves the right to modify itineraries to comply with requests from the competent authorities in the UK and any other sovereign state through which the holiday will operate.
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16. PROMPT ASSISTANCE
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If the contract we have with you is not performed or is improperly performed as a result of failures attributable to a third party unconnected with the provision of the services, or as a result of failures due to unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised, or an event which we or our suppliers, even with all due care, could not foresee or forestall, and you suffer an injury or other material loss, we will offer you such prompt assistance as is reasonable in the circumstances.
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17. TERMINATING YOUR HOLIDAY
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If you choose to terminate your holiday of your own volition, for whatever reason, Skills Holidays will not be liable for any additional expenses incurred and no refunds will be given for any part of the holiday not taken.
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18. TRAVEL DELAYS
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There are occasions when our coaches are delayed due to traffic congestion or ferry delays etc. We cannot accept liability for these delays, howsoever caused.
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19. SINGLE ROOM OCCUPANCY
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Single occupancy of rooms will in most cases be subject to a supplementary charge. The booking of single rooms automatically obliges the client to accept the supplement. The payment of a single room supplement does not imply that any room allocated will be anything other than a single room, although occasionally the hotel may provide a double or twin at their discretion.
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20. SPECIAL REQUESTS
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All special needs and requests MUST be entered on the booking form. We will do our best to provide what you want but WE CANNOT GUARANTEE IT. Some special requests such as dietary requirements may involve extra charges which may have to be paid for locally at your hotel. Please note that the location, position, size or type of any room cannot be guaranteed and, in the main, room allocation is the responsibility of the hotelier. However, all special requests, such as low floor rooms, are passed on and we make every endeavour to ensure that they are considered. Our liability for the provision of extra facilities for which a supplement is paid, shall be limited to the brochure price of that supplement
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21. STATUTORY AUTHORITIES
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This brochure is issued subject to applicable Acts of Parliament and Government regulations and the company reserves the right to modify itineraries to comply with requests from the competent authorities in the United Kingdom and any other sovereign state through which the tours run.
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22. CONDITIONS OF CARRIAGE
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When you travel on an aircraft, train or ship, the conditions of carriage of that carrier apply and are subject to National and International conditions which may limit or exclude liability. Your contract made under the terms of this Trading Charter is subject to English (Scottish) law and jurisdiction.
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23. COACH ALLOCATION
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Due to operational reasons (breakdown, availability etc.), Skills Holidays reserve the right to use Midi or Standard (no toilet facilities) coaches on any tour/day trip rather than having to cancel the trip. We will endeavour to inform, clients beforehand unless unforeseen circumstances prevent us from doing so.
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24. COACH SEATING
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There is a seating plan of the coach for each holiday, but it is possible that on occasions operational reasons will require a coach with a different configuration to be used. We therefore reserve the right to alter a coach seating plan and allocate seats other than those you have booked. Requests for particular seats can be made on most holidays when booking but because allocations are made on a first come, first served basis you are recommended to book early. When your booking is confirmed you will be offered the best seats that are available at that time. Specific seats will not be allocated on coaches which operate feeder services between joining points and main holiday departure points, or on coaches which carry out transfers to and from seaports or airports, or on any excursions carried out by a third party. We also reserve the right to use standard coaches on all such transfers. We reserve the right to change the seats of single passengers due to commercial reasons.
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25. OTHER OPERATORS’ COACHES
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On occasions, to meet demand, some feeder journeys and holidays are operated by vehicles other than those owned by Skills Holidays and the specification may be different to that detailed in this brochure.
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26. DATA PROTECTION
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This is intended as a guide only and cannot be a substitute for specific legal advice. Please be assured that we have measures in place to protect the personal booking information held by us. Other than as provided by this clause, this information will only be passed on to the principal and to the relevant suppliers of your travel arrangements. The information may also be provided to public authorities such as customs or immigration if
required by them, or as required by law. (If we cannot pass this information to the relevant suppliers, whether in the EU or not, we will be unable to provide your booking.) Certain information may also be passed on to other companies in the Skills Group or to security or credit checking companies. In making this booking, you consent to this information being passed on to the relevant persons.
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27. MEDICAL ARRANGEMENTS
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EUROPEAN HEALTH INSURANCE CARD (EHIC) On all holidays to the Republic of Ireland and any holiday where an excursion to a Member State of the EU is offered, included or optional, it is advisable to carry with you your EHIC card. The form for this is available from the Post Office and entitles you to free or reduced cost emergency state medical treatment in the EU. At present, there are no special health requirements, such as inoculations, for any of the countries featured for UK citizens. As health recommendations vary from time to time you should seek medical advice prior to departure.
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28. IMPORTANT PASSPORTS & VISAS
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UK citizens travelling on holiday abroad MUST have a valid 10 Year Passport before they leave the UK. British citizens should allow sufficient time from the date of posting a correctly completed application form to receipt of their passport.
NB: Most countries require a passport to be valid for at least six months beyond the length of your stay. At the time of our brochure going to press, visas were not required by holders of British Passports to any of the destination countries covered in our brochure. We strongly advise all our customers to keep their passports securely on their person or locked in a hotel safe throughout their holiday with us.
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29. NON-EU CITIZENS
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Holders of non-EU passports may well be subject to varying visa requirements for certain countries visited on our holidays, and they should check either with their travel agent or with the appropriate embassies or consulates to ascertain any visa requirements and the likely time needed to obtain them. All of our holidays to Continental Europe travel through France via the Dover to Calais short sea crossing or Euro tunnel. We cannot accept responsibility if passengers are not in possession of the correct travel documents and we cannot entertain any refunds in respect of holidays uncompleted and/or additional expenses incurred
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