Real Holidays Tour Operator Booking Conditions
1. Real Holidays Travel Agency Limited
Real Holidays is a trading name for Real Holidays Travel Agency Limited (RH). (Registered No. 2333231, Registered Office: The Courtyard, 25 High Street, Hungerford, Berkshire, RG17 0NF). RH acts in this circumstance as the principal / tour operator, although in other circumstances it may operate as an agent to the principal / tour operator.
2. Your protection
RH is a fully bonded tour operator, protected by the Civil Aviation Authority, ATOL number 4607. When you buy an ATOL protected flight or flight inclusive holiday from RH you will receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. RH, or the suppliers identified on the ATOL Certificate, will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where neither RH nor the supplier are able to do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable). For further information visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk. The price of RH's air holiday packages includes an amount per person as part of the ATOL Protection Contribution (APC) RH pay to the CAA. This charge is included in RH prices.
The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for Real Holidays 5401, and in the event of their insolvency, protection is provided for:
- Non-flight packages
ABTOT cover provides for a refund in the event you have not yet travelled or repatriation if transportation was included in your package. Please note that bookings made outside the UK are only protected by ABTOT when purchased directly with Real Holidays.
In the unlikely event that you require assistance whilst abroad due to our financial failure, please call our 24/7 helpline on 01702 811397 and advise you are a customer of an ABTOT protected travel company.
You can access The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/contents/made
3. Your holiday contract
3.1. There will be no binding contract for your holiday until RH has received a signed booking form and/or payment of the deposit/sum shown on the invoice.
3.2. The holiday contract is made by RH with the person who signs the booking form, even though payments may be made by others, and every person signing the booking form is fully responsible for the holiday contract.
3.3. Your holiday contract with RH is made up of the following:
These conditions.
The relevant information provided in the brochure / website. Any changes to the particulars will be set out in the itinerary or advised in writing. RH makes checks to ensure that the descriptions, information and opinions given in brochures used by RH concerning the airlines, hotels, facilities and suppliers are correct, and based on the latest information available at the time of going to press. However, because brochures are necessarily prepared some time in advance, such matters may change by the time you are ready to book your holiday. Your holiday contract is made on the basis of the changes notified in the itinerary or in writing.
The booking form. This will provide RH with information needed to make the holiday arrangements. Please note names should be provided as stated in the relevant passport. Although RH always informs suppliers of your special requests and does what it can to encourage suppliers to accommodate them, it is the suppliers who control whether the request is met and RH cannot guarantee this. This is especially true of dietary requirements.
The invoice.
The itinerary. This will identify if a holiday service is dependent on participation by a minimum number of people. If so the service may be cancelled by RH in writing within the period indicated in the itinerary without compensation if the minimum take-up is not achieved and if the service has been paid for then the sum paid will be refunded by RH.
It is very important to check the details on the itinerary and invoice when you get them. This is because they set out the details of the holiday RH believes you have booked. If you think there is an error you should contact RH immediately so that RH can sort out any problems surrounding what RH or you are expected to do. Changes can only be made by the persons signing the booking form or by someone they authorise in writing. Some changes may incur charges as set out in paragraph 6.
4. Price
4.1. RH guarantees that up until 30 days before your departure date the price of your holiday will not be subject to surcharges except for:
variations in transportation costs, including the cost of the fuel
variations in duties, taxes or fees chargeable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports
the exchange rates applied to the holiday booking and that within 30 days of your departure date the price of your holiday will not be subject to any surcharges.
4.2. Should the above price variations result in the cost of your holiday going up:
RH will absorb and you will not be charged for any increase equal to up to 2% on your holiday price (that is, you will only have to pay the increase over and above 2% of the holiday price)
If the holiday price increases by more than 10%, you will have the right to cancel within 14 days without liability (see clause 7.1)
4.3. RH often receives contract rates from suppliers including hotels and airlines which are confidential and under agreement with the suppliers cannot be divulged to third parties and nor can the individual components be sold or priced individually but must be packaged together. RH will not give any breakdowns whatsoever of the price of a holiday.
4.4. If you are booking through an agent of RH, when you buy a flight-based holiday, all monies you pay to the travel agent are held by him on behalf and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust at all times. This is subject to the agent’s obligation to pay it to us for so long as we do not fail. If we fail, any money held at that time by the agent, or subsequently accepted from you by him, is and continues to be held on behalf of and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust without any obligation to pay that money to us. When you buy a holiday not including a flight, all monies you pay to the travel agent are held by him on our behalf at all times.
5. Payment
5.1. If you are booking within 10 weeks of the departure date, then full payment is required from you at the time of booking.
5.2. If you are booking more than 10 weeks before the departure date, then you need only pay the deposit shown on the invoice at the time of booking, and you must pay the balance at least 8 weeks prior to departure. RH will send a reminder approximately 10 weeks before the departure date.
6. Changes to the holiday or persons taking the holiday
By you:
6.1. A change must be requested in writing by the person who signed the booking form.
6.2. If you or any person on the holiday is prevented from travelling, RH will agree to that person's booking being transferred to another person who satisfies all the booking terms, subject to both persons accepting joint and several liability for full payment of the price and RH’s charge for confirming the transfer and any additional costs arising from the transfer. RH must be given reasonable notice of the transfer request, which is considered to be at least 14 days prior to the outward departure date.
6.3. RH will assist you if you wish to make changes to your booked holiday but cannot guarantee that the relevant suppliers will agree to your changes. There will be a minimum administration charge of £50 plus VAT per person in your party affected, and you will also have to pay the total costs associated with the change. Changes may include (by way of example only) travel or accommodation and in addition to the administration charge above RH reserves the right to render cancellation charges where the relevant supplier treats the change as a cancellation. Please note that the administration charges are payable whether or not RH is successful in making the change and that where you wish to transfer a booking in circumstances where clause 6.2 does not apply then the supplier may insist that this is treated as a cancellation and rebooking and RH reserves the right to pass on the cancellation charges to you that arise as a result.
By Real Holidays:
6.4. It is unlikely that RH will have to change your booking but holiday arrangements are made many months in advance and RH is dependent upon a number of essential suppliers. RH therefore reserves the right to do so. In some destinations travel schedules or holiday services can be changed, delayed or cancelled because of circumstances outside our control. This can cause you to miss travel connections, cause disappointment and impose further cost, which RH reserves the right to charge to you.
6.5. If RH makes a significant change to an essential term of the holiday contract before departure then RH will notify you as soon as possible. You can either:
have a full refund; or
accept a substitute package from RH of equivalent or closely similar standard and price if one is available; or
choose a substitute package of a lower standard to the travel arrangements booked together with a refund of the difference in price.
RH will, if appropriate, pay you compensation as provided in clause 8 below.
6.6. If after departure RH is unable to provide a significant proportion of the services it had agreed to provide as part of the holiday contract, RH will notify you as soon as possible and do its best to make suitable alternative arrangements at no extra cost to you. If RH cannot do so or you refuse to accept these for good reasons, RH will arrange to fly you back to your UK departure airport (if the arrangements RH agreed to provide included flights) or to transport you to the point RH’s contracted services commenced (if elsewhere than your hotel) as soon as it reasonably can. RH will, if appropriate, also pay you compensation as provided in clause 8 below.
7. Cancellation
By you:
7.1. Should surcharges result in the total cost of your holiday increasing by more than 10%, then you may cancel the booking within 14 days of issue of the revised invoice and receive a full refund of all payments made to RH less amendment charges and insurance premiums where the policy can be re-used or re-transferred without penalty.
7.2. If you cancel the holiday for any other reason RH will be entitled to retain a percentage of the payment made by you as compensation. You must be aware that cancellation relates not only to the whole holiday booking but may extend to any component of the holiday such as (by way of example only) individual travel or accommodation components. In certain circumstances cancellation of travel or accommodation arrangements may result in up to 100% of the cancellation charges being levied in respect of the relevant individual component of the holiday irrespective of the notice period given to RH and RH will always take reasonable steps to try to reduce its losses. The compensation amount will differ according to whether the holiday period is during peak times or off-peak times and the compensation will always be subject to the amounts set out in the tables below. A cancellation must be in writing signed by the person who signed the booking form / paid the deposit.
Off-peak:
Period between notification of cancellation and departure date Amount of cancellation charge
More than 56 days Amount of deposit paid
Less than 56 days The higher of the deposit paid or the relevant sum as below:
56 – 43 days 40% of holiday price plus amendment charges paid
42 – 28 days 60% of holiday price plus amendment charges paid
27 – 14 days 75% of holiday price plus amendment charges paid
13 – 0 days 100% of holiday price plus amendment charges paid
Peak period:
Period between notification of cancellation and departure date Amount of cancellation charge
More than 56 days Amount of deposit paid
Less than 56 days The higher of the deposit paid or the relevant sum as below:
56 – 43 days 75% of holiday price plus amendment charges paid
42 – 0 days 100% of holiday price plus amendment charges paid
By Real Holidays:
7.3. RH will notify you as quickly as possible of any cancellation.
7.4. RH may cancel the holiday if you do not pay the balance of the price on time and RH may retain the deposit you have paid.
7.5. It is unlikely that RH will have to cancel your holiday in any other circumstances but holiday arrangements are made many months in advance and RH is dependent upon a number of essential suppliers. Therefore RH reserves the right to do so, but you will be entitled to either:
have a full refund; or
accept a substitute package from RH of equivalent or closely similar standard, if one is available; or
choose a substitute package of a lower standard to the travel arrangements booked together with a refund of the difference in price.
RH will, if appropriate, pay you compensation as provided in clause 8 below.
8. Liability, limits on liability and compensation
8.1. RH accepts responsibility, subject as limited by these booking conditions, for supplying to you all holiday services booked by you, even though RH will have engaged independent suppliers to provide certain of these services. For the avoidance of doubt RH is not responsible for and has no liability for the acts or omissions of persons who are not acting as its employees or suppliers (such as for excursions or other activities which you do not book through RH, since these are contracts by you with the local supplier and not with RH).
8.2. RH will have no liability to pay compensation to you for any failure to properly perform the holiday contract, where the failure is attributable to you. Examples would be that any member of your party is unable to travel for medical reasons, or fails to take his/her passport with him/her or a passport which meets the requirements of the country(ies) of the holiday (some countries require you to have at least 6 months validity on your passport from the date on which you leave that country), or to get a required visa or health certificate, or to check in early enough to catch the flight or to turn up in time for an excursion/activity for whatever reason, or mislays or loses holiday documentation, or is reasonably excluded by a supplier because of misconduct or medical reasons, or is not provided with a holiday service because of an error in the information given by you.
8.3. RH will have no liability to pay compensation to you for any failure to properly perform the holiday contract, where the failure is:
attributable to a third party unconnected with the provision of the holiday services, and which was unforeseeable or unavoidable
due to unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond RH’s control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised
due to an event which RH, even with all due care, could not foresee or forestall.
Examples of the above circumstances would be war, riot, civil strife, industrial dispute, terrorist activity, actions of governments or other state bodies, unavoidable technical problems with transport, machinery or equipment, power failure, natural or nuclear disaster, avalanche, fire, adverse weather conditions or levels of water in rivers, or that any of the above are threatened.
8.4. Where RH is required to pay you compensation, whether as provided in these booking terms or otherwise, RH will pay £100 per person. RH may in appropriate circumstances increase the sum but RH’s liability to pay compensation shall be limited in all circumstances to the lesser of:
a maximum of three times the price of the holiday, except as regards any liability in respect of death, injury and illness
for air, sea or rail travel and the provision of accommodation to the extent permissible under relevant international conventions (e.g. the Montreal Convention for travel by air, the Athens Convention for travel by sea, the Berne Convention for travel by rail and the Paris Convention in relation to the provision of accommodation) or the transport companies’ contractual terms.. The transport companies’ contractual terms are incorporated into these booking terms. Copies of relevant international conventions and transport companies’ contractual terms are available on request. Transport companies’ contractual terms often prohibit you from changing the schedule, do not allow refunds, allow the carrier to change schedules without prior notice, restrict free luggage and restrict or deny compensation for delays and cancellation.
You should note that under EU Regulation 261/2004 where you have been denied boarding, suffered a cancellation or delay to your flights you may have a right to a refund or compensation under the Regulation. Details of your rights will be available from airlines and EU airports. If you are reimbursed under the Regulation you will not be automatically entitled to a refund of your holiday cost from RH under this clause. Should any payments be due to you from RH, RH will be entitled to deduct from such payment any payment made to you by an airline.
9. Complaints
If you have a complaint about your holiday then you should immediately contact RH’s representative, even while on holiday, because matters are most easily resolved on the spot where RH’s representative can see and understand the exact nature of the problem you have. It is unreasonable to take no action while you are on holiday, then complain afterwards. If RH’s representative cannot sort out your problem before you return home then you should contact RH within 28 days of returning home. If you do not complain within that period then this may affect RH’s ability to investigate your complaint and may impact on the way that your complaint is dealt with. If the matter cannot be resolved and it involves us or another ABTA Member then it can be referred to the arbitration scheme arranged by ABTA. See www.abta.co.uk 10. Law and jurisdiction Any dispute between you and RH will be governed by the laws of England. Any legal action concerning your holiday or these booking terms shall be brought in the English Courts, unless you live outside England when your local court will also have jurisdiction.
We are a Member of ABTA, membership number 4607. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA’s Code of Conduct. We can also offer you ABTA’s scheme for the resolution of disputes which is approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. If we can’t resolve your complaint, go to www.abta.com to use ABTA’s simple procedure. Further information on the Code and ABTA’s assistance in resolving disputes can be found on www.abta.com. You can also access the European Commission Online Dispute (ODR) Resolution platform at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. This ODR platform is a means of registering your complaint with us; it will not determine how your complaint should be resolved.