Terms & Conditions
Definitions
Within these Terms and Conditions:
"you" and "your" means the person whose name appears in the booking confirmation as the party leader, but these Terms and Conditions apply to all other persons in the party (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date);
"we", "us" and "our" means Rural Remedy, of Dolphinston Farm, Jedburgh, TD8 6RL;
"Dolphinston Farm" means the farm within which Rural Remedy is situated. It is a working sheep and cattle farm.
"booking" means the process set out below in relation to the booking of our accommodation leading to the formation of a booking contract;
"booking contract" means the legally binding agreement between you and us under and in accordance with these terms and conditions and any other terms or conditions that we may have communicated to you in advance of your booking, which comes into effect once a booking is confirmed in accordance with paragraph 2.1;
"holiday" means your stay with us in the accommodation you have booked;
"property" or "accommodation" means the property or properties in respect of which a booking is made;
"force majeure" means any event or circumstance out of our reasonable control. Such events may include (but are not limited to) war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside our reasonable control, whether actual or threatened.
1. Contract
1.1 This agreement is made on the basis that the property is to be occupied by you for a holiday and you acknowledge that no statutory period tenancy will arise when it ends.
1.2 Bookings cannot be accepted from persons under 18 years of age.
1.3 No pets allowed at this current time.
1.4 No bookings are confirmed until receipt of the deposit, see paragraph 2.
1.5 Once a booking is confirmed, it is not subject to change. If you choose to cancel, see paragraph 8 for details of the terms that would apply. Whilst we will be under no obligation to do so, we may in certain circumstances at your request make minor adjustments to bookings. In these circumstances we will charge a £40 administrative fee.
2. Deposit
2.1 A payment of 1/2 of the cost of the holiday (“deposit”) is required to confirm the booking. On our receipt of the deposit your booking is confirmed and by paying the deposit to us you confirm that you agree to be bound to the terms of the booking contract.
3. Balance Payment
3.1 Once your booking is confirmed, you are responsible for the full cost of the holiday (less any deposit already received by us) (hereafter referred to as the "balance").
3.2 The balance shall be paid not later than four weeks prior to your arrival.
3.3 For bookings made less than one month prior to your arrival, the full cost of the holiday must be paid at the time of booking.
3.4 We reserve the right to re-let any accommodation you have booked where any monies due are more than 7 days in arrears. If we are unable to re-let the accommodation you have booked, you will remain liable for the outstanding balance, subject to paragraph 8.
4. Insurance
4.1 We recommend that relevant insurance is taken out when making a booking, even when payment is made in full.
5. Our responsibilities
5.1 We are responsible for providing the accommodation.
5.2 We accept no responsibility for personal injury, death, loss or damage to personal property (or for any other matters for which we have no control) which may arise, except to the extent caused by our negligence.
6. Your responsibilities
6.1 You shall keep the property and all furniture, fixtures, fittings and effects in, on or at the property in the same state of repair as at the commencement of the holiday.
6.2 You shall leave the property in the same state of cleanliness and general order in which it was found.
6.3 You must report and pay to us the cost of any damage or breakages made during your holiday.
6.4 You must pay to us the cost of any additional cleaning deemed necessary due to your failure to maintain the property in the same state of cleanliness and general order in which it was found.
6.5 Access to land surrounding the cottages shall be done so in accordance with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. You may read it in full here: www.outdooraccess-scotland.scot.
6.6 You must not to do anything that will or might vitiate in whole or in part any insurance in respect of the property, or increase the insurance premium.
6.7 We reserve the right to make a reasonable charge where you have contravened our request that the property be smoke-free, as per paragraph 13.
6.8 You accept that the access roads to the properties are untarred roads and that you shall drive according to the conditions of both the road and the weather.
6.9 Your right to occupy the property may be forfeited without compensation if:
6.8.1 More people or pets than declared at the time of requesting a booking attempt to take up occupation of the accommodation, in line with paragraphs 11 and 12;
6.8.2 You permit any overnight guests to be entertained without our express permission;
6.8.3 You carry out any activity which is illegal (whether actionable or not) or may cause unreasonable damage, noise, behaviour, inconvenience, or disturbance;
6.8.4 You or any member of your party smoke inside the property.
7. Unavailability of property
7.1 In the event of the property becoming unavailable (such as, but not limited to, fire or flooding), we will endeavour to provide you with alternative accommodation or will refund all monies paid (or a proportion in the case of curtailment), subject to paragraph 17.
7.2 We will not pay any compensation or expenses as a consequence of such an event.
8. Cancellations
8.1 In the event that you require to cancel your booking, you must notify us as soon as possible.
8.2 Upon notification, we will attempt to re-let the accommodation for the period of the booking. If successful, we will refund any payments made (less an administrative fee of £40 per week booked).
8.3 If we are unable to re-let the accommodation, then no refund will be provided and you will remain liable for any outstanding balance.
8.4 If a refund is due, it will be paid within 10 working days of us receiving receipt of the balance of the re-let.
9. Booking alterations
9.1 Any alterations to your booking are made at our discretion.
9.2 Any alterations to your booking may, at our discretion, be treated as a cancellation. If so, the terms of paragraph 8 will apply.
9.3 If, at your request, the date or property of your booking is altered, any difference in price must be met by you.
9.4 There will be no refund if the new booking is at a lower price.
9.5 You will only be permitted to move your booking once to another date within the next 12 months, subject to availability.
10. Period of hire
10.1 All rental periods commence at 16.00 on the day of arrival and terminate at 10.00 on the day of departure, unless otherwise arranged.
11. Cottage capacity
11.1 The number of visitors occupying the accommodation cannot exceed the stated maximum:
Hunters: 4 people
Gatherers: 2 people
12. Pets
12.1 No pets are allowed in the property without our express permission, which may be given subject to such terms as we may communicate to you in advance of your booking.
12.2 Registered assistance dogs are allowed in all properties.
13. Smoking
13.1 Smoking is prohibited in all properties.
13.2 Smoking is allowed outside, however we ask that you be respectful of other guests and ensure smoke does not blow back inside the accommodation.
13.3 Cigarette butts must be extinguished completely and disposed of in a waste bin.
14. Parking
14.1 Parking will be limited to two cars per cottage, unless agreed otherwise with us at the time of booking.
14.2 Cars will be parked only in the allocated parking spaces.
14.3 Cars are parked at your own risk.
14.4 If you wish to bring any additional cars, or a different type of vehicle, this can only be done with our express permission.
15. Gatherers hot tub
15.1 If you are staying at the Gatherers property, you are welcome to use the wood-fired hot tub.
15.2 Guests staying in other properties may not use the hot tub.
15.3 It is your responsibility to light, stoke and supervise the hot tub whilst the fire is lit. Written instructions are provided to assist.
15.4 The availability of the hot tub is weather dependent. From time to time the hot tub will be unavailable, including (but not limited to) during times of high winds, heavy precipitation and electrical storms.
15.5 The use of the hot tub is not guaranteed.
16. Right of Entry
16.1 We shall be allowed access to the property at any reasonable time during any holiday occupancy.
17. Force majeure
17.1 We shall not be liable to refund any payments made for bookings cancelled as a result of force majeure.
18. Complaints
18.1 Complaints should be brought to our attention at the earliest opportunity. It is important that this is done whilst you are still at the property, so that an on-the-spot investigation can be made if necessary and remedial action taken if required.
18.2 In no circumstances will compensation be considered for complaints raised after the holiday has ended, if the opportunity to investigate and remedy has been denied to us.
19. Legal
19.1 These Terms and Conditions are governed by Scots law, and any legal claim will be subject to the jurisdiction of Scottish courts
20. Covid 19 Guidance
We have studied the ASSCs Cleaning protocols which have been approved by the Scottish Government and have passed Visit Scotland 'Good to Go assessment.
We have completed risk assessments of each property. During this process we identify risks and try to mitigate them. If we think that the risk cannot be mitigated we may have had to remove the risk in question for now.
Items that we have removed include, books, toys, games, dvds, leaflets & most of the guidebooks. We have identified that we cannot disinfect these to the standard that we would like so have removed these temporarily.
Salt and Pepper will be left in the cupboards but all other foodstuffs will be removed.
We will operate a self check-in with phone numbers for any problems you may encounter during your stay.
We will need to store your information, name, address and telephone number in a secure and GDPR compliant database for 21 days to help with Scottish government track and trace investigations in case of isolated outbreaks.
If any of our staff are feeling at all unwell they will self isolate immediately.
We are very aware of the huge upsurge in the use of single use plastics. Rest assured that, where possible, we are using masks and aprons that can be laundered and reuseable gloves that can go through a dishwasher cycle for disinfection.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
Presently Scottish Borders are in level 1.
What you need to know:
In Level 1, a maximum of 6 people from up to 3 households can stay and socialise in a holiday cottage. Children under the age of 12 from these households do not count towards the total number of people permitted to meet.
You do not need to physically distance from family and friends in a holiday cottage.
Guests from Scottish levels 0, 1 and 2 can travel anywhere in Scotland in Levels 0, 1 or 2 but must not enter a Level 3 or 4 area unless you have a permitted reason like going to work or caring for a vulnerable person. If you are travelling from England and leaving a covid hotspot where you have been advised not to travel then please let us know. We can work with you to find alternative dates.
International travel will remain under review, restrictions will remain in place with managed isolation on arrival.
Customer records will need to be kept for all guests for 21 days in order to support NHS Scotland's Test and Protect service.
We ask guests to please inform us if you feel at all unwell in the run up to your stay. We are offering postponements or gift vouchers for those cancelling at the last minute due to Covid-19 symptoms.
We are asking guests to self check-in. The keys will be left in key safes outside the cottage doors. Codes will be sent to guests before arrival. If you arrive before 16.00 it is likely that we will still be cleaning and so you will not be granted access before 16.00.
Please bag any rubbish, including any unused food you don’t wish to take home, putting it in the bins.
Guests will be given bags and asked very kindly to strip their own beds and put the bed linen, towels and kitchen linen in bags for us.
Guests are asked to open windows on departure to change the air.
Guests will be provided with an anti-viral spray, rubber gloves and cloth for disinfecting anything that they have brought into the cottage that they may be worried about.
Guests are advised to wash their hands for 20 seconds throughout the day. We provide hand wash and moisturiser in all the cottages.
Please bring your own hand sanitiser, gloves and masks with you for your stay if you are venturing out. The Scottish Government requires a mask to be worn in all public indoor spaces.
If you fall ill within 14 days of leaving Rural Remedy please let us know.
OUR CLEANING PROTOCOLS
Firstly we would like to explain that we do not think that every one of our guest has the virus or is a carrier but for the sake of our risk assessment and cleaning protocols we have to make that assumption.
We are asking guests to leave promptly at 10.00
having bagged and binned all rubbish
having stripped the beds and put all bed linen, towels and kitchen linen in the bags provided.
having opened all of the windows
With PPE (masks, gloves, aprons) we will enter the cottages to remove the bagged rubbish and linen. We will also bag and remove all pillows, duvets and mattress protectors for cleaning.
We will then pre-clean disinfect the mattress, sofas, kitchen surfaces and bathrooms with Envirosafe SF (food safe) EN14476 for kitchens and Envirosafe Multi Surface EN14476.
We will load the dish washers with all the kitchen crockery, cutlery & glassware and put on 70 degree cycle.
We will then wash all pots, pans and items unable to be put in the dishwasher in hot soapy water.
All walls are wiped, light switches and plug sockets cleaned. We have a hoover with a hepa filter to protect the cleaning staff and filter the air. We have changeable mop heads and will change between properties.
Once the cottage is clean the new pillows, duvets and mattress protectors and linen are brought into the cottages and put on the beds.
We will carry out quality control and do an after-clean disinfectant spay. Covering all high touch areas and surfaces identified as a risk in our cottage risk assessments. All light switches, door handles, remote controls, toaster & kettle switches, window openers, handrails will be disinfected as well as all surfaces including the floor, furniture, carpets & curtains.
All cleaning and disinfecting is done working back to the door from the furthest point in the cottage to avoid cross contamination. In food preparation areas we are using a food safe disinfectant, Envirosafe SF EN14476. We are not using disinfectant on bedding due to potential allergies and are instead laundering at 60 degrees.
Lastly we will disinfect all high touch outdoor surfaces, BBQs, seating, gate latches, door handles & the hot tub.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I DEVELOP SYMPTOMS WHILE STAYING AT RURAL REMEDY?
If you develop symptoms you should immediately inform us by phone call or email:
info@ruralremedy.co.uk
07900 683166
Scottish Government guidance states that:
In the event that a guest develops symptoms whilst staying away from home, they should immediately book a test online through NHS Inform or, if they can’t get online, by phoning 0800 028 2816.
In accordance with Test and Protect, https://www.nhsinform.scot/campaigns/test-and-protect
You must self-isolate for either:
10 days from the date you were last in contact with the positive case
10 days from the date of your first symptoms
Your isolation period will be whichever of these options is the longest.
What your household needs to do
Your household must self-isolate for 10 days from the date of your first symptoms.
What your extended household needs to do
Your extended household must self-isolate for 10 days if they have had contact with you either:
in the 2 days before your symptoms started
up to 10 days after your symptoms started
The 10 days starts from the last time they had contact with you.
If guests who are isolating can travel home safely to isolate, avoiding the use of public transport, they should do this.
In the event that this is not possible, the guest should discuss this with the NHS Test and protect team. The guest may be signposted to the National Assistance Helpline on 0800 111 4000 if they need help to isolate and cannot arrange it themselves or through friends and family.
In some circumstances further discussion may be required with the local Health Protection Team and local authority to ensure that the person has suitable accommodation to isolate safely and effectively.
After the required period of self-isolation, guests and anyone else in their party who has been affected can then return to their main place of residence.
The guidance is set out at a high level to cover a range of eventualities and individual circumstances, but the principles below regarding seeking advice from the NHS test and protect team and avoiding risks of transmission are key.
Where is the nearest Test Site?
The NHS will inform the person of the nearest test site.
Who would be liable for any costs associated with an extended stay, including any cancelled bookings for future guests?
If the person can travel home safely, without the use of public transport, they should do so. If they are unable to do this, and the accommodation is the safest place - then they should isolate there. They would be liable for costs of an extended stay. If it is not possible to remain in the accommodation for the duration of the isolation period e.g. because the accommodation is booked for future guests, and they can’t find other accommodation themselves with support from friends or family, the person should discuss this with the NHS Test and Protect team. There is assistance available for those who may need help to isolate via the National Assistance Helpline on 0800 111 4000. This helpline routes the person through to the local authority support team who, in discussion with the individual and the local health protection team, will help identify alternative isolation accommodation.
Does the local authority / NHS have to provide accommodation for the self-isolating guests if they can’t travel home?
As above, in the first instance they should travel home if they can do so safely. If not, they will need to discuss the safest option with Test and Protect team.