Accommodation booking terms and conditions

1. Defined terms

Unless expressly stated otherwise, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

3. The booking process

3.1    The potential Customer starts the process by contacting the visitscotland.com Contact Centre or an iCentre and requests that a Booking be made.

3.1.1    Where the Booking is for Allocation Accommodation at your Establishment, visitscotland.com/the iCentre will confirm the Booking with the Customer immediately, without first contacting you to confirm the Booking. The Booking will be binding with immediate effect.

3.1.2    Where the Booking is not for Allocation Accommodation visitscotland.com or the iCentre will get your agreement to any potential Booking by telephone or e-mail prior to confirming the Booking with the potential Customer. The Booking will be binding on you as soon as you indicate your acceptance by telephone/e-mail.

3.2    visitscotland.com may record telephone calls made between you and the visitscotland.com Contact Centre for the purpose of processing and providing evidence of Bookings, and you will be deemed to consent to such recording by communicating with the VisitScotland.com Contact Centre by telephone.

3.3    Where a potential Booking is confirmed, visitscotland.com will act as your agent in confirming the Booking with the Customer.

3.4    visitscotland.com may thereafter forward to you the details of the confirmed Booking by e-mail, fax or telephone (as appropriate), and will provide you with the relevant Booking reference number.

3.5    These terms and conditions are intended to regulate the services provided to you by visitscotland.com in connection with the Booking and are separate from your contract with the Customer. You are responsible for ensuring that Customers receive any additional terms and conditions which you wish to put in place to govern your relationship with the Customer.

5. Customer cancellations

5.1    If the Customer cancels a Booking by contacting visitscotland.com direct or by contacting the iCentre at which the booking was made:

5.1.1    For Self Catering Accommodation -More than 28 days before the Latest Arrival Time, visitscotland.com will notify you of the cancellation by e-mail, fax or telephone (as appropriate); or

             For Serviced Accommodation;- More than 120 hours before the Latest Arrival Time, visitscotland.com will notify you of the cancellation by e-mail, fax or telephone (as appropriate); or

5.1.2    For Self Catering Accommodation -Up to and including 28 days; or for Serviced Accommodation- Less than 120 hours before the Latest Arrival Time and that cancellation does not fall within Clause 5.4:

(i)    visitscotland.com will notify you of the cancellation by e-mail, fax or telephone (as appropriate); and

(ii)   where the Customer paid by credit/debit card visitscotland.com will, where VisitScotland.com believes it is reasonably justified, use all reasonable endeavours to charge the Customer's credit/debit card with a Late Cancellation Charge and, where successful, will pay you that amount, less a £3 administration charge which will be retained by visitscotland.com; or

(iii)  where a Late Cancellation Charge is not or cannot be levied by visitscotland.com, visitscotland.com will notify you of the Customer's name and address to allow you to attempt to recover a Late Cancellation Charge yourself.

5.2    If the Customer cancels a Booking by contacting you direct:

5.2.1    you will immediately notify the visitscotland.com Contact Centre by either e-mail, fax or telephone; and

5.2.2    where the Customer notifies you of that cancellation up to and including 28 days, in respect of Self Catering Accommodation (120 hours for Serviced Accommodation) before the Latest Arrival Time visitscotland.com will:

(i)    where the Customer paid by credit/debit card and where visitscotland.com believes it is reasonably justified, use all reasonable endeavours to charge the Customer's credit/debit card with a Late Cancellation Charge and, where successful, will pay you that amount, less a £3 administration charge which will be retained by visitscotland.com; or

(ii)   where a Late Cancellation Charge is not or cannot be levied by VisitScotland.com, notify you of the Customer's name and address to allow you to attempt to recover a Late Cancellation Charge yourself.

5.3    Where a Customer cancels a Booking for whatever reason, you acknowledge that visitscotland.com will in all circumstances be entitled to retain the Booking Commission.

5.4    Where the Customer cancels a Booking on the basis that the accommodation or Establishment does not accord with the Booking or the information published through the visitscotland.com Service or the iCentre, you will at your own expense and then only with the consent of the Customer, arrange alternative accommodation of the same standard or better than that originally booked. You acknowledge that where the Customer is not accommodated in the Establishment due to circumstances covered by this Clause 5.4, visitscotland.com may choose to repay to the Customer all or part of the sums paid to date in relation to the Booking. Where such a repayment is made, you will promptly reimburse VisitScotland.com in full for that repayment.

5.5    Unless Clause 5.6 applies, a Customer's failure to arrive for a Booking (which has not otherwise been cancelled in accordance with Clauses 5.1, 5.2, 5.4, 6.1 or 6.2) by 9pm on the first night of the Scheduled Stay, will be treated as a Cancellation made on 28 days or less notice, in respect of Self Catering Accommodation (120 hours for Serviced Accommodation), in accordance with Clause 5.1.2. If, however, you choose to re-let the accommodation and the original Customer arrives prior to that 9pm deadline, a cancellation will be deemed to have occurred in accordance with Clause 6.2.

5.6    You may agree directly with the Customer to vary the Customer's 9pm deadline for taking up the Booking. If you agree an alternative arrival time with the Customer, that alternative time will replace the 9pm deadline specified in Clause 5.5.

5.7    Notwithstanding Clause 5.8, if after arrival the Customer fails to stay and pay for the full duration of their Booking, and you decide to recover from them an amount as reimbursement to you for revenue lost as a result of the accommodation sitting empty, the amount you charge will be determined and collected by you and will not exceed the balance of the Total Price payable for the Booking (i.e. the Total Price less the 10% paid by way of Booking Commission).

5.8    If you wish to charge a cancellation fee greater than the Late Cancellation Charge you will have to have previously notified visitscotland.com in writing of your policy with regard to this, with sufficient detail, in order that visitscotland.com can make the Customer aware of the level of the charge and the payment requirements at the time that the Booking is made.

7. Unfulfilled bookings

7.1    Where accommodation at the Establishment is double booked in relation to a Booking as a direct result of a visitscotland.com or iCentre failure to comply with its obligations as set out in these terms and conditions, you will use all reasonable endeavours to find the Customer accommodation of a comparable standard as geographically close as possible to your Establishment. Subject to receipt of a suitable invoice and subject to Clause 10, visitscotland.com will reimburse to you the reasonable costs you incur in making those arrangements.

7.2    Where accommodation at the Establishment is double booked in relation to a Booking for any reason other than as set out in Clause 7.1, you will either:

(i)    allocate the accommodation required to the Customer who booked through the VisitScotland.com Service; or

(ii)   at your own expense and then only with the consent of the Customer, arrange alternative accommodation of a comparable standard. You acknowledge that where the Customer is unable to be accommodated in the Establishment due to a double booking covered by this Clause 7.2, visitscotland.com may choose to repay to the Customer all or part of the sums paid to date in relation to the Booking. Where such a repayment is made, you will promptly reimburse visitscotland.com in full for that repayment.

7.3    Where a double booking in relation to a Booking occurs for any reason other than as set out in Clause 7.1 and arises up to and including 28 days, in respect of Self Catering Accommodation (120 hours for Serviced accommodation) before the Latest Arrival Time, Clause 7.2 will not apply and instead that double booking will be considered to be a cancellation made in accordance with Clause 6.2.

9. Complaints

visitscotland.com will promptly advise you of any complaint received from a Customer relating to you or your Establishment. Thereafter, you will promptly contact the Customer and seek to resolve the complaint directly. During that process, you agree to keep visitscotland.com regularly advised as to progress and the final outcome of the process.

11. Prevention of corruption

11.1    You shall not, and shall procure that all your personnel shall not commit a “Prohibited Act”, hereinafter defined in clause 11.7;

11.2    You warrant, represent and undertake that you are not aware of any financial or other advantage being given by you or any person on your behalf to any person working for or engaged by VisitScotland or that an agreement has been reached to that effect, excluding any arrangement of which full details have been disclosed in writing to VisitScotland before the execution of this Agreement;

11.3    You shall, if requested, provide VisitScotland with any reasonable assistance to enable VisitScotland to perform any activity required by any relevant government or agency in any relevant jurisdiction for the purpose of compliance with the Bribery Act;

11.4    You should have in place an anti-bribery policy (which shall be disclosed to VisitScotland on request) to prevent any of your personnel from committing a “Prohibited Act”. You shall also comply (and ensure that all Personnel comply) with VisitScotland’s anti-bribery and corruption policies as notified by VisitScotland to you from time to time;

11.5    If any breach of this clause 11 is suspected or known, you must notify VisitScotland immediately; 11.6 In the event of any breach of this clause 11 you must respond promptly to VisitScotland’s enquiries, co-operate with any investigation, and allow access to your books, records and any other relevant documentation;

11.7    “Prohibited Act” means any of the following:

(i)    To directly or indirectly offer, promise  or give any person working for or engaged by VisitScotland a financial advantage to:

(a)    Induce that person to perform improperly a relevant function or activity; and/or

(b)    Reward that person for improper performance of a relevant function or activity;

(ii)   To directly or indirectly offer, promise or give any person working for or engaged by VisitScotland a financial advantage to:

To directly or indirectly request, agree to receive or accept any financial or other advantage as an inducement or a reward for improper performance of a relevant function or activity in connection with this Agreement;

(iii)  To directly or indirectly offer, promise or give any third party a financial or other advantage as an inducement or reward for improper performance of a relevant function or activity in connection with this Agreement.

(iv)   Committing any offence:

(a)    under the Bribery Act;

(b)    under legislation creating offences concerning fraudulent acts; and/or

(c)    at common law concerning fraudulent acts relating to this Agreement or any other contract with VisitScotland; and/or

(v)    Defrauding, attempting to defraud or conspiring to defraud VisitScotland or any other Contracting Authority or Crown Body.

13. Privacy and personal information

13.1    VisitScotland will use reasonable endeavours to keep confidential any information relating to you that:

(i)    is provided to VisitScotland subject to an obligation of confidentiality, or that you reasonably request that VisitScotland keep confidential and/or

(ii)   VisitScotland reasonably believes to be confidential.

13.2    However, you acknowledge that any such information may require to be disclosed by VisitScotland, either:

(a)    In accordance with its obligations under the Freedom of information (Scotland) Act 2002, and/or

(b)    In accordance with its obligations under the Public Service Reform (Scotland) Act 2010, whereby VisitScotland is obliged to place in the public domain a list of payments made to third parties with a value in excess of £25,000, and/or

(c)    VisitScotland is obliged by any other statute to pass information, as required, to other Government Agencies.