Terms & Conditions

Booking and payment

Les Hirondelles’ and ‘Les Loriots’ are gites offered for holiday rental subject to confirmation by the owners and receipt of a 20% non-refundable deposit. The deposit must be received within 10 days of us confirming your booking, and following receipt of your confirmation invoice. Payment can be by bank transfer. During this time the property will be reserved in your name. If the signed Terms & Conditions and deposit are not received within this time frame your reservation will be cancelled.

The balance must be paid not less than six weeks (28 days) prior to your arrival at the property. If payment is not received by this date, the owners reserve the right to give notice by email that the reservation may be cancelled. Reservations made within four weeks of the start of the rental period require full payment at the time of booking.

All amounts paid for the letting of the property are non-refundable. Clients are advised to take out holiday insurance, which should cover cancellation costs, loss of personal belongings and personal liability.

Payment Methods

Please contact us by email for details.

Tourist tax and other costs

Tourist Tax (La taxe de séjour) is payable at the end of your stay and is an amount set by the local commune. For each guest 18 and over the amount payable will be 0,90€ per night. This amount should be settled by cash or cheque (€ only).

Any other costs incurred during your stay should also be settled at the end of your stay by cash or cheque (€ only).

Security deposit

We are obliged to insist on damage cover and ask for a refundable security deposit of 250€ cash upon arrival. Subject to deductions for damage, breakages or additional cleaning, your deposit will be refunded within a week of your departure. If the deposit is insufficient to cover damages, you undertake to pay the difference.

Cancellations

By you

Any cancellation by you (for whatever reason) must be provided in writing ; email is acceptable as long as a confirmation of receipt is provided by the owners. The effective date of cancellation is the date we receive written notification. Any monies already paid will not be refunded.

By the owners

In the extremely unlikely event of a significant change or cancellation of your booking by us, we will inform you as soon as possible. A full refund of all monies paid by you will be given within 14 days.

Rental period

Unless otherwise stated rental periods are for one week (or multiples thereof) and run from Saturday to Saturday.

The rental period shall commence at 4.00pm on the first day, and finish at 11.00am on the last day. The owner shall not be obliged to offer accommodation before the stated time and the client shall not be entitled to stay in occupation after the stated time.

Clients should arrive between 4:00pm and 8:00pm on the day of arrival unless prior arrangements have been made.

Rental conditions

The maximum numbers to occupy each property are clearly stated on each property description on the website. These numbers must not be exceeded. The maximum number permitted includes babies and small children.

The client agrees to be a considerate tenant, to take good care of the property, and to leave it in good condition at the end of the rental period. The owner reserves the right to make deductions from the security deposit for any extra cleaning, over the number of hours committed to departure cleaning.

The client and their accompanying party also agrees not to act in any way that would cause disturbance to those in residence in the neighbouring property.

Any valuables left at the property are left at your own risk. We are not responsible for any loss. Proper care must be taken against theft and burglary. It is essential, and also your responsibility, to ensure that all doors, shutters and windows are closed and locked when leaving the property, or when walking in the grounds. No refund can be given should you decide to vacate the property as a consequence of a burglary.

The client shall report to the owners without delay any defects in the property or equipment so that repair/replacement can be made as soon as possible.

For the comfort of all guests, smoking is strictly forbidden inside all buildings at La Chabanaise.

Services & equipment

Both gites are fully furnished and equipped. The rental prices include bed linen, bathroom towels (for indoor use only), electricity, gas, water and WiFi. Additional services and equipment are clearly stated on our website and can be arranged on-site.

For babies we can provide a cot with mattress. However, for your baby's comfort, we ask that you bring your own cot linen.

Pets

NOTE: We have two dogs who roam freely on the property except for the gîte private areas. They are friendly to both people and other dogs.

Dogs may be permitted in the gite, subject to prior notification and agreement, for a charge of €30/week.

If you intend to bring your dog on holiday with you it must be communicated to us at the time of reservation, with details of the breed, size and sex of the animal. Each animal must be treated for fleas and worms.

It is strictly prohibited to leave the animal alone in the property for any period of time. They are not permitted in bedrooms or on the furniture. They must not cause any nuisance to other guests (noise, odours, aggressiveness, left to roam). Dogs must be kept on a lead at all times and you must clear up after any toilet stops.

No other pets are welcomed sadly.

Before departing La Chabanaise the property must be thoroughly cleaned and returned to the same condition as when you arrived. Should any damages occur we reserve the right to deduct an appropriate sum from your damages deposit to cover cleaning and repair costs.

Grounds

The grounds consist of meadows and woodland with streams and slopes. Whilst we encourage guests, both young and old, to explore, no liability can be accepted by us for any accidents or incidents resulting from such exploration. Young people are the direct responsibility of the parents/guardians.

Liability

The owner shall not be liable to the client:

For any temporary defect or stoppage in the supply of public services to the property, or of any equipment, machinery or appliances in the property or in the grounds.
For any loss, damage or injury which is the result of adverse weather conditions, riot, war, strikes or other matters beyond the owner’s control.
For any loss, damage or inconvenience caused to or suffered by the client if the property shall be destroyed or substantially damaged before the start of the rental period and in any such event, the owner shall refund to the client all sums previously paid in respect of the rental period.

GDPR and Privacy Policy

The European regulation No. 2016/679 of 27 April 2016, or General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), this came into force on 25 May 2018. Basically this new law replaces the Data Protection Act. This is a European wide law and as such affects how we use and store information we receive from guests and enquirers. It covers all data, whether electronic or paper based.

We use cookies on our website. Cookies are text files placed on your computer to collect standard internet log information and visitor behaviour information. This information is used to track visitors use of the website and to compile statistical reports on website activity. You can set your browser not to accept cookies. See www.aboutcookies.org for more information).

What information we collect from you.

When you make a booking with us we collect the names of all the guests who will be staying, the home address, email address and telephone number of the person making the booking.

How we use the information you give us.

We use your email to communicate with you, to send you booking confirmation and answer any queries you email us, and to thank you after your visit and ask you for a review. We will also add details of how you can keep in touch with us on social media, should you wish to do this.

We will not use your telephone number unless we need to contact you urgently or if we cannot reach you by email.

Marketing

We don’t do a newsletter, but we do use Facebook to market our gite and our website. We never pass your details to any third party.

Access to your Information

You have the right to request a copy of the information we hold about you. If you would like a copy of this please email us.

Right to be Forgotten

All customers have the right to ask us to remove their details from our records. However, this does not override the legislative requirements (e.g. the Fiche Identite Individuelle form – see below).

Legally, we ask guests to complete the French Fiche Identite Individuelle police aliens form, which we have to legally keep for six months from date of arrival. Only the local police can ask for the details on this form. This form and the information contained on it are then destroyed by us.

We are also required by law to keep financial records for seven years, so guests cannot ask to be erased from these financial records.

If you complete our booking form, then be assured that your details are kept secure on our system via password controlled entry and are not used for any other purpose or shared with any other person or business. We need your email address to send through booking forms, answer any queries you have regarding the property or to send you terms & conditions, booking confirmation etc. We will send you a follow up email after your stay to thank you for staying, asking you to leave a review or feedback and details of how to stay in contact with us. We don’t need explicit consent for this. We will NOT add you to a marketing mailing list.

If you book via one of our booking partners, for example Owner’s Direct, they have also to comply with GDPR regulations and have their own safeguards and policies.

Similarly, if you choose to follow us on social media (e.g. Facebook), we don’t need consent as you have already accepted the terms & conditions on that platform. Again, we will not ask you for your email address in order to send you newsletters etc.

Notification of Data Breaches

The GDPR will require us to notify the Information Commissioner’s’ Office within 72 hours of first having become aware of the breach where that breach is likely to “result in a risk for the rights and freedoms of individuals”. For any breach, we are required to notify the customers “without undue delay” after first becoming aware of a data breach.

Updated November 2019 by Emma & Richard Curtis