BOOKING CONDITIONS

In these conditions “the company” shall mean Thalpos Holidays and “the client” will mean the person in whose name the booking is made and accepted.

1. There will not be any contract between the company and the client until :

1. The company receives a completed and signed “Booking Form” and the necessary deposit, and
2. the booking has been confirmed, accepted and invoiced by the company, and
3. the company has received the final payment on time and has sent a “Welcome letter” to the client stating that all monies have been received.

2. All deposits by the client should be made in the following sequence :

1. A 20% of your total holiday cost should be transferred to our company as soon as we have reserved for you the accommodation that you require and you have signed and sent the “Booking Form”
2. The remaining 80% of your total holiday cost should have reached us 30 days prior to your arrival, provided that you have received from us a “Booking Confirmation Invoice”

The company reserves the right to cancel your booking with no refund if payments are not received on time. We must receive the initial deposit of 20% within 5 working days from the day that we have blocked your requested accommodation. The final payment should reach us 30 days prior to your arrival.

3. In the event that you cancel your holiday the initial deposit will be forfeited. If such cancellation occurs within 50 days prior to arrival the following additional cancellation charges will be made:

• 50-30 days prior to arrival : 25% of the total cost
• 29-15 days prior to arrival : 50% of the total cost
• 14-0 days prior to arrival : 80% of the total cost
  Cancellation shall only be effective when written notification is received by the company by recorded or registered mail.

4. Should the company make any major change or cancel the booking after the date when the final payment is received the client will have the following choices :
   a) purchasing another available holiday from us
   b) canceling the holiday and refunding all monies paid to us as of that day
   
   
5. In the unlikely event of over booking by a hotel, villa or other service supplier, of which the company is not aware we will provide an alternative accommodation of similar cost. If the cost is lower than the one originally booked, we will refund the difference.
   
   
6. The company will pay damages calculated in accordance with Greek law in respect of death and bodily injury suffered by any member of the party strictly within the premises of the booked accommodation caused by the negligent act or omission of its employees or by one of its suppliers, provided that they were acting within the scope of or in the course of their employment and on the company’s business.
   
   The company requires from the client and all listed in the “Booking Form” to have travel insurance with adequate coverage. Please advise your insurers and your local travel agent.
   Any claims should be made prior to your departure in writing. The claimant agrees to assign the company their rights against a supplier or any other person relating to the claim.
   The claimant agrees to give his full co-operation in the event that the company or its insurers wish to enforce the rights assigned to them or to which they are subrogated.
7. Any disputes arising out of or in connection with this contract which can not amicably be settled, should be resolved by a simple method of arbitration and if this falls by a Greek court of law in Skopelos.
   
   
8. The client agrees to :
1. Not permit anything to be done to the rented property that might lead to damage or to vitiation of any contract of the insurance of the property. The cost of replacement of any broken, damaged or lost items during the tenancy shall be charged and paid for by the client prior to his departure.
2. To vacate the accommodation by 11.00am on the departure day unless other agreement has been made with a staff member of the company.
3. Not to sub-let the accommodation.
4. Never leave a child or anyone with mobility problems and or anyone with poor swimming abilities to use the pool unsupervised. Please refer to “Important Information” for more information on “pool use and safety”.
   
   
9. The client must notify the company in the event of a ‘no show’ on the agreed arrival date. Without prior notification, the company reserves the right to cancel the booking with no refund.
   
   
10. “Important Information” as set up below, constitutes part of the booking conditions.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

If you have any questions concerning your holiday or you require more information please let us know. We will be happy to help you make the right choice. Through our network of agents, we can also help you with information and reservation on islands other than the Sporades.

How to book
Contact us for availability for the accommodation you have chosen. If the accommodation is available we will reserve it for you until we receive by mail a complete and signed “Booking Form” and the necessary deposit is transferred to our account. For speed we will accept a facsimile copy of the “Booking Form” and the bank receipt acknowledging the transfer of the necessary deposit to our account until we receive the originals.

The reservation will be held for a period of 5 working days for the “Booking Form” and deposit to reach us.

How to pay
To secure your booking, we require a deposit of 20% of your total holiday cost to be transferred to us. Payment may be made by a money order sent to the National Bank of Greece or by sending us a personal bank cheque.

The remaining 80% of your holiday cost is due 30 days prior to your arrival.

Payments may be made only in EURO, GBP or USD. Please note that all bank transfer fees are the responsibility of the client.

Insurance
All persons listed in the “Booking Form” must have travel insurance with adequate coverage prior to your arrival.

What documents are you to receive from us ?

1. A “Booking Confirmation Invoice” which will confirm that we have received your “Booking Form” and adequate deposit, and will verify the remaining balance to be paid.
2. A “Welcome Letter” which will indicate that all deposits have been received, and therefore the booking procedure is now completed.

Safety & hygiene standards
Safety standards and regulations may not reach the same levels as those of your homeland. Clients should familiarize themselves with the accommodation always being aware of hidden dangers involving swimming pools, balconies, terraces and stairs, especially if traveling with children. Please keep emergency numbers found in your “villa book” at hand. You may reach us 24hrs a day, 7 days a week.

Maid service and linen change is provided three times per week excluding Sundays.

Pool use & safety
Never leave a child or anyone with mobility problems and/or anyone with poor or no swimming abilities to use the pool unsupervised. Adults must take turns being the “watcher” to protect children from possible pool accidents. Do not allow them to enter the pool without the supervision of an adult with adequate swimming capabilities. Do not use flotation devices as a substitute for supervision. Keep rescue equipment by the pool. Remove toys from in and around the pool when it is not in use as toys can attract young children to the pool.

No jumping, diving and/or running around the pool. During the Greek siesta times of 14:00-17:00, please be considerate of pool noises in the vicinity of neighbours. Use of pools is not allowed from 23:00-06:00 for your own safety. Do not open the box or compartment where the pool’s pump is found. Do not change the settings in the pool’s control box.

Pregnancy and health
For safety purposes we regret that we can not accept clients that have passed their sixth month of pregnancy. We will be happy to have you visit us next year though!!! Please bring adequate supplies of your medicine or ask us to find out if your specific medicine may be found in Greece.

Pets
Generally pets are not accepted although requests can be considered on an individual basis, but not guaranteed.

Pests
Wasps, flies, mosquitoes, ants, field and tree rats and mice are usually the same type of pests you find in the country side at home – you may also find them here! To avoid unwanted guests, keep all doors and windows closed especially when you are away. Do not keep any food outside storage cabinets and the fridge. Wipe clean all surfaces after food preparation and meals, including terraces after outdoor dining.

Power, Water and Other
Power and water cuts are something common in country locations throughout Greece. These cuts usually do not take place for more than a couple of hours. We do not take responsibility for power and/or water cuts which are due to the public providers and/or caused due to their works. As a result of these cuts, hot water boilers, swimming pool pumps and generally all appliances that use electricity and/or water may be unusable at the time of occurrence. Maid service and pool cleaning may also be disrupted due to power and/or water cuts. If the problem is due to a fault in the property we will respond as soon as we are notified. Due to the country location of most of our properties, this might be within a few hours up to twenty-four hours according to the seriousness of the problem. If the problem renders the property un-inhabitable, i.e. no electric and/or water and/or flooded or damages due to these cuts for more than twenty-four hours from the time that the company was notified (i.e. representative, office and/or our emergency numbers) you may ask us to provide you with an alternative accommodation of similar cost. If the cost is lower than the one originally booked, we will refund the difference. Please be assured that all properties are thoroughly checked before each season to avoid these types of problems but some damages are unforeseen and unavoidable.

Service office
Our staff in the service office in Skopelos Town is ready to assist you with money exchange, flight information, excursion offers, car, bike and boat rental, busses and taxis, beaches, exploring possibilities and much, much more. We would be happy to see you in the office during your holiday! Our office hours are generally from 10:00-14:00 and 18:00-21:00 excluding Sundays. During the low season of May and October office hours may alter. Please refer to your villa book or your resort representative for current hours. 24hrs emergency numbers are provided in your villa books.

Transfers
The 1st arriving party to your accommodation will be personally met by our representative and given driving instructions to the villa as well as a welcome letter including telephone numbers to office/representatives. In addition, a Thalpos Holidays villa folder will be found in each accommodation with detailed information on the villa, including nearest shops, restaurants and beaches. A personal villa visit will be made the day following the arrival to answer any individual queries.

For those who wish an escorted transfer to their villa, this can be arranged only in advance for an extra charge of 35.00Euro per arrival. Please also note that a mandatory escorted transfer including the 35.00Euro charge, applies to all arrivals from 19:00 or later. (This means ACTUAL arrival time, not SCHEDULED or ticketed arrival time). The fees above are for arrival transfers only.

In case of bad weather the hydrofoils and ferries occasionally go into the port of Agnondas (8km from Skopelos on the South side of the island) instead of into Skopelos Town.
On arrival into Agnondas you will be met by our representative and transported to Skopelos to pick up rental car OR if you have booked the escorted transfer directly to the accommodation. In these cases the island is usually short of taxis as they are all suddenly needed to go to Agnondas. If you have not booked an escorted transfer you might have quite a wait before a taxi will be available.

Skopelos and Alonissos do not have street names and numbers ! Therefore it is not possible for you to give an address to a taxidriver to take you to your accommodation. Our 2 taxi drivers obviously know our properties by name and if you have pre-booked an escorted transfer we arrange with them so it is not a problem. If you wish to arrange your own taxi transfer please note that only 1 or 2 taxi drivers will know all our properties and you might have to wait for one of them to become available.
Due to the above we strongly recommend that all guests without pre-booked car hire will request the escorted transfer in advance in order to have the correct taxi or staff car waiting for them.
An escorted transfer at 35 Euro/party is mandatory for all arrivals after 19.00. This is to avoid guests getting lost in remote areas of the islands in the evening hours. For these escorted evening transfers ALL guests must have either pre-booked car hire OR we will have pre-booked a taxi for you and the transfer must take place immediately upon arrival.

Taxis
Arrival taxis can be pre-booked for arrivals but parties who have not booked an escorted transfer are responsible for payment of taxi. Please note that generally there are limited taxis on the island, particularly in high season. Delays in taxi transfers of up to ½ hour can occur in rare cases. Although we are able to provide assistance in arranging transfers from accommodation, departure transfers are the responsibility of the client.

Skiathos Transfers
We are also able to arrange meet&greet service on arrival to Skiathos airport which includes being met at the airport by our representative, taxi transfer to Skiathos port and O/W tickets for the first available crossing to Skopelos or Alonissos. This service is charged 30 Euro/person and must be booked in advance.

At the time of confirmation we will forward a Transfer Form which must be filled in with pertinent arrival details. Please note that we need the completed Transfer Form as soon as possible and AT LEAST 3 days in advance in order to arrange house preparation and arrival meeting. Even though sometimes possible, clients can not expect to check-in earlier than 14.00. On departure the accommodation must be vacated by 11.00 unless otherwise arranged with our Service Office.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: the above “Important Information” constitutes part of the “Booking Conditions”.
Please copy the entire file, sign it and send it to our office by fax or mail.

I have read, understood and accepted the above “Booking Conditions” and “Important Information” on behalf of all persons listed in the Booking Form and I confirm that I have not made any amendments to the original Booking Conditions sent to me by Thalpos Holidays.