Please read the following terms and conditions of booking carefully. Once confirmed, your booking forms a contract with Learn Italy Ltd and the terms and conditions set out below will apply. Learn Italy Ltd is registered limited company number 4317796, registered office: 106 Eynsham Road, Oxford OX2 9BX . We are very sorry that they are so long and wearisome.
LEARN ITALY LTD Booking Conditions
- Our company details
Your contract will be with LEARN ITALY LTD, Company number 04317796, of 106 Eynsham Road, Oxford, OX2 9BX (“we”, “us“ or “ours”).
Contact details:
Tel: 0039 366 4585913 Laura Gray or 01865 865476 Martin Gray
Email: laura @learn-italy.com, martin @learn-italy.com
Your contract with us
2.1 These Booking Conditions, together with our privacy policy https://learn-italy.com/privacy-policy/ our website terms and conditions of use, together with any and all information that we provide to you in regard to your booking, form the basis of your contract (“the Contract”) with us.
2.2 In these Booking Conditions references to “you” and “your” means the first named person on the booking, who shall be the lead name and all persons named on the booking (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date) and any one of them, as applicable. The lead name shall be responsible for the administration and correspondence in regard to the booking and warrants that they are the parent or legal guardian (where applicable), or otherwise have the authority to make the booking (and any amendments and/or cancellations) on behalf of all the persons named on the booking. In making a booking with us, the lead name is regarded as having read, understood and agreed to these booking conditions on behalf of themselves and everyone else in the booking. The lead name shall be liable for:
- the full payment of any deposits and balances;
- the payment of any amendment fees or cancellation charges;
- confirming the details all the persons named in the booking to us;
- passing on to all persons in the booking any and all information issued by us including, without limitation, our booking confirmation invoices and these booking conditions; and
- the conduct of the persons in the booking (see clauses 11 (Our Liability) and 20 (Behaviour)).
2.3 When you make your booking, you will be required to pay a deposit for each paying member of your booking and the Contract between us shall come into existence once we have received your deposit/s. In the event of the trip being unviable due to low numbers or other circumstances, we reserve the right to void your booking at any time and, in this event, we will refund any deposit(s) that you have paid to us. It is important that you check our invoice carefully and advise us immediately of any incorrect or incomplete information.
3. Payment
3.1. The remaining balance of your booking must be paid 8 weeks prior to your departure.
3.2 If you make a booking with us within 8 weeks of departure, the full balance will be payable at the time of making your booking.
3.3 If any of the Deposit(s) and/or final balance payments are not paid on time, we reserve the right to cancel your booking and retain the Deposit(s).
3.4 Information about payment methods will be provided on the booking form, flyer and the invoice.
4. Accuracy
We endeavour to ensure that all the information and prices both on our website and in our brochures and other promotional materials are accurate. However, occasionally, changes and errors occur and we reserve the right to correct prices and other details in any such circumstances and at any time. We will not be liable for errors attributable to you. If a price on our booking confirmation, website, brochures or promotional material is obviously incorrect, a booking made on that price will not be valid and we reserve the right to cancel the booking, unless you wish to pay the correct price.
5. Amending your booking
5.1 Anyone who is unable or unwilling to participate in any of the planned activities during one of our holiday (e.g. transfer from airport, group meals, museum entries, day trips with coach) will not be reimbursed.
5.2 You can transfer a booking to another person, who satisfies all the conditions that apply to the booking, by the lead name giving us notice in writing as soon as possible and in any event no later than 7 days before your departure. Both the previous person in the booking and the person to whom the booking is being transferred to will be responsible for paying all costs and charges we or they incur in making the transfer.
6. Cancelling your booking
6.1 If you wish to cancel your booking at any point, the lead name on the booking must inform us in writing by email as soon as possible and the effective date of any change shall be the date that we receive written notification from you.
6.2 Since we incur costs in cancelling your booking, you will have to pay cancellation charges below:
Period before departure in which you notify us Cancellation charge
More than 43 days prior to the date the holiday starts Deposit
Between 42 and 29 days prior to the date the holiday starts 30% of the holiday cost
Between 28 and 15 days prior to the date the holiday starts 50% of the holiday cost
Between 14 and 7 days prior to the date the holiday starts 75% of the holiday cost
Between 6 days and the date the holiday starts 100% of the holiday cost
6.3 If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim some or all of these charges.
6.4 We do not book your flights so you must also pay any cancellation charges levied by the airline concerned directly. As most airlines do not permit name changes after tickets have been issued, for any reason, these charges are likely to be the full cost of the flight(s).
7. Travel Insurance
It is a condition of your Contract with us that you have adequate travel insurance that is effective from the date your trip is confirmed by us. You must be satisfied that your insurance fully covers all your personal requirements including, without limitation, full cover for epidemics and pandemics, personal belongings, any pre-existing medical conditions, cancellation charges, medical expenses and repatriation costs in the event of accident or illness.
8. Changes made by us
8.1 Alteration to the price of your booking
(a) We are able to change the price of your booking after you have booked as a result of changes: (i) in the price of the carriage of passengers resulting from changes to the cost of fuel or other power sources; (ii) in the level of taxes or fees imposed by third parties including tourist taxes, landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports; or (iii) to exchange rates relevant to your booking. However, there will be no change to the price of your booking within 20 days of your departure.
(b) We will absorb (and you will not be charged for) any increase of 2% or less of your booking price and, conversely, we will not refund any decrease in booking price of 2% or less.
(c) You will be charged for any increase over 2% and, if the increase in price is more than 8% of your booking price, you will have the option of (i) accepting the price difference and paying the additional amount due; or (ii) accepting a change to another booking if we are able to offer one (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value); or (iii) cancelling your booking and receiving a full refund of all monies paid, except for any amendment charges. Should you decide to cancel you must do so within the time period shown on your final invoice and we will also provide a refund of any insurance premiums paid to us if you can show that you are unable to transfer or reuse your policy.
(d) Should the price of your booking go down by more than 2%, then any refund due will be paid to you, minus our administration costs (which may cancel out any refund due to you). Please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have little or no impact on the price of your booking, due to contractual arrangements and other protections in place.
8.2 Alterations other than price
(a) Occasionally we have to make changes to your booking and it is a term of your Contract with us that we are able to make changes to any aspect of your booking at any time. Most changes will be minor and will be advised at the earliest possible date.
(b) If we are constrained by circumstances beyond our control to significantly alter any of the main characteristics of the travel services that make up your booking we will inform you as soon as reasonably possible, if there is time before your departure, and you will have the choice of (i) accepting the change; or (ii) accepting a suitable alternative where we are able to offer one (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value);
We will tell you the procedure for making your choice. Please read any notification of changes carefully and respond promptly as if you do not respond to us within the timescale given your booking may be cancelled.
9. Cancellation by us
9.1 We reserve the right to cancel your booking, however, we will not cancel less than 6 weeks before your departure date, except for unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, or failure by you to pay the final balance. Unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances means a situation beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. The minimum number required for the booking to go ahead will be provided to you at the time of booking. We will also inform you when the required minimum number of participants has been reached and the trip is going ahead.
9.2 If your booking is cancelled you can either have a refund of all monies paid or accept an alternative booking of comparable standard from us, if we are able to offer one (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value).
10. Unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances
10.1 Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions we will not be liable for any damage, loss, costs or other expenses incurred by you – or pay you compensation – where the performance or prompt performance of our Contractual obligations to you are prevented, or affected by, or you otherwise suffer any damage, loss or expense of any nature, as a result of unavoidable and extraordinary events.
10.2 Unavoidable and extraordinary events are events that neither we nor the suppliers of any service(s) in question could, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events include, without limitation, war (whether actual or threatened), civil unrest, riot, strife, terrorist activity and/or its consequences or the threat of such activity, health risks, infectious disease, epidemics and pandemics and government measures to combat such outbreaks, riot, the act of any government or other national or local authority or the act of any airport, port or river authorities, unforeseeable technical problems with transport, airport, port or airspace closure restriction or congestion; flight or other travel restrictions imposed by any government, regulatory authority or other third party; industrial dispute, sanctions, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, flood, adverse weather conditions, volcanic eruption, chemical or biological disaster, consequences of Brexit and all similar events outside our or the concerned supplier’s control.
11. Our Liability
11.1 Under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, we are responsible for the proper performance of the package. . However, you must inform without undue delay of any issues with any of the travel services included in your booking – please see clause 19 (Complaints) for how to make a complaint in destination.
11.2 We will not be liable for any injury, illness, death, loss (for example loss of possessions or loss of enjoyment), damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any nature or description whatsoever which results from: (i) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected or another/any member of your group; (ii) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party unconnected with the provision of the travel services in the booking that are unforeseeable or unavoidable; (iii) unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, which means a situation beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken; (iv) any loss or damage you incur that relates to any business activity (including without limitation loss of earnings); (v) any loss or damage that relates to any services that you may have entered into separate contracts for with other
providers/suppliers and which do not form part of our Contract with you (including, without limitation, any additional services or facilities booked and arranged by you directly, including any activity, tour or excursion you purchase in destination from a third party) and/or any services provided near to where you are staying such as water sport providers, beach vendors, shops, massage and other spa therapies and sporting facilities; (vi) any damage, loss or expense or other sum(s) of any description which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to it being confirmed, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our Contract with you; and any damage, loss or expense or other sum(s) of any description pursuant to clause 12 (Epidemics and Pandemics).
11.3 Our Contract with you and the laws and applicable standards of the country in which your claim or complaint occurred will be used as the basis for reviewing your compliant. If the particular travel services which gave rise to the claim or complaint were provided in compliance with the applicable local laws and standards, the travel services will be treated as having been properly provided. This will be the case even if the travel services did not comply with the laws and standards of the UK which would have applied had those services been provided in the UK.
11.4 Our liability, except in cases involving death, or personal injury as a result of our negligence, or the negligence of our suppliers who provide some of the services that form part of your Contract with us, shall be limited to a maximum of three times the cost of your travel arrangements (excluding any amendment charges) paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total unless a lower limitation applies to your claim under any conditions of carriage or International Conventions.
11.5 We are to be regarded as having all benefit of any limitation of compensation contained in these booking conditions in addition to any applicable International Conventions (including, without limitation, the Montreal Convention, the Athens Convention, the Berne Convention and the Paris) and any limitation of liability provided for in any applicable conditions of carriage of the transport companies that provide the travel services that make up your booking (e.g. taxis, coaches, boats, inland waterways, trains). Any such terms shall be incorporated into your Contract with us and will apply to you on that journey.
11.6 Under the Air Passenger Rights and Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 you have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation from your airline in cases of denied boarding, cancellation or delay to flights. Full details are available from the relevant airlines. Any reimbursement in such cases will not automatically entitle you to a refund of your booking price from us. Your right to a refund and/or compensation from us is set out in these booking conditions.
11.7 We cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss, expense or other sum(s) of any description which did not result from any breach of our Contract with you or other fault by ourselves or our employees or, where we are responsible for them, our suppliers.
12. Epidemics and pandemics:
12.1 We both acknowledge our obligations to comply with any official guidance from governments or local authorities, both in the UK and whilst in destination in the event of epidemics or pandemics.
We will have no liability for any refunds, compensation, costs, expenses or other losses of any kind incurred by you (including, where applicable, the cost of medical treatment), in the following circumstances:
(i) If you, or anyone in your booking party, test positive for Covid or any other global epidemic or pandemic and have to quarantine for a period of time, or are notified or otherwise become aware that you have, or suspect you may have, come into close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid or any other epidemic or pandemic (or where they otherwise suspect they may have Covid or other epidemic or pandemic) and have to self-isolate for a period of time. If this happens within 14 days of your departure date, you must contact us as you may no longer be able to travel. We will offer you the following options where possible and subject to availability:
(a) Postponing your booking to a later date. We will notify you of any impact to the price the postponement may have (please note that you may have to pay full cancellation charges on some elements of your booking, such as the flight, as well any increase in cost imposed by other suppliers);
(b) If not everyone in the booking is affected, you will have the right to transfer your place on the booking to another person nominated by you, subject always to the requirements of clause 5;
(c) Cancelling your booking, in which case our standard cancellation charges shall apply as of the date we receive notice of cancellation from the lead name. You may be able to claim these charges back from your travel insurance.
If this happens whilst you are in destination, please notify us without delay and we will provide such reasonable assistance as we can in the circumstances. However, we will not be responsible for covering the cost of any curtailment of your booking, missed transport arrangements, additional accommodation required (either in the UK or in destination, prior to your departure), or other associated costs incurred by you. You must ensure you have travel insurance which covers these costs.
(ii) You fail any tests, checks or other measures imposed by a supplier, airline, port or airport, border control authority or other government body or local authority or fail to submit for testing or assessment when requested to do so and, as such, you are denied entry to board the flight, entry to the destination, access to the services or you are otherwise unable to proceed with your booking, or that portion of your booking.
12.2 You also acknowledge that the suppliers providing your booking and associated travel services, including airlines, hotels and excursion providers, will need to comply with national and/or local guidance and requirements relating to Covid or any other other pandemic or epidemic and have implemented certain measures as a result. This will likely include specific requirements regarding personal protective equipment, such as use of facemasks by staff (and you may be required to wear a facemask as well), social distancing, maximum number restrictions on the use of certain facilities, designated alternative entrance and exit routes, mandatory hand sanitisation, limited entertainment options, limited food/drink availability and amendments to the usual or normally expected safety standards and procedures. We do not expect these measures to have a significant impact on your enjoyment of your booking and all measures will be taken with the purpose of securing your safety and those around you.
13. Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018
The combination of travel services offered to you is a package within the meaning of the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations. Therefore, you will benefit from all EU rights applying to packages. We will be fully responsible for the proper performance of the package as a whole.
Additionally, as required by law, we have protection in place with ABTOT (see section 20) to refund your payments and to ensure your repatriation in the event that we become insolvent. For more information on key rights under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/contents/
14. Financial protection
We provide financial security for bookings that do not include flights by way of our membership of ABTOT, see section 20.
15. Changes and cancellations to your booking after departure
If we become unable to provide a significant proportion of your travel arrangements after you have departed, we will try to offer you suitable alternative arrangements, where we are able to, of an equivalent or higher standard than those booked. If the alternative arrangements we make are of a lower quality than those you originally booked, we may provide a price reduction. Please see clause 12 above for changes and cancellations after departure, as a result of Covid or other pandemics.
16. Additional assistance
We will provide appropriate assistance in the event that you or a person in your booking experience difficulty whilst in destination, in particular, by providing information on health services, local authorities and consular assistance; and helping you to make any necessary phone calls/emails and find alternative travel arrangements. We will charge a reasonable fee for such assistance if the difficulty is caused intentionally by you or a person in your booking, or as a result of your negligence.
17. Special Requests
Any special requests must be advised to us at the time of booking. Whilst every effort will be made to arrange any reasonable special requests, we cannot guarantee that they will be fulfilled and any failure to arrange a special request on our part shall not be deemed as being a breach of our Contract with you. The fact that a special request has been noted on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation or that it has been passed on to the supplier is not confirmation that the request will be met. We reserve the right to decline any booking that is conditional upon any special request being met.
18. Disabilities and Medical Conditions
If you or any member of your booking has any specific medical condition, disability or reduced mobility which may affect your chosen travel arrangements then you should provide us with full details at the time of booking and before we issue our booking confirmation to you, so that we can advise as to any suitability or otherwise of the chosen arrangements.
The lead name on the booking must also promptly update us of any changes that may occur after booking but prior to departure. If we reasonably feel unable to properly accommodate the particular needs of the person concerned, we must reserve the right to inform you of this.
19. Complaints and dispute resolution
19.1 We make every effort to ensure that your travel arrangements run smoothly but if you do have a problem whilst in destination, you must inform us and the relevant supplier of the service (e.g., your accommodation supplier) immediately who will endeavour to put things right.
19.2 If your complaint is not resolved locally, you must send formal written notice of your complaint to Learn Italy Ltd. 106 Eynsham Road, Oxford OX2 9BX within 28 days of your return, giving your booking reference and all other relevant information. Please keep your letter concise and to the point. This will assist us to quickly identify your concerns and speed up our response to you. If you fail to follow the requirement to report your complaint whilst in destination we will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify your complaint, and this may affect your rights under this Contract.
19.3 Where any payment is made by us in regard to a claim, the person(s) receiving it (and their parent or guardian if under 18 years) agrees to assign to us or our insurers any rights they may have to pursue any third party and must provide us and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require.
19.4 If, despite our best efforts and having followed the above procedure for reporting and resolving your complaint, you feel that it has not been satisfactorily settled, we recommend that it is referred for arbitration under the ABTOT Travel Industry Arbitration Service. An Independent Arbitrator will review the documents relating to any complaint and deliver a binding decision to bring the matter to a close. A fee is payable by each party when an application for arbitration is submitted. Details of this scheme are available from The Travel Industry Arbitration Service, administered by:
Dispute Settlement Services
9 Savill Road
Lindfield
West Sussex
RH16 2NY
E-mail: admin@disputesettlementservices.co.uk
This scheme cannot however decide in cases where the sums claimed exceed £5,000 per person or £10,000 per booking form, or not solely or mainly in respect of physical injury or illness or the consequences of such injury or illness, or solely or mainly in respect of a discrimination claim or any claim under the Equality Act.
20. Financial Insolvency
The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for Learn Italy – Membership number 5579 – and in the event of our 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 Learn Italy. 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/. You can find out more about ABTOT here: https://www.abtot.com/
21. Your Behaviour
21.1 All people travelling with us are to conduct themselves in an orderly and acceptable manner and not to disrupt the enjoyment of other guests. If in our reasonable opinion or in the reasonable opinion of any other person in authority, your behaviour or that of any member of your booking is causing or is likely to cause distress, danger or annoyance to any third party (including being threatening or abusive, upsetting, annoying or disturbing any other traveller, our staff or agents or putting any of them in danger) or damage to property, or to cause a delay or diversion to transportation, we reserve the right to consider your booking to have been cancelled by you with immediate effect.
In this event our liability to you will cease and you and the people in your booking will be required to leave your accommodation or other service immediately. We will have no further obligations to you and/or the people in your booking and will not be liable for any damage, loss, refunds expenses, or other costs incurred by you as a result including, without limitation, any return travel arrangements, the costs of cleaning, repairing or replacing property lost, damaged or destroyed by you, compensating any passenger, crew, staff or agent affected by your actions and diverting the aircraft or ship for the purpose of removing you.
21.2 If you cause damage to the accommodation in which you are staying, you must fully reimburse the accommodation concerned for the cost of the damage before the end of your stay (if the cost has been established by then) or as soon as it has been established (if later). You must also indemnify us for the full amount of any claim (including all legal costs) made against us by the accommodation or any third party as a result. We cannot be held responsible for the actions or behaviour of other guests or individuals who have no connection with your booking or with us.
21.3 The lead name and any adults accompanying the group shall, at all times:
- act ‘in loco parentis’ for their group and, in particular, in regard to any minors in the group;
- ensure that the party reaches any departure points on time;
- ensure that all people in the booking comply with any and all Covid / pandemic requirements during the trip
- ensure that the group are adequately supervised;
- ensure the correct ratio of responsible adults will be on active duty at all times to ensure that all persons in the booking behave appropriately;
- ensure that the group takes into account their personal safety whilst in destination so as not to put themselves or others at unnecessary risk including, without limitation, ensuring that the group members: i. take care when out during the hours of darkness; ii. do not go out alone; iii. do not put themselves in risk situations; iv. are not intoxicated or under the influence of any other illegal or dangerous substances and, in any event, shall not permit anyone under the age of 18 under the age of 18 to consume alcohol; and v. are aware of their behaviour and actions in the context of their surroundings
- ensure that ensure that no members of the group smoke in any smoke -free places or behave in any other way which may cause a fire hazard;
- ensure that the group wears seat belts provided for any journeys by coach;
- ensure that the group or any members of the group comply with all relevant laws.
22. Excursions and tours in destination
Excursions or other activities and tours that you may choose to book or pay for whilst you are in destination do not form part of your Contracted arrangements with us. Your contract will be with the operator of the excursion, activity, tour or other service and not with us – and we shall not be responsible or liable for the provision of any such excursion, activity or tour or for anything that happens during the course of its provision by the operator.
23. Passport, Visa, Immigration and Health Requirements
23.1 It is your responsibility to check and comply with any travel, passport, visa, entry, health, vaccination, testing and immigration requirements applicable to your booking. Requirements change on a regular basis and you must therefore continually check and monitor the requirements up to your date of return, both in regard to the countries to which you are travelling to or through – and any requirements on your return to the UK.
23.2 In addition to the relevant embassies and/or consulates, information can also be found on the following websites:
FCDO (https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice)
NaTHNaC (https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/)
Brexit (https://www.gov.uk/visit-eu-switzerland-norway-iceland-liechtenstein)
GHIC: (https://www.gov.uk/global-health-insurance-card)
Passports: (https://www.gov.uk/apply-renew-passport)
23.3 We do not accept any responsibility or liability if any member of your booking cannot travel because they have not complied with any travel, passport, visa, vaccination, testing or immigration requirements or are not in possession of necessary travel documentation (including, without limitation, vaccination certificates, testing kits and any other required documentation).
23.4 Most countries now require passports to be valid for at least 6 months after your return date. If your passport is in its final year from date of issue, you should check with the Embassy of the country you are visiting.
23.5 You agree to reimburse us in relation to any fines or other losses which we incur as a result of your failure to comply with any such requirements.
25. Data protection
Our privacy policy sets out what personal data we collect about you, how and why we use it, who we disclose it to, and how we protect your privacy in accordance with the UK GDPR: https://learn-italy.com/privacy-policy/
It is possible that photographs or video may be taken for inclusion in our brochure or website or for other promotional purposes. By booking with us and, unless you tell us otherwise, you consent to us using any such photographs or video without charge (whether current or in the future). Where it is practical to do so, we will seek the consent of any persons who are prominently included in any shots. Consent will not generally be sought from persons who only appear in the background and are not identifiable. No persons will be identified by name. Our privacy policy includes provision for your being able to contact us to withdraw your consent to any further such use, as from receipt of your notice to that effect.
26. Variation
These booking conditions may be varied by us at any time and at our sole discretion. Any new booking conditions will be published on our website and will have immediate effect.
27. Law and jurisdiction
These Booking Conditions and any agreement to which they apply are governed in all respects by English law. We both agree that any dispute, claim or other matter which arises between us out of or in connection with your Contract or booking will be dealt with by the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.
1st August 2024
