by James Warner Smith of Cool Camping
The coronavirus pandemic has reminded many smaller businesses of the importance of written terms and conditions, leading glamping industry bodies have reported.
With government-enforced closures across the UK, accommodation and events businesses have been forced to cancel millions of bookings over the spring and Easter period, which has created a huge focus on the legalities of re-booking and refunding customers.
Once a booking has been accepted, “a legally enforceable contract exists between [the business] and the guest. This applies equally whether the arrangement has been made verbally over the telephone, by fax, by e-mail or in writing”, VisitBritain clarify on their website.
The majority of glamping businesses already require customers to agree to comprehensive terms and conditions, including the likes of cancellation policies, pet restrictions and arrival times. Most businesses include a ‘Force Majeure’ clause, which clarifies the business’s position if they are unable to fulfil a booking – something that provides essential protection during the current travel restrictions.
The coronavirus pandemic has been a wake-up call to a minority of smaller independent businesses, however, which have less comprehensive terms and conditions and, in some cases, no terms and conditions at all (beyond the price, accommodation type and dates that a customer has agreed to when booking).
Businesses that have not agreed adequate terms with a customer may find themselves in breach of contract when making coronavirus-related cancellations if they cannot find a mutually agreeable solution.
While many of the most popular third-party booking websites, including coolcamping.com, airbnb.com and glampingly.co.uk, have extensive terms and conditions of their own, it is often the responsibility of business managers to write additional terms and conditions for their individual accommodation. Glamping sites that take bookings directly will also have terms and conditions for their own direct bookings.
The vast majority of businesses have robust terms and conditions, which help protect them during this challenging period and also manage customer expectations. While it’s not possible to alter the terms of an existing booking without agreement from both parties, many business owners are taking this as an opportunity to clarify their terms for future bookings and ensure they have adequate policies in place, for both day-to-day issues as well as broader, unexpected events such as the coronavirus.
Further advice and information can be found on VisitBritain’s business advice pages, as well as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) website.
