Terms and conditions

Your accommodation contract

When you make a booking you guarantee that you have the authority to accept and do accept on behalf of your party the terms of these booking conditions. You must be at least 21 years old to make a booking with us. Your contract with Short Stay Dubai is made once one of the following steps have been completed:

• An online booking is made and we receive a confirmation of payment from your bank.
• When a direct booking is made by telephone & paid by debit/credit card and we give you verbal confirmation.
• Where we have to specifically request other services in order to confirm your booking.
• If the booking is made on our website and you opt to pay the balance via telegraphic transfer, the time of the first payment.

Paying for your accommodation

To secure your accommodation booking we require a deposit of 25% of the price of the villa paid by Visa, Master Card or Amex. Cheques can only be accepted if received more than eleven weeks before departure. If you fail to pay in full 7 days before the arrival date of your booking, we reserve the right to cancel your accommodation, in such case you will lose your deposit. If you book within 7 days of the arrival date this will be classed as a late booking and we must receive full payment by debit or credit card (or telegraphic transfer) before we can confirm your booking. When you pay for your accommodation by credit/charge card, we reserve the right to levy a 1.5% handling charge for each payment made by these means (no charge for Switch/ Delta transactions). Confirmations will not be issued until your accommodation has been paid for.

Your accommodation price

The prices displayed on the web site were accurate at the time they were published. We reserve the right to change prices during the accommodation season, depending on the availability of places. Once you have booked your accommodation, the price of any accommodation will not change. The price of additional services are subject to surcharges for increases in: (i) dues, taxes or fees chargeable for services; and (ii) the exchange rates applied to the particular package. Any benefits derived from decreases in these costs will be passed on to you. In the case of any small variation, an amount equivalent to 2% of the price of your accommodation booking, which excludes additional services and any amendment charges, will be absorbed or retained. For larger variations this 2% will still be absorbed for increases but not retained from refunds. In either case there will be an administration charge of $1 per person. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the price of your travel arrangements, you may cancel your travel arrangements and receive a full refund of all monies paid, except for any amendment charges or additional services that can not be cancelled. Whether you cancel or not you will also be entitled, on the terms set out in respect of major changes in the section entitled "If we change or cancel your accommodation", to accept an offer of alternative accomodation from us if we are able to do so and compensation if appropriate.

Breakage deposit

We will hold a security deposit of USD $400, during your stay which will be taken as a credit card imprint and held until 14 days after your departure date. The cost of any damage to the property or loss to any items in and/or at the property caused or any service charges incurred by you or any member of your party (for example telephone calls) will be deducted by us from the security deposit at the end of your stay. Please note that wilful and negligent behaviour is not covered by this charge. If no deductions are required your security deposit slip will be destroyed 14 days after your departure from the property. If the security deposit is not sufficient to cover any damage caused or service charges incurred by you, you will be responsible for paying us any additional monies required immediately on request from us.

Confirmation

Please check your confirmation e-mail, and all other documents you receive from us, immediately on receipt. You must contact us straightaway if any information appears to be incorrect as it may not be possible to make changes later. We are responsible for providing the accommodation we have confirmed to you. If you cancel or alter your booking later on, you may have to pay an amendment charge. We reserve the right to refuse your booking. If we do this we will refund any money already paid to us.

If you change your booking

If, after our confirmation e-mail has been issued, you wish to change your booking arrangement in any way, for example your chosen arrival date, length of stay or accommodation, we will do our utmost to make these changes but it may not always be possible. Any request for changes to be made must be in writing from the person who made the booking. If one of your party withdraws from the accommodation, someone else can take their place providing they satisfy the conditions of the original booking, and you inform us in writing at least 14 days before departure. The Party Leader must sign the letter, and we charge a $20.00 administration fee per person, as well as any charges imposed on us by other service providers. We will help you to make any other changes, but your booking will incur a $20.00 administration fee per change per person. If you make a number of changes to the same booking, we will only make a reasonable overall charge. Except for a change of name, any changes you make within 6 weeks of your departure will be treated as a cancellation and the cancellation charges shown in the section "If you cancel your accommodation" may apply.

If you cancel your accommodation

To cancel the entire accommodation, the Party Leader must send written notification by fax or e-mail. Cancellation takes effect on the date we receive your letter. If you cancel after we confirm your booking, you must compensate us for losses, as we incur costs from the moment you make the booking. The closer your cancellation is to the arrival date, the less likely we are to recover the costs by re-selling the accommodation at the web site price. Our cancellation charges therefore increase as the departure date approaches, as shown below. It is your responsibility to have a necessary insurance policy in place should you need to recover the cancellation charges. Claims must be made directly to the insurance company concerned.

The following cancellation charges apply:

More than 70 days prior to arrival - deposit only

70 - 43 days prior to arrival 30% of the cost of your accommodation or loss of deposit whichever is greater.

42 - 29 days prior to arrival 50% of the cost of your accommodation or loss of deposit whichever is greater.

28 - 22 days prior to arrival 70% of the cost of your accommodation

21 - 8 days prior to arrival 90% of the cost of your accommodation

7 - 0 days prior to arrival 100% of the cost of your accommodation

If we change or cancel your accommodation

It is unlikely that we will have to make any changes to your accommodation arrangements, however we do start planning arrangements many months in advance. Occasionally, we may have to make changes and correct errors in the website and other details both before and after bookings have been confirmed. In the event of minor alterations, we will do our best to notify you before you travel. If a significant change or cancellation has to be made to your accommodation arrangements we will notify you as soon as possible. You may then: a) accept the changed arrangements; b) take an alternative accommodation subject to availability. If the alternative is of a lower price than that originally booked the difference (if already paid by you) will be refunded. If the alternative is more expensive you will not have to pay the difference; or c) cancel your booking completely, in which case we will refund you all monies paid by you except for administration fees for changes you have made and credit card charges.

In addition Short Stay Dubai will pay compensation as follows:

More than 56 days prior to departure 0 per adult

56 - 43 days prior to departure $10 per adult

42 - 29 days prior to departure $20 per adult

28 - 15 days prior to departure $30 per adult

14 - 0 days prior to departure $40 per adult

Note: if the substituted accommodation is of a lower price than the one originally booked, we will also refund the price difference. If the substitute accommodation is of a higher price we will deduct the price difference from the compensation payable.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Compensation arrangements do not apply to circumstances beyond our control. We can cancel your accommodation arrangement in the following circumstances: war, threat of war, riots, civil strikes or terrorist activity, industrial disputes, natural or nuclear disasters, fire, airport closures, bad weather conditions and similar events beyond our control.

Delays

We are unable to accept any liability for any delay to your arrival, whether the delay or cancellation is caused by adverse weather conditions, the action of air traffic controllers, the action of airport authorities or governments, the rescheduling of times by the airline, mechanical breakdown, strike or industrial action or otherwise. In such circumstances you are responsible to have a necessary insurance policy to cover your losses.

Your Party

Your accomodation is reserved exclusively for the people named on the confirmation e-mail and no other persons are permitted to stay at the accommodation unless this has been agreed with us in writing and appropriate payments made (if applicable). Should you or any member of your party be responsible for any breakages, loss or damage of any item of the property or additional cleaning has been necessary, a charge will be made locally or an invoice will be sent to you on your return to your home address. The charge will be covered by your breakage fee in the event of accidental damage only. Please note that group bookings may only be accepted at selected villas.

Special requests

If you have a special request that does not form part of the arrangements described on the website please inform us in writing. We will do our best to comply but cannot guarantee to do so and it will not form part of our contracted obligations. Special requests made after your booking date must be confirmed in writing within seven days of the request. We will make every effort to accommodate your request and inform the relevant supplier concerned. However we cannot guarantee that special requests will be provided.

If you have a complaint

If you have cause for complaint whilst in our accommodation, this must be brought to the attention of a Short Stay Dubai representative/local agent or the villa management company immediately so that action can be taken to rectify the problem. Should the representative/ local agent or villa management company be unable to resolve the matter during your stay, details of the complaint must be notified to Short Stay Dubai in writing within 28 days of the end of your accommodation. Any claims received outside this period cannot be considered as if you do not tell us about your complaint promptly, it may prove difficult to investigate your complaint thoroughly.

Behaviour

At all times during your accommodation, you are expected to have consideration for your fellow residents, neighbors and other third parties. If in the opinion of ourselves, accommodation owner or other person in authority, you are, or appear to be behaving in such a way as to cause, or to be likely to cause, danger, distress, annoyance or damage to property, either ourselves or the supplier concerned may terminate your accommodation arrangements. In this situation, we will have no liability to you and will not be responsible for meeting any expenses you incur as a result, making any refund or paying any compensation. In addition, you will be responsible for any expenses we incur as a result of your behavior.

Passports, visas and health requirements

We can refuse to accommodate you if you do not have a valid visa and entry permit. We are not obliged to help you if you are refused travel. Your passport and travel documents must be intact and are your own responsibility.. Passport, visa and health requirements are subject to change and it is your responsibility to check the up-to-date position in good time before arrival.

Data protection policy

In order to process your booking and to ensure that your travel arrangements run smoothly and meet your requirements we need to use the information you provide such as name, address, any special needs etc. We take full responsibility for ensuring that proper security measures are in place to protect your information. We must pass the information on to the relevant suppliers of your arrangements such as airlines, villa management companies/villa owners, transport companies etc. The information may also be provided to security or credit checking companies, public authorities such as customs/immigration if required by them, or as required by law. We will not, however, pass any information onto any person not responsible for part of your travel arrangements. This applies to any sensitive information that you give to us such as details of disabilities, or dietary/ religious requirements.

Promotional offers

From time to time Short Stay Dubai may promote special offers. Any offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer running at the same time.