Terms

You and Your means the agent, client or group making the booking.
We, Our and Us means Ireland Homestays.
Local organiser is the supplier of the host family accommodation.

1. Jurisdiction
This contract will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and shall be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the court of England and Wales.

2. Prices and payment
Prices are quoted in euros but we invoice in pounds at the exchange rate at that current time +0.01% of the total amount to cover fees and rate increases.

For homestay bookings, a minimum deposit of 20% + £500 is required within 14 days of confirmation of a booking otherwise the booking may be cancelled. A booking will not be confirmed until payment has reached us. The remaining balance is due 28 days prior to group’s arrival. Payment for hostel/hotel bookings or other services will vary depending on their own terms and you will be notified at the time of booking. Any pre-payments we have to make to a supplier for your group will be charged to you on top of your deposit. If we do not receive this balance in full and on time, we reserve the right to consider the booking as cancelled by you and cancellation charges will apply. Overdue payments to us may incur interest. The information and prices published may have changed by the time you come to book. We will make every effort to ensure the accuracy of prices but you must ensure you check the price and all other details at the time of booking. Refunds will be issued in the form of a credit to your account, unless you do not intend to make another payment to us within 12 months in which case we will refund you back into your bank account less any bank charges and a £30.00 processing fee. Credit must be used within 12 months of a credit note being issued, after which time the credit will be written off. Any add-ons whilst you are here will need to be paid directly to the supplier, or payment must reach us before the add-on can be authorised. This includes extra nights in accommodation, meals, attractions, etc.

3. Bank charges
All bank charges must be covered by you and we must receive the amount specified on your invoice into our bank account. If any bank charges have been deducted from your payment to us we will add this onto your next invoice. If there is an outstanding amount at the end of the year, we will send you a final invoice for all bank charges and outstanding monies due.

4. Documentation
It is your responsibility to check the accuracy of all documents sent to you. If anything is not correct you should tell us immediately. We cannot accept any liability if we are not notified of any inaccuracies (for which we are responsible) in any document within 14 days of it being sent to you. We will do our best to rectify any mistake notified to us after this time limit but you must meet any costs involved in doing so.

5. If you change your booking
If you wish to change your booking in any way once a final invoice has been issued, we will do our utmost to make these changes if possible. Any request for changes must be made in writing by email and you may be asked to pay an administration charge and further costs we incur in making a change. These costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made. In some cases any changes could mean paying a cancellation charge of 100% and purchasing new arrangements at full cost.

6. If you cancel your booking
Any cancellations must be made in writing by email. Charges will be applied from the time we receive the notification in our office. If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges.

Cancellation of whole group staying in host family accommodation:

• More than 28 days prior to arrival: Loss of deposit
• 28 days or less prior to arrival: 100% of total costs

Cancellation of individuals in a group in host family accommodation (up to 5 individuals):

• More than 28 days prior to arrival: No charge
• 28 days or less: 100% of individual’s costs

If more than 5 individuals cancel, those individuals will lose their proportion of the deposit. Furthermore, we cannot guarantee the local organiser will still accept the booking, even if it is confirmed and deposit paid, if the numbers reduce by more than 5 individuals.

We cannot accept groups of 10 students or less.

If you reduce the number of nights of your stay, we cannot guarantee this will be accepted by the local organiser and you may be liable for the number of nights confirmed. If cancelled 28 days or less prior to arrival you will be liable for the number of nights confirmed.

Above cancellation charges apply to host family accommodation bookings only. Cancellation charges vary for hostel and hotel bookings which you will be notified of at the time of booking. Cancellations of attractions, tickets, services, guest houses, transport, restaurants, etc. will not be refunded in the event of a cancellation of the group or individuals within the group once payment has been received.

7. If we cancel or change your booking
If we cancel a booking because of Force Majeure we will endeavour to find suitable and comparable alternative arrangements for you at no extra cost. No compensation will be given. If the alternative arrangements are not acceptable to you, you will be refunded any payments made in full within 14 days of your instruction. Very rarely, we may be forced by Force Majeure to change or terminate your arrangements after departure. In this case no refunds will be made, no compensation given and we will be unable to refund any costs you incur as a result.

Force Majeure means any unusual or unforeseeable reason beyond our control and cannot be avoided including but not limited to war, threat of war, riot, civil strife, political unrest, government action, natural or other disaster, terrorism, weather conditions and all similar events out of our control.

On very rare occasions that are out of our control, a homestay location may be cancelled by the provider. We will endeavour to offer an alternative as close to the original booking as possible. If no suitable alternative is found you will be refunded or credited any payments made in full within 14 days of your instruction. No compensation will be given.

8. Passports, visas and travel documents
It is your responsibility to ensure all members of the group are in possession of all necessary travel documents before departure. If you require an invitation letter for your group or any individuals within your group we will charge an administrative fee of £30.00. If you require more than 1 letter we will charge £30.00 per letter. If you require the letter to be amended once it has been signed, stamped and scanned we will charge an additional £30.00 for a new letter to be issued.

9. Liability and insurance
Our liability is no more than the money we have received from you.

Ireland Homestays only acts as an agent between its students, travel organisations, customers and any accommodation, activities and courses it offers, including but not limited to homestays. Under no circumstances can we be held responsible for any injury, damage, loss, misadventure, delay or accident which may happen during the student’s or adult’s stay in their accommodation, or as a result of activities they take part in during their stay, or whilst travelling to and from the student’s home or their accommodation or loss of property. Personal property will not be covered under the host families’ insurance policies.

You must take adequate travel insurance and it is your responsibility to ensure the insurance cover is suitable and adequate for the group’s needs.

Any information provided by us, to you, regarding the homestay and/or the host will be given in good faith. We are not responsible for any inaccuracies that have not been relayed to us by our third party supplier or local organiser.

10. Behaviour
Group leaders and/or teachers must accept responsibility for the proper conduct of all members of the group. If we are under the opinion that any member of the group is behaving in a way that is likely to cause danger or upset to any other person or property we reserve the right to terminate the booking of the person involved. No refunds will be made. You will be responsible for making full payment for any damage or loss caused by any member of the group.

• Students are not permitted to use hair straighteners or curling tongs in host families’ homes.
• Students are not permitted to smoke in host families’ homes.
• Students are not permitted to drink alcohol in host families’ homes. Please be aware drinking alcohol is illegal for under 18s in Ireland.
• Students will not be permitted to go out in the evening unaccompanied without prior permission from local organiser and the group leader.

11. Discrimination
In Ireland it is against the law to discriminate against anyone because of age, sexuality, marital status, disability, race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin) or religion. Any requests for host families that discriminate against any group will be automatically refused. If you or any member of your group discriminate against or victimise any member of a host family, homestay organiser or any employee or supplier of Ireland Homestays it will result in the termination of the booking of the person(s) involved. No refunds will be made.

12. Complaints
If you have a reason to complain or experience any problems whilst in Ireland, you or the group leader must immediately inform us, the local organiser or the supplier of the service in question so they can be resolved at the time, where possible.

Failure to notify us, the local organiser or the supplier at the time means we may not be able to investigate and rectify the complaint. We cannot act on or provide compensation for complaints only brought to our attention after the trip has taken place. In case of a complaint, we will not pay any amount in refunds or compensation in excess of the charged amount of your booking.

When staying in homestays, if a student is not happy with their host family they must first allow the local organiser to inspect the home with the group leader and if both the local organiser and group leader agree the accommodation is not adequate, the student(s) will be moved.

13. Excursions and activities
We will not accept responsibility for services, excursions or activities not arranged by us.

14. Special requests, dietary requirements and medical problems
We must receive a full breakdown and allergy/diet list at least 6 weeks before departure. For more severe allergies/diets we should know at the time of booking and we cannot guarantee we will be able to place them in families, it will be subject to host family availability. If allergies/diet information is not passed on we will not be able to guarantee placements and students may be refused travel. If we are unable to meet the particular needs of the person(s) involved we will not confirm their booking or we will cancel their booking when we become aware of the details and refund their costs. We recommend students with special diets bring their own food to avoid any complications and host families will not be responsible for any complications due to food being consumed. Please ensure you pass this information on to the group leader at the time of enquiry and/or booking.

If a student has a serious medical condition that may require medical attention or the administering of drugs, that student may need to stay with a carer, their parent or group leader. The host family is not responsible for any medical care of that child and in case of a medical emergency the child would have to go into the care of a hospital. If a student falls ill during their stay, it is the group leader’s responsibility to care for that student. If a student is hospitalised during their stay, one of the group leaders must stay in hospital with that student when allowed and until the student is discharged or until the student’s parent or member of family arrives.

15. Other
Students are only permitted to wash clothes in host family’s washing machine if staying for more than 7 days and 1 wash per student is permitted every 7 days. Any further washes will be at the family’s discretion and extra payment will be due for this arrangement.

No large luggage is permitted greater than 55cm x 45cm x 25cm per person. Luggage larger that won’t fit in the host family’s car will be liable to pay taxi costs.

Any valuables left in host families homes are done so at the owner’s own risk, Ireland Homestay cannot be held responsible for loss of these items. We recommend valuables including mobile phones, tablets, laptops and jewellery are not left unattended. Suspected stolen items will be a police matter.

If you submit a testimonial or feedback to us using a feedback form or via email, then you agree that we may publish your testimonial, together with your name and where you are from, on our website and in any document as we may determine in our sole discretion. You further agree that we may edit the testimonial and publish edited or partial versions of the testimonial. However, we will never edit a testimonial in such a way as to create a misleading impression of your views. If you object to publication of your testimonial you must put this in writing to us within 30 days of a testimonial or feedback being sent to us.

Confirmation of a booking by you means you are agreeing to the above terms and conditions.

Please check these terms and conditions regularly. We can update them at any time without notice. You’ll agree to any changes if you continue to use irelandhomestays.com after the terms and conditions have been updated.