STANMORE BUSINESS TRAVEL

BOOKING CONDITIONS FOR MGEITF 2008

Travel/Hotel Booking Information and Conditions

2008 will be the tenth year in which Stanmore Travel has been appointed official agent for the MGEITF. The following serves to clarify various booking conditions and restrictions. Please ensure that you are fully aware of, and understand in advance, the restrictions before making your 2008 booking.

The general position

In order to secure a large allocation, and to be able to offer delegates extensive selections of hotels, all rooms are reserved subject to contract and are all prepaid. Large allocations are obtained on the basis of a minimum two night stay. Without such guarantees this accommodation could not be held for what is the most difficult booking weekend throughout the year in Edinburgh. If we subsequently do not utilise all the hotel beds we have contracted with individual hotels we are unable to obtain refunds. The financial obligations we face on behalf of MGEITF are thereby reflected in the booking conditions outlined below.

Making a reservation: Advanced telephone/fax reservations will be accepted on the basis of a provisional booking and held for a maximum of seven working days, pending receipt of MGEITF booking form and payment. All such advance provisional bookings will be automatically released, without further contact, if after seven days the original booking form and payment have not been received.

An invoice will be issued for a provisional reservation. We regret that we are unable to open company credit accounts purely for MGEITF 2008. The invoice is raised to assist with your company accounts and VAT will be shown at the applicable rate.

Financial Protection

The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 require us to provide security for the monies that you pay for the package holidays booked from this website and for your repatriation in the event of our insolvency. We provide this security by way of a bond held by the Civil Aviation Authority under ATOL number 2045.

If you book arrangements other than a package holiday from this website, your monies are protected by a bond held with ABTA and ATOL.

ABTA

We are a member of ABTA, membership number 56542. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA’s Code of Conduct. We can also offer you an arbitration scheme for the resolution of disputes arising out of, or in connection with this contract. Further information on the Code and arbitration can be found at http://www.abta.com/heretohelp.shtml

The arbitration scheme is arranged by ABTA and administered independently by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. It provides for a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on you in respect of costs. Full details will be provided on request or can be obtained from the ABTA website.

The Scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £5,000 per person. There is also a limit of £25,000 per booking form. Neither does it apply to claims which are solely in respect of physical injury or illness or their consequences. The Scheme can however deal with compensation claims which include an element of minor injury or illness subject to a limit of £1,000 on the amount the arbitrator can award per person in respect of this element.

The application for arbitration and Statement of Claim must be received by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators within nine months of the date of return from the holiday. Outside this time limit arbitration under the Scheme may still be available if the company agrees, but the ABTA Code does not require such agreement.

For injury and illness claims, you may like to use the ABTA / Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Mediation Procedure. This is a voluntary scheme and requires us to agree for mediation to go ahead. The aim is to help you resolve your dispute in a quick and cost effective way. Details on request or from www.abta.com.

Where you book a package holiday from this website which does not include a flight, we provide security by way of a bond held by ABTA.

Booking forms and payments

Booking forms are an integral part of MGEITF delegate paperwork. No booking can be accepted without a fully completed and signed MGEITF 2008 Booking Form. Full payment of hotel and/or travel costs, must accompany the booking form. Payment can be made by cheque or credit card (MasterCard, Visa or Amex only – NOT DINERS CLUB). All credit card transactions carry a 2.35% (incl. VAT) credit card fee. PLEASE NOTE SWITCH AND DELTA CARDS DO NOT INCUR A CREDIT CARD CHARGE. Company account facilities cannot be utilised and company ‘Purchase Orders’ are not an acceptable method of payment. Any booking form incorrectly completed, or without the full payment, will be returned without action.

Flight tickets

Flight tickets reserved through Stanmore Business Travel may be subject to restrictions and conditions. When making a reservation please ask for clarification of these conditions to avoid cancellation costs.

Cancellation and amendment fees

Should you need to cancel your reservation at any time the accommodation will be offered for resale. If we are able to resell the accommodation in full, cancellation charges will apply as shown. Until and unless such time as the room is resold no refund will be due.

All cancellations must be received in writing by the due date

Refund payments will be made less the applicable cancellation charges and administered post MGEITF 2008.

Name changes for accommodation will be allowed free of charge

Cancellation of air tickets will incur charges in line with the booking conditions of the applicable airline company. Only full fare airline tickets are fully changeable and refundable.

Applicable cancellation charges cannot be waived, nor refunds given, under any circumstances, therefore, insurance, provided cancellation is for reasons covered under the terms of the policy, is recommended.