Terms & Conditions

BOOKING CONDITIONS

By making a booking, the first named person on the booking agrees on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking that:

1. he/she has read these Booking Conditions and has the authority to and does agree to be bound by them;
2. he/she consents to our use of personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy at https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/53402424/legaland is authorised on behalf of all persons named on the booking to disclose their personal details to us, including where applicable special categories of data (such as information on health conditions or disabilities and dietary requirements);
3. he/she is over 18 years of age and where placing an order for services with age restrictions declares that he/she and all members of the party are of the appropriate age to purchase those services;
4. he/she accepts financial responsibility for payment of the booking on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking.

1. Booking & Paying For Your Lesson(s)

A booking is made with us when:

1. you have agreed to these Booking Conditions;
2. you have paid us a non-refundable Booking Fee (or full payment if you are otherwise booking within 8 weeks of departure); and
3. we issue you with a booking confirmation.

Payment of the non-refundable Booking Fee can be made using internet banking.

Unless agreed otherwise, the Booking Fee payable shall be £90.

We reserve the right to return your Booking Fee and decline to issue a booking confirmation at our absolute discretion. A binding contract will come into existence between you and us as soon as we have issued you with a booking confirmation that will confirm the details of your booking and will be sent to you or your travel agent.

Upon receipt, if you believe that any details on your booking confirmation or any other document are wrong you must advise us immediately as changes cannot be made later and it may harm your rights if we are not notified of any inaccuracies in any document within ten days of our sending it out.

The balance of the cost of your arrangements (including any applicable surcharge) is due not less than 8 weeks prior to scheduled departure. If we do not receive this balance in full and on time, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you in which case we shall retain your Booking Fee.

2. Accuracy

All bookings are quoted and charged in sterling. We endeavour to ensure that all the information and prices both on our website and in any advertising material that we publish are accurate, however, occasionally changes and errors occur and we reserve the right to correct prices, possible lesson times and other details in such circumstances. You must check the current price and all other details relating to the travel arrangements that you wish to book before you make your booking.

3. Insurance

Adequate travel insurance is a condition of your contract with us. You must be satisfied that your insurance fully covers winter sports, missed tuition due to lift failure or weather and all your personal requirements including pre-existing medical conditions, cancellation charges, medical expenses and repatriation in the event of accident or illness. If you choose to travel without adequate insurance cover, we will not be liable for any losses howsoever arising, in respect of which insurance cover would otherwise have been available.

Where necessary, your insurance policy must include provisions, covering you for (but not limited to) the following situations:

1. From the 1^st January 2021, you should take out medical /health cover due to the uncertainty of Brexit and the possibility that your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) will become invalid;
2. Where you have been diagnosed with Covid-19 before departure and are no longer able to travel;
3. Where you have been in contact with someone that has been diagnosed with Covid-19 and need to self-isolate;
4. Where you have been contacted by NHS Track and Trace and you are required to self-isolate;
5. You have been diagnosed during your tour or have otherwise came in contract with someone who has been diagnosed and you are now required to self-isolate. Your insurance policy should cover you for repatriation where necessary, emergency medical expenses abroad and additional costs of accommodation and/or transport if you need to self-isolate whilst abroad.
6. You live in a place that has imposed lockdown restrictions and you no longer feel as if you can travel; and
7. The hotel or destination you are travelling to have imposed lockdown restrictions.

4. Events Beyond Our Control

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these Booking Conditions we will not be liable or pay you compensation if our contractual obligations to you are affected by Events Beyond Our Control. For the purpose of these Booking Conditions, this means any event beyond our or our suppliers control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Examples include warfare and acts of terrorism (and threat thereof), civil strife, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination, global epidemics or pandemics, or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which make it impossible to travel safely to the travel destination or remain at the travel destination, the act of any government or other national or local authority including any port or river authorities, industrial dispute, labour strikes, lock closure, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, chemical or biological disaster, unavoidable technical problems with transport, traffic congestion/restrictions and all similar events our or the supplier(s) concerned’s control.

Brexit Implications: please note that certain travel arrangements may be affected as a result of the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union. This could include an unavailability of certain flight routes, access to certain ports and airports etc. Please rest assured that this is something we will continue to monitor and will advise our students as soon as possible if we become aware of any confirmed bookings that will be affected. However, since this is something which is completely unprecedented and outside our control, any such changes would be treated as Events Beyond Our Control, and whilst we will endeavour to provide suitable alternative arrangements or refunds where possible, we will not be liable to pay you any compensation.

5. Ski / Snowboard Lessons

Late / missed lesson: The ski instructor will wait a maximum of 20 minutes from the start time of a private lesson at the arranged meeting point, and a maximum of 5 minutes from the start time of a group lesson, for the student(s) to arrive, unless notified by the student. There will be no partial or full refund or rearranged lesson where a student misses a class.

Helmets: Students under the age of 12 must wear helmets and we recommend that children over 12 do so.

Children: We reserve the right to ask a parent to take their child from their lesson if the child is inappropriately dressed, in ill health or not the correct level for the group. We cannot make refunds in these circumstances.

Lesson etiquette: Students must respect the professional judgement of the ski instructor during the entirety of the lesson.

Lift pass: The appropriate lift pass is obligatory for participation in a lesson and is not included in the lesson price. The lift pass must be purchased from the appropriate supplier.

6. Special Requests

Any special requests must be advised to us at the time of booking. You should then confirm your requests in writing. Whilst every effort will be made by us to try and arrange your reasonable special requests, we cannot guarantee that they will be fulfilled. The fact that a special request has been noted on your booking confirmation or any other documentation is not confirmation that the request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part unless the request has been specifically confirmed by us. We do not accept bookings that are conditional upon any special request being met.

7. Disabilities and Medical Problems

We are not a specialist disabled ski / snowboard lesson company but we will do our utmost to cater for any special requirements you may have. If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your lesson, please provide us with full details before your booking is confirmed so that we can try to advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements. We may require you to produce a doctor’s certificate certifying that you are fit to participate in your chosen arrangements.

Acting reasonably, if we are unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm your booking or if you did not give us full details at the time of booking, we will cancel it and impose applicable cancellation charges when we become aware of these details.

8. Visa, Passport and Health Requirements

It is your responsibility to check and fulfil the passport, visa, health and immigration requirements applicable to your lesson. We can only provide general information about this. You must check requirements for your own specific circumstances with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates and your own doctor as applicable. Requirements do change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure.

For European holidays you should obtain a completed and issued form EHIC prior to departure. Up to date travel advice can be obtained from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, visit https://www.gov.uk/travelaware.

Non British passport holders, including other EU nationals, should obtain up to date advice on passport and visa requirements from the Embassy, High Commission or Consulate of your destination or country(ies) through which you are travelling,

We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel to the lesson, or incur any other loss because you have not complied with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities. 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 passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities.

9. Your Behaviour

All our students are expected to conduct themselves in an orderly and acceptable manner and not to disrupt the enjoyment of others. If in our opinion or in the opinion of any instructor or any other person in authority, your behaviour or that of any member of your party is causing or is likely to cause distress, danger or annoyance to any other students, the instructor or any third party, or damage to property or is thought to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, we reserve the right to terminate your booking with us immediately. In the event of such termination our liability to you and/or your party will cease and you and/or your party will be required to leave your arrangements immediately. We will have no further obligations to you and/or your party. No refunds for lost arrangements will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of termination. You and/or your party may also be required to pay for loss and/or damage caused by your actions and we will hold you and each member of your party jointly and individually liable for any damage or losses caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or losses must be paid directly to instructor or other supplier prior to departure. If you fail to make payment, you will be responsible for meeting any claims (including legal costs) subsequently made against us as a result of your actions together with all costs we incur in pursuing any claim against you.

We cannot be held responsible for the actions or behaviour of other students or individuals who have no connection with your booking arrangements or with us.

10. Cutting Your Arrangements Short

If you are forced to depart your lesson early, we cannot refund the cost of any arrangements you have not used. If you cut short your lesson early in circumstances where you have no reasonable cause for complaint about the standard of the lesson and services provided, we will not offer you any refund for that part of your lesson not completed, or be liable for any associated costs you may incur. Depending on the circumstances, your travel insurance may offer cover for curtailment and we suggest that any claim is made directly with them.

11. If You Change or Cancel Your Booking

Changes:

If you wish to change any part of your booking after our booking confirmation has been issued, you must inform us in writing as soon as possible. This should be done by the first named person on the booking. Whilst we will do our best to assist, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet your requested change. Where we can meet a request, all changes will be subject to payment of an administration fee of £30 per person per change, as well as any costs and charges incurred by us and/or incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers in making this change. You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the start date that changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible. Where we are unable to assist you and you do not wish to proceed with the original booking we will treat this as a cancellation by you.

Note: Certain arrangements may not be changeable after confirmation and any alteration may result in a cancellation charge of 100%. All lesson bookings are non-transferable.

Cancellations:

If you, or any member of your party, decides to cancel your booking after it has been confirmed, the first named person on the booking must email us at info@ultimatesnowsports.com. Your notice of cancellation will only take effect when it is received in writing by us and will be effective from the date on which we receive it. Should one or more member of a party cancel, it may increase the per person holiday price of those still travelling and you will be liable to pay this increase.

Since we incur costs in cancelling your arrangements, you will have to pay the cancellation charges as follows:

Period before start date within which notification is received — Cancellation Charge

• More than 6 weeks prior to lesson — Loss of Booking Fee
• Between 2 and 6 weeks prior to lesson — 50% of the cost of the booking
• Less than 2 weeks prior to lesson — 100% of the cost of the booking

Please note that amendment charges are not refundable in any circumstances.

Certain arrangements may not be amended after they have been confirmed and any alteration or cancellation could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% for that part of the arrangements in addition to the charges above.

Where possible, we will deduct the cancellation charge(s) from any monies you have already paid to us.

12. If We Change or Cancel Your Booking

If we are forced to cancel a lesson (e.g. due to staff illness/injury), we will endeavour to reschedule your booked lessons or refund monies paid on a pro rata basis. We may in certain circumstances be required to cancel your entire booking in which case a full refund of all monies paid will be made to you. We regret we cannot meet any expenses or losses that you may incur as a result of change or cancellation. Very rarely, we may be forced by Events Beyond Our Control (see clause 4) to change or cancel your travel service(s) after departure. If this situation does occur, we regret we will be unable to make any refunds, pay you compensation or meet any costs or expenses you incur as a result.

13. Complaints

If the problem cannot be resolved and you wish to complain further, you must send formal written notice of your complaint to us at our office, ideally within 28 days of the end of your stay, 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. Failure to follow the procedure set out in this clause may affect ours and the applicable supplier’s ability to investigate your complaint, and will affect your rights under this contract.

14. Our Responsibilities for Your Booking

    1) Subject to the remainder of this clause, we have a duty to either select the suppliers of the services making up your booking with us with reasonable skill and care (where we use the services of third party suppliers to provide your booking) or to provide the services you have booked with reasonable skill and care (where we are performing those services). We have no liability to you except in cases where it is proved that we have breached that duty and damage to you has been caused.

    2) We will not be responsible or pay you compensation for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other claim of any description if it results from:
    a) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected; or
    b) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party unconnected with the provision of the services contracted for and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable; or
    c) unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond ours or our supplier(s) control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or
    d) an event which either ourselves or suppliers could not, even with all due care, have foreseen or forestalled.

3) We limit the amount of compensation we may have to pay you if we are found liable under this clause:

• a) loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions and money: the maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is an amount equivalent to the excess on your insurance policy which applies to this type of loss per person in total because you are required to have adequate insurance in place to cover any losses of this kind.
• b) Claims not falling under (a) above and which don’t involve injury, illness or death: the maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is twice the price paid by you in total. This maximum will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your booking.

4) It is a condition of our acceptance of liability under this clause that you notify any claim to ourselves and our supplier(s) strictly in accordance with the complaints procedure set out in these conditions.

5) Where any payment is made, the person(s) availability (and their parent or guardian if under 18 years) must also assign to ourselves or our insurers any rights they may have to pursue any third party and must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require.

6) Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss of expense or other sum(s) of any description: (a) which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you: or (b) relate to any business.

7) We will not accept responsibility for services or facilities which do not for part of our agreement or where they are not advertised in our brochure. For example any excursion you book whilst away, or any service or facility which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you.

15. Law and Jurisdiction

These Booking Conditions are governed by English law and we both agree that the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute, claim or other matter which may arise between us (unless you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, in which case you can bring proceedings in your local court under Scottish or Northern Irish law, as applicable).

16. Foreign Office Advice

You are responsible for making yourself aware of Foreign Office advice in regard to the safety of the countries and areas in which you will be travelling and to make your decisions accordingly. Advice from the Foreign Office to avoid or leave a particular country may constitute Events Beyond Our Control (see clause 4).

For terms pre 1st October 2020 click here: Terms

COVID CLAUSES

Given the nature of the continually changing landscape we find ourselves in, we have spent time reviewing our policies, supplier contracts and terms and conditions.

Our aim is to be more flexible with bookings and ultimately provide more appropriate and fair terms and conditions for the world we are currently living and operating in.

We have taken a considered approach in an effort to ensure we can offer clarity and confidence when booking with Ultimate Snowsports whilst maintaining our great service throughout!

Tignes has been open since Summer 2021 and continued throughout  Winter 2021/22 and looks to continue as it was before the first lockdown. Masks had to be worn on all lifts but these restrictions were lifted during the 2021/21 winter season.

COVID Booking policy: Deposit to secure your booking is now a non-refundable admin fee of £90.

The remaining balance for the booking is due 8 weeks before your booking date.