1. GENERAL
Villas Croatia acts as an agent for the property owner ( Rent by owner ) of accommodation featured on our website. Your contract and the villa booking is with the property owner. This contract incorporates all the conditions below. Villas Croatia is not a management company.
2. SECURITY DEPOSIT
2.1 A security deposit is required to cover the cost of any damages or breakages. The deposit will be collected on your arrival at the villa and is usually €200 – €2.000 per villa. For telephone use, internet access or other services a higher deposit may be required to cover eventual bills. You will be advised of this at the time of villa booking or if you decide on arrival that you wish to use additional services the higher deposit will be confirmed to you. Please ensure you have this amount of money ready when you arrive otherwise entry into the property may be delayed until the deposit is produced.
2.2 The deposit is usually refunded at the end of your stay subject to an inspection of the villa for damage. In some instances delays of up to 4 weeks in returning the deposit are caused due to awaiting utility bills or proof of damage.
3. CHANGES BY YOU
If you are prevented from traveling, you have a right to transfer your villa to another person and or another date in agreement with the owner of the villa. However, you must tell the villa owner and us you want to do in writing more than 42 days before arrival. You will also be liable for any additional costs caused by this transfer. Until we receive full payment, both you and the person taking your place are responsible for full payment of the villa. Please refer to paragraph headed ‘Other Changes’ with regard to villa transfer within 42 days of arrival.
4. OTHER CHANGES
If you wish to make other changes to your villa booking after it has been confirmed you must notify the villa owner and us in writing as soon as possible. We will endeavor to assist you but cannot give any guarantees. An amendment fee of € 50 per villa booking will be applicable along with any additional costs incurred as a result of the change. Car hire amendment only is subject to a € 25 amendment fee. If you wish to amend your booking within 42 days of departure we may treat this as a cancellation. In this instance the charges as stated in the cancellation charge table in paragraph 5.1 will apply.
5. CANCELLATION
5.1 If you wish to cancel or part cancel your villa booking you may do so either by contacting the villa owner by Contact Owner button or e-mailing the villa owner. Cancellation conditions are determined by the owner of the villa. All Cancellations will take effect from the date received by the villa owner. In all cases a cancellation will only be accepted from the party leader. If you do cancel you will have to pay cancellation charges, usually booking deposit is non-refundable. The amount you pay depends on the date the owner have been informed of the cancellation in writing and the villa cancellation policy posted on the villa page.
5.2 Cancellation charges are calculated as a percentage of the total villa cost. Cancellation charges exclude amendment charges which are non-refundable in the event of your cancellation. Depending on the reason for your cancellation, you may be able to re-claim these cancellation charges (less any applicable excess) under the terms of your insurance policy. Claims must be made directly to the insurance company concerned. Villas Croatia recommends that you purchase travel insurance when booking your villa rental.
6. CHANGES AND CANCELLATIONS BY US
6.1 In the unlikely event that alterations and cancellations have to be instigated by us, we will inform you as soon as possible and if requested we will try to arrange alternative accommodation of a similar type, standard and location.
6.2 If no alternative accommodation is available or acceptable, we will refund in full all monies paid and shall be under no other liability.
7. COMPLAINTS
7.1 If you have a problem whilst at your booked villa, please bring it to the attention of agent/villa owner so that they have an opportunity to put it right at the time. If no agent/villa owner is available in that area, please contact our office direct. Failure to alert us of any problem whilst you are in the villa will lead to a rejection of your complaint by our office.
7.2 If your complaint cannot be completely resolved locally, you must inform agent/villa owner and follow this up within 10 days of checking out of the property by writing to us giving full details of your complaint and we will pass your comments onto the villa owner. In all cases we will try and settle the matter amicably. If you fail to notify us within 10 days of checking out of the property, we reserve the right to reject any claim as it may be, by then, difficult for us to investigate the complaint.
7.3 If you vacate the property before the departure day without notifying agent/villa owner you will lose the right to compensation.
7.4 In the event of controversy arising from the villa booking and property rental, will be resolved between the owner and the client. The agreements shall be governed by the laws of Croatia and The Court in Split.
8. ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
8.1 Guests are expected to arrive between 3.00pm and 7.00pm Croatian time (UTC+1) and to depart by 11.00am. There may be slight variations to these times +/- one hour – you will be advised of the correct arrival/ departure times for your property on your travel documentation. If your arrival is outside these times we may have to impose an out of office hours charge for someone to meet you at the villa. If you arrive after 10.00pm you may not be able to access the property until the following day. Villas Croatia will not be held responsible for any problems arising as a result of the party or members of the party traveling with incorrect documentation.
8.2 Details of whom to meet at the villa are given on the directions sheet issued to you once we have received full payment for the villa.
8.3 Villas Croatia is unable to offer refunds as a result of time lost at your villa due to flight delays. In addition, refunds cannot be issued on villa rentals aborted early.
9. TRAVEL
9.1 The party leader is responsible for the parties taking with them correct travel documentation (passports and visas, driving licenses, vehicle registration, green card, motor insurance etc).
9.2 It is very important that you secure your travel (e.g. flights) arrangements at the same time as booking a villa as Villas Croatia cannot be held responsible for problems arising as a result of non-confirmation of your travel arrangements.
10. YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
10.1 You must keep the property and all furniture, fittings, effects, facilities, equipment and grounds in the same state of repair and condition as at the commencement of your holiday, and in the same state of cleanliness and general order in which it was found. You will be responsible for any breakages, loss or damage to the property. Once again we recommend adequate insurance cover to be made by yourselves and all party members. The property owner reserves the right to make deductions from the security deposit for any extra cleaning over the number of hours committed to departure cleaning, and to claim compensation for costs over and above the sum of the security deposit.
10.2 The parking of caravans/pitching of tents is strictly forbidden.
11. NUMBER OF PEOPLE USING THE PROPERTY
Only those persons named at time the time of villa booking may use the property without prior agreement. The maximum number of people, including infants, allowed at the property may not be exceeded. The owner has the right to terminate the rental without prior notice and without refund if the numbers are exceeded.
12. ACCESS
The property owner or their representative shall be allowed reasonable access to the property to carry out urgent maintenance and/or inspection.
13. BEHAVIOR
The party leader is responsible for the correct and decent behavior of the party. Should you or a member of the party not behave in such a manner, the property owner or agent may use their absolute discretion and ask you and the party to vacate the property without refund.
14. LINEN
Linen and linen change is included in all properties. It is advisable to take a beach towel and to check that cot linen is provided.
15. COMMERCIAL USE, SOCIAL EVENTS AND OTHER FUNCTIONS
Villas Croatia acts as an agent for property owners for the private rental of a property. Use of the villa for commercial purposes is expressly forbidden unless agreed upon prior to villa booking in which case additional terms and conditions and/or insurance may apply. If you are intending to organize a private function (e.g. party, wedding, cocktail party) at the property, you must seek prior permission from villa owner. Additional charges and/or increased security deposit may be sought at the owner’s discretion.
16. SECURITY AND VALUABLES
Any valuables left at the property are left at your own risk. Neither Villas Croatia nor the property owner is responsible for their loss. No refund can be given should you decide to vacate the property as a consequence of a burglary.
17. INFORMATION
17.1 While we make every effort to ensure that descriptions supplied are accurate, we cannot accept responsibility for errors contained therein or the results thereof. You must accept that minor differences between the photograph/illustration/text used and actual property may arise.
17.2 Property owners reserve the right to make modifications to the property specifications that are considered necessary in light of operating requirements. In the interest of continual improvement, property owners reserve the right to alter furniture, fittings, amenities, facilities or any part of any activities, either advertised or previously available without prior notice.
17.3 If material changes occur after your villa booking has been confirmed, we will advise you if there is time before departure.
18. PETS
Pets are not allowed unless with the explicit permission of the owner. The owner reserves the right to add a surcharge and/or increase the security deposit. Number of pets must be agreed prior to acceptance of villa booking.
19. ENVIRONMENT
19.1 Please be aware that many of our properties are in rural or isolated locations and as such you may encounter flora and fauna such as mosquitoes, wasps, ants, local dogs etc as well as other environmental activities e.g. farming, drains etc. Some properties are located on non-surfaced roads.
19.2 Please note whilst we ensure that the properties offered are of the highest standards possible, they may not be equivalent to Us or EU standards.
19.3 Some of properties are over 100 years old, as a result the structure and safety may not have current safety and design features. Whilst Villas Croatia makes every effort to give as much detail on each property as possible, including when it was built and whether or not it is suitable for children/people with walking difficulties, it may mean that the property may be less safe than a more recently designed/built property. Due to the rocky nature of the coastline some of our coastal properties may have steep approaches, many stairs and/or maybe perched on a rocky promontory. Whilst this provides a spectacular location it might not be suitable for certain types of customers and again every effort is made to advise you of this on the villa details.
19.4 Please note we cannot be held responsible for any building or road workings occurring near the property. We will endeavor to advise you of any work occurring should we be aware of it, but work can occur at any time without our prior knowledge.
20. OUR LIABILITY AND THE PROPERTY OWNER
20.1 Neither Villas Croatia (as agent for the property owner) nor the property owner shall be responsible for the death of, or personal injury of any member of a villa booking party, or of any other person at the property unless this results from the proven negligence of the owner, Villas Croatia or our employees.
20.2 Villas Croatia would like to remind clients of the importance of supervising children at all times especially around swimming pools and by the beach.
20.3 We shall not be liable for any loss, breach or delay due to any cause beyond our reasonable control including though not limited to acts of God, explosion, tempest, fire or accident, war or threat of war, civil disturbances, acts, restrictions, regulations, bye-laws or measures of any kind on the part of the government or local authority, strikes, lock-outs or other industrial actions or disputes or adverse weather conditions. In any case we shall be entitled to treat the weather conditions. In any case we shall be entitled to treat the contract as discharged.
20.4 On the event of discharge our liability shall be limited to the return of the sums paid to us in respect of the unused portion of the rental calculated on a pro rate daily basis less an administrative fee of €50 to cover our reasonable expenses.
20.5 We cannot be held responsible for the breakdown of mechanical equipment such as pumps, boilers, swimming pool filtration systems, nor for the failure of public utilities such as water, gas and electricity.
20.6 Neither Villas Croatia nor the owner can be held responsible for noise or disturbance originating beyond the boundaries of the property or which is beyond our control. In the event that a source of noise has been in existence prior to your arrival and we are informed of this, we will contact you to inform you of the disturbance.
20.7 We cannot accept responsibility for events out of our control e.g. bad weather including events arising as a result of very hot or unusual weather, delays caused by carrier companies, breakdown of domestic equipment.
20.8 Special offers involving free nights are always for a maximum of one or two free night depending on the length of stay. Long stay villa bookings cannot be split into two to get more free nights. In such cases such split villa bookings may be refused by the villa owner on arrival or the unentitled free nights claimed maybe charged for locally.
20.9 Occasionally facilities may have to be temporarily withdrawn at short notice during your holiday, often this is beyond our immediate control.
21. WEBSITE LINKS
From time to time we may establish links from the Villas Croatia website to other sites which we feel would be of interest to customers planning a villa holiday. Villas Croatia would like to make it clear that we are not responsible for the actions or content of these websites. It is your responsibility to check the status of these sites.
22. LOW SLUNG CARS
People taking low/sports cars are advised to check that the access to the property is suitable.
23. SPECIAL REQUESTS
We will endeavor to meet any requests you may have prior to travel but unfortunately we cannot guarantee them. Special requests do not form part of our contractual obligations to you and we accept no liability if they are not met.
Booking & Services
Please note:
Each villa has specific set of requirements and rules and it is best to contact us to discuss them before booking. We offer a very personal service and we respond to emails within few hours (depends on the time zone you are writing from).
1. MAKING A BOOKING AND PAYMENT
1.1 Choose the property and contact us with your request. We will then provide the information on the availability and the exact cost of the requested services. We respond fast – within 2 to 24 hours from your initial contact. Once you have made a provisional reservation with us we will ask you to confirm your booking by e-mail or fax. This must be from the first named person on the booking (‘the party leader’). The party leader must be at least 18 years of age and must be authorized to make the booking on the basis of these booking conditions by all persons named on the booking. By confirming the booking details with Villas Croatia the party leader confirms that he/she is so authorized and that all party members agree to be bound by the booking conditions.
1.2 If you cancel your reservation at least 60 days prior to your arrival, we will return the advance payment. If you cancel your reservation within 60 days prior to your arrival, we will not be able to return your advance payment or any other payment you have made.
Upon paying the full amount, we will send you all of the necessary documents for your accommodation, including detailed instructions on how to reach us.
We recommend that you purchase travel insurance in order to avoid possible losses caused by reservation cancellation. If you would like to cancel your reservation and reschedule it for another period, we will do our best to satisfy your demands. If you would like to pass on your reservation to someone else, we will accept this under the same terms, provided we are informed about who the new guests are. Please make all requests related to your reservation in written form.
By confirming your reservation after reading specific and paying the advance, you explicitly confirm that you are familiar with the general terms and conditions of the specific property, and that you accept them.
1.3 The party leader is responsible for making all payments due to villa owner. Once an invoice has been sent out from villa owner a minimum reservation deposit of 30-50% of the rental cost must be paid (depends on the property). A higher deposit may be required where additional terms have been imposed on us by the property owner. You will be notified of any unusual deposit conditions prior to confirmation by us of your booking. The balance of your booking must be received not less than 60 days prior to your arrival date at the villa (depends on the property so please check with us or villa owner). Please make a note in your diary to send the final balance to us by the date due. A reminder invoice will be sent. If final balance is not received on time we may impose an administration fee of € 50. Further your booking may be canceled by villa owner in the event of late payment of the final balance. If booking within 9 weeks of arrival, the full cost of the villa must be paid at the time of booking. You may make a booking over the telephone at 00385 91 4588880, via our website www.villascroatia.com or by e-mailing us at info@VillasCroatia.com. Bookings received in this way are provisional and will be held for 5 days (2 days if traveling within 9 weeks) pending receipt of your deposit/full payment as applicable. If your payment is not received within 5 days the booking will automatically lapse.
1.4 Payment can be made via online banking or wire transfer to villa owner. If you wish to pay by credit card (Amex, Visa or Mastercard) a 5% surcharge will be imposed on the total amount. Please ensure you quote your booking reference number when faxing through the details. Bank transfer payments can be made in USD or EUROS but the amount will be converted to local currency as that is the local law. If you wish to pay by bank transfer please advise us which currency you wish to pay in. Please pay all bank charges.
1.5 Bookings cannot be accepted from parties of young people less than 18 years of age. We reserve the right to refuse a booking without any given reason.
2. CONTRACT
2.1 A contract between you, the party leader and the property owner will come into existence when you have paid a deposit (or full payment if booking within 9 weeks of departure) and villa owner accept your booking by issuing a written confirmation. Any disputes, claim or other matter, which arises out of or in connection with this contract, will be dealt with by the local courts only.
2.2 It is important that you check the villa confirmation you receive from villa owner immediately on receipt. You must contact villa owner and us straight away if any information appears to be incorrect as it may not be possible to make changes later. We regret we cannot accept any liability if we are not notified of any inaccuracies in any document within 14 days of our sending it out.
3. PRICES
3.1 The price of your villa is based on villa owner prices known to us at the time villa prices were published.
3.2 Some property owners will only accept bookings with a minimum of one week in July and August.
3.3 Properties are let fully furnished and equipped. The price of all properties includes reasonable use of linen, electricity, hot and cold water. Occasionally there may be an additional charge for air conditioning/heating where available; you will be advised of this at the time of booking. Where there is a private pool, pool heating will incur an additional expense. Satellite/Cable television where available may not include access to all channels. If internet access is available it is generally assumed that the customer will bring their own laptop. Fax machine means a fax machine can be provided. Use of telephone/ internet facilities must be paid for locally.