Ts & Cs – The Old Buoy Inn

Our Booking Terms & Conditions

Your booking with The Old Buoy Inn is made subject to the following terms and conditions.

1. These terms

1.1 What these terms cover. These are the terms and conditions which apply to room bookings you make with us, whether online, by telephone or in person at The Old Buoy Inn. If you book your stay through a third-party travel agent or booking site not controlled by us, different terms and conditions may apply to your booking instead of, or in addition to, these terms. In that case you should check with the third party you booked with.

1.2 Why you should read them. Please read these terms carefully before you submit your booking request. They tell you who we are, how we will provide our services to you, how you and we may change or end the contract, what to do if there is a problem and other important information.

2. About us and how to contact us

2.1 Who we are. The Old Buoy Inn is operated by Harry & Frankie Ltd, [CONFIRM: company number and registered office address]. Our address is The Old Buoy Inn, 1 St Aidans, Seahouses, Northumberland, NE68 7SR. In these terms, “we”, “our” and “us” means Harry & Frankie Ltd trading as The Old Buoy Inn.

2.2 How to contact us. You can contact us by telephone on 01665 486 220 (lines are open 9am–8pm), by email at info@theoldbuoyinn.co.uk, or by post to The Old Buoy Inn, 1 St Aidans, Seahouses, Northumberland, NE68 7SR.

2.3 How we may contact you. If we need to contact you, we will do so by telephone or by writing to the email or postal address you gave us when booking. A valid email address must be provided for all bookings.

2.4 “Writing” includes emails. When we use the words “writing” or “written” in these terms, this includes emails.

3. Our contract with you

3.1 How we accept your booking. We accept your booking when we email you to confirm it. At that point a contract comes into existence between you and us.

3.2 If we cannot accept your booking. If we are unable to accept your booking, we will tell you before you finalise your booking request, or in writing after you have submitted it. If we cannot accept your booking, we will not charge you. This might be because the room is not available, or because we have identified an error in the price or description of the room.

3.3 Your booking number. We will give you a booking number when we accept your booking. Please quote it whenever you contact us about your booking.

3.4 Age. You must be at least 18 years old to make a booking or to stay with us, unless you are accompanied by someone aged 18 or over.

3.5 Securing your booking. You must provide valid credit or debit card details to secure your booking. The card must be valid until the date of your stay. If you do not provide valid card details, or we later find the card has expired or been cancelled, we may cancel your booking immediately without liability to you. We accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express.

3.6 Group bookings. A booking for five or more rooms is a “group booking”, and the rules in section 6 apply.

3.7 Special requests. We will try to meet any special request you make when booking or later, but we cannot guarantee it, and we will not be in breach of this contract if we cannot.

3.8 Our rooms and facilities. Photographs of rooms on our website or in our advertising are intended to give a general idea of the style and layout only. We do not guarantee that the room you are allocated will match any photographs. [CONFIRM ONE: “We do not have guest car parking.” OR “Car parking is available but cannot be guaranteed, and a charge may apply.”]

3.9 You cannot transfer this contract. Your booking is personal to you and you cannot transfer or re-sell it. We may cancel your booking without compensation if the named lead guest is not present at check-in, or cannot produce identification to prove they are the lead guest.

4. Price and payment

4.1 How we price. Our room prices vary depending on the time of year, the day and demand. The price of your booking will be the price we gave you during the booking process and/or in our confirmation. Prices are per room, per night, and include VAT at the rate applicable when you book.

4.2 Changes in VAT. If the rate of VAT changes between the date you book and the date of your stay, your overall price will stay the same.

4.3 What our prices include. Breakfast is included only when your room rate is described as “Bed and Breakfast”. All other meals, drinks and extras (other than those your confirmation says are included) must be paid for separately.

4.4 When you pay (bookings of four rooms or fewer). When you pay depends on the rate you have booked. We will tell you which rate applies to your booking:

Standard rate: you pay in full when you check in.
Advance purchase rate: you pay in full when we accept your booking.
Special offers and promotions: the payment terms will be stated during the booking process and in your confirmation.

5. Cancellation and changes

5.1 Your cancellation rights (bookings of four rooms or fewer). Your cancellation rights depend on the rate you have booked:

Standard rate: you may cancel free of charge at any time before 3pm two days before your arrival date. For example, if you arrive on a Saturday, you can cancel free of charge until 3pm on the Thursday before. After that deadline the booking is non-refundable, and if you cancel (or do not arrive) you will be charged the full price of your booking, including any meals or extras. If you make a standard-rate booking after this deadline has passed, you will have no right to cancel it.
Advance purchase rate: the booking is non-refundable and cannot be cancelled by you. If you cancel (or do not arrive), you will still be charged the full price of your booking, including any meals or extras.
Special offers and promotions: the cancellation rights will be stated during the booking process and in your confirmation. If none are stated, the advance purchase rate terms above apply.

Any cancellation charge is to compensate us for the cancellation and is not a charge for any service.

5.2 Consumer rights. For the avoidance of doubt, you do not have a right to cancel or withdraw from your booking under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

5.3 Changing your booking. A request to add rooms or nights to an existing booking will be treated as a new, separate booking. A request to remove rooms or nights will be treated as a partial cancellation, and the cancellation rules above will apply.

5.4 Invoices. Invoice details cannot be changed after check-out. If you need a VAT invoice for your stay, please give us the details before you arrive or when you check in.

5.5 How to cancel. You can cancel your booking by:

[CONFIRM: keep only if guests can manage bookings online] using the link in your booking confirmation email to manage your booking online; or
calling us on 01665 486 220 during opening hours and giving us the details of your booking.

5.6 When we may cancel your booking. We may cancel your booking (even after your stay has started) with immediate effect by giving you written notice if:

you do not pay us when you are required to;
you break the contract between us in some other way;
we reasonably expect that you will break the contract if the booking goes ahead (including where you have broken a contract with us on a previous booking); and/or
we reasonably conclude that you and people you know have made several separate bookings which should fairly be treated as a group booking under section 6.

5.7 You must compensate us if you break the contract. If we cancel your booking for any of the reasons in clause 5.6, we may charge you the full price of your booking (or keep any payment already made) as compensation for the cancellation. This is not a charge for any service. We also keep our other legal rights in respect of your breach of contract.

5.8 Events outside our control. We may cancel your booking if events outside our control mean we cannot safely and properly provide your room. These include, but are not limited to, changes in law or government guidance, industrial action, explosion, outbreak of disease, health and safety issues, fire, flood, failure of power or water supplies, or emergency evacuation. We will tell you in writing as soon as we reasonably can, refund any money you have paid for the booking, and make no further charges. Apart from that refund, we are not liable for any failure or delay in performing our obligations caused by events outside our control.

5.9 Insurance. We recommend you take out insurance to cover you if you need to cancel when we do not offer a refund, and against loss of or damage to your belongings during your stay.

6. Group bookings (five or more rooms)

6.1 How this section applies. For group bookings, this section applies instead of the payment rules in clause 4.4 and the cancellation rules in clause 5.1.

6.2 Payment for group bookings.

Booking made more than 6 weeks before arrival: a non-refundable deposit of 10% of the total booking price is payable within 2 weeks of us accepting your booking. The balance, together with a full rooming list, is due 6 weeks before your arrival date.
Booking made within 6 weeks of arrival: full payment and a full rooming list are required when you book, and the booking is non-refundable.

6.3 How the balance is paid. If you have given us card details, we may charge that card for the balance on or after the date it becomes due. If you have not, it is your responsibility to contact us and pay the balance by the due date.

6.4 Cancelling a group booking.

You may cancel up to 3pm on the day 6 weeks before your arrival date and receive a refund of any amounts paid, except the deposit. For example, if your stay starts on 10 April, you may cancel up to 3pm on 27 February.
Once the balance has become due under clause 6.2, you cannot cancel. If you cancel after this time (or do not arrive), you will be charged the full price of your booking, including any meals or extras. This charge is to compensate us for the cancellation and is not a charge for any service.

7. Room occupancy

7.1 Number of guests. You must tell us how many guests will stay in each room when you book. You may not increase the number of guests on a booking later unless we agree.

7.2 Maximum occupancy. You must not exceed the maximum occupancy of the room allocated to you. We may check room occupancy during your stay. Children under 16 may only stay with us if a parent or guardian is also staying.

7.3 Pets. Official assistance dogs are welcome. Otherwise, pets and animals are not permitted, except dogs in rooms we advertise as dog-friendly. If you would like to bring a dog, please tell us in advance. An additional charge applies per dog, up to a maximum of two dogs per room.

7.4 Your room. We may change the room allocated to you at check-in, or ask you to move rooms during your stay, for a room of the same or a higher standard. We will not need to compensate you for this.

8. Arrival and departure

8.1 Check-in. Check-in is from 3pm on your arrival date. If you will arrive after 10pm, please let us know. If you do not, we may treat your booking as cancelled by you at 10pm on your arrival date.

8.2 Check-out. Rooms must be vacated, and keys returned, by 10:30am on your departure date. If you check out late, we may charge a late check-out fee. If you have not vacated your room by 11:30am, we may charge you for an additional night at our full standard rate for that room.

8.3 Identification. We may ask all guests to show identification to prove their identity, nationality and age, and may refuse check-in if suitable identification is not provided. Acceptable identification includes a passport, a driving licence, or any other document our staff reasonably accept. Guests who are not UK citizens may be asked to complete a registration form and show their passport, which we may copy.

9. Your conduct

9.1 Your conduct. You agree that you, and every guest on your booking, will:

show consideration for other guests and our staff;
only access your own room and public areas such as the entrance, bar, restaurant and toilets;
not use abusive or foul language;
not behave in a violent or threatening way towards anyone;
not bring, use or be under the influence of illegal drugs anywhere on our premises;
not be excessively drunk on or around our premises;
not smoke or vape anywhere inside our premises [CONFIRM: remove this note if there are no smoking rooms — otherwise add: “except in a room we have designated as a smoking room”];
not create any health and safety hazard;
not tamper with, cover or block fire alarms or any other emergency equipment;
not use any electrical or mechanical equipment in your room which might damage the room or set off fire alarms;
not bring onto our premises anything illegal, or anything which may damage the premises or create a health and safety hazard;
not prevent our staff from entering your room when we reasonably need to, including for housekeeping at reasonable intervals;
not remove, damage or destroy any of our property, or damage any part of our premises; and
not behave in an anti-social or disruptive way, including making excessive noise or odours.

9.2 When we can end your stay. If you or anyone in your party breaks the rules above or any other part of this contract, we may:

immediately end your booking and cancel the rest of your stay (for all rooms, if you booked more than one);
cancel key cards or otherwise restrict your access to your room or the premises;
require you and your party to leave the premises immediately, including any car park or other land we own, and remove you if you refuse;
remove any belongings left in your room and, if they are not collected within 7 days, dispose of them without liability to you; and/or
ban you from staying, eating or drinking with us in future.

9.3 Financial consequences. If we end your stay early under clause 9.2, we will not refund any part of your booking and will not be liable for any additional costs or losses you incur as a result.

9.4 Damage to our premises. If you or anyone in your party damages our premises, or takes any of our property when leaving, you are responsible as the lead guest and agree to pay us on demand the cost of putting it right.

10. If we have to close

10.1 If The Old Buoy Inn closes or becomes unusable:

for reasons we did not plan or foresee (for example, serious damage to the building or the surrounding area), we may either end the contract immediately by giving you notice and refund you in full within a reasonable time, or move you to a nearby hotel of the same or a higher standard at the same price; or
because of our own business decisions (for example, refurbishment), we may either end the contract by giving you written notice a reasonable time before your stay and refund you in full within a reasonable time, or move you to a nearby hotel of the same or a higher standard at the same price.

In either case, we will decide which option applies.

11. Our responsibility for loss or damage

11.1 Foreseeable loss. If we fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breaking this contract or failing to use reasonable care and skill. We are not responsible for loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if it is obvious that it will happen, or if both you and we knew it might happen when the contract was made.

11.2 What we do not exclude. We do not exclude or limit our liability where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors; for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; and for breach of your legal rights in relation to your booking.

11.3 Business losses. We are not liable to you, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise, for any business losses, including loss of income, sales, revenue, business, profits, contracts, anticipated savings, data, reputation or goodwill, business interruption, or wasted management or office time.

11.4 Events outside our control. We are not liable to you for loss or damage caused by events outside our reasonable control.

11.5 Limit of our liability. Where we are liable to you, our maximum liability, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise, will not exceed the price of your booking, unless the Hotel Proprietors Act 1956 applies, in which case our liability will be limited to the maximum set out in that Act.

11.6 Your statutory rights. Nothing in these terms affects your statutory rights.

12. Your personal information

12.1 We will only use your personal information as set out in our Privacy Policy

12.2 Like most websites, our website uses cookies and server logs to understand how it is used and to improve it. Details are in our Privacy Policy.

13. Other important terms

13.1 We may transfer this contract. We may transfer our rights and obligations under these terms to another organisation. We will always tell you in writing if this happens, and it will not affect your rights under the contract.

13.2 Nobody else has rights under this contract. This contract is between you and us. No other person has any right to enforce any of its terms.

13.3 If part of this contract is found to be unlawful. Each part of these terms operates separately. If a court or other authority decides that any part is unlawful, the rest will remain in full force.

13.4 Delay in enforcing. If we do not insist straight away that you do something you are required to do, or we delay in taking action against you for breaking this contract, you still have to do it, and we can still take action later.

13.5 Which laws apply. These terms are governed by English law, and you can bring legal proceedings about your booking in the English courts. If you live in Scotland, you can bring proceedings in either the Scottish or English courts. If you live in Northern Ireland, you can bring proceedings in either the Northern Irish or English courts.

All matters are at the management’s discretion, and the management’s decision is final, except where this would affect your statutory rights.

The Old Buoy Inn is operated by Harry & Frankie Ltd.