TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Please read before booking
Whisky Prestige Travel
Terms and Conditions of booking
These Terms & Conditions were last updated on 1st October 2023 and are applicable to any bookings made after this date, you should read and agree to these before booking.
Whisky Prestige Travel terms and conditions (“the Conditions”) form part of the contract (“the Agreement”) between Whisky Prestige Travel referred to hereafter as ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘our’, and the client (“you”).
Bookings and payment
At the time of booking, you will be provided with a price for the full itinerary of the package agreed between us and you, the client. The price quoted and invoiced will be in GBP and is final except for any additional incidental or discretional costs that are agreed and applied subsequent to the booking being made and deposit being paid. No discussions into foreign exchange movement from the time of booking to the time of invoicing will be entered into.
We are under no obligation to provide the elemental costs of any overall package price.
10% of the total price will be chargeable to you at the time of booking in order to secure your package date. This will be subject to your acceptance of the terms and conditions
50% of your total price will be chargeable to you at 60 days prior to your travel date.
Full payment is required at least 28 days before your travel date.
Bookings made within these thresholds are subject to the applicable chargeable value detailed.
From time to time, on Bespoke Creations, where the itinerary requires higher value deposits or payments up front for bookings of particular activities or experiences, we may ask you to provide non-refundable full payment for these in order to secure bookings of such activities.
Prices for a Bespoke Creations package are inclusive of reasonable consultation sessions. These can be arranged by email, by phone or video conference as required up until the time of booking. Thereafter, further charges may apply.
Changes to itinerary
Where the client wishes to make substantial changes to a Bespoke Creations package, and this will require significant time and effort, then a non-refundable administration charge of £30 for the first half hour and £45 per hour thereafter will be chargeable.
From time to time, and in order to maintain the high standard of package that you have booked, we may need to alter the itinerary that you originally booked with us. This can be due to traffic, weather, tour schedules, distillery silent seasons or other unforeseen circumstances beyond our control. We will always advise clients at the earliest opportunity should this necessity occur. All rearranged tours and accommodations will be of a similar standard of experience as the original booking.
If the clients party do not wish to partake in all tour activities in a package, please advise us at the time of booking and we will adjust the price accordingly. We will endeavour to find a suitable solution for these individuals but this cannot be guaranteed due to the remote nature of some of our activities.
Additional Charges
Your booking price is fully inclusive of your hosts reasonable time for the duration of your chosen package. Should you require any additional service from your host, such as, but not limited to, additional driving services on an overnight package, then this is chargeable at £45 per hour. This is carried out at the hosts discretion for any additional activity required outside of the agreed package.
Cancellations
For cancellations made more than 28 days before your date of departure, a 100% refund will be given.
For cancellations made between 14 days and 27 days before your date of departure, a 50% refund will be given
For cancellations made less than 14 days before your date of departure, no refund can be made.
Regardless of the cancellation date, any incurred deposits or cancellation charges from any accommodation or tour bookings made on the clients’ behalf are the sole liability of the client and will be deducted from any applicable refund.
Regardless of the cancellation date and if no cancellation charges apply, or they are settled by the client, the client is entitled to transfer any remaining balances and reschedule the tour to an alternative date within 12 months of the original date, as agreed with us.
No refunds are offered on any tours if the client is not at the agreed pick-up points at the agreed time. Your driver will wait as long as possible but cannot jeopardise other clients’ pick-up times and any prearranged tour schedules that need to be met.
Tour timings
Please note that the final return times on tours are estimates and due to the flexible nature of our tours and the unpredictability of travel, we cannot guarantee these. Please consider this when making any onward travel arrangements.
Minimum numbers
Bookings will be accepted for all party sizes, however, the minimum number of passengers for our tours to proceed is 4 adults. This is applicable only on our pre-arranged tours where prices are set per person. Lower numbers can be accommodated with a supplementary cost added. In the unlikely event that passenger limits are not met, we will contact you directly to discuss your booking. Should we be required to cancel a tour, we will inform the client no less than 7 days in advance of the tour and offer, either an alternative tour subject to availability, or provide a full refund.
Bespoke Creations are priced per vehicle or full party; therefore, no minimum passenger limits are applicable.
Travel insurance
Whisky Prestige Travel is covered by its own public liability insurance and meets all statutory requirements. However, we strongly recommend that clients have their own comprehensive travel insurance to cover for any eventualities during travel and to meet your own personal needs.
Third party operators and suppliers
We cannot be held responsible for any negligent or otherwise, acts or omissions of any third-party service that is utilised on our packages where it is not connected to our employees or anyone within the direct control of Whisky Prestige Travel.
Tickets and vouchers provided by us for use with third parties are subject to the normal conditions of that individual service provider.
We cannot be held responsible for last minute changes by third party suppliers such as accommodation providers, distilleries and other attractions. This includes changes to their timetables, availability and prices. All third-party suppliers such as accommodation providers, distilleries and other attractions operate their own terms and conditions of service which can be sought directly from them in advance of your visit.
We will use every endeavour to provide a satisfactory outcome to any short notice changes made by third parties that occur during the course of a package.
Please note that whisky distilleries will occasionally have a silent season where no production is taking place. This is to allow for planned maintenance of the distillery. Distillery tours usually still go ahead during this time but actual production of whisky may not be taking place at the time of your visit. This does not generally detract significantly from the quality of your visit, however, we will make every effort to advise you of this wherever possible.
Accommodation
Where accommodation arrangements are made on the client’s behalf these are provided directly to the client independently by third party accommodation providers.
Such arrangements are subject to the terms and conditions and limitations of liability imposed by these providers, and as such any contracts undertaken are made between the customer and the third-party accommodation provider.
All such arrangements are made independently of us, irrespective of any help and assistance which we provide in securing such arrangements. Any changes to reserved accommodation will be subject to availability and cannot be guaranteed.
Luggage
Passengers travelling on overnight packages should limit luggage to one item per person in a standard airline cabin size bag (Approx. 60cm x 40cm x 20cm) for storage in the back of the vehicle. Hand carry bags should be of a size that can sit comfortably within your seating area and not encroach on other passengers.
Children
The nature of our pre-arranged tours, being primarily alcohol related, are not created with children in mind. However, we can carry children in the vehicles who are 5 - 16 years old and we can provide a reduced concessionary rate for one child per party. All other children and over 16’s must pay the full adult price. The client must ensure that a suitable, legally compliant, child car seat is provided for each child travelling. The client is responsible for children where they are not permitted on any particular scheduled tour in the package.
Smoking
Smoking, including e-cigarettes is strictly not permitted in any of our vehicles, whether moving or stationary. Suitable smoking areas must be used at any agreed stops. Whisky distilleries will have specific designated smoking locations which must be strictly adhered to.
Conduct
We reserve the right to refuse to carry any person whose conduct or manner is unlawful, or is likely to cause offence or upset to our driver or to other passengers. In such cases no refund will be given and the Company shall have no further liability to the client or the clients’ party.
Force Majeure
The Company does not accept any liability for any effect on the package, loss, inconvenience or damage caused by war, threat of war, riot or civil commotion, terrorist or criminal activity, industrial disputes, natural disasters, fires, illness, weather conditions, road traffic conditions, temporary technical, electrical or mechanical breakdown, acts of God or the actions of government.
Data Protection
Whenever you communicate with Whisky Prestige Travel or its employees whether in person, by telephone, email, video or via our website, we will respect the security of your personal data and undertake only to collect necessary information required in order to provide our service and we commit to ensuring it is retained securely.
The information we collect will only be used in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018.
When booking with us, we only retain the minimum required information about you - your name, contact phone number, email address, and booking preferences. We do not retain any credit card data. Booking information is stored securely on our booking and payment system.
Data is cleared from our system periodically, however if you wish to have this removed or amended at any time, please email a request to contact@whikyprestige.co.uk or give us a call on: +44 (0)7803 856449
To find out more about the data we collect and how we use it, you can read our full Privacy Policy here.
Legal jurisdiction
This agreement is governed by Scottish law and is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Scottish courts should there be any dispute in relation to the services provided.
Complaints
Whisky Prestige Travel take great pride in providing exemplary customer service from the first contact to the end of your package and beyond. However, if in the unlikely event that something does not meet with your expectations and you have any cause for complaint during your experience this must be advised to your host immediately. Adequate reasonable opportunity to resolve the situation must be given to us and we will make every effort to address and resolve any issues that you may have at the time. Any complaints received after the package is completed cannot be entered into if no reasonable opportunity to resolve the issue, whatever it may be, has been given to us at the time of the complaint..
Enforceability of Terms
If any provision of these terms and conditions is found to be illegal or unenforceable, it does not affect the validity and enforceability of the remainder of these terms and conditions.
COVID 19 Safety
Due to the current uncertain situation surrounding the Corona virus pandemic and COVID 19, it is a condition of travel that you agree and comply with any safety briefing instructions and Scottish Government Covid-19 safety guidance for passenger transport, Latest guidance and instructions will be discussed at the start of your travel. This can include, but is not limited to, use of alcohol gels, face coverings and instructions on social distancing. Failure to follow guidance may result in travel being refused. In the event of this, no refund or compensation will be provided.
Our priority is the safety of you. your party, our staff and the general public. In addition to our standard cleaning regimes, we have implemented a series of enhanced hygiene measures, including disinfectant fogging, antimicrobial films, hand gels, face coverings and added ventilation. Whilst the steps taken have gone significantly beyond those set out in Government guidance to mitigate risk, clearly, we cannot eradicate risk of Covid-19 transmission entirely. Passengers must therefore be aware that there is an inherent risk to travel and do so entirely at their own risk. We cannot be held responsible for potential transmission or contraction of COVID 19 whilst on in our vehicles, even where all guidelines and instructions have been met and followed.
Covid-19 & third parties
Covid-19 requires attractions, visitor centres, hotels to introduce mitigating control measures. Clients must adhere to all instructions regarding social distancing, this may include wearing of face covering, use of hand gels and any other guidance as advised by each individual provider. Failure to comply may result in you not being admitted to specific areas or attractions. Under these circumstances no refunds will be given.
To be compliant with Scottish Government guidelines for tracing customers and also to help manage the reduced capacity, most attractions who are operating will require customers to be prebooked and prepaid. If this is the case, and it affects your booking, we will be in touch with you to advise you.
We will do everything possible to avoid any impact on our tours, however given the current situation, Whisky Prestige Travel cannot be held responsible for last minute changes made as a result of COVID 19 restrictions being put in place.