The following booking conditions together with the general information contained on our website form the basis of your relationship with The Online Ski Company (“we” and/or “us”) trading as American Ski Holidays/US Skitours, (ASH) registered office – Bridge House, Market St, Glossop,SK13 8AR, with Company Registration number – 07746538 and the owners/managers of the properties or other services featured on our website. In these booking conditions, references to “you” and “your” means all persons named person on the booking (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date), or any of them as the context requires.

All references in these booking conditions to “holiday”, “accommodation”, “booking”, “contract”, or “arrangements” mean such holiday arrangements. Please read these booking conditions carefully as they set out each party’s respective rights and obligations in detail but please note in particular that:

The rights and obligations that apply to your booking differ depending on whether you book a package holiday or non-package booking as set below in clause 1;
If for any reason you cancel your holiday, cancellation charges will apply and may be up to 100% of the booking cost. We may also cancel your booking;
You may make amendments to your booking but there will be a charge for this and we can change your booking where it is necessary for us to do so;
You should take out travel insurance that is appropriate to your needs;

1. Important Information about your booking and our responsibility for it

Please note that for accommodation only bookings, or bookings made for single transport, or other tourist services alone (‘non-package bookings’) we act only as an agent in respect of all bookings we take and/or make on your behalf. If you book any such single service and then later book another such service, it will not convert your booking into a package holiday and it will remain a non-package booking. We accept no liability in relation to any contract you enter into or for any such services or arrangements you purchase or for the acts or omissions of any supplier(s) or other person(s) or party(ies) connected with any arrangements. For all arrangements, your contract will be with the supplier of the arrangements.

The terms and conditions of the supplier(s) of your confirmed arrangements will apply to your booking. These terms and conditions may limit and/or exclude the supplier’s liability to you. Copies of these conditions are available on request from us and will prevail over our booking conditions. Clauses 6, 7, 12, and 20 of our Bookings Conditions will not apply to any such bookings.

2. How to Book

Once you have chosen what arrangements you wish to book please contact us by phone or email. Our staff will be delighted to answer any questions you may have. We will then check the price and availability of those arrangements. For all bookings made within 10 weeks of the date your arrangements are due to commence a contract shall come into existence between you and the supplier of the services concerned once payment has been taken in respect of the arrangements.

For all bookings made more than 10 weeks before the date your arrangements are due to commence, a contract shall come into existence between you and the supplier of the services concerned once we have received your booking and all applicable payments and the confirmation invoice has been issued by or on behalf of the supplier of the arrangements concerned.

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

He/she has read these terms and conditions and understands that for non-package bookings we act only as agent for the supplier of the arrangements otherwise the contract for the arrangements will be with us;
He/she consents to our use of information in accordance with our privacy policy.
He/she is over 18 years of age and resident in the United Kingdom 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.
He/she has the authority of all party members (and by their parent or guardian for all party members who are under 18 when the booking is made) to make the booking on the basis of these and the supplier(s) of the arrangements booking conditions.

Your arrangements will be confirmed by the issuing of a confirmation invoice on behalf of the supplier(s) of your arrangements concerned. Contact us immediately if any information which appears on the confirmation or any other document appears to be incorrect or incomplete as it may not be possible to make changes later. We regret we cannot accept any liability if we are not notified of any inaccuracy in any document within seven days of our sending it out or five days for tickets (or within 24 hours if your travel date is within 2 weeks).

If you have any additional requirements (such as ski passes, ski and boot hire etc.) please let us know at the time of booking. If you do not advise us at the time of booking, it may not be possible for these to be provided if you request these at a later stage.

Please note: We may, at our discretion verbally agree to hold a provisional reservation for you – “an option”. An option does not bring into existence a contract. It may not be possible to hold options for peak dates and with all suppliers. Please call to inform us if you wish to cancel an option. In any event an option will automatically expire after 2 days from the date it is held by us on behalf of the supplier concerned if we have not received written or verbal confirmation of your booking and the deposit from you. We will not hold options if the date your chosen arrangements are due to commence is within 10 weeks of you requesting the option.

3. Payment

In order to confirm your chosen arrangements, a deposit of between 25% and 50% of the holiday cost of the arrangements per person (or full payment if booking within 10 weeks of the date your arrangements are due to commence) must be paid at the time of booking.

The balance of the holiday cost must be received by us not less than 8 weeks prior to the date your arrangements are due to commence. This date will be shown on the confirmation invoice. If we do not receive all payments due in full and on time, we and/or the relevant supplier reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you. In this case the cancellation charges set out in clause 7 will be payable.

Deposit and balance payments can be made by debit card, credit card, online, or bank transfer. If you wish to pay by bank transfer, please contact us for our account details and sort code. All payments made by bank transfer should be made payable to ‘The Online Ski Company Ltd Clients Account’. Please be aware that payments made out to trading names and not the registered company name may not be accepted, leading to a delay in receiving your funds.

4. Accuracy

We endeavour to ensure that all the information and prices on our website are accurate; however occasionally changes and errors occur and we reserve the right to correct prices and other details in such circumstances. You must check the current price and all other details relating to the arrangements that you wish to book before your booking is confirmed.

The photographs, plans and descriptions featured on our website may not always show your individual accommodation which we reserve for our clients and they may have been taken using artificial lighting and camera techniques which do not show a true likeness of the accommodation, they are therefore only to be used as a general impression of what you may expect rather than an accurate portrayal. Apartment plans and descriptions are given as examples of what is available. They do not necessarily represent the type of accommodation which will be allocated to you on arrival as many apartments are individually built with slightly differing characteristics and sizes. The number of beds in each apartment will be correct, however room configuration and bed type might be subject to change, including mezzanine and duplex arrangements. Some apartments and rooms are built under the eaves and therefore may have low ceilings. There may be occasions, especially in low season, when facilities may be withdrawn or reduced by the individual accommodation owners or resorts.

5. Pricing

Please note that our website will on occasion display ‘to-from’ prices, owing to frequent price fluctuations in travel arrangements and exchange rates. However, we reserve the right to make changes to and correct errors in advertised prices at any time before your arrangements are confirmed and to correct errors in the prices of confirmed holidays. The current prices of the arrangements we advertise are shown on our website and are available by telephoning us on 0207 117 2717. Please ensure you have checked the price of any holiday you are interested in before making your booking.

The price of your confirmed arrangement is subject to change. Such changes in price may result in an increase or decrease of the cost of your chosen arrangements. If a price increase is due, we will write to you explaining why and showing a calculation of how the increase is calculated. We will not impose a surcharge within 20 days of the commencement of your arrangements and where any price increase exceeds 8% of the total price of your package holiday, clause 7 below and your right to cancel will apply. Where any price reduction is due to you because of the decrease in our costs in the categories set out above we will deduct our administrative expenses from any refund owed and will provide proof of any expenses so deducted.

6. Booking Alterations

By you

Should you wish to make any changes to your confirmed arrangements, you must notify us in writing as soon as possible. This should be done by the first named person on the booking. Whilst we will endeavour to assist, we cannot guarantee the supplier concerned will be able to meet any such requests. Where they can, an amendment fee of £25 per person/per booking will be payable to us together with any costs or charges incurred or imposed by the accommodation supplier and/or any other suppliers concerned. You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the departure 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 it will likely be treated as a cancellation by you and the provisions of clause 7 will apply.

Note: Amending certain arrangements may be treated by the supplier concerned as a cancellation, for example ski hire, airport transfers, car hire and ski passes etc after they have been confirmed and any change may incur an amendment charge of the full cost of that element.

If you should lose your vouchers (and you have purchased these arrangements from us) we will reissue any vouchers though there may be an administrative charge of up to £25.

You may transfer your booking to another person (“the transferee”) who satisfied all the conditions required by these booking conditions. If you wish to request such a transfer, you must do so in writing to us at least 7 days before the commencement of your arrangements. Both you and the transferee will be liable to us for the full cost of any transfer which will include the cost imposed by any supplier(s) concerned along with our administrative expenses in facilitating the change.

By us

We try to avoid making changes to your chosen arrangements, but we plan such services many months in advance and events can happen which mean we must reserve the right to do so. We may therefore make changes after booking where they are, viewed in the context of the purpose of such arrangements, insignificant. Where there is an opportunity to do so we will write to you advising you of such changes. Where a change is insignificant, you are not entitled to any refund, compensation, or to alternative arrangements or cancellation. What is an insignificant change will vary from booking to booking but the following are a guide to what is considered insignificant; a change of departure or arrival time of less than 6 hours for holidays lasting less than 7 days, or up to 12 hours for holiday longer in duration, a change of accommodation to that of the same category in the same resort, and the part or full removal or alteration of minor services or facilities.

If we have to make a significant change before the start of your chosen arrangements (including an increase of the price of your arrangements above 8%) then you will be entitled to accept the changes or cancel without paying a cancellation fee and receive a full refund within 14 days. We will inform you without unnecessary delay in writing of any such rights along with:

(a) the proposed changes and, where appropriate, their impact on the price of your chosen arrangements.

(b) how long you have to inform us of your choice in writing to either accept the changes or cancel without paying a cancellation fee;

(c) the consequences of your failure to respond within the period referred to in paragraph (b); and

(d) any substitute package, of an equivalent or higher quality, if possible, offered to you and its price.

If you chose to take a substitute option or accept amendments to your arrangements which result in a lower overall quality or cost, you are entitled to an appropriate price reduction. If you do not inform us within the time we specify of your choice to accept the changes or terminate the contract we will write to you again to remind you, if you still do not respond we may treat your booking as cancelled and refund all payments due to you.

7. Cancellation by you

Should you or any member of your party have to cancel their booking, or any part of their booking, the party leader should immediately inform us in writing. Your notice of cancellation will only take effect when it is received in writing by us at our offices and will be effective from the date on which we receive it. As we and any supplier incur costs in relation to every booking, you will have to pay termination charges. For bookings which are non-package bookings, details of these are available upon request and in addition we will also be entitled to levy an administration charge to these termination charges. For all other bookings the following termination fees will apply:

Date on which cancellation Amount of termination charge in writing is received by us before departure

More than 84 days Deposit only

Between 84 and 70 days 50%

Between 70 and 35 days 75%

Less than 35 days 100%

If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges.

If you cancel due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances occurring in the place of destination or its immediate vicinity and which significantly affect the performance of your arrangements or your carriage to the destination you may cancel before the start of the arrangements without paying any termination fee but no compensation is payable in addition. Any cancellation terms for Covid reasons are different from the above and addressed by each accommodation and service suppler. We will supply these cancellation terms prior to booking and/or on request. We also recommend you check your travel insurance for any specific Covid cover included.

8. Force majeure

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions, we will not be liable or pay you compensation if any obligations to you are affected by any event which we or the supplier(s) of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. These events can include, but are not limited to war, threat of war, civil strife, terrorist activity and its consequences or the threat of such activity, riot, the act of any government or other national or local authority including port or river authorities, industrial dispute, lock closure, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, chemical or biological disaster and adverse weather, sea, avalanche, heavy snowfall, land slide, ice and river conditions and all similar events outside the concerned supplier(s) control.

9. Special requests

Any special requests must be advised to us at the time of booking e.g. diet, room location etc. Although we will endeavour to pass any reasonable requests on to the relevant supplier or property owner concerned, we regret it cannot be guaranteed any request will be met. The fact that a special request has been noted on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation or that it has been passed on to the supplier is not confirmation that the request will be met.

10. Medical Problems

If you or any member of your party have any medical problem or disability which may affect your arrangements or any special requirements because of any medical condition or disability (including any which affect the booking process), please tell us before you confirm your booking so that we can assist you in considering the suitability of the arrangements and/or making the booking. In any event, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking and whenever any change in the condition of the disability occurs. You must also promptly advise us if any medical condition or disability which may affect your holiday develops after your booking has been confirmed. If the supplier of the service in question feels unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person concerned, they must reserve the right to decline their reservation or, if full details are not given at the time of booking or the condition/disability develops after booking, cancel when they become aware of these details.

11. Your responsibility

When you book with us, you accept full responsibility for any damage or loss caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or loss must be paid by you to the accommodation / other supplier concerned. If you fail to do so, you will be responsible for meeting any claims subsequently made against us (together with our own and the other party’s full legal costs) as a result of your actions.

You undertake to behave with propriety and in such a manner as in no way to cause distress, damage, danger or injury to other clients, property, our employees and/or any third party. The contract or rights of any client in breach of this clause may be terminated forthwith and neither we nor the accommodation / other supplier concerned shall have any further contractual obligations to you. In this situation, the person(s) concerned will be required to leave the accommodation or other service. No refunds will be made and the accommodation / other supplier concerned will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.

Most suppliers require you to pay a security deposit direct to the supplier on arrival at your accommodation. The security deposit will normally be used as payment towards the cost of any damage or loss caused by you or any member of your party. We cannot accept any responsibility in resolving any dispute you may have with a supplier regarding the security deposit. In the event of any such dispute you must resolve this directly with the supplier concerned. You are strongly advised to check the accommodation on arrival for any damage/missing items and bring this to the supplier’s attention straight away.

You must take all necessary steps to safeguard your personal property. No liability is accepted by us in respect of damage to, or loss of, your personal property except where it results from our negligence or our employee’s negligence (providing they were at the time acting in the course of their employment with us).

12. Our responsibility to you

We are responsible for the proper performance of your arrangements included in your contract with us irrespective of whether those services are to be performed by us or another supplier. We have no liability to you and no compensation will be payable for any damage which is attributable to; i) you; or ii) a third party unconnected with the provision of the service in question and the improper performance was unforeseeable or unavoidable; or iii) such improper performance is due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances.

Where we are responsible for any improper performance, we will pay you appropriate compensation and a price reduction. Improper performance will be judged in the light of any relevant local standards or practices which will often be lower than those in the UK.

If any applicable international conventions limit the extent of, or the conditions under which, compensation is to be paid by a provider carrying out a travel service which is part of any package with us, then the same limitations are to apply to us as if we were the ones carrying out any such travel service. In all other cases compensation, except for personal injury or damage caused intentionally or with negligence or otherwise limited by law will be limited to 3 times the price paid for your arrangements. Where you have additional rights to compensation under any international or EU conventions or regulations you agree that you will first bring claims under any such legislation if you are able to and that in any event, we may first deduct from any sums owed by us to you the compensation or price reductions that would otherwise be awarded to you under any such conventions or regulations.

13. Holiday feedback

We are always very interested in hearing your comments on your arrangements. Clients’ complaints, which fortunately are very rare, will be forwarded to the individual accommodation/other supplier concerned and dealt with according to their instructions. In the event of a complaint concerning any aspect of your arrangements, you must immediately report it to the ASH office as well as to the relevant accommodation/other supplier. Failure to take these steps will deprive us / the supplier the opportunity to resolve the problem immediately and/or investigate it properly. In consequence, this may affect your rights to compensation.

If the matter cannot be resolved in resort and you wish to take it up on your return, we must be notified in writing within 28 days of the date your arrangements ended.

14. Passports, visas and health requirements

It is your responsibility to check and fulfil the passport, visa, health and immigration requirements applicable to your itinerary. 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.

British citizens require a full ten-year British passport valid for at least six months after the end date of the arrangements. If you or any member of your party is 16 or over and haven’t yet got a passport, our recommendation is that you should apply for one at least 6 weeks before the date your arrangements are due to commence. The UK Passport Service has to confirm your identity before issuing your first passport and you will have to attend an interview in order to do this. For further information contact the Passport Office on 0300 222 0000 or visit www.gov.uk/browse/abroad/passports

Please note that special conditions apply for travel to the USA, and all passengers must have individual machine-readable passports. If you are unsure whether your passport is machine readable, please ask at the time of booking. Recent changes to the visa waiver programme also now require travellers to obtain authorisation (known as ESTA) before departing the UK. You can apply online at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visa-waiver-program.html and the application process takes approximately 15-20 minutes. Authorisation is normally granted immediately but may take up to 72 hours. We recommend that you apply for authorisation at the time of booking or at least 72 hours before your flight to ensure that you are able to travel. Those making late bookings can still apply, but there is risk that they may not receive immediate confirmation. Once granted, authorisation is valid for two years. You do not need to have firm plans to travel to apply for authorisation. Please note – in certain limited situations you may require a visa to travel to the US even though you have a machine-readable passport. Please contact the US Embassy at https://uk.usembassy.gov/.

Visa exempt foreign nationals who fly to or transit through Canada will need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA). Exceptions include U.S. citizens and travellers with a valid visa. Please see https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/eta.html for further information.

British citizens do not require a visa for the USA or Canada at the time of going to press (except as set out above). This information is particularly subject to change at short notice and you must check the actual requirements for the places you are visiting in good time before departure. Please note: Arriving passengers in the USA may have a digital photograph and have inkless digital scans taken of their index fingers.

It is your responsibility to ensure you are aware of all recommended vaccinations and health precautions in good time before departure. Details are available from your GP surgery and from the National Travel Health Network and Centre https://nathnac.net/. Information on health abroad is also available on https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/countries. At this point in time, we are not aware of any compulsory health requirements applicable to British citizens taking any of the holidays featured on our website.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you are in possession of all necessary travel and health documents before departure. All costs incurred in obtaining such documentation must be paid by you. We regret that we, nor the supplier concerned cannot accept any liability if you are refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to failure on your part to carry correct documentation. If failure to have any necessary travel or other documents results in fines, surcharges or other financial penalty being imposed, you are solely responsible for them.

Current travel advice can be obtained from the Consular Department of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. For up-to-date travel information please look at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-office

15. Travel insurance

You and your party must obtain suitable winter sports insurance, from a reputable provider at the time of booking, which should include at least the following:

Emergency medical expenses including, amongst other costs mountain rescue, ambulance charges and repatriation.
Cancellation of your trip or curtailment (cutting short your trip).
Personal liability to include, amongst other liabilities;
Damage caused by your negligence to the property in which you are staying.
May not exclude claims made by travelling companion (other than family).
Travel and transfer delays and missed departure which must include amongst other costs additional costs incurred in the event of a delay beyond your or our control.
Activities in which you are likely to participate and in particular off-piste skiing with or without a guide (it is possible to ski off-piste inadvertently).

Note: There are of course other sections to a winter sports insurance policy such as baggage, legal expenses, ski equipment, personal accident and so on.

You may be required to provide us, upon request, with the name of your insurer, together with their 24-hour emergency number. However, please note that we do not check policies for suitability.

16. Conditions of Suppliers

All of the services which make up your arrangements are provided by independent suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions which are incorporated into this agreement. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier’s liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions (Copies of these terms and conditions are available on request from ourselves or the supplier concerned).

17. Resort Services

Local services such as resort shuttle buses are run by local companies which are unconnected with us or the accommodation/other suppliers we feature and as such we have no control over them.

18. Excursions and local activities

The information contained on our website is correct to the best of our knowledge. We may provide you with information (on our website and/or when you are on holiday) about activities and excursions which are available in the area you are visiting.

We are not involved in any such activities or excursions which are neither run, nor controlled in any way by us. They are provided by local operators or other third parties who are entirely independent of us. Where we make or take any booking for or from you in resort in respect of any activity or excursion available in resort we do so solely as booking agent. This is the case regardless of whether the activity or excursion is advertised or mentioned in our brochure, in resort, on our website or elsewhere. Your contract for any such activity or excursion will be with the supplier or operator of that activity or excursion. We have no liability for any such activity or excursion or for any act(s) or omission(s) of the supplier or operator or for any of its/their employees or agents or any other person(s) connected with the activity or excursion. If we are found liable in any respect for any such activity or excursion (for example in our capacity as booking agent) that liability is limited to the cost of the particular activity or excursion concerned. We do not limit or exclude our liability for death or personal injury arising from our negligence.

19. Financial Security

We are directly not a member of ABTA, TTA or ATOL, however we can provide financial security for accommodation or package holidays, through our association and relationship with ABTA, TTA or ATOL members. If flights are required, then such packages including flights have to be ATOL bonded. Our suppliers will then be identified on your ATOL Certificate and who will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where neither we nor the supplier can do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL Scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable).

If the suppliers identified on your ATOL Certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us, the travel agent (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims may be re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme.

If you make non-package bookings with us, your monies will not be financially protected, unless otherwise agreed with one of our suppliers.

20. Tickets

All tickets or vouchers will usually be sent by email approximately 2 weeks prior to your departure providing full payment has been received. In the event of a last-minute booking, we will send the details to you by email where possible or send the vouchers to the receiving supplier of the service awaiting your arrival (e.g., accommodation voucher to the residence reception).

21. Safety standards

Please note, it is the requirements and standards of the country in which any services which make up your holiday are provided which will usually apply to those services and not those of the UK. As a rule, these requirements and standards will not be the same as the UK and may sometimes be lower

22. Data Protection

We will deal with all personal data you provide us in accordance with our privacy policy.

23. Delay

In the event of any flight delay or cancellation at your UK or overseas point of departure, the airline is responsible for providing such assistance as is legally required by the Denied Boarding Regulations (see below). We regret, we are not able to offer you any assistance in the event of delay at your outward or homeward point of departure. Any airline concerned may however provide refreshments etc.

If your flight is cancelled or delayed, your flight ticket is downgraded or boarding is denied by your airline, depending on the circumstances, the airline may be required to pay you compensation, refund the cost of your flight and/or provide you with accommodation and/or refreshments under EC Regulation No 261/2004 – the Denied Boarding Regulations 2004. Where applicable, you must pursue the airline for the compensation or other payment due to you. All sums you receive or are entitled to receive from the airline concerned by virtue of these Regulations represent the full amount of your entitlement to compensation or any other payment arising from such cancellation, delay, downgrading or denied boarding. This includes any disappointment, distress, inconvenience, or effect on any other arrangements. The fact a delay may entitle you to cancel your flight does not entitle you to cancel any other arrangements even where those arrangements have been made in conjunction with your flight. We have no liability to make any payment to you in relation to the Denied Boarding Regulations or in respect of any flight cancellation or delay, downgrading of any flight ticket or denial of any boarding. The full amount of your entitlement to any compensation or other payment (as dealt with above) is covered by the airline’s obligations under the Denied Boarding Regulations. If your airline does not comply with these rules you may complain to the Civil Aviation Authority on 020 7453 6888 or by e-mail to passengercomplaints@caa.co.uk or see www.caa.co.uk – Referring Your Complaint to the CAA.