UK Hen Party - Holiday Let

CKhalvashi

Steff_D said:

The deposit was over 40% of the total booking value. We asked about Covid lock down and the implications so I think it was mutual because of the restrictions. 

There were no Terms and Conditions shared at booking. 

I appreciate Covid doesn’t over ride but they are a factor to be acknowledged. I have friends that have holiday let’s and when I mentioned the situation to them they have said that insurance companies are paying out for loss of business due to Covid and some geographical areas have  grants available to those that own holiday let’s. 

Our insurance will only cover what we can't recover, if you cancelled a non-refundable booking and the property was available to you, then you have broken the contract.

Loss of business insurance in many cases doesn't cover loss of profit.

sheramber said:

2.2 The Site acts only as a venue for users to interact with each other. Rental contracts are concluded only between the Guest and the Host. Vrbo is not, and does not become, a party to any contractual relationship between the Guest and the Host and in its webhosting status it is not obliged to mediate between the Guest and the Host in the event of any dispute arising between them. You acknowledge and agree that the Guest and the Host will be responsible for performing the obligations of any such agreements, between the Guest and the Host, that Vrbo is not a party to such agreements, is not acting as an agent on behalf of Hosts and disclaims all liability arising from any such agreements even if the Site facilitates a booking for a Property or the use of other tools, services or products, as Vrbo is not a party to any rental or other agreement between Guests and Hosts, and the Hosts are not considered as Vrbo’s service providers. Vrbo is not an organiser or retailer of travel packages under Directive (EU) 2015/2302.  In respect of distribution of Properties on any non-Vrbo branded sites, Vrbo is not acting as a trader for the purpose of linked travel arrangements under Directive (EU) 2015/2302.

The parts in bold are asking to be challenged in court. A company cannot sidestep their legal obligations by claiming to be something they are not (if they're not acting as an agent for hosts, I'm not sure what they're doing) or under the PTRs (If anything booked there involves significant business in day trips etc, they must hold insolvency insurance on that basis, even if no ATOL is required).

Neither point is relevant to OP's issue though.

michael1234 said:

Tedber said:

Hi Steph. Still doesn’t answer enough for us to give an informed response.  As you are saying there were no t’s snd c’s when you booked. Was this a private booking through a friend perhaps?  

As you say the booking was almost half the cost, what were the arrangements for paying the rest?   When was this due?  

Quoting other people you know or any conditions/insurance doesn’t actually help you.  What you need to look at is what you booked and if you had insurance.  I am thinking it is unlikely all 11 of you would have taken out appropriate insurance?   But if you have then that is maybe your only option?   

Sorry I know you want to hear something else but cannot do unless you tell us something you haven’t told us. 

I wonder on what grounds you plan to give an informed response ?
OP: There are a handful of posters here who seem to enjoy answering literally thousands of questions and yet many or all of them have no legal training to do so. You'll know who they are when they respond to this and "like" each other's posts.
What Tedber says here may well be reasonable advice but it should be qualified as to what experience he has that he feels enables him to provide that advice as it conveys the tone of being an expert who in this case would be a solicitor which I suspect he is not. In other words, you'd probably get just as good advice picking someone at random from the street but at least they wouldn't sit behind a veneer of supposed expertise.

Once again, I am not legally qualified, but have business interests in this area (and once again I won't be posting any links due to the rules on advertising). Does that make me more qualified to answer than Tedber, who by the way is completely correct?