We know that your holiday is very important to you and it is also extremely important to us, since we want you to enjoy it and to book again with us in the future. Please therefore spend some time reading carefully the following booking terms and conditions, as they form the basis of your contract with us.

These terms and conditions apply to all tours, day events and courses provided by The Urban Birder Limited (TUB, “we,” “our”). By booking with TUB you are confirming that you (“you”, “your”, “the participant”) have read and agreed the following terms and conditions.

Information about us

theurbanbirderworld.com is a site operated by TUB. We are registered in England and Wales under company number 6133472 and have our registered office at 17 Gresse Street, London W1T 1QL. Our VAT number is 205227642.

Registration

1. Tours

To complete registration for a tour, TUB requires:

• A completed submitted online booking form or (if you have received the booking form by email or post) a returned signed booking form.
• A non-returnable (other than in the event of cancellation of the whole TUB Tour or as outlined below) payment of a deposit of 20% of the cost of the tour per person. The final balance of 80% is due 120 days before the tour starts. Your place will be held for two weeks pending receipt of the booking form and deposit. Payment of the balance must also be made within two weeks, in view of the fact that at this stage TUB either have to pay hotels or release rooms.
• Payment of 100% of the tour fee will be required for any registrations that occur less than 120 days in advance of the start of an TUB tour.

2. Day Events

For day events, a booking form with full payment (non-refundable) is required.

By submitting a booking form online or by returning a signed booking form by mail you acknowledge that you have read and agree to the following terms and conditions.

Insurance and personal responsibility

It is a condition of booking with TUB that you must have your own personal travel insurance to cover you for cancellations, flight delays, lost baggage, medical problems, illness, accidents and unforeseen events. TUB shall not be responsible for any missed flights or other emergencies. TUB does not offer any travel insurance or cancellation insurance.

TUB shall not be held responsible for, or liable for, any damage to, or loss of, property or injury to, or death of, persons occasioned directly or indirectly by an act or omission of any transportation company, hotel, restaurant or other provider who provides services to TUB.

TUB shall not be held responsible or liable for any loss or damage (including, but not limited to, additional travel expenses, medical expenses and lost baggage) due to delay, cancellation or disruption of any kind caused by the laws, regulations, acts or failures to act, demands, orders or actions of any government, or by acts of God, environmental hazards, strikes, fire, flood, war, rebellion, terrorism, insurrection, personal sickness, accidents, quarantine, epidemics, theft or any other cause(s) beyond our control.

Baggage and personal effects, including medicines, are at all times your sole responsibility.

You waive and release any claim against TUB for any such loss, damage, injury or death, and by signing the booking form you are confirming such waiver and release as a condition of participating in the tour.

Availability of places

Bookings for any TUB tour, day event or course are made on a first-come, first-served basis, as places on tours will be limited in number in order to give you a bespoke and exclusive tour experience. Should any tour be oversubscribed, your name will be placed on a waiting list and you will be notified on a first-come, first-served basis of any vacancies on future tours. You will also be given the option to book the next available TUB tour before such tours are offered to members of the public.

Cancellation Charges

1. Tours

Booking a place on an TUB tour is a legally-binding contract, which, if cancelled, will incur a cancellation charge. If you wish to cancel your booking after it has been confirmed, you must contact TUB without delay and confirm the cancellation in writing. As we incur costs from the time we confirm your booking, and may be unable to resell your holiday, the following cancellation charges will be payable. Cancellation charges will be per person and will be calculated as follows:

Because TUB do not refund deposits or balance payments, it is a condition of booking with TUB that you take out insurance to cover any cancellation costs.

Guests can transfer their deposit (minus an administration fee of £250) to another tour, but only if all the following conditions are met:

You will be given a detailed itinerary at the commencement of the tour and no refunds will be given for missed meals, excursions or dinners while on a TUB tour. Please tell us ahead if you are not going to participate in any tour activity.

Should there not be sufficient enrolment for a TUB tour, TUB reserves the right to cancel the tour, in which case TUB will return in full any deposits you have made for such a tour.

2. Day Events

If you cancel your place on a day event or a course there will be no refund.

Fitness and suitability for TUB Tours

TUB tours, day events and courses do not often involve a lot of walking but you should still have a good degree of mobility and a reasonable level of fitness. If you normally use a walking stick or wheelchair, you might find our tours challenging, but if we know in advance about any mobility problems, we will do our best to put in place special arrangements to help, although you should be aware that access may be difficult at some locations. If you are in any doubt about the suitability of any of our tours, or you are less able, or under the age of 18, it is essential that you consult with TUB before booking.

If you or any member of your party’s situation changes, after you have booked, you must let us know straight away. It is your responsibility to tell us before you book whether you have any special needs, mobility problems or medical conditions that might affect your ability to take part on TUB tours. We will assume, unless you tell us otherwise, that all members of the party are in a good state of health to participate in the tour. By booking with TUB, you confirm that you do not have any disability that could create a problem for you or for other participants. If you have doubts please let us know and we will be in touch with you prior to booking to discuss the nature of the tour and your physical abilities.

If you do not tell us about any special needs or medical conditions, and we find ourselves in the position where you are unable to participate fully, then we reserve the right to organise extra assistance so that you can continue with the holiday, and pass on the costs of doing this to you; or arrange your return home, and pass on the costs of doing this to you. We reserve the right to take action in the interests of your health and safety, and the health and safety of our staff and other customers, should we need to.

If you have any special requests such as low-floor accommodation, adjacent rooms, etc., please let us know of these at the time of booking. We cannot guarantee these arrangements on an TUB tour, but we will certainly pass on your requests to the supplier concerned and use reasonable endeavours to ensure that your request is met. Unless and until specifically confirmed, all special requests are subject to availability.

Any special diet, attention or treatment you require must be notified to TUB in advance of commencement of the tour. All reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate special diets and treatment; however, we cannot guarantee special arrangements.

We regret we cannot accept any conditional bookings, i.e. any booking that is specified to be conditional on the fulfilment of a particular request. All such bookings will be treated as “standard” bookings subject to the above provisions on special requests.

When you book with us, you accept 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 direct at the time to the accommodation owner or manager or other supplier. 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.

TUB expect all clients to have consideration for other people. If in our reasonable opinion, or in the reasonable opinion of any other person in authority, you or any member of your party behaves in such a way as to cause or be likely to cause danger, upset or distress to any third party or damage to property, we are entitled, without prior notice, to terminate the holiday of the person(s) concerned. In this situation, the participant(s) concerned will be required to leave the accommodation or other service. We will have no further responsibility toward such participant(s) including any return travel arrangements. No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.

TUB reserves the right to decline to accept any person as a participant in a TUB tour. TUB reserve the right to require a participant to withdraw from a TUB tour at his or her own expense, at any time, when such action is determined by the tour staff to be in interests of the safety and welfare of other TUB participants. Should you cause damage to a property, hotel, restaurant or coach you may be liable for such costs.

TUB Itinerary Changes and Cancellation of TUB Tours

Because we start planning the tours we offer more than a year in advance, we may occasionally have to make changes to the itinerary, website and other details, both before and after bookings have been confirmed, usually to improve guests experience or to ensure that the quality of tour can be met by suppliers such as hotels. We will inform you of any significant changes, and they will also be announced on our website.

Although every effort will be made to operate tours as planned and as advertised, the itinerary, hotels, tour leaders and staff may be subject to change. Refunds will not be available for changes to the tour, the tour leader or the tour personnel.

Air Tickets Purchased Independently of the Tour

Air travel is NOT included in the cost of TUB tours. TUB recommends that you check airline cancellation penalties before purchasing airline tickets a long way ahead, because tours may be cancelled due to low enrolment. TUB do not accept liability for cancellation penalties related to domestic or international airline tickets purchased by you in conjunction with a tour.

General

We want you to enjoy every aspect of the tour, so in the unlikely event that you feel dissatisfaction with any aspect of your holiday arrangements, we ask you to bring this to the attention of the TUB Tour leader at the time, so that the matter may be resolved right away. Until we know about a problem or complaint, we cannot begin to resolve it, so please tell us about it immediately and don’t leave it until later to make a complaint. If you remain dissatisfied, you must write to us within 28 days of return from your holiday. Any complaint concerned with the arrangements for your holiday will be dealt with carefully and fairly by TUB.

TUB requires that all participants refrain from smoking during group activities, including, but not limited to, excursions and meals.

Unless you request otherwise, we may use photographs of you on TUB tours solely on the TUBW website and/or future TUB Tour brochures. Please ensure that you do not take photographs at sites where they are prohibited (e.g. for copyright or conservation reasons), and that your use of photography does not intrude on the enjoyment of other guests. Please ensure that you have other guests’ permission before publishing any photograph in which they appear.

General Advice

Please make sure that you can arrive at the relevant airport in good time for the commencement of the tour. Please also ensure, in good time before the tour, that your passports and visas (if required) are valid.

For tour participants coming arriving in advance of the commencement date of the tour TUB is happy to offer general advice on places to visit.

Other applicable terms

These terms of use refer to the following additional terms, which also apply to your use of our site:

• Our Terms of Use, which sets out information about you may make use of our website.
• Our Privacy Policy, which sets out the terms on which we process any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us. By using our site, you consent to such processing and you warrant that all data provided by you is accurate.
• Our Cookie Policy, which sets out information about the cookies on our site.

Changes to these terms

We may revise these terms of use at any time by amending this page. Please check this page from time to time to take notice of any changes we made, as they are binding on you.

Applicable Law

The terms and conditions above are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

Contact

Questions, comments and requests regarding this terms are welcomed at Contact or by email: “enquiries[@]theurbanbirderworld.com”.

The English language is used throughout the site, including for the conclusion of the order.