hoo Booking Terms

Hoo Booking Terms and Conditions – v.June.23

These Booking Terms and Conditions along with the information set out in your booking confirmation email and the terms on which the Destination Provider agrees to provide the Trip to you (together “Terms and Conditions”) set out the terms on which Hoo agrees to make available the Service to you through the Platform (see defined terms below).

These Terms and Conditions, as may be amended from time to time, apply to all our Services directly or indirectly (through distributors) made available online, through any mobile device, by email or by telephone. By accessing, browsing and using our Services or any of our applications through whatever Platform and/or by completing a reservation, you acknowledge and agree to have read, understood and agreed to the terms and conditions set out below (including the privacy statement).

This Platform, the content and infrastructure of the Platform, and the online reservation service (including the facilitation of payment service) provided by us are owned, operated and provided by The Sleepexchange Limited, trading as Hoo (“Hoo”) and are provided for your personal, non-commercial use only, subject to the terms and conditions set out below. Please note that Destination Providers may have, declare applicable and/or require (acceptance of), in addition to the policies and fine print as disclosed on this Platform, their own (delivery/shipping/carriage/usage) terms and conditions and house rules for the use, access and consumption of the Trip (which may include certain disclaimers and limitations of liability).

Definitions

Hoo“, “us”, “we” or “our” means The Sleepexchange Limited, a limited liability company incorporated under the laws England, and having its registered address at Camburgh House, 27 New Dover Road, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 3DN

Platform” means the website and app or other online medium on which the Service is made available owned, controlled, managed, maintained and/or hosted by Hoo.

Trip” means the various different travel products and services that can be ordered, acquired, purchased, bought, paid, rented, provided, reserved, combined or consummated by you from the Destination Provider.

Destination Provider” means the provider of accommodation (e.g. hotel, motel, apartment, bed & breakfast, landlord etc.), attractions (e.g. (theme) parks, museums, sightseeing tours), transportation provider (e.g. car rentals, cruises, rail, airport rides, coach tours, transfers), tour operators, travel insurances, and any other travel or related product or service as from time to time available for Reservation on the Platform.

Service” means the online purchase, order, (facilitated) payment or reservation service as offered or enabled by Hoo in respect of various products and services as from time to time made available by Destination Providers on the Platform.

Reservation” means the order, purchase, payment, booking or reservation of a Trip.

1. Scope and nature of our Service

Through the Platform, we (Hoo and its affiliate (distribution) partners if any) provide an online platform through which Destination Providers can advertise, market, sell, promote and/or offer (as applicable) their products and service for order, purchase, reservation, rent or hire, and through which relevant visitors of the Platform can discover, search, compare, and make an order, reservation, purchase or payment. By using the Service, you enter into a direct (legally binding) contractual relationship with the Destination Provider with which you make a reservation or purchase a product or service (as applicable). From the point at which you make your Reservation, we act solely as an intermediary between you and the Destination Provider, transmitting the relevant details of your Reservation to the relevant Destination Provider(s) and sending you a confirmation email for and on behalf of the Destination Provider. Hoo does not (re)sell, rent out, offer any (travel) product or service.

When rendering our Service, the information that we disclose is based on the information provided to us by Destination Providers. As such, the Destination Providers that market and promote their Trip on the Platform are given access to our systems and extranet through which they are fully responsible for updating all rates/fees/prices, availability, policies & conditions and other relevant information which is displayed on our Platform. Although we will use reasonable skill and care in performing our Service, we will not verify if, and cannot guarantee that, all information is accurate, complete or correct, nor can we be held responsible for any errors (including manifest and typographical errors), any interruptions (whether due to any (temporary and/or partial) breakdown, repair, upgrade or maintenance of our Platform or otherwise), inaccurate, misleading or untrue information or non-delivery of information. Each Destination Provider remains responsible at all times for the accuracy, completeness and correctness of the (descriptive) information (including the rates/fees/prices, policies & conditions and availability) displayed on our Platform. Our Platform does not constitute and should not be regarded as a recommendation or endorsement of the quality, service level, qualification or (star) rating, type of accommodation of any Destination Provider (or its facilities, venue, vehicles, (main or ancillary) products or services) made available, save as explicitly indicated or set out otherwise.

Our Service is made available for personal and non-commercial use only. Therefore, you are not allowed to re-sell (unless otherwise authorised by Hoo through its website), deep-link, use, copy, monitor (e.g. spider, scrape), display, download or reproduce any content or information, software, reservations, tickets, products or services available on our Platform for any commercial or competitive activity or purpose.

2. Prices and Rate Negotiation

The prices as offered by the Destination Providers on our Platform are highly competitive. All prices for your Trip are displayed including VAT/sales tax and all other taxes (subject to change of such taxes) and fees, unless stated differently on our Platform or the confirmation email. Prices are per person or group and subject to validity or expiration as indicated on the email confirmation, if applicable. Applicable fees and taxes (including tourist/city tax) may be charged by the Destination Provider in the event of a no-show or cancellation.

Sometimes cheaper rates are available on our Platform for a specific stay, product or service, however, these rates made available by Destination Providers may carry special restrictions and conditions, for example non-cancellable and non-refundable, which will be clearly stated when a room and rate is selected. Non-cancellable or non-refundable means the booking fee will not be returned under any circumstances. Please check the relevant product, service and reservation conditions and details thoroughly for any such conditions prior to making your reservation.

Our Service has a unique price negotiation mechanism whereby you are able to provide the Destination Provider with a rate you are willing to pay for the Trip that is different from the advertised rate (the “Initial Rate”) on our Platform (the “Negotiated Rate”). Should the Destination Provider accept the Negotiated Rate, they will provide you with an offer at the Negotiated Rate. You will then be able to accept the Negotiated Rate offered by the Destination Provider by making payment and confirming the booking. Should you fail to make payment and confirm the booking, the Destination Provider may release the Trip for sale. The Destination Provider is under no obligation to sell the Trip at a rate different from the Initial Rate.

The currency converter is for information purposes only and should not be relied upon as accurate and real time; actual rates may vary. Obvious errors and mistakes (including misprints) are not binding.

All special offers and promotions are marked as such. If they are not labelled as such, you cannot derive any rights in the event of obvious errors or mistakes.

3. Privacy and cookies

Hoo respects your privacy. Please have a look at our privacy and cookies policy for further information.

4. Free of charge for consumers

Unless indicated otherwise, our Service is free of charge for consumers. We will not charge you for our Service or add any additional (reservation) fees to the rate. You will pay the Destination Provider the relevant amount as indicated in the Reservation (plus – insofar as not included in the price – relevant applicable taxes, levies and fees (if applicable)).

Destination Providers pay a commission (being a small percentage of the product price (e.g. room price)) to Hoo after the end user has consumed the service or product of the Destination Provider (e.g. after the guest has stayed at (and paid) the accommodation). Destination Providers can improve their ranking through a commercial agreement with us.

Only Destination Providers which have a commercial relationship with Hoo (through an agreement) will be made available on the Platform. Hoo is not an open platform where end users can make their product available.

5. Payment card or bank transfer

If applicable and available, certain Destination Providers offer the opportunity for Reservations to be paid (wholly or partly and as required under the payment policy of the Destination Provider) to the Destination Provider during the Reservation process by means of secure online payment (all to the extent offered and supported by your bank). For certain products and services, Hoo facilitates (through third party payment processors) the payment of the relevant product or service (i.e. the payment facilitation service) for and on behalf of the Destination Provider (in these circumstances Hoo acts as the merchant of record for the purposes of facilitating payment services). Payment is safely processed from your credit/debit card or bank account to the bank account of the Destination Provider through a third-party payment processor. Any payment facilitated by us on behalf of, and transferred to the Destination Provider will constitute a payment of) the booking price by you of the relevant product or service in final settlement of the due and payable price. You will not be able to claim such paid monies from us and will need to claim directly with the Destination Provider.

For certain (non-refundable) rates or special offers, please note that Destination Providers may require that payment is made upfront by wire transfer (if available) or by payment card, and therefore your payment card may be pre-authorised or charged (sometimes without any option for refund) upon making the Reservation. Please check the (reservation) details of your product or service of choice thoroughly for any such conditions prior to making your Reservation. You will not hold Hoo liable or responsible for any (authorised, (allegedly) unauthorised or wrong) charge by the Destination Provider and not (re)claim any amount for any valid or authorised charge by the Destination Provider (including for pre-paid rates, no-show and chargeable cancellation) of your payment card.

In the event of payment card fraud or unauthorised use of your payment card by third parties, most banks and payment card companies bear the risk and cover all the charges resulting from such fraud or misuse, which may sometimes be subject to a deduction by the bank or payment card provider. Should any such event occur, please revert to your bank or payment card provider immediately to report the fraud or misuse.

6. Pre-payment, cancellation, no-show and fine print

By making a Reservation with a Destination Provider, you accept and agree to the relevant cancellation and no-show policy of that Destination Provider, and to any additional (delivery) terms and conditions of the Destination Provider that may apply to your Trip (including the fine print of the Destination Provider made available on our Platform and the relevant house rules of the Destination Provider), including for services rendered and/or products offered by the Destination Provider. The relevant terms and conditions of a Destination Provider can be obtained with the relevant Destination Provider. The general cancellation and no-show policy of each Destination Provider is made available on our Platform on the Destination Provider information pages, during the reservation procedure and in the confirmation email or ticket (if applicable). Please note that certain rates, fees or special offers are not eligible for cancellation, refund or change. Applicable city/tourist tax may still be charged by the Destination Provider in the event of a no-show or charged cancellation. Please check the (reservation) details of your product or service of choice thoroughly for any such conditions prior to making your reservation. Please note that a Reservation which requires down payment or (wholly or partly) prepayment may be cancelled (without a prior notice of default or warning) insofar the relevant (remaining) amount(s) cannot be collected in full on the relevant due or payment date in accordance with the relevant payment policy of the Destination Provider and the reservation. Cancellation and prepayment policies may vary per segment, product or service of each Trip. Please carefully read the fine print and important information in your reservation confirmation for additional policies as may be applied by the Destination Provider (e.g. in respect of age requirement, security deposit, non-cancellation/additional supplements for group bookings, extra beds/no free breakfast, pets/cards accepted). Late payment, wrong bank, debit or credit card details, invalid credit/debit cards or insufficient funds are for your own risk and account and you shall not be entitled to any refund of any (non-refundable) prepaid amount unless the Destination Provider agrees or allows otherwise under its (pre)payment and cancellation policy.

If you wish to review, adjust or cancel your Reservation, please revert to the confirmation email and follow the instructions therein. Please note that you may be charged for your cancellation in accordance with the Destination Provider’s cancellation, (pre)payment and no-show policy or not be entitled to any repayment of any (pre)paid amount. We recommend that you read the cancellation, (pre)payment and no-show policy of the accommodation provider carefully prior to making your reservation and remember to make further payments on time as may be required for the relevant reservation.

If you have a late or delayed arrival on the check-in date or only arrive the next day, make sure to (timely/promptly) communicate this with the Destination Provider so they know when to expect you to avoid cancellation of your Trip (Reservation) or charge of the no-show fee. Our customer service department can help you if needed with informing the Destination Provider. Hoo does not accept any liability or responsibility for the consequences of your delayed arrival or any cancellation or charged no-show fee by the Destination Provider.

7. (Further) correspondence and communication

By completing a Reservation, you agree to receive (i) an email which we may send you shortly prior to your arrival date, giving you information on your destination and providing you with certain information and offers (including third party offers to the extent that you have actively opted in for this information) relevant to your Trip (Reservation) and destination, (ii) an email after arrival to rate the (experience with your) Destination Provider and the Service, and (iii) an email which we may send to you promptly after your stay inviting you to complete our guest review form. See our privacy and cookies policy for more information about how we may contact you.

Hoo disclaims any liability or responsibility for any communication by or with the Destination Provider on or through its platform. You cannot derive any rights from any request to, or communication with the Destination Provider or (any form of) acknowledgement of receipt of any communication or request. Hoo cannot guarantee that any request or communication will be (duly and timely) received/read by, complied with, executed or accepted by the Destination Provider.

In order to duly complete and secure your Reservation, you need to use your correct email address. We are not responsible or liable for (and have no obligation to verify) any wrong or misspelled email address or inaccurate or wrong (mobile) phone number or payment card number.

Any claim or complaint against Hoo or in respect of the Service must be promptly submitted, but in any event within 30 days after the scheduled day of consumption of the product or service (e.g. check out date). Any claim or complaint that is submitted after the 30 days period, may be rejected and the claimant shall forfeit its right to any (damage or cost) compensation.

Due to the continuous update and adjustments of rates and availability, we strongly suggest to make screenshots when making a reservation to support your position (if needed).

For consumers (in the European Economic Area): We advise you to first notify us of any complaints by contacting our Customer Service. If this does not resolve your complaint, you can upload your complaint via the European Commission’s ODR platform. This platform for online dispute resolution can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/odr.

8. Ranking, preferred programme, stars and guest reviews

Please note that the ranking of Destination Providers on our platform is created through a complex, ever changing and evolving system (algorithm) that considers a multitude of criteria in order to match searchers and accommodations in an optimal way. The actual ranking will be different for each customer and for each search as there are many criteria included, for example the popularity of an accommodation premises among our visitors, customer service history (including the number and type of guest complaints), certain booking related data (e.g. number of bookings, cancellations, conversion rate, overbookings, availability, etc.), the commission percentage paid by Destination Providers, other benefits to us through commercial arrangements with strategic partners and the (past) browsing activities of a visitor. Please note that for convenience we also offer other ways to rank Destination Providers. A customer can choose to apply filters to rank for example an accommodation on the basis of lowest price first, review scores, accommodation type (etc.). A customer thus has full control on the presentation of the search results.

An Accommodation’s star rating displayed on Hoo is not determined by Hoo. The accommodation determines their star rating themselves or it is determined by an independent third party provider of (objective) star ratings. Deals are shown on the basis of the number of stars (low to high or high to low) that providers provide to Hoo. Depending on the (local) regulations, the star classifications either are assigned by an (independent) third party, for example an (official) hotel rating organisation or are based on the opinion of the accommodation providers themselves, irrespective of objective criteria. Hoo does not impose formal obligations on star ratings and does not review them. Overall, the star classification is a representation of how the accommodation compares to the legal requirements (if applicable) or, if not regulated, the sector or (customary) industry standards in terms of price, facilities and available services (these requirements and standards can vary between different countries and organisations).

In order to make it easier for customers to find the right match to their travel preferences, Hoo may assign a quality or opinion rating, that is determined by Hoo, or anythird party service it determines to use for this purpose, to certain accommodations. We use multiple features to derive statistical patterns. Based on these inputs, we determine our own quality rating. However, these are based on our own objective criteria and may not accurately indicate the quality of a Destination Provider.  

Only customers who have consumed a Trip will be invited by Hoo to comment on their experience/stay and to provide a score for certain aspects of their experience/stay or may receive a rating request during their experience/stay. The completed guest review may be (a) uploaded onto the relevant Destination Provider’s information page on our Platform for the sole purpose of informing (future) customers of your opinion of the service (level) and quality of the Destination Provider, and (b) (wholly or partly) used and placed by Hoo at its sole discretion (e.g. for marketing, promotion, or improvement of our service) on our Platform or such social media platforms, newsletters, special promotions, apps, or other channels owned, hosted, used, or controlled by Hoo and our business partners. In order to offer and maintain recent (and therefore relevant) reviews, reviews can only be submitted within a limited period of time (3 months) after a stay and each review will only be available for a limited period of time (up to 36 months) after posting. The default ranking of the reviews is by date of submission relative to a few additional criteria (such as language, reviews with comments). You have the option to choose various different forms of ranking and filter (e.g. by audience, date, language, score). Hoo does allow the Destination Provider to respond to a review. We reserve the right to adjust, refuse, or remove reviews at our sole discretion insofar as it violates our review policy. Hoo does not compensate or otherwise reward a customer for completing a review. The guest review form should be regarded as a survey and does not include any (further commercial) offers, invitations, or incentives whatsoever. Hoo undertakes to use its reasonable endeavours to monitor and remove reviews that include obscenities or the mention of an individual’s name or reference to stolen goods.

Hoo will not accept reviews which include:

  • Profanity, sexually explicit, hate speech, discriminatory, threats, violence, mention of full names, personal attack towards the staff.
  • Promoting illegal activities (e.g. drugs, prostitution).
  • Sites, emails and addresses, phone numbers, payment card details.
  • Politically sensitive comments.

Hoo and the Destination Provider are each entitled to terminate their relationship for whatever reason (including in the event of breach of contract or (filing for) bankruptcy) with due observance of the relevant notice period as agreed between both parties. Should such termination occur, the Destination Provider will no longer appear on the Hoo Platform.

9. Promotions & Marketing Offers

Users must at all times act in good faith in relation to the terms of any promotion or marketing offer made available by Hoo. Hoo reserves the right to cancel the booking of any user who it believes is not acting in good faith or attempting to circumvent the terms of any promotion or marketing offer. Hoo also reserves the right to make unavailable any promotion or marketing offer without giving notice. In all circumstances, Hoo will be the sole arbiter of what is reasonable. All users of the platform accept that Hoo's decision is final.

10. Disclaimer

Subject to the limitations set out in these Terms and Conditions and to the extent permitted by law, we shall only be liable for direct damages actually suffered, paid or incurred by you due to an attributable shortcoming of our obligations in respect to our Services, up to an aggregate amount of the aggregate cost of your Reservation as set out in the Reservation confirmation email (whether for one event or series of connected events).

However and to the extent permitted by law, neither we nor any of our officers, directors, employees, representatives, subsidiaries, affiliated companies, distributors, affiliate (distribution) partners, licensees, agents or others involved in creating, sponsoring, promoting, or otherwise making available the site and its contents shall be liable for (i) any punitive, special, indirect or consequential loss or damages, any loss of production, loss of profit, loss of revenue, loss of contract, loss of or damage to goodwill or reputation, loss of claim, (ii) any inaccuracy relating to the (descriptive) information (including rates, availability and ratings) of the Destination Provider as made available on our Platform, (iii) the services rendered or the products offered by the Destination Provider or other business partners, (iv) any (direct, indirect, consequential or punitive) damages, losses or costs suffered, incurred or paid by you, pursuant to, arising out of or in connection with the use, inability to use or delay of our Platform, or (v) any (personal) injury, death, property damage, or other (direct, indirect, special, consequential or punitive) damages, losses or costs suffered, incurred or paid by you, whether due to (legal) acts, errors, breaches, (gross) negligence, wilful misconduct, omissions, non-performance, misrepresentations, tort or strict liability by or (wholly or partly) attributable to the Destination Provider or any of our other business partners (including any of their employees, directors, officers, agents, representatives, subcontractors or affiliated companies) whose products or service are (directly or indirectly) made available, offered or promoted on or through the Platform, including any (partial) cancellation, overbooking, strike, force majeure or any other event beyond our control.

Hoo is not responsible (and disclaims any liability) for the use, validity, quality, suitability, fitness and due disclosure of the Trip and makes no representations, warranties or conditions of any kind in this respect, whether implied, statutory or otherwise, including any implied warranties of merchantability, title, non-infringement or fitness for a particular purpose. You acknowledge and agree that the relevant Destination Provider is solely responsible and assumes all responsibility and liability in respect of the Trip (including any warranties and representations made by the Destination Provider). Hoo is not a (re)seller of the Trip. Complaints or claims in respect of the Trip (including related to the offered (special/promotion) price, policy or specific requests made by customers) are to be dealt with by the Destination Provider. Hoo is not responsible for and disclaims any liability in respect of such complaints, claims and (product) liabilities.

Whether or not the Destination Provider has charged you for your Trip, or if we are facilitating the payment of the (Trip) price or fee, you agree and acknowledge that the Destination Provider is at all times responsible for the collection, withholding, remittance and payment of the applicable taxes due on the total amount of the (Trip) price or fee to the relevant tax authorities. Hoo is not liable or responsible for the remittance, collection, withholding or payment of the relevant taxes due on the (Trip) price or fee to the relevant tax authorities. Hoo does not act as the merchant of record for any product or service made available on the Platform other than as expressly confirmed in these terms.

By uploading photos/images onto our system (for instance in addition to a review) you certify, warrant and agree that you own the copyright to the photos/images and that you agree that Hoo may use the uploaded photos/images on its (mobile) website and app, and in (online/offline) promotional materials and publications and as Hoo at its discretion sees fit. You are granting Hoo a non-exclusive, worldwide, irrevocable, unconditional, perpetual right and license to use, reproduce, display, have reproduced, distribute, sublicense, communicate and make available the photos/images as Hoo at its discretion sees fit. By uploading these photos/images the person uploading the picture(s) accepts full legal and moral responsibility of any and all legal claims that are made by any third parties (including, but not limited to, accommodation owners) due to Hoo publishing and using these photos/images. Hoo does not own or endorse the photos/images that are uploaded. The truthfulness, validity and right to use of all photos/images is assumed by the person who uploaded the photo, and is not the responsibility of Hoo. Hoo disclaims all responsibility and liability for the pictures posted. The person who uploaded the photo warrants that the photos/images shall not contain any viruses, Trojan horses or infected files and shall not contain any pornographic, illegal, obscene, insulting, objectionable or inappropriate material and does not infringe any third party (intellectual property right, copyright or privacy) rights. Any photo/image that does not meet the aforesaid criteria will not be posted and/or can be removed/deleted by Hoo at any time and without prior notice.

11. Intellectual property rights

Unless stated otherwise, the software required for our Services or available at or used by our Platform and the intellectual property rights (including the copyrights) of the contents and information of and material on our Platform are owned by Hoo, the Destination Providers or service providers.

Hoo exclusively retains ownership of all rights, title and interest in and to (all intellectual property rights of) (the look and feel (including infrastructure) of) the Platform on which the Service is made available (including the guest reviews and translated content) and you are not entitled to copy, scrape, (hyper-/deep) link to, publish, promote, market, integrate, utilise, combine or otherwise use the content (including any translations thereof and the guest reviews) or our brand without our express written permission. To the extent that you would (wholly or partly) use or combine our (translated) content (including guest reviews) or would otherwise own any intellectual property rights in the Platform or any (translated) content or guest reviews, you hereby assign, transfer and set over all such intellectual property rights to Hoo. Any unlawful use or any of the aforementioned actions or behaviour will constitute a material infringement of our intellectual property rights (including copyright and database right).

12. Applicable law, jurisdiction, and dispute resolution

These Terms and Conditions and the provision of our services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law. Notwithstanding the foregoing choice of law, a natural person using any of our Services as a consumer can rely on the mandatory provisions of the law of the country where they have their habitual residence (i.e. provisions that, in accordance with the choice-of-law rules of the said country, must apply regardless of this choice-of-law clause; hereinafter: “Mandatory Provisions“). Any dispute arising out of these Terms and Conditions and our services shall exclusively be submitted to the competent courts in England. Notwithstanding the foregoing jurisdiction clause, a consumer may also bring proceedings in respect of enforcement of relevant applicable Mandatory Provisions in the courts of the country in which they are domiciled, and proceedings against a consumer may be brought only in the courts of the country in which they are domiciled.

For consumers (in the European Economic Area): We advise you to first notify us of any complaints by contacting our Customer Service. If this does not resolve your complaint, you can upload your complaint via the European Commission’s ODR platform. This platform for online dispute resolution can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/odr.

The original English version of these Terms and Conditions may have been translated into other languages. The translated version is a courtesy and office translation only and you cannot derive any rights from the translated version. In the event of a dispute about the contents or interpretation of these Terms and Conditions or inconsistency or discrepancy between the English version and any other language version of these Terms and Conditions, the English language version to the extent permitted by law shall apply, prevail and be conclusive. The English version is available on our Platform (by selecting the English language) or shall be sent to you upon your written request.

If any provision of these Terms and Conditions is or becomes invalid, unenforceable or non-binding, you shall remain bound by all other provisions hereof. In such event, such invalid provision shall nonetheless be enforced to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, and you will at least agree to accept a similar effect as the invalid, unenforceable or non-binding provision, given the contents and purpose of these Terms and Conditions.