1. Purpose
This document illustrates the terms of accommodation and related agreements collectively known as “accommodation agreements” reached between Sierra Villa Lodge, Berridale, NSW 2628 and their potential guests.
The lodge can accept special agreements or make exceptions for their customers, insofar as such special agreement does not violate the Australian Consumer Law of the Federal Government and the legal regulations of NSW fair trading.
2. Scope
This document shall apply to all internal and external stakeholders of Sierra Villa Lodge including and not limited to customers and executive officers of the group in Berridale, NSW 2628.
3. Terms and Conditions
Article 1: Requesting an Accommodation Agreement
Customers must provide the following information while requesting an accommodation agreement:
- Names and contact information of Guests
- Dates of stay and estimated time of arrival
- Accommodation fee
- Other items as specified by the Lodge (Identity Proof, Length of Stay and Deposit)
Extension of Stay:
If Guests wish to extend their stay beyond the dates specified in Paragraph 1 (2) above and have requested during their stay, the Lodge will process such request as an offer for new Accommodation Agreements at the time such request is made.
Article 2: Effective Date of Accommodation Agreements
1. Accommodation Agreements become effective when the lodge approves the request of the customer. However, this will not apply if it is proved that the lodge did not approve the request.
2. When Accommodation Agreements become effective as described above, Guests shall be due to pay the accommodation fees in full.
3. If Guests do not pay the requested fee described in an invoice at the time of booking, their reservation becomes immediately null and void, provided that the Lodge has notified them of the payment due date in advance.
Article 3: Prohibitions
1. Guests will not let others stay at the property, assign or resale Accommodation Agreements, or let others use Lodge’s facilities for Guests only without the lodge manager’s consent. This includes onsite parking as well as the use of the common kitchen.
2. Guests are not permitted to smoke on the premises of the lodge. NSW Health does not allow smoking within 10m of properties that attract large number of families with children.
3. According Smoke-free Environment Act 2000. NSW Health Inspectors are authorised to enforce the ban on smoking near children’s playground equipment in outdoor public areas. Penalties of up to $500 apply on any customer who fails to comply with the law.
Article 4: Refusal to Adhere to an Accommodation Agreement
In any of the following cases, the lodge management may decline to honour the Accommodation Agreement.
1. The request for accommodation is not made in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of the lodge.
2. The lodge is fully booked and there are no rooms available.
3. The person intending to stay at the Lodge is deemed to have violated applicable laws, public order or public morals.
4. The person intending to stay at the Lodge is clearly infected with an infectious disease.
5. The person makes demands on the Lodge exceeding the reasonable extent.
6. Accommodation cannot be provided due to Acts of God, failure of facilities or other unavoidable circumstances such as bush fires and unexpected hailstorms.
7. Any of the following items apply to the person intending to stay at the lodge:
- Such person is a member of or in any way affiliated with a violent organization, an enterprise or organization affiliated with a violent organization, an organization that conducts radical action or other antisocial organization (hereinafter collectively referred to as a “Violent Organization”).
- Such person is a member of a company or other organization whose operations are controlled by a Violent Organization or affiliate thereof.
- Such person is a legal entity which has an officer (director, executive officer, or any other equivalent person), employee, related person, etc. related to a Violent Organization.
- Such person accepts the use of its name to a Violent Organization.
- Such person commits significant disturbance of other guests of the Lodge, by words or action.
- Such person makes demands by violence, or otherwise makes demands on the property or its employees exceeding the reasonable extent.
Article 5: Cancellation Policy
Section (a). The Guests Rights of Cancellation
1. Guests may cancel Accommodation Agreements at any time by notifying the lodge 48 hours before their expected arrival.
2. If guests cancel Accommodation Agreements in whole or in part, for their own reasons. Guests shall be liable to pay a cancellation fee. In the case of a special agreement such as a holiday offer, if a guest cancels a booking for their own reasons, they are liable to pay a cancellation fees provided that the customer was informed of the fees at the time of booking.
3. If Guests do not arrive at the premises of the lodge by 8:00 pm on the first day of reservation (or within two hours of the expected arrival time notified by Guests in advance) without notifying the lodge, such Guests reservation may be deemed to be cancelled.
Section (a1): Cancellation because of bad weather
Generally, the Australian Consumer Law does not consider the business to be responsible or accountable for cancellations or monetary refunds requested by the customer due to external environmental conditions such as:
- No snow or insufficient snowfall
- Rain during the weekend getaway at the beach
- colder weather than expected on a summer camping expedition
However, if a business has promised a service that can be delivered only in certain weather conditions a specific term should be added in the initial accommodation agreement.
Section (a2): Cancellation because of a natural disaster or other crisis – frustration of contract
The customer and the business are both released from an accommodation agreement during the crisis such as:
- Global Pandemic afflicted lockdown
- Flood
- Bushfire
- Destruction of Accommodation site
Under these conditions the business shall refund the basic accommodation fees.
Section (b). The Lodge’s Right of Cancellation
1. The lodge may cancel Accommodation Agreements in the event of any of the following:
- The person intending to stay at the Lodge is deemed to violate or has violated applicable Australian Consumer Law, public order or public morals during the stay.
- The person intending to stay at the Lodge is clearly infected with an infectious disease.
- The person makes demands exceeding the reasonable extent with respect to the stay.
- The Lodge is unable to provide accommodation due to Acts of God and other force majeure events.
- In the case of smoking inside accommodation, mischievous use of fire extinguishing equipment, or other actions prohibited by the Lodge.
2. Any of the following items apply to Guests:
- Such Guests are members of or in any way affiliated with a violent or criminal organization.
- Such Guests are members of a company or other organization whose operations are controlled by a Violent Organization or affiliate thereof.
- Such Guests are members of a legal entity which has an officer (director, executive officer, or any other equivalent person), employee, related person, etc. related to a Violent Organization.
- Such Guests accept the use of their names to a Violent Organization.
- Such Guests commit significant disturbance of other guests of the Lodge, by words or action.
- Such Guests make demands by violence or threat of violence against, or otherwise make demands on the Lodge or its employees exceeding the reasonable extent.
- Such Guests violate this Terms and Conditions, Terms of Use, etc.
2. If the Lodge cancels Accommodation Agreements as described in Section (b) above, the Lodge shall not charge the Guest for any accommodation services not yet provided.
Article 6: Cancellation Fees
1.According to the Australian Consumer Law, a hospitality business can charge an administration fee, a booking fee or a cancellation fee provided the amount is not unfair. If a business charges an excessive cancellation fees it can be deemed an unfair contract according to the ACL.
2. If the guest has paid a deposit, then cancels the booking for their own reasons, the business shall be able to keep the deposit provided the lodge and customer had contractual agreement on this condition.
3. Generally, a fair deposit should not be more than 10 per cent of the total cost of the accommodation or service booked, unless the business’ potential loss or inconvenience justifies a higher amount. Otherwise, such a higher amount may be considered as a pre-payment.
Pre-payments are refundable, minus any actual or reasonable costs you may have incurred before the booking was cancelled.
(a) Deducting Cancellation fees from Credit Cards
1.If the business records the credit card details of the customer by phone or online, under the Australian Consumer Law the business shall inform the customer stating that their card will be charged a cancellation fees if a cancellation request is made.
2.The lodge attendant speaking with the customer shall ensure that the consumer has accepted this term before recording their credit details. In case the customer does not accept the term and the lodge attendant records the credit card details, the agreement shall be deemed unfair according to the Australian Consumer Law.
(b) Other Cancellation Rights
Accommodation must deliver the services promised by the business at the time of accepting the booking. If the business fails to deliver the service, the customer has right to cancel the agreement and claim a refund.
Under the Australian Consumer Law misrepresentation of rooms and promising services that do not exist on the property is considered misleading or deceptive. The customer can claim a refund if the said service is not provided.
1. If the Lodge Fails to Provide the Promised Accommodation
- If the Lodge cannot provide Guests with the contracted rooms, the Lodge shall obtain their understanding and arrange other accommodation facilities to provide rooms as close as possible to the originally agreed conditions.
- If the Lodge is unable to arrange the provision of alternative accommodations, the Lodge shall pay Guests compensation equivalent to the cancellation fee as damages. However, the same will not apply if Guests damage is due to reasons which the Lodge is not liable.
2. Transfer of Bookings
If a customer is willing to postpone or change the date of their booking than they shall pay a revised accommodation fees which shall be higher than the original accommodation fee.
However, if the revised price is lesser than the original accommodation fee then, the customer shall be charged the original accommodation fees.
If the customer makes repeated requests for different dates the management has the right to refuse the customers booking.
3. Cancellation Fees Estimation Matrix
| No notice | Within 48 hours of stay | Less than 14 days prior notice | 14-30 days prior notice | 30+ days prior notice | |
| Single Room | 100% | 80% | 20% | – | – |
| Multiple Rooms | 100% | 80% | 20% | 10% | – |
| Entire Lodge | 100% | 100% | 80% | 20% | 10% |
Table 1: Cancellation Fees Estimation Matrix
- “%” indicates the percentage of the cancellation fee to the basic accommodation fee.
- If the number of days in the stay is reduced, one day’s cancellation fee is charged regardless of the number of days by which the stay is reduced.
- In the event of cancellation by some of the members of a group (5 guests or more), 10% (fractional amounts will be discarded) of the number of Guests notified 10 days in advance of the stay, will not be subject to cancellation fee.
- Based on lodge deals, plans, or other special agreements otherwise planned by the Lodge, cancellation fee which differ from this Table 1 may be stipulated.
Article 7 Payment
1. Breakdown and calculation of the accommodation fees must be provided to the customers before requesting them to make a payment.
2. Guests will pay the accommodation fees, on the front desk or online. In cases where the guest has booked online, they are expected to show a proof payment receipt before requesting access to their rooms.
3. After the Lodge provides Guests with access to rooms, even if they choose not to stay in or use such rooms, the Lodge shall nonetheless charge the accommodation fee to Guests.
4. The Lodge can request payment only when a consumer contract or accommodation agreement has been made in the following ways:
- Signing a document
- Agreeing over the phone
- Clicking I agree button on the webpage
a) Proof of Transaction and Component Pricing:
The customer’s have the right to ask the business for a proof of their payments on any product or service that is worth $75 or more excluding GST. Even if the transaction is worth less than $75 the businesses should provide a receipt as a proof of transaction.
The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) considers a GST tax invoice as a proof of transaction but, a standard receipt should state the following to be considered a valid proof of transaction:
- The business name
- Australian Business Number
- Australian Company Number
- Date of the products or services delivered
- Products and services delivered with all necessary price components
A consumer can ask the business for an itemised bill as well that shows:
- How the price was calculated
- The number of labour hours with hourly wages (if relevant)
- A list of materials used, and the amount charged for them
The consumer is entitled to ask for an itemised bill within 30 days of:
- The services being delivered by the business
- The customer receives a bill or account from the business to clear their dues.
All itemised bills must be submitted to the customer within 7 days of the request.
Article 8: Hours of Operation
The business shall accept bookings at any time of the day online but, the manager of the lodge shall only be available between 8am – 5pm. The customers can contact the manager via email or over the phone after work hours in case of an emergency.
Article 9 Registration of Stay
The customers are expected to scan the QR code at the entrance of the lodge to register their contact details with the NSW government’s department of health. This is a mandatory precaution for customers according to the government’s guidelines to ensure safety from the COVID 19 pandemic.
Article 10: Handling of Bailed Goods
1. In the event of damage to any cash, valuables or other goods bailed at the front desk by Guests, except in the case of acts of God or force majeure, the lodge shall compensate Guests for such damage. However, if Guests have not indicated the value of such goods when asked to do so by the lodge, such compensation shall be limited to $150.
2. In the event of damage to any cash, valuables or other goods brought into the lodge by Guests but not bailed at the front desk, if such damage is due to reasons which the lodge is liable, whether by intention or negligence, the Lodge shall compensate Guests for such damage. However, if Guests have not indicated the value of such goods when asked to do so by the lodge, such compensation shall be limited to $150.
a) Storage of Guests Hand Luggage and Personal Items
1. If the Guests luggage arrives at the Lodge before Guests, only if the Lodge accepts such arrival in advance, the Lodge shall be responsible for storing such luggage, and the Lodge shall return it to Guests when they check in.
2. If Guests hand luggage and personal belongings are found left at the Lodge after their check out, the Lodge, in principle, shall wait for inquiries from Guests and ask for instructions. If no instructions are given from Guests, the Lodge will handle it by Lodge’s rules and instructions of the manager.
Furthermore, cash and valuables will be delivered to the nearest police station within 7 days (including the day on which they are found), and foods, drinks, or insanitary goods will be promptly handled by the Lodge’s rules.
b) Responsibilities Regarding Parking
When Guests use the Lodge’s parking facilities, the Lodge is merely the lender of a parking space; the Lodge is not liable for the care of Guests vehicle, whether vehicle’s key is bailed to the Lodge or not. However, if Guests vehicle is damaged while the Lodge is managing parking facilities, due to Lodge’s intention or negligence, the Lodge shall be liable for compensation of such damages.