Coronavirus (COVID-19) Policy
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) UPDATED 24 March 11:00pm
Following the announcement of a lockdown by the Prime Minister we have built a temporary policy to allow you to move your holiday to a future date and avoid losing its full value if you do not have insurance against which to claim. We would ask that you be patient if contacting us and an email to enq@shoreline-cottages.com would be the best way to get in touch due to the unprecedented volume of calls we have been receiving. We are doing our best to clear them all every day and to date have done so.
Travel Insurance
Shoreline Cottages has always maintained a strong position in recommending travel insurance at every point of contact with guests starting with our booking confirmations but we are aware that many do not choose this option for UK holidays. This has now left these guests vulnerable to loss.
Cancellation Policy
Our property owners do have their own mortgages and operating costs whether or not guests are staying and this has meant that our cancellation policy has always been representative of this fact. Also, reselling an entire holiday close to its start date is in most cases impossible and at best, would normally have to be heavily discounted, creating losses for the owner through no fault of their own.
Our standard cancellation policy can be found in our Terms and Conditions clauses 8 and 9 on our web site or by clicking on the link in your Booking Confirmation.
We do appreciate that we need to take a different position in this difficult time.
Overseas Guests
It is our assumption that all overseas guests will have travel insurance and as such, can make a full claim for their holiday loss. As such, our standard cancellation policy will remain in place.
Options for UK guests with no insurance cover
For those without insurance we do want to help but have to consider the owner, our own business and the guest in these very difficult and financially stressful times for the travel sector. This policy may vary over time and so please check before making a decision.
During the lockdown, we are offering two options for existing guests with holidays due to take place in the next 8 weeks:
1. A postponement of your holiday to any date before 30 April 2021 in the same property for an administration cost of £150 or 20% of the holiday value (whichever is the higher) and any difference between the full price of that holiday and what you paid for the holiday you are cancelling. If the crisis continues beyond your new holiday date, we will not charge for a further change but do recommend moving a minimum of 6 or 7 months ahead at this time.
2. You can cancel your holiday. For clarity, we will retain 40% of the holiday value as a cancellation fee and we will issue a credit note for 60% against a future holiday with Shoreline but in a property and at a time of your choice in the 12 months following your decision.
Please note that we cannot consider any cash refunds.
Thinking of booking a holiday next year with us?
We are not taking any bookings commencing before 1 August at the present time of uncertainty and will continue to review this date as the status of the virus becomes clearer. We would be very grateful for anyone booking in 2021 to help both our owners and Shoreline to plan ahead with more confidence. Tourism is the lifeblood of Whitby and we really need your support to maintain this thriving sector and the livelihoods of such a large proportion of the population.
David Haycox
Managing Director
