Thank you for your interest in our holiday! The trip is subject to the following terms and conditions.

1. Terms of agreement

(a) By booking and attending a retreat with The Merit Club, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions.

(b) The term ‘The Merit Club’ or ‘ or ‘us’ or ‘we’ refers to the owner(s) of the company and it’s hosts. The term ‘you’ or ‘I’ refers to the student or guest or user or viewer of our website and/or services. The terms ‘retreat’ or ‘program’ or ‘holiday’ or ‘trip’ refers to all aspects of the services on offer, to include, but not be limited to, the accommodation, classes (if applicable) and activities.

2. Booking procedure

(a) On making a booking with us, each person accepts the terms of these booking conditions.

(b) Your place is not confirmed until we receive either the deposit or full payment. You can choose to pay in full, or secure your place with a deposit, with the remaining balance due in monthly instalments. If the final balance is not paid before the trip, we reserve the right to cancel your place and retain your deposit.

(d) If making your booking within 60 days from the trip start date, the full balance will be due.

(e) All payments are non-refundable. This includes remaining and full payments.

(f) A refund will only be issued if the trip is fully booked and someone else can fill your space. A refund in this case is minus a cancellation charge of £50. Any monies owed in this case will be paid to you one month after the retreat end date.

(g) We reserve the right to increase the price of the trip before you submit your booking. Any change in price will be advertised to you before you book the retreat.

(h) We reserve the right to reduce the price of the trip or run special offers at any time. Once you have made your booking and paid your deposit these price changes will not apply to you.

(i) Optional trips and treatments booked locally are not our responsibility and are at your own risk and cost.

3. Cancellation policy

(a) If you need to cancel the trip, we are not able to offer a refund. For this reason we strongly recommend that you take out travel insurance to cover you in the event of any need to cancel at the last minute.

(b) Once the trip has commenced, no refund or part refund or unused portion of your retreat will be repaid in the event of cancellation by you.

(c) In the very unlikely event that the trip is cancelled by either party, there will be no refund or compensation available from us for your flight costs, transfers and other associated costs.

(d) We reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel the trip, in which case we will offer a refund in full of all monies paid (unless the reason for cancellation is force majeure, see clause 3(e)).

(e) Refunds will be offered if we are forced to cancel or in any way change your holiday due to war, threat of war, invasion, riot, civil war, strike, rebellion, revolution, industrial dispute, terrorist activity, infectious disease/ epidemic, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather conditions, technical or maintenance problems with transport, or other circumstances which amount to force majeure.

(f) We reserve the right to charge a cancellation fee of £50 if a guest decides to cancel a trip for any reason.

(g) It is not possible at any stage to transfer your booking to another trip or service.

4. Changes to the trip

(a) It is very unlikely that we will have to make any changes to your trip, but arrangements are made many months in advance and changes may have to be made. We reserve the right to, within reason, change any information advertised at any time, to include, but not be limited to, dates, times, timetable, location, accommodation, yoga teachers and prices. We will advise you of any changes at the earliest possible date and aim to keep disruption to a minimum.

5. Surcharges

(a) Unless stated otherwise, transportation costs to include, but not be limited to, flights, transfers and taxis, are not included in the price of the retreat. Prices of these are shown as an estimate only and we will not be liable for any differences to what was originally estimated.

6. Insurance and health

(a) We recommend all guests take up full travel insurance to cover medical expenses and personal belongings, and should cover the type of physical activities that will be undertaken by you. We hold no responsibility for illness, injury, death or loss or damage to personal belongings at any time (as per the liability waiver in section 7), nor will any compensation be issued in such case.

(e) We reserve the right to stop your participation in any activity, at any time, if we conclude that you are physically, mentally or emotionally unable to do so, however if you decide to do so, it is at your own risk.

7. Liability waiver

(a) It is a requirement of anyone attending a trip and/or retreat with The Merit Club to accept and abide by the following release of liability:

‘I understand that, while the utmost care is taken, neither the individual hosts, teachers, The Merit Club nor the venue will be liable for any damage or injury resulting from the activities I partake or use of the hotel, nor any loss or damage to personal belongings. I understand that activities may be physically strenuous and I voluntarily participate in them with the knowledge that there is risk of personal injury, property loss or death. I recognise that it is my responsibility to notify the hosts of any illness or injury before the start of every activity. I agree that neither I, my heirs, assigns or legal representatives will sue or make any other claims of any kind whatsoever against The Merit Club, it’s hosts or members for any injury, property loss, or wrongful death, whether caused by negligence or otherwise.’

(b) The release of liability statement applies to the duration of the trip and every activity you participate in, whether in a group or private setting. If this statement is not accepted, your booking will be terminated and any monies paid in advance will not be refunded.

8. Visa, Passport & Health Requirements

It is your responsibility to check and fulfil the passport, visa, health and immigration requirements applicable to your itinerary. We can only provide general information about this. You must check requirements for your own specific circumstances with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates and your own doctor as applicable. Requirements do change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure.

Neither we nor the Supplier/Principal where we act as Agent, accept any responsibility if you cannot travel, or incur any other loss because you have not complied with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities.

Please note that these requirements may change between booking and departure. Most countries now require passports to be valid for at least 6 months after your return date. Please take special note that for all air travel within the British Isles, airlines require photographic identification of a specific type. Please ask us for full details. We can provide general information about any health formalities required for your trip but you should check with your own doctor for your specific circumstances.

When it comes to vaccination and disease prevention, we suggest that travellers first review information provided by the UK Foreign Travel Advice (www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice) or equivalent agency in the traveller’s home country and review those details with personal physicians.

You agree to reimburse us in relation to any fines or other losses which we incur as a result of your failure to comply with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities.

9. Your Behaviour

All our customers are expected to conduct themselves in an orderly and acceptable manner and not to disrupt the enjoyment of others. If in our opinion, the opinion of the Supplier/Principal or in the opinion of any hotel manager, property owner, or any other person in authority, your behaviour or that of any member of your party is causing or is likely to cause distress, danger or annoyance to any other customers or any third party, or damage to property, or to cause a delay or diversion to transportation, we / the Supplier/Principal reserve the right to terminate your booking immediately.

In the event of such termination our liability (or the Supplier/Principal’s where we act as Agent) to you and/or your party will cease and you and/or your party will be required to leave your accommodation, transport or other arrangements immediately. Neither we nor the Supplier/Principal will have any further obligations to you and/or your party. No refunds for lost accommodation or any other arrangements will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of termination. You and/or your party may also be required to pay for loss and/or damage caused by your actions and we will hold you and each member of your party jointly and individually liable for any damage or losses caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or losses must be paid directly to the hotel manager or other supplier prior to departure. If you fail to make payment, you will be responsible for meeting any claims (including legal costs) subsequently made against us as a result of your actions together with all costs we incur in pursuing any claim against you. Neither we nor the Supplier/Principal can be held responsible for the actions or behaviour of other customers or individuals who have no connection with your booking arrangements or with us.

10. Privacy policy

(a) We will not pass on your information to any third party or organisation outside of The Merit Club, without your permission. We respect your privacy.

(b) We will use your details to inform you of updates about the trip, and any future events. You can unsubscribe at any time by selecting the unsubscribe button at the bottom of the email.

11. Complaints

(a) If you have a problem during your trip, please inform a member of our team immediately, who will endeavour to put things right. If your complaint cannot be resolved locally, you must advise us in writing on your return. Please note that we cannot be responsible for the individual behaviour of any group member or other guest on your trip.

12. Photography

The Merit Club will record and/or photograph throughout the trip and may repurpose it in digital e.g. on our website; Social Media channels, or paper format. This will be for the purpose of promoting services and providing educational resources.

The Merit Club maintains copyright and any other intellectual property in photographs taken and/or in digitised recordings belong to The Merit Club, including anything that is shared with us.

Where practically possible we will seek consent in advance to provide the lawful basis for processing data, and at all times, you will have the opportunity to opt-out of any photography or filming at the time.

In return for access to the trip, you consent to any such filming, photography and/or live streaming and to The Merit Club in reproducing and publishing your words and/or likeness in any transcript of or publication relating to the event and/or for the purposes of publicising the services of The Merit Club and its partners.

Photos and recordings contain personal data and will be protected and disposed of securely in accordance with data protection legislation.

If at any point you wish to withdraw your consent or request that The Merit Club stops using your images/ records of trips, please write to travel@themeritclub.com.

Travellers rights – PTR 2018
These are your key rights under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018

Travellers will receive all essential information about the package before concluding the package travel contract.

There is always at least one trader who is liable for the proper performance of all the travel services included in the contract.

Travellers are given an emergency number or details of a contact point where they can get in touch with the organiser or travel agent.

Travellers may transfer the package to another person, on reasonable notice and possibly subject to additional costs.

The price of the package may only be increased if specific costs rise (for instance fuel prices), and if expressly provided for in the contract, and in any event not later than 20 days before the start of the package. If the price increase exceeds 8% of the price of the package, the traveller may terminate the contract. If the organiser reserves the right to a price increase, the traveller has a right to a price reduction if there is a decrease in the relevant costs.

Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee and get a full refund of any payments if any of the essential elements of the package, other than the price, are changed significantly. If before the start of the package the trader responsible for the package cancels the package, travellers are entitled to a refund and compensation where appropriate.

Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee before the start of the package in the event of exceptional circumstances, for instance if there are serious security problems at the destination which are likely to affect the package

Additionally, travellers may at any time before the start of the package terminate the contract in return for an appropriate and justifiable termination fee.

If, after the start of the package, significant elements of the package cannot be provided as agreed, suitable alternative arrangements will have to be offered to the traveller at no extra cost. Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee, where services are not performed in accordance with the contract and this substantially affects the performance of the package and the organiser fails to remedy the problem.

Travellers are also entitled to a price reduction or compensation for damages or both where the travel services are not performed or are improperly performed.

The organiser has to provide assistance if the traveller is in difficulty.

If the organiser or the retailer becomes insolvent, payments will be refunded. If the organiser or, where applicable, the retailer becomes insolvent after the start of the package and if transport is included in the package, repatriation of the travellers is secured. XY has taken out insolvency protection with YZ (the entity in charge of the insolvency protection, e.g. a guarantee fund or an insurance company). Travellers may contact this entity or, where applicable, the competent authority (contact details, including name, geographical address, email and telephone number) if services are denied because of XY’s insolvency.