EGSW Events Ltd trading as European Gay Ski Week
Booking Terms & Conditions as at 30/06/2024

The following booking conditions set out the terms and conditions of the contract between you and EGSW Events Ltd (referred to in these conditions as Organiser, we, us and our). Please read these conditions carefully as they govern the relationship between you and us.

We are EGSW Events Ltd (a Company registered in the Republic of Ireland) trading as European Gay Ski Week, the entity which arranges all aspects of the Festival, European Gay Ski Week.

The Organiser acts as a tour operator for the sale of the EGSW Package Holidays and will accept bookings from festivalgoers online via the website www.european gayskiweek.com

“Festivalgoer" means you, the person who buys or agrees to buy the holiday or any person on whose behalf you agree to purchase the holiday and who is listed on the booking confirmation or any other person to whom you transfer a holiday you have bought.

Your holiday booking

When you place a booking, the person who completes the booking process online, where their name and email address appear as the first name on the booking confirmation, will be the “lead name / lead booker”.

The lead name is responsible for payment of the total booking price and, where you are travelling on behalf of a group, is also responsible for:

• obtaining the consent of all other members of the party before placing the booking
• ensuring that the other members of the party have read these conditions and comply with them
• providing the other members of the party with full and accurate details of the booking, including any subsequent changes.

These requirements apply both to original members of the party and to any additional or replacement members who are subsequently added to the booking.

No contract shall arise until we have received the appropriate deposit or the full payment for the holiday. Once received, If your booking is accepted, we will issue a booking confirmation to the lead name via email.

This creates a legally binding contract between you and us.

Please check the details on any documentation which you receive from us and contact us immediately in the event of any errors or discrepancies.

Special requirements / requests

Please discuss your choice of accommodation and transport with us before you book to make sure that it will be suitable for you and the people you will be travelling with. If you or any member of your party has a medical condition, impairment or disability which may affect the holiday arrangements of that person then please get in touch before you place your booking so that we can advise you as to the most suitable packages for your needs. In any case, you must give us full details in writing at the time of the booking. We reserve the right to decline a reservation where we feel unable to properly accommodate the particular needs of the person concerned.

Although we will endeavour to pass any reasonable requests on to the relevant supplier, we regret that we cannot promise any requests will be complied with unless we have specifically made this promise in writing (confirmation that your request has been noted or has been passed on to the supplier is not a guarantee that the request will be complied with).

Insurance

It is a condition of your contract with us that you have adequate travel insurance in place.

It is your responsibility to purchase insurance cover which is suitable and adequate for your particular needs. For example, if you intend to participate in sports whilst on holiday you must ensure that your policy covers these activities.

You must ensure that the insurance covers costs that you will incur if you have to cancel your booking and the cost of assistance, including repatriation, in the event of accident, illness or death.

EGSW Events Ltd cannot give guidance or advice on the type of insurance customers require. Customers must ensure that the insurance covers costs that they will incur if they have to cancel their booking for any reason.

Price and payment

You must pay the non-refundable deposit at the time you place your booking. The remainder of the booking price is payable in accordance with the payment schedule chosen by you when you placed your booking.

If you fail to make any payment in accordance with the payment schedule set out in your booking confirmation then you will incur an automatic late payment fee of 50€ per person. We may also treat your failure to pay as a cancellation, in which case your booking will be cancelled and cancellation fees as specified in section 5 will apply.

Local / city taxes must be paid in all accommodation and are not be included in the price you have paid. You will be required to pay the tax on arrival at the resort.

Vouchers and promotions

Any vouchers, promo codes or Snow Miles credits must be used at the time of booking.

Promotions may only be used on the travel package to which they relate.

Only one discount code or promotion may be used per booking (including loyalty / reward schemes (Snow Miles), discount vouchers and third party promotions).

Any discount code provided by us or from one of our partners is only valid when the event pass, lift pass and accommodation are booked all together.

We reserve the right to discontinue or invalidate any voucher or promo code at our discretion.

1) Our responsibility to you

a) We will accept responsibility for the arrangements we agree to provide or arrange for you as an “organiser” .We are fully responsible for the proper performance of the package as a whole. This means that we are directly responsible to you for all aspects of the package, including the accommodation, the festival and any extras, regardless of which supplier performs those service in practice.

Subject to these conditions, if we or our suppliers negligently perform or arrange the services which form your package and we don’t remedy or resolve your complaint within a reasonable period of time,and this has affected the enjoyment of your package, you may be entitled to an appropriate price reduction or compensation or both. You must inform us without undue delay of any failure to perform or improper performance of the travel services included in this package. The level of any such price reduction or compensation will be calculated taking into consideration all relevant factors such as but not limited to: following the complaints procedure as described in these conditions and the extent to which ours or our employees’ or suppliers’ negligence affected the overall enjoyment of your holiday. Please note that it is your responsibility to show that we or our supplier(s) have been negligent if you wish to make a claim against us.

b) Please note that we are not responsible for other activities, excursions and events that you book separately from your package. If you have an issue with any parts of your holiday that you have booked separately you should approach the supplier directly.

c) We will also promptly provide you with assistance if you get into difficulty during your holiday,including by:

i) providing appropriate information on health services, local authorities and consular assistance
ii) assisting you to make distance communications and helping you to find alternative travel arrangements.
iii) This assistance will be provided at no charge unless you deliberately or negligently caused those difficulties (in which case we may charge you a reasonable fee to cover our costs incurred in providing the assistance).

d) We cannot be held responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss (including loss of enjoyment),damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which are:

i) caused by you
ii) caused by a third party unconnected with the provision of the services included in your package and is unforeseeable or unavoidable
iii) due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances.

e) We limit the amount of compensation we may have to pay you if we are found liable under this section:

i) loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions and money: the maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is an amount equivalent to the excess on your insurance policy which applies to this type of loss per person in total because you are required to have adequate insurance in place to cover any losses of this kind.
ii) Claims not falling under (a) above and which don’t involve injury, illness or death: the maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is up to three times the price paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you or your party has not received any benefit at all from your booking.

f) It is a condition of our acceptance of liability under this clause that you notify any claim to us and our supplier(s) strictly in accordance with the complaints procedure set out in these conditions.

g) Where any payment is made, the person(s) receiving it must also assign to us or our insurers any rights they may have to pursue any third party and must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require.

h) Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss or expense or other sum(s) of any description:

i) which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you; or

ii) relate to any business.

i) Extra options that you may choose to book or pay for whilst you are on holiday are not part of your contracted arrangements with us. For any extra option that you book, your contract will be with the operator of the extra option and not with us. We are not responsible for the provision of the option or for anything that happens during the course of its provision by the operator.

2) Force Majeure

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these Booking Conditions we will not be liable or pay you compensation if our contractual obligations to you are affected by “Force Majeure”. For the purposes of these Conditions, Force Majeure means any event beyond our or our supplier’s control,the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Examples include warfare and acts of terrorism (and threat thereof), civil strife, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which make it impossible to travel safely to the travel destination or remain at the travel destination, the act of any government or other national or local authority including port or river authorities, industrial dispute, labour strikes, lock closure, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, chemical or biological disaster, unavoidable technical problems with transport and all similar events outside our or the supplier(s) concerned’s control.

3) Your responsibilities

a) We want all of our guests to enjoy a great holiday. To ensure that you, the other members of your party and our other guests can do so, we require you to take responsibilities for your actions and the effect that they may have on others.

You must be kind and inclusive to all festival goers, artists, staff, local residents and partners. Anyone found to be discriminatory or abusive towards others will be ejected from the festival and will have the remainder of their package cancelled.

If we, or another person in authority, believe that your actions could distress, upset, annoy or disturb other customers, our suppliers or our own staff, or put them in any risk or danger, or damage any property, or that you are unfit to travel, then:

i) we may prevent you from continuing in the relevant activity

ii) we may end your holiday early and terminate your contract, in which case you and your party will be prevented from using your booked accommodation, transport and any other extra options forming part of your booking.

Where we take either of the actions set out above we will not be required to make any refund, pay any compensation or reimburse any other costs that you have to pay.

b) Where, as a result of the Festivalgoer’s actions or the actions of any other person who is listed on the booking record (excluding the Organiser and or the Tour Operator) either or both of the following incidents occurs:

i) there is a delay or diversion to the means of transportation the subject of this contract;
ii) the accommodation in which the Festivalgoer is staying is damaged;
the Festivalgoer hereby agrees to indemnify the Organiser against any claim (including legal costs) made against the Organiser in relation to the occurrence of such incidents.
c) You are responsible for your safety and the condition of the property that you occupy. We are not responsible for any accidents which occur due to your inappropriate or irresponsible behaviour (such as accidents around swimming pools) or which occur because of items or property which you have broken or left in a way in which injury may result.

d) All customers must abide with local authorities and lawful requirements, including the use of searches and search dogs - guidance regarding refusal of entry will be taken from the authorities.

e) The organiser reserves the right to refuse admission to any festival area.

f) Security reserve the right to refuse entry to anyone wearing footwear deemed inappropriate for the environment.

g) For promotion, safety & security reasons, customers may be filmed at any time whilst participating in any European Gay Ski Week activity or event. When entering European Gay Ski Week venues or by joining an activity you are agreeing to this condition of entry / condition of joining.

h) Event passes are sold on the understanding that the event is subject to a licence from the appropriate authorities.

i) You may be required to pay a damage deposit on arrival at the accommodation or provide card details to cover any potential damages that may be caused during your stay. Your deposit will be returned if no damage is caused. However, if you do cause damage you will be responsible for that damage. It is your duty to report any breakages, defects or damage to the accommodation provider and reimburse that provider for the damage you cause. If you fail to do so and we have to reimburse the accommodation provider then we may reclaim this money from you.

j) You are responsible for your own timekeeping. If you do not arrive at a location by the specified time you will lose the right to take part in the relevant activity.

k) We appreciate that you may consume alcohol whilst on holiday. However, if you do:

i) you must comply with all local laws, including laws relating to the consumption of alcohol and any age restrictions
ii) you must drink responsibly – we will have no liability to you for any injury, loss or damage you suffer as a result of your judgment being wholly or partly impaired by alcohol
iii) you must be in a fit state to enter bars and clubs – you may be denied entry if you are not.

l) You must not smoke in any place that smoking is prohibited by law or local rules or could cause a fire hazard.

m) The use of illegal drugs is not tolerated under any circumstances. Anyone found to have taken, or be in possession of, substances which are illegal in the host country will no longer be a part of the trip

n) You must always abide by local regulations and guidance in relation to swimming.

i) Never swim under the influence, outside of restricted times and boundaries, and always in groups of two or more.

o) When in the mountains, you must always stick to clearly marked walking routes and local pisted areas.

p) Please check your booking confirmation upon receipt to ensure that it is accurate. You should contact EGSW Events Ltd at info@egsw.eu immediately should you notice any discrepancies so that an advisor may help you.

q) To comply with the licensing authorities' condition of entry, EGSW Events Ltd reserves the right to request the necessary ‘health documentation’ for entrance to the festival.

4) Passport, Visa and Immigration Requirements & Health Formalities

It is your responsibility to check and fulfill 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.
Most countries now require passports to be valid for at least 6 months after your return date. If your passport is in its final year, you should check with the Embassy of the countries you are visiting.
We do not 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. If you are unable to travel to your destination as a result of not meeting these requirements, and wish to cancel your booking, you will be subject to the standard cancellation changes.
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.

5) If you cancel your booking before departure

a) If, for any reason, you or any other member of your party are no longer able to enjoy the holiday you can cancel your booking. As with any other holiday, cancellation fees may apply depending on how closer to the departure day you cancel your booking.

b) If some of the people in the booking are no longer able to attend but others still want to keep the booking please consider a name change instead of cancelling your full booking - see section below for more information on this.

c) If you decide to cancel your whole booking you must notify us by email to info@egsw.eu . Your notice of cancellation will only take effect when it is received in writing by us and will be effective from the date on which we receive it.
Your deposit is subject to a 100% cancellation charge and therefore non refundable if you decide to cancel your booking. The remainder of the booking will be subject to the standard cancellation policy and timeline detailed below:

Depending on the time of the year you booked at, you will have one or two payment deadlines and a final payment deadline. This will be stated on your booking confirmation email.

If you cancel your booking between your 1st and 2nd payment deadline you will be liable for the first payment only. If you cancel after your second payment deadline but before your 3rd payment deadline you will be liable for 50% of your booking cost. This means that if you decide to cancel at this point, you will receive a refund of up to 50% of the cost of your booking, excluding your deposit

If you cancel your booking after the final payment deadline: Past this point you are liable for the full amount and we won’t be able to refund any amounts paid. This is because at this point we would have already paid the travel and accommodation suppliers and we won’t be able to recoup that money.

Substitution

Where the Festivalgoer is prevented from proceeding with the holiday, he may transfer his booking, having first given the Organiser notice in writing of his intention to do so. The transferee of the Festivalgoer must accept these Booking Conditions and comply with any other requirements of the Organiser applicable to the holiday before the transfer can be completed.
A Festivalgoer who transfers a holiday booking shall be jointly and severally liable with the transferee for payment of any balance due in respect of the package and for the substitution fee as follows:

Weeks before departure Substitution Fee

More than 10 weeks 50€.
Within 10 weeks 100€

Insurance is not transferable.

Where a booking is transferred in addition to the substitution fee any difference between the original price paid and the current price, at the time of the substitution request, of the same or an equivalent booking will be charged.

Alteration by the Festivalgoer

If the Festivalgoer wishes to alter a holiday that has been confirmed, the Organiser may facilitate that change at its discretion, if practicable. If the alteration is impracticable the original holiday arrangement shall continue to apply.

Special Requests

Special requests (e.g. ground floor accommodation, adjacent rooms, etc.) shall be communicated by the Festivalgoer in writing to the organiser at the time of making the booking; The organiser shall use reasonable endeavours to fulfil such requests. The granting of such requests is the sole responsibility of the property management. No guarantee is given to the Festivalgoer as to such special requests being fulfilled. No liability shall attach to the Organiser for failure to comply with a special request and such requests do not form part of the contract.

Alteration/Cancellation by the Organiser or the Tour Operator

Without prejudice to the Festivalgoer’s statutory rights:

(a) The Organiser and or the Tour Operator reserve the right to alter, change, curtail or cancel a holiday.

(b) The Organiser and or the Tour Operator reserve the right to change the benefits to the passholder of the event pass at any time before or during the holiday

(c) At all times the organiser has to take into account local heath and safety directives, and should a venue reach its licensed capacity passholders may have to wait until some guests leave before being admitted.

(d) If as a consequence of "force majeure" (as hereinafter defined in section 2, the Organiser is obliged to curtail, alter, extend or cancel a holiday, the Festivalgoer shall not be at liberty to maintain a claim for compensation or otherwise for any loss arising as a consequence of the said curtailment, alteration, extension or cancellation of the holiday. The organiser is not liable for any loss, damage, injury, claim or action arising out of such force majeure, or such curtailment, alteration, extension or cancellation of the holiday.

(e) The Organiser requires a specific minimum number of bookings to operate a specific programme of holidays. The Organiser’s obligation to provide that programme shall be contingent upon the Organiser receiving and maintaining that number of bookings. In the event that the Organiser does not receive the minimum number of bookings or having received such a minimum number, has that number reduced by reason of cancellation or transfers by Festivalgoers or otherwise, the Organiser shall be entitled to cancel or curtail the relevant programme and the Festivalgoer shall not be entitled to make a claim for and the organiser shall not be liable for any loss, damage, injury or action arising as a consequence of cancellation or curtailment in these circumstances.

(f) If prior to the time of departure there is a cancellation, or a major change, such as a change of resort area, the organiser shall, if practical, offer an alternative comparable holiday of at least similar standard or shall refund the Festivalgoer all monies paid. Unless within 7 days of issue of the offer of an alternative holiday it is declined by the Festivalgoer by email, the Organiser shall assume that the Festivalgoer has accepted such offer and the Festivalgoer shall not be entitled to return of the payment made.

(g) Where the Organiser makes a major change in the holiday as contemplated in subparagraph (f) of this clause the Festivalgoer shall be entitled to receive compensation in accordance to the scale set out in this sub-paragraph. No compensation shall be payable where the alteration is for reasons referred to in sub-paragraph (d) or (e) of this clause.

Weeks before departure Compensation

More than 8 weeks No Compensation

Within 8-7 weeks 10€ per person

Within 6-5 weeks 15€ per person

Within 4-3 weeks 20€ per person

Within 2 weeks 25€ per person

Transfers

Transfer to and from the resort are by coach or mini-bus. The organizer accepts no liability for missed transfers due to the late arrival of flights or for missed flights due to the late arrival of the transfer at the airport.

Festivalgoer’s Responsibilities

The Festivalgoer shall check the confirmation of booking documentation immediately it is furnished to him. If the Festivalgoer considers any item is incorrect or has any query in relation to the contents he shall forthwith notify the Organiser of his concern.
The Festivalgoer is restricted by regulation of carriers and executive authority with regard to weight, type and contents of baggage which he may take on board any vehicles which will be used in connection with the holiday.

The Festivalgoer hereby agrees that he shall abide by all instructions or directions given by a member of the Organiser’s staff or any crew member of a vehicle used in connection with the holiday and hereby agrees to indemnify the Organiser against any loss or injury suffered or incurred by any other person as a consequence of the Festivalgoers failure to act in accordance with any such direction or instruction.

Liability

The Organiser shall not be liable for any damage caused to the Festivalgoer by the failure to perform the contract or the improper performance of the contract where the failure or the improper performance is due to any fault of the Organiser nor to that of another supplier of services because:

(a) the failures which occur in the performance of the contract are attributable to the Festivalgoer;

(b) such failures are attributable to a third party unconnected with the provision of the services contracted for, and are unforeseen or unavoidable; or

(c) such failures are due to (i) unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond the control of the Organiser or other supplier of services, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or (ii) an event which the Organiser or the supplier of the services, even with all due care, could not foresee or forestall. In the case of damage other than death or personal injury or damage caused by defamation or by the wilful misconduct or gross negligence of the Organiser the amount of compensation which will be paid to the Festivalgoer will be limited to, in the case of an adult an amount equal to double the inclusive price of the holiday payable to the Organiser, to the adult concerned and in the case of a minor an amount equal to the inclusive price of the holiday payable to the Organiser, to the minor concerned. The Organiser’s liability will not exceed any limitation applicable under any international convention governing or relating to the provision of the service complained of, even if that convention has not been ratified or applied in the Republic of Ireland.

Online Booking, Payment or Website errors.

Any omission or error in any web page, booking confirmation, quotation, prices listed, prices charged or other communication issued by us may be corrected by the Organiser without liability. The Organiser and will advise of any changes in your booking, or quotation, as soon as is reasonably possible thereafter.

Complaints

If the Festivalgoer wishes to make a complaint in relation to a holiday, he must immediately inform the Organiser’s representative at the location where the Festivalgoer is when the complaint arises and shall, if the Organiser requires, complete a form setting out in detail the Festivalgoer complaint.

In addition, the Festivalgoer shall be obliged to confirm in writing to the Organiser any complaint within 28 days after his return to the port of departure or termination of the holiday whichever is the earlier.

Governing Law

The contract arising from any confirmed holiday booking is to be interpreted under and is subject to, the laws of the Republic of Ireland

Nullity

If any obligation in these terms and conditions would be unenforceable or contrary to a provision of mandatory law or public order, this unenforceability or invalidity shall not affect the validity and enforceability of other provisions in the booking terms and conditions, nor of that part of the relevant provision that does not conflict with mandatory law or public order.