What are the rules for booking a holiday home with gites-provençe?

When booking your holiday home with gites-provençe, you agree to gites-provençe’s General terms and conditions. They contain all conditions associated with your booking. Here you will also find the cancellation policy, which applies to your contract. We ask you kindly to read the General Terms and Conditions carefully and if you have any questions to get in touch with us for clarification. Any information relating specifically to the rented property will be given to you on arrival.

How do I make a booking with gites-provençe?

The Booking process involves a number of consecutive steps:.

1. Select the rental property you would like and the rental period on our website or one of the commercial websites, where the house is advertised. If you need help or inspiration to choose your next holiday home, please contact us and we will be more than happy to advise you.
2. After we have received your request, we then confirm with the owner that the house is available in the period that you have requested and your request can be confirmed.
3. If you have found the house on www.gites-provence.eu.com, please email us on [email protected], and we will contact you with further instructions about the rental process.
4. If you found the house on one of the commercial websites, where gites-provençe advertises some of our houses then please follow the instructions on the website for contacting us.
5. Once you have agreed to the rental agreement, returned it to us by email and paid the first instalment of the rent, the booking is finalised.
6. To uphold the booking, you are obliged to conform to the payment conditions stipulated in the rental agreement. Failure to do so could result in cancellation of the agreement.
7. For details please refer to the General Terms and Conditions on our website.
8. A Booking Confirmation is final and cannot be changed unless you invoke Article 8.1 of the General Terms and Conditions of gites-provençe. The European Directive on distance selling stipulates that the normal grace period of 14 days is not applicable to travels purchased on the Internet due to the specific character of the provided services.
9. To provide flexibility to our tenants, gites-provençe offers the opportunity to change or cancel the booking in writing free of charge ultimately within two working days of receipt of the Booking Confirmation. However, if the stay in your accommodation will commence within one month or less of the booking being confirmed, you have no right to change or cancel the booking.

How do I pay?

1. After you have submitted your booking request, you will receive the rental agreement by email, where you can see the specification of the costs and the payment deadline(s). The payment is asked for in instalments paid directly via bank transfer to the Owner.
2. The first payment is a deposit of 25% of the total within one week of booking.
3. The second of 75% plus the safety deposit is payable at the latest 8 weeks before arrival.
4. If you have requested specific services and for tourist tax and/or final cleaning, the payment for these items is paid on arrival. For bookings made less than 8 weeks before the arrival date, the full rental fee is requested at the time of booking.

No, all payments (except for the third payment) have to be made via bank transfer to the owner’s account.

1. All owners of Holiday Homes require the Tenant to pay a safety deposit. Such deposit will serve as security for payment of any damage/costs caused by the Tenant (e.g. cleaning costs, costs for damage to property or goods, costs resulting from exceeding the agreed occupancy level, noise nuisance, etc.).
2. The amount of the security deposit is stated in the Rental Agreement.
3. gîtes-provençe has no control over this deposit or it’s size but do advise the owner in this matter. The Safety Deposit is paid together with the second payment directly into the owner’s account.
4. The Safety Deposit will normally be refunded within a week by bank transfer to the tenant after departure and after successful inspection of the Holiday Home by gites-provençe and with the consent of the owner, minus any costs for damages.
5. Your bank account details will be asked for during the booking process for this purpose.

What information do I get before I travel?

Upon receipt of the final payment, approximately 1 week prior to arrival at your Holiday Home, you will receive directions to the house and information about the arrival procedure including key hand-over by e-mail. The address of the villa is stated in the Rental Agreement.

The arrival time of all properties booked via gîtes-provençe is between 16:00 and 19:00 on the arrival day. We kindly ask you to get in touch with us by phone or SMS about your estimated arrival time at least 1 hour in advance (for example if your arrival will be later due to traffic jams). If it’s not possible for us to receive you personally at the house, we will inform you on how you can gain access to your rental accommodation. If you have any problems, you can call us for help or directions.

1. If you have a complaint about the rental accommodation, gîtes-provençe is your first point of contact. During your stay you must always address your complaint within 24 hours after it occurs, directly to us, so we are able to address and resolve your complaint as soon as possible.
2. Still not satisfied? You have the right to file a formal complaint to the owner within two weeks after the final day of the rental period. This claim shall be submitted to gîtes-provençe in writing, should be addressed to the owner and include all relevant information accompanied by evidence in the form of witness statements and/or photos.
3. Should you have a complaint about the gîtes-provençe services then please phone or email us and we will do our utmost to rectify the problem.
4. For more information see also the Terms and Conditions article 18.

1. gites-provençe operates locally. That is why we have an extensive knowledge of all our properties and a good working relationship with all our owners. This gives us more control and reassurance about the quality of the holiday homes that we have in our portfolio.
2. We live locally and are always on hand to answer any questions you may have during your stay or swiftly help with any problems you may have. Our holiday homes are inspected carefully by us personally to ensure that the high quality we expect is met.

What do I do if I want to change something after booking?

As a tenant, you have the option to change your booking in writing (letter or email) within two working days after booking without any charges, unless the stay at the property is within one month (28 days) after booking. After that, you cannot change the rental period or chosen accommodation.

Can I change my travel company (number of Co-tenants etc.) after booking?

In the Booking Confirmation the travel company is explicitly specified. Without the owner's consent your travel company should not be changed. But if you have to make changes, please let us know by email. If the total number of persons does not exceed the maximum number, which applies to your accommodation, under normal circumstances we can accommodate your request. Pets are only allowed if previously requested and allowed by the owner. For details, see our General Terms and Conditions.

What if I want to cancel my booking?

You have the right, in writing, to change or cancel the booking free of charge ultimately within two working days of completing your booking. However, if the stay in the Holiday Home will take place within one month (28 days) or less of the booking completion, you have no right to change or cancel the booking.

What are the consequences of cancelling a booking?

If you cancel your booking within the period of 8 weeks (56 days) before the stay, you will have to pay the full rental amount. In case of premature termination of the stay, you will remain liable for the full rental amount. If you cancel 8 weeks (56 days) or more before the commencement day of the stay in the Holiday Home 25 % of the Rental Amount already invoiced will be retained as stated in article 8.2 of the General Terms and Conditions.

Do you advise a cancellation insurance when booking?

We advise all our tenants to take out a cancellation insurance. This is to prevent you from facing high costs if you unexpectedly need to change your travel date or cancel the booking. Today, many tenants have their own cancellation insurance incorporated in their house insurance. Please check with your insurance company and ask them for advice for appropriate cover.

What is standard in my holiday home and what do I have to bring myself?

1. Before we accept a holiday house for rental, we thoroughly check the inventory to make sure that the facilities are adequate for the maximum number of persons accepted in the house. This means that a holiday home for e.g. 10 people will have an inventory that will serve 10 people comfortably.
2. We try to make sure that a baby cot and a high chair are provided – at least one of each in every house. If you need more, we can often provide this service for an extra fee – please refer to the rental agreement.
3. If there are things that are very important for your stay, please don’t hesitate to ask gites-provençe. We will always do our best to accommodate your wishes. If you have any special requests or requirements please let us know at the time of booking or as soon as possible thereafter.

Note: Kitchen towels/cloths, washcloths and beach/pool towels are not included but with regards to pool towels, we have a limited number for rent. Please ask for details. Bed linen and bath towels are excluded in our houses but can be supplied for a fee on request. Please note that bath towels should not be used as pool towels.