Last updated: 24 January 2012
HOW TO BOOK OUR PROPERTIES
You can enquire by email or via our automated online booking system to get the rental price for your individual dates. The price will be quoted to you in Euros for Paris and in Sterling for the UK but you can pay in either currency at the exchange rate we will send you. The price includes utilities, taxes, booking fees and the number of beds you have asked for – should you need to use extra beds where available there is an extra cleaning charge – if you entered the correct number of beds the price of any extra beds will be included in the final price quoted to you. The term “beds” can be either a bed or sofa bed.
Minimum booking: The minimum booking period is as listed on each property and this minimum amount will be quoted to you even if you want to stay fewer nights. During the weeks of Christmas, New year and Easter the minimum booking is 7 nights in all the apartments.
Confirmation: Your booking can be confirmed online – after the enquiry and quote stages of the online booking process, if you are happy to go ahead, you can proceed to confirmation stage. When you confirm you will be asked to agree to our Terms & Conditions which you can read and print.
After you have clicked your agreement to the Terms & Conditions your chosen dates are immediately blocked and the apartment will be held for you.
You then need to initiate payment within 48 hours.
PAYMENT
We accept bank to bank transfers or cheques in either euro or sterling denominations and credit card payments via Paypal.
When the booking is more than 2 months ahead, a 50% deposit is required, if your dates are within 2 months, 100% of the rental should be paid at this time.
By sending payment you are engaging in the rental of one of our properties. As such you agree to the terms and conditions and our rental agreement. Once your payment is received by our bank your rental is confirmed.
The remaining 50% payment for the booking is due 60 days prior to your arrival.
SECURITY DEPOSIT
A security deposit is required to be paid before arrival at the property. The security deposit will be used in the case of damage to the apartment, the furniture, or loss of key. Should the property be left in a very dirty state requiring more than the normal cleaning then we will charge you for the extra cleaning time. If all is in order when you check out the deposit will be refunded to you within two weeks. Any damage or loss will be deducted accordingly and we will contact you first with proper documentation evidence in the form of photos if possible or description. Paris Rental Connections will present a bill for any charges relating to damages incurred. The amount of the security deposit shall in no way limit the tenant's financial responsibility for damage or deterioration made to the apartment during the tenant's stay.
The security deposit is paid to Home Rental Connections by Paypal and If all is in order will be refunded after your departure within two weeks by Paypal refund.
ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES
*Check in: 2pm
*Check out: 10am.
Arrivals : Our local agent will meet you in person inside the apartment when you arrive to show you how things work and answer any questions about your stay. You will be given 2 sets of keys (3 sets for 3 bedroom properties).
We understand that some flights arrive early but we need to have the apartments cleaned before your stay. In the case of an early flight, arrangements can be made for you to drop off your luggage and pick up the keys and make any final payments at 10.15 am – you would then have to vacate until the cleaner finishes.
If on the day and time of your arrival the property is vacant and ready you will be able to check in earlier. Please supply us with your exact arrival information as soon as possible so that we can schedule you in.
If you would like the property to be available for an early arrival we suggest you reserve from the previous day.
We will send you the details of the apartment address and contact details once your booking is confirmed and we have received your first payment. We can also help you with information on how to get to the apartment from your point of arrival into Paris.
Departures : Our cleaning service arrives at 10 am on the day you leave and we need you to vacate no later than 10am.
If on the day you leave there is no one else booked to arrive then you can extend your stay until 12 noon but you must let us know a month in advance if not the cleaning service will still come at 10 am and you would need to vacate. We may not always know in advance if the apartment will be free but by contacting us in advance we can schedule it with the cleaners and you should contact us again before your departure so that we can confirm it to you.
If you would still like to stay in the property later than 10am/12 noon we suggest you reserve an extra night.
Early and Late check-ins:
Our normal check-in hours are from 8am to 8pm.
We always do our best to accommodate your early and late arrivals.
Please note, however that for any check-ins that start at 8pm and finish by 10pm or start at 6am and finish by 8am there will be an extra fee of 25 Euros (£20 in UK) to be paid in cash to your greeter.
For check-ins that start before 6am or finish after 10pm the tariff is 50 Euros (£45 in UK) paid in cash to the greeters.
The time of your check-in is based on your expected arrival time at the apartment – should you arrive earlier without prior notice (notice of at least 2 hours) you will still be expected to pay this fee as our greeter will have made special arrangements to work later or earlier to accommodate you.
APARTMENT SUPPLIES:
The apartment you are renting will contain:
Soap
A starting supply of toilet paper
Some coffee, tea and sugar
A couple of: Dish-washing tabs, Washing machine tabs
Towels (2 per person) + 2 towels in the bathroom as spare
Bed linen for the number of beds stated in your booking
Any further supplies should be requested in advance and paid for by the renter.
Telephone : All apartments have free local calls included in the price.
Most properties have free unlimited calls to international landlines but be sure to check the list in the apartment as they vary – wherever calls are free to international landlines calls to cell phones to USA & Canada are also free.
As each phone service is different before making any calls check the list of free calls which are listed in the welcome book in the apartment.
Cell phone calls are not free (in France these are numbers starting with 06 in the UK they usually start with 07) – Please note that these calls can be quite expensive so limit cell phone calls from the apartment to your greeter only. Phone cards can be bought in local “Tabacs” or small grocery stores for any calls that are not free.
CLEANING
The properties will be clean and the number of beds requested made up and clean towels laid out for your arrival. The property will be cleaned on the day of your departure.
SMOKING
All apartments are non-smoking this means in the apartment or anywhere in the building and interior common parts.
PETS : No pets allowed
RENTALS OF ONE MONTH OR MORE
For rentals of a month or more, the apartment will be cleaned twice a month; at this time the cleaner will clean the apartment and change the towels and sheets.
There will be a spare set of towels and bed linen for the number of guests staying to use if needed between the cleans. These extra cleans will be scheduled in advance – be sure to check the dates with your greeter when you arrive.
CANCELLATION POLICY
We hope you will not cancel. Should you cancel 60 or more days before your scheduled arrival date, we will refund your deposit less an admin charge of 100 Euros. If you cancel within 60 days of your arrival all sums paid to Home Rental Connections will be forfeited unless we can re-book the dates in which case we will refund the amount paid less an admin charge of 100 Euros. If you cancel within 30 days of your arrival we will retain the full amount of the rental.
Cancellation insurance is the renter’s personal responsibility, and we would strongly recommend taking out insurance for your trip. We cannot be held responsible for a cancellation for ANY reason, whatever it may be.
Change of dates : Should you need to completely change your travel dates after payment then this becomes a new rental. We will usually be able to add days to your booking without any cost if the apartment is free.
Cancellation by Home Rental Connections : In the unlikely event that Home Rental Connections is unable to provide you with the property you originally booked, we reserve the right to offer you:
A property of equal or greater value. If the property is of greater value, you will be asked to pay the difference – or if this is unacceptable, you will be given a 100% refund.
If the only property available is a smaller property or one of lesser value, you will be given the choice of taking it with a refund for the difference in price from your original booking – or if this is unacceptable, you will be given a 100% refund.
If nothing is available for your date, we will cancel the booking and immediately give you a full refund. Possible reasons for cancellation by us would include, but not limited to: Damage to apartment, flooding, fire & major construction on building or legal reasons due to litigation or court orders.
Lost Key : If you lose the key, for your security, we are usually required to change the locks. Renters agree to pay this cost. A quote will be given to you and you are required to pay this while you are still in Paris or as soon as we know about it. This is often quite expensive in Europe from 800-1200 euros (in the UK it is less expensive) depending on specific lock.
NEVER leave your keys on the inside of the door as you will not be able to push the key into the outside lock and open the door from the outside again. If this happens and we need to call in a locksmith you will be liable for the cost of repairs.
Damages : Renters agree to inform greeter or Home Rental Connections immediately of any damages that occur during stay.
OCCUPANCY :
The renter agrees that the number of people occupying a property at one time will be the same as the number listed on your confirmation invoice and will not exceed the maximum occupancy amount indicated on the property details.
If extra people will be occupying property please let us know in advance and pay extra fees when applicable, but in no case can we accept more people than the normal maximum occupancy.
The renter listed in the booking confirmation must be the same person to occupy the property for the listed dates and not sub-let under any conditions.
LIVING IN AN APARTMENT
You will be staying in a privately owned apartment in a building where other residents live. As such there are common parts, like the lift and stairwell and building courtyard and tenants should be very aware that noise travels in buildings both in the apartments and the common parts and we ask our renters to be respectful of other people’s right to live in the same building without disturbance. No smoking or shouting in any part of the inner building should be carried out.
If you are expecting to arrive late at night or if you depart before 8 am please don’t roll luggage over the floor as floorboards are very noisy for your downstairs neighbours – please pack your luggage the day before departure and move it towards the front door the day before your early departure to avoid disturbing.
As in every private apartment sometimes appliances break down – please notify us as soon as possible if a problem comes up. Every effort will be used to rectify it in a timely manner.
Locks : Paris has some very sturdy locks and as such the keys are sometimes hard to turn . Your greeter will show you how they all work and be sure to practice on them yourself with your greeter.
INTERNET :
In all Home Rental Connections properties high speed internet connections is provided with Ethernet cable and/or a wireless network. Home Rental Connections and property owners will do their best to keep everything in good working condition. If you wish to connect your computer to this network, all the the connection codes and information necessary for you to connect are listed in the welcome book. We cannot be responsible for renter’s inability to connect to a working internet connection. If this were to occur, we can provide the name of a computer tech person who can set up the connection for you, at your own expense.
Please note that internet connections in Europe are not always reliable. We cannot be held responsible for a non-functioning internet connection or computer, but we will use all means possible to remedy the problem as soon as possible.
MAINTENANCE
Home Rental Connections and property owners cannot be held responsible at any time for breakdown of mechanical equipment in rental or common area of the building (heat, elevator, electricity), nor for failure of public utilities (water, gas, cable, electricity).
We will first have our maintenance person or local agents come over to determine the problem and then if we cannot repair it we will get in a specialist. Specialists are not always available to come immediately but we will strive to get an appointment within 3 days (specialists only work Monday to Friday).
Specialists and workmen needed to repair or maintain the apartment or building may have to come during your stay. Usually they will be accompanied by our local agent or by our normal maintenance person or owner and if we are aware of it we will ask your permission first. Occasionally there are other official repairs carried out without our prior knowledge – and if they turn up while you are home (they won’t have a key) please phone our local agent so that we can verify their credentials. If not appointment has been made with them you do not have to let them in if you don’t want to.
In apartment buildings there are sometimes works carried out by neighbours in the same building or in adjacent buildings, or sometimes carried out in the street outside. These works don’t need to be notified to us or the owners and as such Home Rental Connections and the owners of the apartments cannot be held responsible for such works. Should the said works be of a nature to disturb you outside of working hours (9am 5pm) then the police should be called by you while staying in the apartment when the noise is happening – city police take noise pollution very seriously.
Once we are notified of the disturbance we will do everything possible to re-locate you to another apartment if the nature of the works is excessively noisy or disturbing to you.
We reserve the right to offer you:
A property of equal or greater value. If the property is of greater value, you will be asked to pay the difference – or if this is unacceptable, you will be given a 100% refund.
If the only property available is a smaller property or one of lesser value, you will be given the choice of taking it with a refund for the difference in price from your original booking – or if this is unacceptable, you will be given a 100% refund
If nothing is available for your date, we will cancel the booking and immediately give you a full refund.
If we are made aware of such works before your arrival we will notify you in advance and offer another apartment so that you can decide where to stay.
LIABILITY & TRAVEL INSURANCE
Please make sure your personal or travel insurance will cover you in the unfortunate event that you injure yourself in the property or if you become ill during your stay.
It is advised that you take out your own multi-risk home, travel and tenant liability insurance.
All valuables left in property are done so at your own risk. All measures have been taken to ensure that the rental property is secure, but it is your responsibility to make sure proper precaution is taken against theft or burglary.
Home Rental Connections, their agents or the property owners take no responsibility whatsoever for injury to any tenant during the rental period, nor held responsible for loss, breakage, damage or theft of any personal property of the tenants and their guests.
Tenants agree to fully release Home Rental Connections and any representative, owner and owners’ representative from any and all claims for liability and damages to tangible or intangible personal property or personal injury occurring to the tenant or third parties on the premises during the rental period.
Tenants agree that Home Rental Connections and owner’s liability for all claims, of any kind, arising out of this engagement shall be limited to the total fees paid by tenant to Home Rental Connections on this engagement.
PRIVACY POLICY
Your privacy is very important to us! As a result, Home Rental Connections will not release any of your personal details to a third party without your prior approval. We do not redistribute your name, address, telephone number, e-mail contact to anyone else and we only use the details you have provided us to gather statistical information for our website.
If you have opted to use a credit card for any payments, we do not have access to these details and the information remains strictly with PayPal or the merchant bank.
We may, however, contact you from time to time if someone would like to converse with a previous guest. If this happens, we will contact you first to see if you are interested and willing to provide comments from your stay at a Home Rental Connections apartment.
You are under no obligation to agree to speak or e-mail with someone else if you do not wish to.
