termsandconditions
Encore™ by Mingara® – General Conditions
IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ AND DO NOT PROCEED WITH USE OF OUR WEBSITE OR WITH ANY BOOKING, OR ACCESS THE HOTEL, UNLESS YOU ARE AGREEABLE TO THESE
1. Application
Encore by Mingara is provided by Mingara Recreation Club Ltd ABN 81 001 662 648 (us or we).
These conditions apply to all guests and visitors to the Encore by Mingara hotel premises (the Hotel; and "you" refers to each booking person, guest or visitor - as the context requires). These conditions also apply to all bookings and booking enquiries.
Where you make a booking, you warrant that you have an will continue to have, the legal authority to speak for everyone in your party; and that you have brought these general conditions to the attention of everyone in your party.
Not least, these conditions are intended to give you and us more certainty and to assist in ensuring that all of our guests have a pleasant and enjoyable stay at our Hotel that is memorable for all the right reasons.
2. Check-in and Check-out
You may check-in at any time from 2pm on the day of arrival. We can consider requests for early check-in but do not guarantee that will be available. In some cases, we may offer that subject to additional charge.
You must check-out and fully vacate your room, leaving it in appropriate order, by 10am on the day of departure. We can consider requests for late check-out but do not guarantee that will be available. In some cases, we may offer that subject to additional charge.
On checking-out you must return all keys issued to your party.
3. Parking
You may use the parking area associated with the Club Facilities, for your passenger vehicle. You must comply with our reasonable direction regarding parking of any oversize motor vehicle or bus.
Only if allocated to you, for the duration of your stay you may use the Hotel undercover car park with access using your room key.
Parking is entirely at your risk in every respect.
4. Booking Person
An organisation making a booking must nominate an individual booking person – the organisation and the individual booking person are jointly and severally responsible for everything in connection with the booking.
The booking person is personally responsible for everything in connection with the booking – even if you disclose that you are acting in some representative capacity.
You must provide us with full names, photo and other identification, ages and evidence of age, and contact details, for yourself (and if we request, everyone else in your party) – to our reasonable satisfaction. We may take copies. If you are an overseas traveller and if we request, you must lodge your passport with us for the duration of your stay. We may request you to provide identification at any time whilst on or near the Hotel.
Only the number of guests, with the status/age, nominated in your booking and who are subsequently identified when you arrive, may stay in your room.
You authorise us to rely on the contact details that you provide and also any other contact details that appear to us to be current.
5. Persons Under 18
A booking person must be of over the age of 18 years.
Unaccompanied persons under that age may not stay at the Hotel.
There is usually no additional charge for children under the age of 12 years staying with a guardian or parent, if they use existing bedding in the room.
6. Additional Persons
If we agree to any additional person, not from your original party, or find you have breached your obligations by allowing an additional person to stay, additional charges at our then-current standard rates for that situation, apply. That may apply whether or not existing bedding is used and whether or not additional bedding is supplied.
7. Bookings
We may choose to accept bookings in multiple ways including by phone or online.
8. Rates and Charges
Our standard rates and charges in force from time to time, apply. Rates and charges are stated inclusive of GST, unless stated otherwise.
Rates quoted for a particular booking are applicable only to that specific booking. Rates quoted are only firm when you actually confirm the booking and pay a deposit or provide credit card details.
Accommodation rates only cover room usage for your specified party (and routine cleaning according to our standard cleaning arrangements) and apply on a per person or per room basis, as quoted.
In addition, you must pay us at our standard rates, or reimburse us, for – any additional service that you request; and charges and expenses for the consequences of you breaching these conditions, including as provided elsewhere in these conditions.
Displayed rates are subject to variation in our complete discretion including as circumstances change and may not be available for a particular booking that you propose. We may also apply surcharges or have variable rates for different circumstances, days or periods.
We may offer different rates if you request us to agree to any variation of your booking.
Discounted rates may be offered, including for large group bookings (usually 10 or more rooms) or stays of more than two weeks.
You must pay, reimburse or compensate us for the full amount of any new or increased direct or indirect tax, duty, regulatory fee or charge, or other similar impost arising after the date that we accept your booking – other than any tax on income or profit.
Unless specified, items supplied with rooms (including linen, towels and robes), are not intended to be removed or for sale – but see further below about charges for missing items.
9. Deposit and Payment Credit Card
A booking is not confirmed until we provide confirmation back to you following payment of the required deposit in cleared funds or receipt of your valid credit card details.
We will make a one dollar charge to your credit card on receipt of details, as verification.
A physical credit card is required at the time of check-in. At present, a ‘tap’ option for a credit card is not available.
You authorise us to charge your credit card for all amounts due to us in any way in connection with your booking. You must not cancel your card to prevent us claiming a due payment, without providing details of a replacement card.
We may charge your card immediately for any deposit stipulated at the time of your booking. Stipulated deposits are non-refundable except where we cancel your booking. We may charge your card for full balance of accommodation charges, from the commencement of your booking – or immediately when you make your booking, where we provided for that in quoting a special rate based on pre-paid or early-bird booking. We may charge your card for other amounts due to us, when they fall due.
On your request, we will alternatively accept payment by cash or EFTPOS but in any circumstances payment in full must be made no later than the time of check-out. However, this does not restrict us from later claiming any other amount found to be due.
Payments by credit card normally incur a non-refundable surcharge. The surcharge will not exceed the amount we have to pay to your provider for the transaction and may be up to 2%, dependant on the individual financial institution and their applicable merchant fees.
We will issue you with a tax invoice on request, for any claim or payment or amount charged to your card.
10. Cancellation, shortened stays and refunds
The following provisions apply, although without limiting any rights you have under the Australian Consumer Guarantees.
You may cancel the booking with entitlement to a full refund of any prepayment (except any deposit stipulated at the time of your booking), at any time up to 48 hours ahead – that is to say, 10 AM on the second day prior to your scheduled arrival. The exceptions are where your booking has been taken on some different and special stated basis – which may include a discounted rate for a booking to be non-cancellable/non-refundable, or additional rate or special arrangement for a booking to be cancellable or with some alternative refund (or no refund) arrangement.
Also, a group booking for 10 or more rooms may only be cancelled up to two weeks ahead – again, subject to any special arrangement we have documented with you.
You otherwise remain liable for the full accommodation charges for the full period of a booking that is cancelled or reduced by you. That might appear tough, but it reflects that in those circumstances we are likely to have lost the opportunity to take another booking.
We may cancel your booking at any time for any reason and without compensation but with a full refund of any prepayment, but no closer than 10 days before the commencement of your booking, by informing you using any of the contact details that you have provided (which may be by phone or text).
We may also cancel your booking at any time before it commences, and again without compensation, but with a full refund of any prepayment, in the circumstances anticipated in condition 22 below or where the booking otherwise results from or is materially affected by, a system or machine error or has any term or condition that results from a patent error or misunderstanding.
We may also cancel your booking, but with you remaining liable for the full amount, when we exercise our right of refusal of entry or ejection under condition 18 below or if we reasonably conclude that you have acted fraudulently or misleadingly.
Without limiting any other condition – in no case are we liable to credit you with, or make any refund in connection with, any payment except to the extent we have actually received the payment in cleared funds and (in the case of a payment through a credit or debit card), we are reasonably satisfied that the card provider has not sought, will not seek, to reverse the transaction or recoup any related payment from our account.
11. Room Allocation
Where we have taken your booking for a particular room or room location, that room or location is only indicative. We may allocate an alternative that in our reasonable opinion is comparable or superior.
Any room or location descriptions or photos, and descriptions or representations of room standards sizes, views and contents, are indicative only. Also, interior photos by their nature may have distortions that make things appear larger or smaller, further or nearer.
The room or rooms allocated to you may be an alternative that in our reasonable opinion is at least reasonably comparable overall and may be located differently in the Hotel and with a different aspect or view.
12. Occupancy and Visitors
You must only use your allotted room or rooms; and you must only use those for personal residential purposes, with reasonable care and cleanliness, and in a proper and reasonable fashion.
You must not do, have or use anything in the Hotel that causes or will cause, undue discomfort inconvenience or risk to anyone else – through action, vibration, noise, smell or anything else.
You must not bring anything into the Hotel except reasonable non-commercial quantities of personal items needed for your stay or that are travelling with you. You must not use your room or any other part of the Hotel to store anything else.
You must not undertake any commercial or promotional activity, or do anything not of a private recreational nature, in or near the Hotel, or in a way that involves or associates us or the Hotel.
Not least you must not associate or use the Hotel in connection with any competition or raffle or the like; or in connection with anything of a political nature or in the nature of a protest; or in connection with any recording or broadcast through any medium.
You must absolutely respect and not infringe the privacy and rights, of other guests and of staff.
You must not make unreasonable use of or misuse or commandeer, shared areas or facilities, and only use them in a cooperative manner with other guests and staff.
You must not misuse anything at the Hotel or use anything at the Hotel except for its obvious intended proper purpose.
You may not have visitors in your room without our specific consent – which we will not unreasonably withhold for a genuine short-term day-time visitor. We may require any visitor to provide full photo identification to our reasonable satisfaction, and to log out at the end of their visit.
You must abide by all reasonable requirements of signage and other directions, throughout your stay at the Hotel.
13. Health, Safety and Medical Requirements
You must not knowingly do anything that creates any risk for the physical or mental health, or safety, of our staff or contractors, or any other guest or visitor.
That includes not knowingly coming to, or continuing to stay at, the Hotel when infectious/contagious with any serious communicable disease.
Our staff are not medically trained and are not qualified to assess your physical condition or provide medical assistance in the event of an incident or illness. If you require assistance in relation of those matters you should seek help from a medical practitioner or nearby hospital or phone 000.
Whilst for that reason we cannot accept any responsibility in relation of those types of matters, if in good faith we do decide to call for medical assistance for you, then that is at your expense.
14. Cleaning, damages and other charges
Without limiting the other conditions, you are responsible for our charges and expenses for special or extra cleaning, or making good any breakage or other damage, required when you have not followed your obligations – beyond requirements for routine cleaning or making good fair wear and tear.
That may include paying our reasonable estimate of the replacement costs for any missing or damaged non-consumable items that we supplied with the room - such as linen, towels or robes; and rectifying things like blocked drains or malfunctioning equipment or service connections, resulting from inappropriate and unreasonable use.
That may also include Fire Brigade call-out charges (which can be very substantial), if you have interfered with any fire safety equipment or caused a false alarm; and call-any charges for tradesmen in an emergency situation such as to rectify an overflowing drain blocked due to misuse.
That may also include fumigation and isolation charges and expenses if you have knowingly introduced a serious risk of infection/contagion; and special cleaning costs and extended airing (and related loss of room availability) where there has been smoking or vaping or any other strong smell has been introduced.
15. Club Membership, Club Facilities and One by Mingara (aquatics and fitness centre)
By making a booking, the booking person if not already a member also confirms that they are applying and consenting to be admitted as a provisional member of Mingara Recreation Club Ltd under and subject to its constitution, in the Social member class being offered at the time of the booking for this purpose. This applies only to the booking person and not to others in your party. We are a genuine club and have in absolute discretion not to accept your membership application.
If accepted, that membership entitles you to use Club Facilities as a club member, until midnight at the end of the last day of your stay, subject to that constitution.
If others in your party wish to use Club Facilities, then they can only do so if they are over 18 and similarly are or become a member, or they are otherwise allowed access in accordance with the registered club legislation.
You may decline that membership but in that case, you may not use Club Facilities.
You may not access the Hotel if you have been expelled from membership of Mingara Recreation Club Ltd and not readmitted to membership or are a suspended member.
If you are using Club Facilities through membership anticipated by this condition then you will also usually be entitled to the standard members' 10% discount on food and beverage services within the Club Facilities, but only if you put the charge back to your room account. However, you are not entitled to any other member reward or added benefit or the like or to participate in any member competition or promotion, unless you become a member in a different category. Enquire at the Welcome Desk to find out more.
Importantly, if you are using the Mingara One aquatic and wellness centre, then not least the specific Entry Conditions and Conditions of Use also apply, and you may be required to complete a physical activity readiness questionnaire.
16. No disturbance policy/conduct requirements
At all times in or near the Hotel, you must not misbehave or cause a nuisance or do anything unlawful or illegal or unsafe or threaten to do so. That includes not being intoxicated or affected by any illicit drug.
We will deal with you quietly, politely and respectfully and likewise you are required to deal quietly, politely and respectively with all our staff and other guests.
This condition reflects our strict no party/no gathering/no disturbance policy, to better ensure all guests of an undisturbed stay.
We do our reasonable best to enforce this policy, but you will appreciate that other guests may not always do the right thing.
You and your visitors may be refused entry or ejected from the Hotel, at any time of night or day and despite you having a booking, where on reasonable grounds we think you or anyone in your party, or your visitors, are in substantially in breach of this policy or where your actions have made you also liable to be ejected from or refused access to the Club Facilities. See also condition 19 below.
17. No smoking or vaping
You must not smoke or vape in any part of the Hotel or immediately adjacent to the Hotel.
18. Safety and emergencies
Immediately on arriving at the Hotel, please ensure you fully acquaint yourself with the location of all fire exits and fire safety equipment in the vicinity of your room and in the general areas of the Hotel, and the fire evacuation instructions relevant to your room.
It is an essential condition that you must not tamper with or obstruct, any safety equipment or system in the Hotel.
You must follow all reasonable directions of staff if there is an emergency. In an emergency, the highest priority always will be the safety of people and not the protection of the contents of rooms or other personal property.
Please immediately report to main desk staff (or if necessary, in times of real potential danger, also directly to a proper authority), if you see any unsafe situation. That includes if you see anything that raises a concern that any safety equipment or system in the Hotel might have been damaged or compromised in some way.
19. Refusal of entry/rejection from Hotel
These conditions don't limit our other legal rights.
Acting reasonably in good faith, we have the right in our discretion to turn you out of the Hotel or exclude you from the Hotel in any time, night or day, if you misbehave or there is a threat of you misbehaving or not meeting your conduct obligations under these conditions in a serious and significant way, or where your presence creates a threat or may badly reflect on our reputation.
We can exercise that right, acting on any reasonable suspicion and without being required to conduct any investigation or enquiry. That applies despite any booking that has been accepted and during the period of a booking. The rules of natural justice do not apply.
If we duly exercise that right to refuse you entry or to eject you from the Hotel, neither you nor anyone in your party is entitled to any refund and you remain liable to pay for the full period of your booking.
20. Promotional use or resale
You may only make a booking for the personal use of the nominated persons.
You may not make a booking where that is intended to be used for some ulterior promotional or commercial purpose – except where there has been full disclosure to us, and we have agreed to that.
Not least, you cannot trade, gift, or transfer a booking – again, except where there has been full disclosure to us, and we have agreed to that.
21. Legal Relationship
The Hotel is to provide short-term accommodation for travellers and the like – what is traditionally regarded as inn.
You do not have any tenancy rights as a result of a booking or occupying a room in the Hotel.
The Hotel does not provide and is not responsible for any tours or entertainment or the like that may be organised or take place in connection with your booking.
We are a registered club and also operate the adjacent Mingara Recreation Club and the One by Mingara fitness and aquatic centre (together, the Club Facilities).
Your booking does not give you any right to access and use any Club Facilities except to the extent that you separately become a club member. That is also subject to the laws applying to registered club operations and our Constitution, By-laws and premises entry conditions.
22. Statutory liability and exclusion of other liability; unexpected circumstances
These conditions don't limit your minimum non-excludable statutory rights, including under the Australian consumer guarantees and Schedule 7 of the Fair Trading Act (NSW).
However, the law imposes some significant limits on our liability for the loss of or damage to any item of yours or anyone else. Those limits apply to the maximum extent that the law permits.
Also and importantly, to the extent the law permits, we exclude - all other warranties and conditions that might otherwise be implied; all other legal liability for damages in excess of the amounts we have received from you in connection with your booking, for breach of contract; and all other liability for any sort for loss of or damage to any item of yours or anyone else. Not least, we accept no responsibility for anything brought to the Hotel by someone who is not recorded with us as being in your party.
We are also not liable for anything to the extent required, caused or contributed by anything beyond our reasonable control or by anything that (acting reasonably), we had not anticipated.
Not least that may include the consequences of unanticipated or inappropriate actions or overstays by other guests, the results of government action such as responses to any health concern, the consequences of us taking reasonable steps to meet any unexpected situation, and (provided we have acted in good faith) even the consequences of errors by us such as accidental double booking or shortage of rooms planned to meet group booking requirements or of computer or other equipment or system malfunctions.
That may seem tough, but it is in the context that we are not the exclusive provider of accommodation in the area; and also, it is open to you to consider travel and similar insurance – which we recommend.
23. Animals and pets
Assistance animals are only permitted in the Hotel by prior arrangement, with a valid NSW Government Assistance Animal Permit. The same conditions apply as for the Club Facilities. Otherwise, pets of any kind are not permitted.
Where you are permitted to bring an animal into the Hotel, you must do everything reasonably possible to minimise that causing any discomfort to anyone else. You must also abide by any reasonable directions that we give to you, regarding the presence of your animal.
Without limiting your other obligations – if in our reasonable opinion, the presence of your animal means that special cleaning is required then you must meet our reasonable costs and charges for that.
24. Storage and safey custody
We may agree to store items on your behalf such as to hold luggage. Items in storage remain at your risk in all respects except to the extent of anything caused or contributed to by our gross negligence.
Storage is not safe custody. An item is not regarded as accepted for safe custody unless you provide it in a container fastened or sealed by you, with a statement of the maximum value of the item, and we provide you with a receipt acknowledging it has been received into safe custody.
25. Abandoned items/lost and found
You are responsible for your personal property that is with you (except for a limited right under specific legislation). We do not operate a "lost and found" service but on request we will use our reasonable efforts to pass on anything of yours that we have.
If you leave something behind, then you authorise us to remove the item and to store it but it remains completely at your risk including for any damage or loss in moving or storing. Or if we reasonably decide that keeping the item may involve a material risk, inconvenience or cost, then we may treat the item as immediately abandoned and dispose of it – even if it appears to otherwise be of value.
We have the right (free of any payment or other compensation to you), to keep or dispose of any item that you leave behind (including things in storage or safe custody), that you do not claim within 30 days.
26. Agents and third parties
These conditions apply even where you book through an agent or other third party or through a system not operated by us, although that may mean you are subject to other conditions as well.
In those cases, you authorise us to deal with those others on your behalf. Those who deal with us on your behalf, warrant that they have all necessary authority from you including your authority to agree to these general conditions on your behalf.
No "agent" or other third party that you deal with, is authorised to vary these conditions or to make any commitment or incur any liability on our behalf. That applies even if we have not chosen to stop someone who might appear to be acting as a true agent when they are not, or recognised bookings through them. The only exception is where and to the extent, if any, that we have notified you in writing that a particular organisation is our authorised agent.
Any cancellation, amendment or request for a refund, in connection with a booking made through an agent or third party, must be made to the agent or third party and we are not liable or responsible for any claim or refund that you have in that regard. Again, the only exception is where and to the extent, if any, that we have notified you in writing to the contrary.
27. Australian dollars (AUD) and NSW law
All transactions are in Australian dollars and governed by the laws applying in NSW and you submit to the jurisdiction of the courts operating in NSW.
28. Privacy
Our privacy policy tells you why and how we collect and deal with your personal information.
You authorise us to use your contact details to contact you in connection with your booking and also for marketing to you by us.
29. Website usage
If you use our website, then you are agreeing to these conditions and to us dealing with your personal information in accordance with our privacy policy in force from time to time.
You do not have any rights to any of our intellectual property because of access to or use of our website.
30. Air conditioning, services and connections
You must not tamper with, misuse or overload services and connections made available to your room, such as charging connections, and only use them for their apparent proper intended use, for reasonable personal purposes. Capacity or continuity of availability is not guaranteed.
International guests requiring adapters, will need to provide their own.
Air conditioning only operates when a room is occupied. You must not misuse or be overly forceful with the air conditioning controls.
31. Laundry
You may make reasonable use of the laundry facilities provided for guests of the hotel but only for your personal laundry. Use of the laundry facilities is subject to the conditions displayed at the entry. Washing powder is usually available from the vending machine in the hotel lobby, next to the laundry.
Minors and not least, toddlers and babies, are not permitted in the laundry area – particularly because of the potential risks to them. You must not launder anything where there is a risk of infection or harm to someone. You must respect that the laundry facilities are shared facilities, ensure that you use the facilities in a safe and sanitary manner and don't create any unsafe condition such as water left on the floor.
You must only use the appliances as directed and for their proper intended purpose, and provide your own laundry supplies.
You must only use standard domestic laundry supplies and must not use bleach or any other heavy duty chemical. You must not leave or store anything in the laundry area and leave the area safe, tidy and clean after use. Please immediately report any fault or concern to Reception.
32. Force Majeure
Depsite anything said elsewhere, we have the right to cancel the whole or part of your booking without liability or compensation and without prior notice where, due to Force Majeure, we reasonably form the opinion that we are unable to meet the booking in the manner that we had reasonably planned to do so and without incurring unexpected material additional costs, liabilities or exposures.
In that case we will make a full refund of all amounts that we have received from you (or forgive amounts due, as the case requires), expect a withholding or amount calculated on a daily pro rata basis on account of any part of a booking not cancelled, any reimbursement to any expense that we have already reasonably incurred, and any amount otherwise due to us, for which the liability has already crystallised - such as payment for any service or supply already provided, and you otherwise remain liable for all amounts due to us but unpaid.
Force Majeure means any event or circumstance
- not within our reasonable control
- whether foreseen or not
- irrespective of any related insurance or other right that may arise for us, and
- irrespective of any other alternative that may be available to us
Which, by exercise of reasonable diligence, we are not reasonably able to prevent or overcome, in a timely way, and includes:
- an act of God,
- and a pandemic or other public health event, or a consequence of a pandemic or other public health event, and
- adverse weather conditions or a consequence of adverse weather conditions, and
- any strike, lock out, picketing, or other industrial action or disturbance (including any dispute with or industrial action by our own staff - noting that we have no obligation to you, to seek to compromise or settle any related claim or dispute), and
- an act of an enemy or terrorist, including wwars, blockades or insurrections, and
- any interruption, or unavailability, of any goods, service or service connection, and
- any dangerous or unsafe condition, however arising, and
- the unavailability on reasonable terms, of ay insurance that we reasonably require, and
- an accident, malicious act, or vandalism, or anything else done by someone else, and
- a riot or civil disturbance.
33. Interpretation
The meaning of a condition is not limited because of any example given or because of the use of words like "including".
Where there is any doubt or ambiguity, these conditions are not to be applied in a way that is contrary to our interests just because we prepared them.
Any right that we have to make a claim or receive a payment, continues unaffected even after we issue you with an account and after you settle your account with us.
20.09.2024 - V1
Created: 20 September 2024
Version: 1.0