Everyone reads the hotel reviews. Almost nobody reads the booking terms.

I understand why. You have found the place, the kids are excited, and the terms are eleven pages of small print that look like they were written to be skipped. But in my day job I read contracts for a living, and I can tell you the expensive surprises are almost always sitting in four places. Five minutes now saves a very awkward conversation later.

 

This is not legal advice. It is the small print I would want any friend to check before they hand over a deposit.

 

1. Is the deposit refundable, and until when?

Some deposits are fully refundable for a period. Some are refundable but only as a credit note. Many are non-refundable from the moment you pay.

None of those is wrong. You just need to know which one you have, because "we'll lose the deposit" and "we'll lose the deposit and owe the rest" are very different sentences.

 

Look for the date that matters. Often a deposit is flexible until a set number of days after booking, or until a certain point before travel, and then it is not.

2. When is the balance due, and what happens if you miss it?

This is the one that catches busy families out. The balance date is usually somewhere between six and twelve weeks before you travel, sometimes earlier for long-haul or villas.

 

The important bit is what happens if you miss it. With some companies, a missed balance means the booking is cancelled and the deposit is kept. No reminder, no grace period.

 

Put the date in your calendar the day you book. Then put a reminder a week before it.

 

 

 

3. What does it cost to change a name or a date?

Life happens. Someone's passport name does not match the booking. A grandparent can no longer come. Work moves a date.

 

Check what a change costs. Some operators charge a small admin fee. Some charge the full difference in price at the time of the change, which can be a lot more than you paid. Flights are often the sticking point: many airline tickets cannot have the name changed at all, only cancelled and rebooked.

 

If your booking is a package holiday, you have some extra rights under the Package Travel Regulations, including being able to transfer the booking to someone else if you give reasonable notice, although the transfer can still carry costs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. The cancellation charges, and when they jump

Most terms have a sliding scale. Cancel early and you lose the deposit. Cancel later and you lose a percentage of the total. Cancel close to travel and you lose all of it.

 

The useful thing to know is when those jumps happen, because that is your decision window. If there is any doubt about a trip, the day before a charge increases is the day to make the call.

 

This is also where travel insurance comes in. Buy it when you book, not when you remember a week before you fly. Cancellation cover only helps if it was in place when the reason for cancelling happened.

 

 

While you're there: who protects your money?

One more thing worth a look. If your holiday includes a flight and is sold as a package, check it is ATOL protected and that you get an ATOL certificate. If something goes wrong with the company, that is what gets you home or gets your money back.

 

Packages also come with protections if the organiser makes significant changes or puts the price up by more than a set amount after you have booked. A pile of separately booked bits does not give you the same safety net.

 

 

The short version

Before you pay a deposit, find four things: whether it is refundable and until when, the balance date, and what happens if you miss it, what a change costs, and when the cancellation charges increase.

 

If you are booking with me, I walk every family through these before anything is paid, in plain English, because I would rather you knew now than found out later.

Planning 2027 and want someone to read the small print with you? Send me a message or get in touch at letsgo-travel.co.uk.

 

 Get in touch at www.letsgo-travel.co.uk

 

*Jenny Willcock is a luxury family travel specialist and founder of Lets Go Travel. She travels regularly with her three children and books family holidays across Europe, the Middle East and beyond.