Christmas Bubbles and Tier Travel

COVID-19 update: as at 4 December 2020

Government regulations on COVID-19 change frequently. Before you travel, you need to ensure you have checked and understood the relevant regulations applicable to you, your location, your destination and the make-up of your party as it is your responsibility to comply.

Please note that the below is not legal advice and you must make sure you familiarise yourself with the relevant government regulations.

Christmas Bubbles

1. The UK Government and Devolved Administrations have agreed to relax the social contact restrictions between 23 and 27 December 2020. Find out more here. During this time, you can form an exclusive ‘Christmas bubble’ and travel between tiers and UK nations for the purposes of meeting your Christmas bubble, subject to the rules on number of households and party size. When staying in self-catering accommodation with your Christmas bubble in Scotland, at least one of the participants of the Christmas bubble must live in the local authority area in which the self-catering accommodation is located and the Christmas bubble cannot be larger than 8 people (excluding children under 12). Outside the Christmas bubble period, the local and national rules in place at the time will apply (see below for the rules as they currently stand).
2. Please note that holiday accommodation in Tier 3 in England is allowed to re-open between 22 and 28 December 2020 (but must remain closed outside these dates). However, please note that Christmas bubbles can only form between 23 and 27 December 2020.
3. If you have a booking that begins before and/or ends after the Christmas bubble period, and you are unable to stay for the full period of your booking in compliance with the government restrictions, you can request a partial refund for the days you are unable to stay at the property.
4. The above information is a high level summary only. You must familiarise yourself with the rules that apply to your party and holiday destination before you travel. Each country within the UK has its own nuanced rules, you can read  the Christmas bubble rules of England here, of Scotland here and of Wales here.

Travelling within England   

• Local restriction tiers From 2 December, England is operating under a local restriction tier system. Find out more here. The allocation of areas to tiers is scheduled for review on 16 December 2020.  We are therefore currently only dealing with bookings with arrival dates on or before 15 December 2020.
• Tier 1 and Tier 2
  • If you live in a Tier 1 area and have a booking in a Tier 1 area, you must follow the ’Rule of 6’. If you are unable to use your booking due to the ‘Rule of 6’ restrictions, please contact us to discuss your options, which will include the choice between a refund and a voucher of the amount paid for your booking.
  • If you live in a Tier 1 area, and have a booking in a Tier 2 area or you live in a Tier 2 area, and have a booking in  a Tier 1 or Tier 2 area, you can still make use of your booking provided that you travel with your household (which may include your support bubble) only.  If the party mix for your booking is such that you cannot comply with the one household restriction, please contact us to discuss your options, which will include the choice between a refund and a voucher of the amount paid for your booking.

• Tier 3
  • If you live in a Tier 3 area, we will contact you if you have a booking in England on or before 15 December 2020 with your options, which will include the choice between a refund and a voucher of the amount paid for your booking.
  • If you have a booking on or before 15 December 2020 in a Tier 3 area, we will be in touch with you with the option of a voucher or refund of the amount paid for the booking. If you believe you are permitted to make use of your booking in Tier 3 because you satisfy one of the legislated exceptions for which overnight stays at guest accommodation in Tier 3 are still permitted, please get in touch with us as soon as possible.

Travelling within Wales and between Wales and England

• If you live in Wales and have a booking in Wales or within Tier 1 or Tier 2 in England that takes place before 15 December 2020 and you are prevented from making use of your booking due to government public health measures then please call us.
• If you live in Tier 1 or Tier 2 in England and have a booking in Wales that takes place before 15 December 2020 and you are prevented from making use of your booking due to government public health measures then please call us.
• We have already contacted customers living in Wales with bookings in Tier 3 in England or bookings in Scotland, in each case before16 December 2020 with their options which includes a refund or voucher of the amount previously paid.

Scotland

• The Scottish government has introduced a tier system under which different rules apply to each Protection Level. To find out more about the rules applicable to each Protection Level please see the Scottish government guidance here. For information with respect to travel restrictions, see here.
  • Protection Level 1 or 2:
    • If you have a booking before 23 December 2020 at accommodation in a Protection Level 1 or 2 area and you live in an area with a Protection Level 1 or 2 and you are unable to make use of your booking due to the Scottish government regulations with respect to party mix, then you have the following options: you may reduce your party size, choose a voucher or receive a full refund of what you have paid. We have previously emailed customers we believed affected by this rule on party size.
    • If you live in a Protection Level 1 or 2 area and have an imminent booking in a Protection Level 3 or 4 area or in England or Wales, please see below.
  • Protection Level 3
    • If you have a booking before 23 December 2020 in a Level 3 area (unless you live in a Level 3 area and have a booking within that same Level 3 area), we will contact you in due course with the option of a voucher or a refund of the amount paid for the booking. If your booking is at a later date, please refer to the section Your Options below.
  • Protection Level 4
    • If you have a booking before 23 December 2020 in a Protection Level 4 area or you live within a Protection Level 4 area and have a booking elsewhere during that period, we will contact you in due course with the option of a voucher or a refund of the amount paid for the booking.
  • Bookings in England and Wales
    • If you live in Scotland and have a booking before 23 December 2020 in England or Wales, we will contact you in due course if the restrictions on travel from Scotland to England and Wales remain in place with the option of a voucher or a refund of the amount paid for the booking. If your booking is at a later date, please refer to the section Your Options below.

Your options

In a lot of cases, there are currently no end dates to these government imposed measures.  The above options are currently only available if your booking is due to take place in the timeframes listed.  If your booking is beyond those dates, it is too early to tell what restrictions will be in place at the time of your booking. If measures continue to be in place closer to the time of your booking, which would put you in breach of government regulations if you were to make use of your booking, rest assured that these options will be available to you then.

Where can I find the latest guidance from the government?

https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus