Section 4: Terms of Hire of the Facilities
Our meeting rooms and social facilities are available for hire for one-off or regular activities or for special events. Catering services are also provided. The terms and conditions in this Section 4 apply to the hire and use of our facilities. They apply in addition to the terms and conditions in Sections 1 – 3 of this agreement.
1. Bookings
Your contract for hire of the Facilities is with Warwick Students Union or its subsidiary Students’ Union Services Warwick Ltd. Refresh Catering provides delivered catering and in this case your contract will be with Students’ Union Services Warwick Ltd. This will be made clear to you on booking.
All Bookings must be in writing on our official application form, which can be obtained by emailing central admin – admin@warwicksu.com or enquiries@refreshcatering.co.uk.
You must submit your completed application form together with the required deposit (if any) within 14 calendar days of your enquiry. All deposits are non-refundable.
All Bookings are subject to our written confirmation. This means that we will not guarantee any Booking until we have received your application form and any required deposit, and we have issued our confirmation of your Booking.
Notwithstanding clause 2.6 of this Section 4, we will use our reasonable endeavours to provisionally hold the date and time for your Booking for 14 calendar days after your initial reservation.
If you we do not receive your completed application form within 14 days of your reservation, your Booking is presumed cancelled and we may hire that part of Facilities reserved by you on your chosen date and time to any third party.
We reserve the right in our absolute discretion, at any time, to:
- refuse any application to hire Facilities or to supply catering.
- refuse admission to any person or organisation.
- evict any person from the Facilities.
For details of Refresh Catering Terms and Conditions please see our website.
2. Charges
Where you have paid a deposit in connection with your Booking, the balance will be due immediately after we send the invoice to you. In all eventualities, you must pay the invoice immediately that it is due whether a deposit has been paid or not.
If you do not pay the Charges when they are due, we may charge you interest (both before and after any judgment) on the amount unpaid at the rate of 4% per annum above National Westminster Bank plc base rate from time to time, until payment in full is made (a part of a month being treated as a full month for the purpose of calculating interest). If your Booking is for a regular Activity, we will not guarantee your Booking for future dates.
We will make clear whether any taxes are payable in addition to the Charge, and, if they are, whether these have already been included within the Charge or not. The Charge shown on the Booking form is exclusive of VAT. VAT will be added where applicable.
If you are a consumer, you should receive details of the Charge inclusive of VAT. If you are not sure whether this is the case, please contact us at admin@warwicksu.com for clarification, detailing your booking and the charge.
If you ask us to provide additional Facilities or any Equipment, these will be charged to you at the rates that apply at the date we supply them. The total Charges will be adjusted accordingly.
If you book Facilities or catering more than a year ahead, we may need to increase our charges and will inform you of this no later than 11 months before the date of your Activity or Event.
3. Cancellation
Cancellation by You
You acknowledge that under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, the Agreement for the hire of Facilities is a limited contract in respect of leisure activities on a specified date, and that you do not have any automatic right to cancel this Agreement during any “cooling off period”. Your only cancellation rights are as set out in the rest of this clause 4.
If you wish to cancel your Booking, you must inform us as soon as possible, in writing, to admin@warwicksu.com.
If you cancel the contract before the event, at the discretion of the Chief Executive or his/her representative, you must pay to us the following by way of agreed liquidated damages:
- Less than 1 week: 100% of total Charge
- Less than 1 month: 90% of total Charge
- Between 1-5 months: 75% of total Charge
- Between 6-12 months: 50% of total Charge
- Over 12 months: deposit only
If you cancel your Booking within any period specified above, you will be responsible for covering any cost associated with the cancellation of any related ancillary contracts, for example, contracts for foods and drink, first aid or other vendors that have been booked for the Activity or Event.
For details of Refresh Catering Terms and Conditions relating to cancellations please see our website.
Cancellation by Us
We have the right to alter or cancel any Bookings that we cannot keep for reasons beyond our control.
We will notify you of any cancellation as soon as reasonably practicable in the circumstances, and you acknowledge that this may be on short notice.
If we cancel or transfer any Booking, we will either
- refund the full amount of the Charges relevant to the cancelled Activity or Event including any deposit paid; or
- offer you the opportunity to hold your Activity or Event on a different day, in which case we will not refund any Charges.
The above sets out our entire liability to you in respect of our cancellation of any Booking. Under no circumstances will we be responsible to you for any loss or damage that you suffer as a consequence of our cancellation, including any ancillary contracts that are cancelled as a consequence.
4. Risk, Indemnity and Insurance
Your use of the facilities is entirely at your own risk.
You are solely responsible for ensuring the facilities are suitable for the activity or event. We do not provide any warranty, representation or undertaking as to the quality, fitness for purpose or suitability of the Facilities provided under this Agreement, except that that we shall use our reasonable endeavours to provide any such Facilities with a reasonable degree of skill, care and diligence.
You are solely responsible for the safety of all persons who attend your activity or event. Your Activity or Event will not be supervised by any safety personnel, unless specified and agreed in your booking request and our confirmation. The Students’ Union shall not be held responsible for the death or personal injury of anyone attending an Activity or Event unless such death or personal injury is caused by or arising out of the negligence or breach of statutory duty by the Students’ Union or its employees or agents.
You shall indemnify the Students’ Union and its employees against all losses, costs, claims and damages which may be made against us or them (including without limitation claims by any person attending your Activity or Event) in respect of your use of our Facilities or resulting from your breach of this Agreement. You must have appropriate insurance cover in place against these risks.
5. Our Liability to You
This paragraph 5 sets out our entire liability to you whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, for our breach of this Agreement or any negligence or wilful misconduct by us or our employees. Nothing in this agreement shall limit or exclude our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or that of our employees or agents; for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other act, omission, or liability which may not be limited or excluded by law.
Subject to paragraph 5 if we are found to be liable to you for any losses, damage or compensation in connection with your Booking (whether as a result of our breach of this section 4 of the agreement or otherwise), our total liability to you shall be limited to the total Charges paid or payable by you in relation to the Booking. We will not be liable for you for any type of loss or damage that does not occur as a direct result of our breach of this agreement, or negligence or our failure to take responsible care.
We shall not have any liability to you for any loss of profit, business, opportunity, reputation or goodwill, or for any indirect or consequential loss arising under or in connection with this agreement or your Booking of the Facilities.
Except as expressly provided for in this agreement all warranties, conditions and other terms implied by statute or common law are, to the fullest extent permitted by law, excluded from this Agreement.
6. Proper Use of the Facilities
You are not permitted to carry out any alteration to any building hired to you or to change or alter any fixtures, fittings, floor markings, decorations or equipment hired to you without our prior written approval.
You are responsible for, and shall carry out with reasonable skill, care and diligence:
- the administration, organisation and running of your Activity or Event and you must comply with conditions laid down by us. If you want us to organise a special event for you, this will be subject to a separate contract.
- the effective supervision and control of all attendees and the maintenance of good order. leaving the premises in a clean and tidy condition. If you do not do this to our satisfaction, we shall charge you for the cost of any necessary additional cleaning.
- ensuring that there are sufficient stewards and officials on hand during the period of hire to ensure full compliance with all relevant health and safety legislation, including an appropriate number of first aiders if required.
- ensuring that all accidents are reported straight away to Students’ Union staff on duty.
You must pay for all damage caused to the facilities or any of our property as the result of the Booking.
We are not liable for any accident, injury, loss or damage you, or any of your attendees, first aiders, stewards, or supervisors suffer as a result of your failure to use the facilities properly.
7. Hires are Non-Transferable
Your right under this agreement to hire our Facilities and any Equipment is not transferable. You must not hire the Facilities or any Equipment to any other person or organisation.
8. Publicity
You may not use in your publicity the Students’ Union name or logos without our prior approval in writing.
We do not expect you to take inappropriate pictures of your Activities or Events, and if you use an appropriate picture of your Event or Activity in public, you should ensure it does not have any adverse reputational impact on the Students’ Union.
We may request to take photographs of your Activities or Events. If we do so, we will obtain all appropriate consent from you and any attendees of your event before doing so.
9. Gaming and Lotteries
No betting, gambling or gaming is permitted on the premises.
10. Broadcasting or Television
You may not grant sound or television broadcasting or filming rights without prior consent in writing from the Students’ Union.
11. Catering
If you require catering at your event, please contact enquiries@refreshcatering.co.uk.
12. Alcoholic Drinks
Alcohol may only be consumed in the licensed areas of the Students’ Union.
13. Personal Property
All property belonging to you or your visitors is brought on to the campus entirely your own risk. Groups and organisations are responsible for the security of all property or valuable possessions brought onto the Students’ Union premises and are advised to arrange separate insurances for such property and valuable possessions.
14. Disclosure and Barring Service
It is the responsibility of all groups and organisations accompanying children and vulnerable adults, using the Students’ Union Facilities, to comply with legislation governing the protection of such persons. By signing the booking form you warrant and represent:
- That appropriate Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks have been conducted in relation to all staff and/or volunteers accompanying children or vulnerable adults while on Students’ Union premises; and
- No person whose checks indicate that he or she is unsuitable to work with children or vulnerable adults will be included in any activities taking place.
15. External Speakers
The Students' Union has an external speakers policy which covers any speakers invited to any SU event or any non-SU event taking place in SU venues. All users of SU venues are required to communicate at least 14 days in advance of their event if they have any speakers attending either in person or through electronic means. The organiser must inform of us of who is attending including brief biography and what they will be speaking on.