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The French Experience Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a question that is not covered here please contact our Membership team on who will be delighted to help.

Why The French Experience?

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We have included this question as we are aware that some people are concerned with making bookings online due to internet fraud and scams.

The French Experience is an online marketplace offering short term apartment rentals from a selection third party accommodation providers.  The French Experience does not own, control or manage the properties and relies on property providers to fairly represent the facilities and standard of the properties they represent. 

The French Experience has no control over the existence, quality, safety, suitability or legality of any listing, and while The French Experience may help facilitate the resolution of disputes, the suppliers alone are responsible for their listings and service provision.

The French Experience is a registered, Australia based online booking agency. ABN 11 624 848 433. The service has been running since 2006.

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You can book online by selecting your arrival and departure dates and following the booking process. You will be offered a list of available apartments and their cost for you exact dates and a “book” button will be provided on each accommodation description page.

You can pay by credit card (Visa, MasterCard and AMEX) via the booking screen or you can select to pay by bank transfer.  Please note that we are not able to confirm your booking until we receive a receipt of transaction and the supplier has accepted your booking request.

It is important to note that the suppliers are responsible for identifying, understanding and complying with all laws, rules and regulations that apply to their listings and that once a booking is made or accepted, the contractual agreement is between you and the supplier.

 

 

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Prices are all inclusive, in Australian dollars. All inclusive means credit card fees, local taxes, cleaning, electricity, heating, currency conversion…

We believe doing so makes it clear and avoid any unexpected surprise along the way. When comparing oversees offers we invite you to compare the details of their offer and make sure you add all the relevant conversion fees charged by your financial institution and all booking and payment fees.

Specific extra fees might be required per accommodation for late arrivals, early departure or arrivals and departures on public holidays, all these are clearly presented at the time of booking online under “Specific information for this apartment”.

Some apartments require a security bond often as a credit card pre authorisation, held here in Australia or processed on arrival at the accommodation. Again if a security bond apply to an apartment it will be clearly stated on the online booking page or the booking form.

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It is rare, however in the event that The French Experience is unable to provide you with the property originally booked, The French Experience reserve the right to offer you an alternative available property.  If the property is of a lesser value, you can choose to accept with a refund for the difference in price.  If the property is of a greater value and you accept, you will be asked to pay the difference.  You are not obliged to accept any alternative and if the property offered is not suitable or the dates are unavailable for any alternative property, the booking will be cancelled and you will be given a full refund.

Possible reasons for cancellation by The French Experience would include but is not limited to: notification by the supplier of damage to the apartment, flooding, fire, property has been sold and is no longer available for rent, legal instruction, and major construction on the building or environs.

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Check in times vary for different apartments, generally between 2pm and 5pm the information for each apartment is specified on the online booking page or on the booking form.

Hotel standard check in time is 4pm.

Guests are asked to vacate apartments by requested check out time on their day of departure in order for the apartments to be made ready for the following guests. Check out times are generally between 10am or 11am.

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The local hosts will always do their best to try and accommodate the request for an early check-in where possible, however it is impossible to confirm until the last minute due to guest departures and cleaning schedules.

If you would prefer certainty that the apartment will be ready for you on early arrival after a long flight, we strongly recommend booking the apartment the night before.

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The local hosts will try to be as flexible as they can be. Please bear in mind, that the apartment may be booked on the day of your departure and they are simply unable to allow a late check out. If you have a late flight out, we would suggest you consider booking the apartment for an extra night.  That way you can leave in your own time.

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Yes all properties have linen and towels supplied.

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Yes all of the apartments have heating, as it can get very cold in winter. We suggest leaving the heaters on low and confortable temperature (19/20 degres) all the time.

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Very few apartments offer air-conditioning, most apartments offer fans.

This is due to the fact that in general Paris does not get very hot very often and air conditioning is not seen as a necessary amenity by local. There may be a few very hot days a year. The buildings also tend to stay much cooler in summer, and will cool down at night due to their thick stone walls.

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No, part of the service we offer is to lock the price in Australian dollars at the time of booking. You know exactly what you pay at the time of booking, even booking months ahead of your stay.

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The French Experience does not own, control or manage the properties and once a booking is made or accepted the contractual agreement is between you and the supplier. 

From time to time problems will arise and when they do, you should liaise with the local host to resolve any issues.  

The French Experience may try to help facilitate the resolution of disputes, however the suppliers alone are responsible for their listings and service provision.  If the supplier fails to resolve the issue to your satisfaction, you can make a formal complait to the local Tourism Office.

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There is a heightened risk of sustained community transmission of the coronavirus in some countries, and we appreciate that this is a worrying time for travellers. 

In most countries, the advice to Australians to ‘exercise normal safety precautions’. For the coronavirus, this means taking sensible measures to minimise your risk of exposure such as practising good hand hygiene, however the advice level has already been raised for six countries: China and Iran – to ‘do not travel’; South Korea - to 'Reconsider your need to travel';  Japan, Italy and Mongolia – to ‘exercise a high degree of caution’.

We're closely monitoring official guidance from local governmental and health authorities and the World Health Organization in order to support the health and well-being of travellers in severely impacted areas.

France has confirmed cases of COVID-19 in all regions of the country.  If you arrive in France after visiting or transiting through China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, South Korea, Iran or affected areas of Italy, you are advised to take precautionary measures.  France has enacted its public health response plan limiting travel to certain areas and cancelling events, however the travel advice from Smart Traveller for France hasn’t changed, with travellers being asked to “exercise a high degree of caution” and for the country and any countries travellers need to transit through to get there, and get home.  Follow the advice of local authorities and check with the nearest embassy or consulate of France to confirm entry requirements.  For more information go to: https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/europe/france or https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/coming-to-france/coronavirus-advice-for-visitors-to-france/.

The French Experience/Apartmentdock is an online marketplace offering short term apartment rentals from a selection of third party accommodation providers.  The French Experience does not own, manage or control the terms and conditions applicable to the properties.  To secure and guarantee each booking, we are required to abide by the payment terms and are bound by the cancellation terms and conditions set by the accommodation providers.  This means that the deposit is passed on at the time the booking is confirmed, and the balance is payable 8 weeks prior to travel.

We are approaching accommodation providers in severely impacted areas asking them to adopt a ‘forced/extenuating circumstances’ approach, allowing travellers to cancel without penalty where they are required to change or cancel travel:

  • In order to comply with disease control restrictions implemented by relevant governmental or health authorities
  • In order to perform medical or disease control duties in connection with the COVID-19 outbreak;
  • As a result of flight or ground transportation cancellations initiated by an airline or ground transportation provider due to the COVID-19 outbreak;

Locations and reservation criteria where forced/extenuating circumstances are currently being applied include:

For travellers with reservations in mainland China

  • Travel to or within mainland China, with reservations booked on or before 28 January 2020, with check-in date of 1 April 2020 or earlier.
  • travellers to mainland China from anywhere outside of mainland China, for reservations booked on or before 1 February 2020, with check-in date of 1 April 2020 or earlier.

For reservations with guests travelling from mainland China to destinations outside of mainland China

  • any reservations booked on or before 1 February 2020, with check-in date of 1 April 2020 or earlier.
  • travellers from mainland China with reservations outside of mainland China, or properties outside of mainland China with travellers from mainland China.

For travellers with reservations in Italy

  • travel to or within Italy, with reservations booked on or before 29 February 2020, where check-in date of 3 April 2020 or earlier.

For reservations with travellers from Italy to destinations outside of Italy

  • any reservations booked on or before 29 February 2020, with check-in date of 3 April 2020 or earlier.
  • travellers from Italy with reservations outside of Italy, or properties outside of Italy with travellers from Italy.

South Korea

For travellers with reservations in South Korea

  • travel to or within South Korea, with reservations booked on or before 25 February 2020, with check-in date of 23 March 2020 or earlier.

For reservations with travellers from South Korea to destinations outside of South Korea

  • travellers from South Korea with reservations outside of South Korea booked on or before 25 February 2020, with check-in date of 23 March 2020 or earlier.
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New policies – probably not. Existing policies – it depends…

Most policy features, definitions, inclusions and exclusions pertinent to COVID-19 fall into the epidemic/pandemic category, so that’s where you generally need to look when trying to understand your policy coverage.

If you are trying to buy travel insurance now, it’s unlikely that you will be covered for coronavirus-related medical or cancellation expenses, apart from a few exceptions. However it may still be possible to achieve coverage via add-on Cancel for Any Reason cover (although Cover-More has temporarily suspended sales of this product).

Contact your insurance company to discuss your travel plans and whether you are covered if you cancel or postpone your booking.

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18 March 2020:

Regardless of the destination all Australians are now advised to do not travel overseas at this time. This is the highest advice level (level 4 of 4).

As more countries close their borders or introduce travel restrictions, overseas travel is becoming more complex and difficult.  You may not be able to return to Australia when you had planned to, and you should consider whether you have access to health care and support systems if you get sick while overseas.  The Government is also encouraging Australians who are currently overseas to consider returning home immediately.

On 16 March 2020, the President of the Republic decided on measures to reduce contact and travel to the minimum throughout the whole of France. From 12PM on Tuesday 17 March 2020, for at least two weeks, travel will be allowed, with proof, only to:

  • travel from home to work only if working at home is not possible;
  • shop for basic necessities in authorized local shops;
  • visit health professionals;
  • travel for childcare and to help vulnerable people - but only while strictly respecting advice on barrier measures;
  • take exercise, individually, close to home and with no gathering of people.

Please be assured that we are in constant contact with accommodation providers, referring cancellations through to them as soon as we receive them.  As you will appreciate, we are also experiencing a higher number of calls than usual, so we may not be able to answer when you call.  Please leave a message and we will be in touch as soon as we can.

First and foremost, our concern is for the health and safety of our partners and common customers.  We have suspended all business as usual activities as our focus centres around managing the issues related to this pandemic.  As you reconsider your travel plans, please let us know of any changes as soon as possible, and please disregard any automated reminders you may receive during this time.

This situation and the measures being put in place worldwide are unprecedented and coping with the ongoing uncertainty, growing restrictions and the potential longer term impacts will be challenging for us all.

We urge you all to take the necessary precautions to keep yourselves and your loved ones safe and healthy.  Thank you again for your patience and understanding while we work with providers to solve issues and deal with difficult circumstances as quickly as we can.

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28 March 2020:

How the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global travel is unprecedented.  It is difficult to know what restrictions will be in place tomorrow, let alone next week or next month and future travel plans may well be governed by the stance taken by airlines once things settle down and people start to travel again.

Governments around the world continue to implement stronger regulations restricting the movement of people and grapple with how to support their economies during this crisis.

The pace, scale and impact of this health crisis is having an unprecedented impact across the world, and a travel ban is now in place for all Australians.  You will not be able to depart Australia to travel overseas.

First and foremost, our concern is for the health and safety of our partners and common customers and our priority is to collate the details for people requesting to cancel and getting these through to suppliers.  We have suspended all business as usual activities as our focus centres around managing the issues related to this pandemic.

These are extra-ordinary circumstances and we know that everyone has been affected in some way.  We will continue to do our best to try and protect our customers and our business amidst the rapidly changing global uncertainty.

While the situation is beyond everybody’s control and a number of suppliers are willing to hold existing bookings as a credit for a future date, there are still some suppliers who are unfortunately still holding steadfastly to their cancellation policies, believing that travellers should be able to seek reimbursement of the difference from their travel insurer.

For those who are yet to reconsider your travel plans, we would encourage you to check the terms and conditions attached to your booking and travel insurance, and ask that you let us know of any changes as soon as possible.