Booking terms and conditions

Formation of the contract

‘The College’, ‘We’, 'Our' and 'Us' means Jesus College, Cambridge and it’s representatives. ‘The Client’, ‘You’ and 'Your' mean the organising body/company and organiser contracting for the Client, normally the person responsible for commissioning and paying for the event. The ‘Contract’ means the agreement between the College and the Client for a specific booking or series of bookings. These Terms & Conditions will form part of the Contract, together with Your 'Booking Form', the accompanying ‘Contract’, including the function sheet outlining the booking details, and any other terms agreed in writing by the parties. ‘In writing’ includes written correspondence sent by both post and email. The Policies and Procedures referenced within this document can be found on the College website.

1. Provisional bookings

A provisional booking is secured once We agree the provisional booking in writing. Please note such bookings are held for a maximum period of 7 days, pending a decision. We reserve the right to release provisional bookings at any time.

2. Confirmed bookings

Bookings are considered provisional and the Contract shall not come into existence until You receive the countersigned Contract from Us. Once You have agreed in writing that You wish to confirm the booking, We will be send You a Contract, which You must check, sign and return.

Once You have returned the Contract to Us and have received a countersigned version Your booking is confirmed. Any deposits paid will be to secure the booking date and are non refundable. Once the booking is confirmed Our cancellation policy applies.

3. Charges and payment

Jesus College reserves the right to carry out credit checks where it deems appropriate and withdraw or refuse credit facilities.

The final invoice is based on the numbers agreed in the Contract at the time of confirmation, or on actual numbers attending, whichever is higher. You will be charged Our current, latest price, unless specific prices have been agreed in writing.

All payments should be made in British Pounds Sterling by way of cheque or bank transfer. We reserve the right to pass on to You any bank charges resulting from exchange of foreign currency payments and any shortfall in sterling that occurs as a result of foreign currency exchange.

If the booking is made by an agency, the College will pay commission at the rate agreed in writing in initial discussions. It is the agency’s responsibility to inform the College in writing of commission rates during the initial discussions. The College will not be responsible for paying any commission that is not detailed in the agreed initial discussions.

The Client will be sent the Invoice promptly after the event for the outstanding amount, which must be paid in full without any withholding or set-off within 30 days of the invoice date.

In the event of late payment by the Client, the College reserves the right to:

Charge interest (calculated on a daily basis on all sums outstanding on accounts rendered from the date on which sums become due until the date on which payment is actually received or judgement obtained against the Client) at a rate of 4% above the base rate charged by Barclays Bank PLC at that time; and
Charge all costs incurred in relation to the enforcement of any rights under the Contract.

Any charges incurred during the booking will be itemised on the Client’s final invoice. This includes fees to delegates for late checkouts, lost keys/cards and suchlike. It is the Client’s responsibility to reclaim these charges from their delegates should they choose to do so.

We are only able to send one single invoice per event. Payment is due 28 days net after the date of invoice. Overdue accounts will be charged interest at the rate of 5% per month.

4. Deposit and prepayments

The College will issue a non-refundable deposit invoice following confirmation of the booking as outlined in section 2. Payment of the deposit must be received within 14 days of the invoice date, or otherwise agreed in writing. Where lead time is less than 14 days, the deposit payment must be received by return: this will be stated on the deposit invoice. We may implement pre-payments at Our discretion, of the total sums payable under the Contract.

The College reserves the right to cancel the booking and offer to hire the facilities to a third party without any liability whatsoever to the Client if the Deposit is not paid within the period stated on the invoice.

5. VAT

Unless expressly stated, all prices are exclusive of VAT (which will be charged at the prevailing rate). All liquor sales are subject to VAT regardless of any exemption.

If the Client claims exemption from paying VAT then a completed VAT Exemption Form together with any documents as required by the VAT Exemption Form must be returned to the College at the time of confirmation to enable Us to provide an accurate cost estimate. VAT exemption is not applied in retrospect. These forms are scrutinised by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) regularly. If HMRC finds that VAT has been excluded unlawfully, the Client will be liable for any financial implications of that discovery, no matter how much time has passed.

6. Amendments by the Client

The Conference and Events Office must be promptly notified in writing of any fluctuations in numbers once Your booking is confirmed. You are welcome to request, and We may choose to provide, an updated cost estimate at any time in the lead up to the Event. Any changes introduced by these cost estimates will be reflected in the final invoice, subject that the minimum fees payable shall be those detailed in the Contract.

Reduction in the duration or contracted value of the booing shall be subject to Our Cancellation Policy in section 7. You will not be charged for any reduction in the value of the booking that is less than a 10% from that stated in the Contract provided You notify Us in writing at least 14 working days prior to the commencement of the booking.

Should You make significant changes to the schedule or expected numbers, this may result in amendments in the applicable rates and/or facilities offered by Us. In the event that the costs for the College (in terms of F&B, utilities or staffing) increase to such a level that the booking becomes, in the reasonable opinion of the College, unviable, the parties agree to negotiate an increase to the Charges. In the event that such increase cannot be agreed the College has the right to terminate this contract.

7. Cancellation of an event

You must notify the College in writing of any booking cancellation. Please note that time is of the essence in this circumstance, and it is the Client’s responsibility to ensure that the College receives this notification.

Written notice received by the College	Percentage of contracted fees to be charged (not including the Deposit)
Over 12 calendar months before the first day of the event	25%
Between 6 and 12 calendar months before the first day of the event	75%
Less than 6 calendar months before the first day of the event	100%

8. Amendments or cancellation by the College

'Force Majeure Event' means any circumstance not within the College's reasonable control including, without limitation acts of God, flood, storm, drought, earthquake or other natural disaster, epidemic or pandemic, terrorist attack, civil war, civil commotion or riots, war, threat of or preparation for war, armed conflict, imposition of sanctions, embargo, or breaking off of diplomatic relations, nuclear, chemical or biological contamination or sonic boom, any law or any action taken by a government or public authority, including without limitation imposing restrictions on travel and health warnings, and collapse of buildings, breakdown of plant or machinery, fire, explosion or accident.

Should the College need to make any amendments to Your booking for any reason, We reserve the right to offer an alternative choice of facilities within the College. Should the facilities be of a higher value than those detailed in the Original Cost Estimate then the College will not make an additional charge to the Client. The College will not be otherwise liable to the Client in respect of such amendment.

The College may cancel the booking:

a) In the event of a Force Majeure Event. In this instance the Client will receive a full refund of any monies already paid and be relieved of any further payments due, save for the payment of the deposit which may be retained by the College to cover administration costs up to that point.

b) If the booking might, in the opinion of the College, prejudice the reputation of the College. In this instance the Client will receive a full refund of any monies already paid and be relieved of any further payments due. The College will not be liable for any further costs which may have been incurred by the Client.

c) If all or any of the following circumstances apply;

If the Client is more than 30 days in arrears of a previous payment;
If the College becomes aware of a change in the Client’s financial situation which may affect the Client’s ability to settle the account;
If the Client fails to provide the College with all information requested by the College at least 14 days prior to commencement of the event;
If the Client breaches any term or condition of its Contract with the College and fails to remedy the breach within 28 days of a written notice from the College or 10 days before the event, whichever is earlier.
If the College cancels as per section 8c, then the Client will be deemed to have cancelled the booking and the relevant cancellation policy at section 7 will apply.

9. Accommodation and meeting rooms

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, meeting rooms are available for occupation by the Client for the times detailed in the Contract. Requests for early access for set up may incur additional charges to ensure availability of meeting rooms.

Accommodation is available for check in from 15.00 and guests must check out by 10.00, unless otherwise agreed in writing. Luggage rooms can be made available on request. Lost keys will be charged at £50.00+VAT and charged on the final invoice to the Client.

Any damage to meeting rooms or bedrooms by the Client or those affiliated with the booking such as third party suppliers, must be reported immediately to the Conference Office. Charges to remedy any damage caused by the Client or their affiliates will be made on the final invoice to the Client. Charges will also be applied to bookings if rooms, walls or College equipment are not left in an appropriate state at the end of each day of the event.

For any extensions beyond these standard times, including late accommodation check outs, the College reserves the right to make a minimum charge of

Meeting Rooms – £200.00+VAT per hour
Accommodation – the bedroom hire rate, as per that year’s current price list.

10. Equipment and activities

Equipment provided by external suppliers or the conference organiser is not the responsibility of the College.

Equipment provided by the College shall be at the risk of the Client during the period they are using the equipment at the College. Should the Client arrange external technical support for any rooms where the College equipment is being used, the supplier must be approved by the College. This technical support must be approved by the College AV Technician at least one calendar month prior to the booking date. Where lead time is less than 14 days, this information must be provided upon confirmation of the booking by return.

Poster boards should be used as much as possible to display information, particularly in areas of the College which are listed. Permission must be sought in the first instance and only white tac may be used to fix items to the walls if permission is given. Organisers must take care when fixing items and decorations to the walls and are liable if any damage is caused to the fabric of the building when doing so.

The Client must provide completed risk assessments for any equipment being used or activities taking place in College at least one calendar month in advance of the booking. This is to allow enough time for them to be reviewed by the College and where necessary, further questions answered or information provided. To ensure You are able to go ahead with Your plans, if the activity is particularly unusual or complex, We would encourage You to send the risk assessment/s earlier.

For some events extra Security, Porters and/or Cloakroom attendants may be required. Where the College deems this to be necessary the College will inform the Client in writing and detail the costs for which the Client will be liable.

When using the College Internet service, You agree to the reasonable use of that service as detailed in Our IT Policies available on the College website. The Client is liable for any consequence directly linked to the accessing of illegal material, illegal file sharing or illegal streaming. This is traced via network address and log in details and We reserve the right to disable access if We deem it necessary.

Please note that there are no parental control or other usage restrictions on the College Internet service and the Client is responsible for supervising use of the service by people under 18 years of age.

11. Grounds and sports facility hire

Hire of Our grounds and sports facilities requires additional approval from the Head of Grounds and Gardens and may need further approval from senior College members. Charges are negotiated separately to room hire, AV and catering fees. Applications should be submitted as far in advance as possible to allow them to be circulated and approved, and at least 10 working days before Your event date. While We try to be flexible, short-notice requests may not be granted due to availability and the need to consult with various College departments to avoid clashes with other events or College life. Permission is much less likely to be granted during exam term or at the same time as major scheduled events.

12. Filming

The College is primarily a place for Our community members to live, work, and socialise. It is private property and while We recognise the benefits and opportunities of allowing selected filming, photography and recording to take place, these need to be balanced against the potential impact on community members and College life.

You must seek the College’s approval before arranging video recordings, publications, photographs, or podcasts. This includes filming or audio recording provided by Us. Please inform the Conference Office and see the Filming and Recording Policy. This page also details charges and application form. Charges are negotiated separately to room hire, AV and catering fees. Applications should be submitted as far in advance as possible. Except for news media requests, a lead time of at least 10 working days before Your event date is required. While We try to be flexible, short-notice requests may not be granted due to availability and the need to consult with various College departments to avoid clashes with other events, College life or permitted filming. Permission is much less likely to be granted during exam term or at the same time as major scheduled events.

As the organiser of the event it is Your responsibility to inform attendees that they are being filmed and to obtain their permission. We can provide poster boards or sign holders where these are available and a sign template can be found at the link above.

The cancellation policy in section 7 will apply if a chargeable filming agreement is cancelled after it has been confirmed between the College and third party.

13. Food and drink

Wine must be ordered from the College wine list and is sold on a sale or return basis. We do not allow guests to provide their own drinks and We do not operate a corkage system.

No food or beverages of any kind are permitted to be brought into the College by the Client or delegates unless this is specifically agreed in writing in advance. We cannot accept responsibility for the content or quality of items that are not directly sourced from the College. We also require full allergen information to be provided to Us by the chosen catering provider if the food [such as a wedding cake] is being served on Our premises.

It is Our policy to ensure that, to the best of Our knowledge, none of the foods We serve contain genetically modified soya or maize, as required by the EC and UK labelling requirements.

Our allergen policy states that it is not possible for guests to move places during food service unless it has been confirmed with Us first and We are aware of where they are moving too. We mark allergen information on Our service plans so for the safety of guests We would ask them not to move places.

14. Menus

Menu choices are required 14 days before the start of the conference. At the same time, a complete alphabetical list of all delegates, stating which are resident and allergens and other dietary requirements, should be sent to the Conference and Events Office. As some of Our menu items contain food allergens, there is a risk that traces of these may be in other dishes or foods served here.

A set menu must be chosen by event organisers for their entire group. A choice of menus cannot be provided for formal meals except for vegetarian or other dietary requirements.

15. Table plans

If requested, we can provide name cards and seating plans, which includes printed copies of the seating plan displayed on an easel. Information for this must be submitted to the Conference and Events Office no less than 72 hours prior to the event. Any changes after this time will only be accepted at the sole discretion of Jesus College.

Name cards cost £1.50+VAT per person
Seating plan costs £30.00+VAT

Should You wish to create Your own table plan and seating cards, please liaise with Us to ensure they contain the crucial allergen information needed for service. The final table plan must be sent 5 working days prior to the event.

16. Late meal charge

A late meal charge of £10.00 per cover will be applied to Your booking if guests wish to start dining after 8pm.

17. Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 and the related Prevent Duty

The College is required, along with other institutions of higher education, to comply with legal duties set out in the guidance issued by government. The College reserves the right to seek additional information before confirming a booking:

The external event organiser (i.e. the named person making the booking) agrees as a condition of submitting the room booking request to notify the College if any of the details submitted change;

The College reserves the right to review its decision on allowing an event to proceed if any of the information provided changes;

The deliberate provision of false or incomplete information by the event organiser may invalidate the booking;

Activities likely to be considered inappropriate to be conducted on College premises include:

internal or external speakers giving talks which directly or indirectly promote violence towards members of the College or the general public, or which may advance the radicalisation of College members (as it is defined in the Colleges’ statement on freedom of speech);
internal or external speakers whose presence or activity, in the view of the College, carries a reasonable likelihood of risk to the health or safety of its members or of the general public;
physical activities where there has not been due regard for the safety of participants and onlookers;
activities where the College has been advised by the police that they represent a high risk at the specified time or location proposed.

18. Freedom of speech

The College has a freedom of speech policy. Please contact Us if You have any questions.

19. Infectious Diseases Clause

Both parties acknowledge their obligation to comply with any official guidance from UK Government in relation to any pandemic or infectious disease affecting some or all of the UK. The parties agree to communicate without delay any issues they may have in performing their obligations under this agreement. You acknowledge that such pandemic or infectious disease may require Us to take one or more of the following measures for the safety of Our staff and the safety of delegates attending the event to which this booking relates:

Impose maximum delegate numbers at the event;
Limit food and drink availability;
Impose specific requirements regarding personal protective equipment, such as wearing masks;
Restrict the numbers of overnight stays if applicable;
Limit any planned entertainment for Your event;
Designate alternative entrance and exit routes.
In some circumstances to reflect such changes We may be able to revise Your booking fee but this cannot be guaranteed.
If We are obliged due to specific Government restrictions, to close Our venue, We may offer You an alternative date for the event but if that cannot be agreed the booking will be deemed cancelled and your deposit will be returned in full with no further payment required.
If You are unable to provide the agreed delegate numbers, as outlined on the Original Cost Estimate, because of infections or travel restrictions, then We will offer you either a proportionate reduced fee for the event or agree to cancel the booking, save for the payment of the deposit which may be retained by the College to cover administration costs up to that point. If delegate numbers decrease below 70% of the contracted number (notified by the organiser in writing a minimum of 14 working days prior to the event), We reserve the right to cancel the event or offer alternative facilities.

20. Liability

The College’s insurance covers public liability claims where the College is deemed to be liable. Conference organisers are advised to obtain insurance cover in respect of any claims for which they might be held responsible, including loss or damage to property brought to the premises by or on behalf of any persons. The organisation making the booking shall indemnify the College against any damage or injury to College property or College staff, caused by those attending the conference.

21. Smoking policy

Smoking is prohibited on College premises with the exception of designated smoking areas as signposted around the College. Additional signage to these locations can be provided on request.

22. Safety and security

You must ensure that the applicable College health, safety, and fire regulations are observed at all times. These are available to view on the College website. Details of Our health and safety regulations can also be sent to You on request. You must also ensure that good order is maintained in the room or building and that no damage is caused to its structure or contents. You must ensure that any guest under the age of 18 is accompanied by a parent, guardian, or named adult who is responsible for that minor’s behaviour or safety. We reserve the right to escort any guest from the premises that, in the opinion of the management, are causing excessive disruption or damage.

The Client and its delegates are asked to understand that the College is a working academic environment where Fellows and Students remain in residence throughout the year and are required to ensure their behaviour is consistent with such an environment.

Jesus College operates a CCTV system for the security and safety of the College’s community, buildings, and visitors. Please report any suspicious activity to the Porters’ Lodge immediately.

23. Vehicles and parking

If You or a passenger need to use Our on-site parking for accessibility reasons, please contact Us in advance to request a space. Parking is not available at Jesus College, unless specifically agreed in writing in advance of the day of Your event or visit (such as pre-event site visits).

As part of Our commitment to sustainability, We encourage all visitors to use sustainable transport methods to reach the College. There are several public car parks within walking distance.

It is crucial that requests for parking are made at the earliest opportunity, particularly for suppliers for filming or activity/equipment delivery. Even then, it is still not guaranteed that vehicles may remain on College property between delivery and pick up.

Parking is entirely at the vehicle owner’s risk.

The College must be notified in advance of all expected deliveries for Your event.

24. Intellectual property

Please note that You may not use the College’s logo, shield, and/or the logo text. You may say ‘held at Jesus College, Cambridge’ in Your marketing materials, but it must be clear that Jesus College is just the venue and that the event is not directly or indirectly associated with Jesus College or University of Cambridge.

You are not permitted to make use of name, logos, crest and coat of arms or insignia of the University of Cambridge or Jesus College without prior permission. You may say Your event is being ‘held’ at the College, but must be clear that this is not an official Jesus College or University of Cambridge event.

You are welcome to arrange a press release either pre or post event, but please be careful to mention that the event is being ‘held’ at the College rather than ‘hosted by’ the College. If You would like to invite press into the College during Your event You will need to contact Us to ask permission from Our Communications and Marketing Manager.

25. Third party agreements

The parties to this Agreement intend that the University will be able to enforce this clause as if the University were a party to it, pursuant to the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

26. Data protection

The College complies with all provisions of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (PECR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPR) and any subsequent legislation or guidance regarding data privacy, security, processing and electronic communications, as enacted by the UK Government when processing personal data under this Agreement. View Our Data Protection Policy.

JESUS COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE CONFERENCES LTD Registered Office: Jesus College, Jesus Lane, Cambridge, CB5 8BL