Cancellation Policy

1. Reservations and Confirmation

The preparation and presentation of proposals, menus and quotations by Savor Trails are provided free of charge.

A private chef reservation is confirmed once the proposed quotation has been accepted and a deposit of 30% of the total agreed booking price has been received.

From that moment, the date is reserved exclusively for the guest, and Savor Trails begins allocating professional time and resources to the planning, organization and preparation of the service.

The deposit forms part of the total booking price and is deducted from the remaining amount payable.

2. Payment Terms

For reservations confirmed more than 15 calendar days before the event, payment is divided into three instalments:

• 30% at the time of booking, to confirm the reservation and secure the date.

• 50% no later than 15 calendar days before the event, when the final number of guests must also be confirmed.

• 20% by the end of the second calendar day before the event, covering the final balance and any previously agreed adjustments.

For reservations confirmed between 3 and 15 calendar days before the event, 80% of the total booking price is payable upon confirmation, with the remaining 20% due by the end of the second calendar day before the event.

For reservations confirmed within two calendar days of the event, full payment (100%) is required upon confirmation.

A cancellation submitted by email before the final payment deadline takes precedence over any remaining scheduled instalments. The applicable cancellation conditions in Section 3 will determine the amount retained and any refund due.

Non-Payment

If a scheduled payment is not received by its deadline, Savor Trails will send a payment reminder by email, identifying the outstanding amount and requesting settlement.

The guest will have three working days following receipt of the reminder to complete the payment. Working days are Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays in mainland Portugal. The day the reminder is received is not counted.

If payment is not received within this period, Savor Trails may cancel the reservation by written notice.

Where the event is scheduled to take place before the three-working-day period expires, payment must nevertheless be completed before the agreed start of the service. Savor Trails is not required to begin the service while payment remains outstanding.

Cancellation resulting from guest non-payment will be treated as cancellation arising from the guest's failure to fulfil the agreed payment obligations. Savor Trails may retain payments already received, up to the applicable cancellation charge in Section 3, calculated on the date Savor Trails confirms the cancellation by email. No additional cancellation charge will be collected beyond the payments already received.

3. Cancellation by the Guest

Each confirmed private chef reservation involves reserving a date exclusively for the guest, allocating professional time, planning the service and preparing the necessary arrangements. Cancellation charges reflect these commitments, including the potential loss of other bookings.

All guest cancellations must be submitted by email. The following conditions apply:

Cancellation Notice / Maximum Cancellation Charge

91 or more calendar days before the event / €100 of the deposit, or the full deposit if it is less than €100

90 to 8 calendar days before the event / 30% of the total booking price

7 to 2 calendar days before the event / 70% of the total booking price

The day before, the event date or no-show / 100% of the total booking price

Refunds and Payment Conditions

Cancellation charges are deducted from payments already received and are not added to the reservation deposit.

For cancellations made 91 or more calendar days before the event, Savor Trails retains a maximum of €100 from the deposit. If the deposit is less than €100, it is retained in full, and no additional payment is required.

For all other cancellation periods, the amount retained will be the applicable percentage of the total booking price, limited to payments already received. If the amount received is lower than the applicable cancellation charge, Savor Trails will retain only that amount and will not request any additional cancellation payment.

Any payments received above the applicable cancellation charge will be refunded.

A guest cancellation received by email before the final payment deadline takes precedence over any remaining scheduled instalments. Payments already received will be handled according to the cancellation conditions above.

Refunds will be processed through the original payment method whenever possible.

4. Changes to Reservations and Guest Numbers

The final number of guests must be confirmed no later than 15 calendar days before the event. For reservations made within that period, the number of guests must be confirmed at the time of booking.

From confirmation of the final guest number, that number will serve as the basis for the minimum agreed booking price.

Any subsequent increase in guest numbers will be subject to availability and the corresponding additional charge.

Where changes are accepted, the latest mutually approved quotation or written price adjustment will establish the revised total booking price.

A reduction in guest numbers after the applicable confirmation deadline will not result in a reduction of the agreed booking price unless expressly approved by Savor Trails.

Final adjustments may be requested until the calendar day preceding the event, provided they are approved by Savor Trails and remain compatible with the planning, ingredient purchasing and preparation of the service.

Any additional amount resulting from an approved change must be paid upon confirmation of that change. Any agreed reduction in price will be refunded or credited as mutually agreed.

Rescheduling

Requests to change the event date must be submitted by email and are subject to availability and written confirmation by Savor Trails.

A request to reschedule does not suspend the original reservation or its cancellation deadlines.

If a new date cannot be agreed and the guest chooses to cancel, the cancellation conditions applicable to the original event date will apply.

An agreed rescheduling will only become effective once the new date and any applicable price adjustments have been confirmed in writing by both parties.

5. Kitchen and Venue Requirements

The guest must ensure access to the event venue at the agreed time and under the previously agreed conditions, including the availability of a suitable, safe, functional and properly equipped kitchen.

Essential kitchen equipment, facilities, access arrangements and preparation requirements will be communicated by Savor Trails and agreed with the guest before the reservation is confirmed, whenever reasonably possible.

Where certain venue details cannot be established at the time of booking, the guest must provide the necessary information sufficiently in advance of the event to allow Savor Trails to confirm that the facilities are suitable.

Any subsequent changes affecting essential requirements must be communicated promptly and agreed in writing.

Failure to provide access to the venue or the essential facilities required to deliver the service, where attributable to the guest, may prevent the experience from taking place.

If these circumstances cannot be resolved within a reasonable timeframe, the situation may be treated as a no-show, and the corresponding cancellation conditions may apply, subject to applicable consumer rights.

6. Cancellation by Savor Trails

If Savor Trails is unable to provide the service for reasons attributable to the company, the guest will be entitled to a full refund of all payments received, without prejudice to any additional rights provided by applicable legislation.

Whenever possible, Savor Trails may propose an alternative date or arrangement, which will only proceed with the guest's agreement.

7. Force Majeure

Force majeure refers to extraordinary, unforeseeable or unavoidable events beyond the reasonable control of either party that objectively prevent the service from being delivered under the agreed conditions.

The affected party must notify the other party in writing as soon as reasonably possible, providing any available supporting information.

Where a verified force majeure event prevents the experience from taking place, Savor Trails and the guest will first seek to agree on an alternative date, subject to the chef's availability and the conditions required to provide the service.

If rescheduling is not possible or is not accepted, the situation will be assessed in accordance with applicable legislation, including any refund rights available to the guest.

8. Communications and Applicable Law

All requests for cancellation, changes or rescheduling must be submitted by email using the contact details provided by Savor Trails.

Cancellation deadlines are calculated using calendar dates, based on the scheduled event date and mainland Portugal local time. The event date itself is not counted when determining the number of days' notice.

Guest cancellations take effect on the calendar date on which the email is received by Savor Trails.

This policy forms part of the booking terms and conditions for Savor Trails' private chef services and does not exclude or restrict any mandatory consumer rights under applicable Portuguese or European Union legislation.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when our services, technology providers or legal obligations change.

The current version will always be published on this page together with the date of the most recent update.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, how we process your personal information or wish to exercise your data-protection rights, please contact:

Savor Trails, Lda.
Portugal
info@savortrails.com