European Consumer Centres Network TOURISM IN PORTUGAL

European Consumer Centres Network TOURISM IN PORTUGAL

European Consumer Centres Network
TOURISM IN PORTUGAL
This brochure will provide you with information on hotels and camping in Portugal. You
will find practical advice and important legal information covering the different topics.
We have tried to include all the relevant information concerning travel to Portugal and
your stay in Portugal; however the information provided is not fully detailed on all points
and should be viewed as a guide not as a verbatim statement of the law.
Hotels
Tourism tax
 During their stay in Portugal, visitors don’t have too pay any extra tax, commission or duty (the price must
include VAT).
 Hotel booking
 According to local law, accommodation in Portugal is divided into the following categories: hotel, private guest
house, motel, pousada, aparthotel, quality inn, tourist apartment, tourist village, rural hotel and boarding house,
and each category has its own criteria regarding stars, standards and facilities on offer.
 Portuguese hotels are approved and checked by official authorities. The Hotels in Portugal are classified by stars
from 1 to 5, depending on his category: – 5-luxury 5; 4-comfortable; 3 – mid-range; 2 – inexpensive; 1 – basic. All
must display their rates (VAT included) outside the hotel and in each room.
 Aparthotels and tourist apartments are classified likewise, with the exception of the category 1 star that is nonexistent. The tourist resorts are classified from 3 to 5 stars, in accordance to the Portuguese law. On his side,
motels present 2 or 3 stars.
 More modest accommodation can be found in boarding houses, known in Portuguese as pensões or residenciais.
Also included in this category are albergarias, and estalagens (quality inns), usually found in cities and towns.
 You can ask Tourist Information Offices or a booking agent to book your room, if you do not wish to look for a
hotel by yourself.
 It is advisable to make an advance booking for travel during the high tourist season i.e. beginning of July to the
end of August.
Before leaving home
 When you book a stay in a hotel (“fazer reserva”), the hotelkeeper is entitled to ask you for the payment of a
deposit, called in Portuguese either “caução” or “garantia”. The “caução” ou “garantia” can be given in cash or
trough the credit card number, and assures that the consumer will fulfil the contract with the Hotel. A guest who
needs to cancel his reservation may not be able to get the deposit back. The amount of the deposit is not regulated
by law, and can be established by the hotel.
 When booking a stay in a hotel, you should ask for a document confirming the reservation and payment of the
deposit. You should show this document when checking-in, the day of your arrival.
 The Portuguese law about hotels doesn’t regulate cancellation terms, so each hotel is free to establish its own
conditions. Please ask for a written explanation of the cancellation conditions, before you book your stay, namely
for the delays you have to respect, the value and penalties you have to support. However, if you really have to
cancel your stay, the hotel must be informed at the latest 24 hours prior to the date of arrival. Otherwise the hotel
will be entitled to charge you for an overnight stay.
 If the hotel reservation is a part of an organised trip, sold by a Portuguese Travel agency, this one is obliged to
give you a document with the following information: The type and classification, the place, amenities and
equipment, number and planning of meals.
 The client can give up his position and give it to another person fulfilling all the conditions required for the
organised trip, as long as he informs the travel agency, by writing, till 7 days before the arrival. In the case of a
cruise or an air trip, the delay goes up to 15 days.
 The client can resolve the contract at any time, and the agent must reimburse him of the amount already paid,
deducing the charges from the beginning of the contract till its resolution, and a percentage of the price of the
service not superior to 15%.
Services of check-in and reception
 The reception must give the guests, during their stay in the hotel, at least the following services:
 Register the entry and leaving of each guest;
 Receive, keep and deliver the guests their correspondence, and other items
 Keep notice and acknowledge the guests, as soon as possible, of the phone calls and messages received in
their absence.
 Take care of the luggage;
 Keep the keys of the rooms;
 Give the Complaints Book, when asked for;
 Keep the values
 They must deliver the guest, when checking in, a card, in Portuguese and English, with the following information:
 Name and classification of the establishment;
 Guest’s name
 Identification of the hotel
 Daily price of the room
 Arrival date
 Leaving date
 Number of people in the room
 In the rooms, there must be information in Portuguese and English, about the price, services, equipment and
hotel facilities included, as well as the existence of a Complaints Book and the reference, if that is the case, that it
is not responsible for the Money and other values kept in the room.
 As a general rule, check out should be done by the end of the morning, unless agreed otherwise with the hotel.
According to the Portuguese Law, the guest must leave the room till 12a.m. unless agreed otherwise with the hotel.
 Meals: Time for breakfast and other meals must be at least of two hours. In the dinning-room there must be a
menu (if they have a service à la carte) and a wine menu, in Portuguese and at least in English.
What if on arrival the hotel does not live up to expectations?
 If the hotelkeeper supplied you with all the information (e.g. from a web site, brochures etc.) it is possible to ask
for compensation (maybe for a reduction of the price to be paid, for example) on the basis of misleading
advertising.
 If you made your booking via the Internet, you are entitled to complain to the Web site which offered you the
service. Every person selling goods or services on the Internet is responsible to the consumer for the proper
execution of the obligations resulting from the contract - even when those obligations are carried out by another
person.
 An Internet site cannot exclude its liability by alleging that it only publishes descriptions supplied by someone
else. The only defences are that the problem is the fault of the consumer, or a case of “force majeure”.
 If you booked through a travel agency, the responsibility of the agent is defined by the law – Decree-Law nr
12/99, of the 11th of January. This entitles you to compensation, or to stay in a new place which corresponds to
the type that you have booked. However, have in mind that this responsibility is different, in the case of an
organized trip or the mere reservation of services in tourist enterprises.
I am a victim of a theft in the hotel or its surroundings, what can I do?
 Hotelkeepers will not be responsible for thefts and damage to the possessions of their customers, whether inside
or in the car parks of the establishment if this information is given to customers. The Hotelkeeper will be
responsible only for the possession delivered to the guarding service
 Tips: In case of theft, make a report to the management of the hotel, and ask for a certificate confirming the
theft. Then, go to the nearest police station and lodge a complaint. Do not wait until you get back to your home
country to do this!
Camping
Campsites
 In Portugal Campsites are divided in 4 categories, from 4 (maximum) to 1 star or merely rural, in which case
they may be located on a farm. There must be an identification plaque near de entrance, showing the category.
Campsites can be public or private. They are considered public, if they are open to all paying campers, or private if
access is restricted to members or beneficiaries of the camp-site operator. Private sites are marked with the letter
"P" and it is always advisable to confirm whether you will be allowed in.
 The parks must be closed for security and tranquillity reasons (a service of permanent surveillance must exist).
However, they must have an easy access to the street and there must exist internal circulation allowing the
circulation of vehicles. In the parks admitting caravans and autocaravans there must exist special installations,
including water supply.
 The campsite prices are not free. The internal rules of the campsite must be displayed at the entrance to the site
and in the reception area.
 To spend the night at a camp site, campers will need to show their passport or identity card and sometimes, if
required, a camper’s card issued by a national organisation or a carnet camping from the F.I.C.C. (Fédération
Internationale de Camping et Caravanning).
Camping in the wild
 Make sure that camping isn’t forbidden (e.g. in areas with a risk of fire) and that you have the agreement of the
owner. Otherwise you can be fined! Generally, camping in wild places is forbidden on beaches, at the edge of roads
or in nature protection and conservation areas.
Campsites and insurance
 Only items locked into a hermetically closed container, or left under surveillance, can be guaranteed against
theft. At no time should the camper leave any valuables unprotected. Certain insurance contracts cover the
disappearance of camping equipment, but they generally exclude the theft of luggage and other personal
belongings left inside a tent.
If you, as a foreign consumer, are feeling mistreated by a Portuguese professional, the European Consumer
Centres (ECCs) will be pleased to help you to find an amicable settlement of the dispute. You can find further
information and a complete list of all ECCs under:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/consumers/redress/ecc_network/index_en.htm
ECC Portugal
(Portuguese/English/French/Espanhol)
Phone +351 213 564 750/52
E-mail: [email protected]