Booking Dorset Hideaways cottages from abroad: deposit, cancellation, damage waiver and cashback
Dorset Hideaways is an agency that rents holiday cottages in Dorset and the surrounding area. It is a booking service rather than a shop, so nothing is shipped. What counts for guests who live abroad is how to reach the agency, how and when you pay, what a cancellation costs and what the damage waiver means. We read the FAQ, the damage waiver page and the booking conditions on dorsethideaways.co.uk in October 2026. The conditions can be updated, and your confirmation is the document that applies to your stay.
Booking and contacting the agency
You can book online, by phone or by email. The office is at 9 Pope Street in Dorchester. The phone number is 01929 445566, and from outside the UK you dial 00441929 445566. The bookings team is available Monday to Friday and on Saturday from 9am to 5pm, and closed on Sunday. If something goes wrong during the stay, the first point of contact is the person named in your arrival guide, and you can also call the agency.
Payments and deposit
If your stay starts more than 8 weeks away, you pay a non-refundable deposit of one third of the rental fee when you book, which includes the whole booking fee. The balance is due 8 weeks before arrival and includes the damage waiver or the security deposit. For bookings made 8 weeks or less before arrival, the entire amount is payable at once. The agency accepts credit card, debit card and bank transfer. For bookings made less than 3 days before arrival no credit card is accepted: you pay by debit card or BACS, and you must provide two forms of proof of identity, one of them proving your home address. The agency can cancel a booking and keep the deposit if the balance does not arrive on time.
Cancellation
You cancel by email or in writing. The charge depends on how many days remain before the start of the stay:
- 57 days or more: you lose the deposit
- If you cancel 29 to 56 days before the start of the stay, you pay 50% of the rental fee
- If you cancel 1 to 28 days before the start of the stay, you pay the full 100% of the rental fee
The booking conditions strongly advise taking out your own travel insurance for the stay. A change of dates after the booking is confirmed is not a right: the agency will consider it, but only if the stay is more than 8 weeks away, the cottage is free on the new dates, the owner agrees and you pay an administration fee, 42 pounds including VAT at the time of publication.
Damage waiver
Most of the cottages are covered by the agency's damage waiver scheme, which covers the cost of repairing damage caused by you, your guests or your animals, up to a set amount. The amounts shown are 150 pounds for one- and two-bedroom cottages, 200 pounds for three and four bedrooms, 250 pounds for five and six, 300 pounds for a seven-bedroom house and 500 pounds for eight or more. For properties outside the scheme a security deposit may be required. Costs above the waiver amount are for the guest to pay.
On arrival
The cottage is available from 4pm on the day of arrival until 10am on the day of departure, unless the listing says otherwise. A stay can be at most 28 nights. Bed linen and towels are provided. Some cottages welcome dogs; they should stay downstairs and off the furniture and must not be left alone in the property. Children's items such as a high chair, a travel cot without bed linen, a fireguard or a stair gate are listed in the details of each property.
| At a glance | Dorset Hideaways |
|---|---|
| Type | Holiday cottage booking in Dorset |
| Deposit | one third, non-refundable, if more than 8 weeks ahead |
| Balance | 8 weeks before arrival |
| Cancellation | The charge is 50% of the rental fee from 29 to 56 days before arrival and 100% of it inside 28 days |
| Arrival / departure | from 4pm / by 10am |
Using cashback
The Dorset Hideaways page at daily cashback lists the current rate (2.5%) and the offers we found with the date of the last check. Press the shop button and book as usual. The cashback appears as open in your free account and is confirmed after the agency has reported the booking. A cancelled booking cancels the cashback.
Tips
- Compare the date of your booking with the 8-week point. It decides whether you pay the deposit or the full amount.
- Do not count on moving the dates. The agency is under no obligation to agree.
- Choose a card or a transfer in advance if you book at short notice, because credit cards are not accepted in the last 3 days.