By hiring a mermaid performer through Hire A Mermaid UK [hereby referred to as ‘us’, ‘we’, or ‘the company’] you [also referred to as ‘the booker’] contractually agree to the following terms:
Deposits and payment:
- A deposit agreed between you and the company MUST be paid before your booking is guaranteed.
- A 24 hour grace period is given once your deposit is received, after this time it is non- refundable. Should you need to cancel, you can rearrange at no charge within 6 months of your original booking date, subject to availability.
- Once we have emailed the deposit details to you, your booking date is held for 2 working days, after this time we cannot guarantee that the performer will still be available.
- We advise contacting us via email before making payment if 2 working days have elapsed since the booking email was sent, as then we can check that the performer is still available and advise if you can still make payment. Should you make payment outside of the reservation period and we are unable to fulfil your booking we will refund the deposit paid minus a £10 administration fee. Your bank details will be required to process the refund and the payment may take up to 14 working days to reach your account.
- The remaining balance (total fee minus deposit) must be paid in cash to the Mermaid performer on the day unless otherwise agreed/the full amount was paid when booking.
- If you inform us that you wish to book less than 2 weeks before your party date OR the mermaid for your booking has another engagement immediately after your party the full amount will be due via bank transfer upon confirming instead of the deposit/cash balance method above.
Preparation:
7. The mermaid may require a safe facility for their personal belongings, you will need to have a pre-planned area (such as a locker or staff room) ready for their arrival in case this is needed.
8. You must provide a private area for the mermaid performer to change if required.
9. To keep the ‘illusion’ of the mermaid they will need to put on their tail away from the guests/attendees. Mermaids cannot move once in their tails as any attempts to shuffle or hop can damage the tail and cause personal injury – so the mermaid must be able to either:
A. Put their tail on in the performance area before guests/attendees are allowed in.
OR
B. Be safely carried by a capable and strong person, whilst wearing their tail, to the designated area. (Please keep in mind that some tails are very heavy, please see 10.)
10. Should you elect to have someone of your choosing carry the mermaid, neither the mermaid nor the company are responsible for any injuries that may occur as a result, this includes but is not limited to: Back injuries, Sprains and falling.
During Party:
- Your mermaid is entitled to take as many ‘Swim Breaks’ as they require. This DOES NOT mean a break from your party/event, this simply refers to ‘a break from swimming’; mermaid swimming and holding your breath for long periods of time will vary in effectiveness day to day – whilst a mermaid performer may be able to hold their breath for 3 minutes one day, they may only be able to hold their breath for 30 seconds the next. Mermaid swimming takes a lot of strength and stamina, therefore your mermaid MUST be allowed to stop swimming, yet keep entertaining, at any time. A few examples of this may be sitting on the side of the pool, standing on their fin and talking to the children, leaning on the side etc.
- Your mermaid will likely have a bottle of water, they must be allowed to keep this within arms reach and drink whenever they deem necessary.
- Your mermaid is classed as an ‘Entertainer’ and therefore is NOT responsible for the safety of other guests, attendees, children or anyone at the venue. You and the venue are entirely responsible for the safety of anyone associated with your party/event.
- Each pool will have their own safety standards that need to be met, it is your responsibility to know the rules and regulations, inform your mermaid and to enforce that they are met. Any discrepancies with the pool will be the booker’s responsibility.
- For the purposes of safety and insurance, Mermaids are not considered lifeguards nor can they be included as adults in the Adult:Child ratio requirements of the intended swimming pool.
- When a party/event involves the attendees entering a body of water, it is your responsibility to know the swimming abilities of your attending guests and to inform Hire A Mermaid UK of those abilities, this is so the mermaid in attendance can adjust the activities accordingly.
- Children may use arm bands to lessen fatigue but floatation aids CANNOT be used as the only form of support for non swimmers. All non-swimmers must be accompanied by their own adult in the pool.
- Any children under the age of 5 must have a capable adult accompany them in the pool whether they are a strong swimmer or not, no exceptions.
Behaviour Guidance Policy:
19. All of our mermaids regularly work with children and are used to dealing with many forms of behaviour across different age groups. Our mermaids are able to handle and/or redirect most unwanted behaviour. However, there are certain behaviours that will not be tolerated. These include:
– Trying to harm the mermaid performer (pulling at hair or earrings, biting, hitting, spitting, throwing things, holding underwater etc.)*
– Being destructive to our tails and costumes (gentle exploration is encouraged)
– Destructive behaviour towards company equipment
20. It is not necessary that all of the children present believe in mermaids, however we ask for your assistance in keeping the magic alive for those that do believe. This includes you referring to the Mermaid by their Mermaid name when in front of children/guests, not asking what the mermaids ‘Costume is made of’ or if they are ‘Wearing a wig’ etc
21. Our mermaids have strategies in place for when there are children present who do not believe, if encouraging them to believe doesn’t work then usually a quiet word of “can you help me pretend for the other children” will. However if any particular child or children who are fixated on the topic to the point it is distracting the mermaid/s from being able to entertain the guests, we ask that you intervene in a similar manner or redirect the child.
22. Harmful or aggressive behaviour towards the mermaid will NOT be tolerated. Should you fail to intervene when a child is being aggressive towards the mermaid and all of the mermaids redirection tactics have not worked, the mermaid will break character to try and enforce safety and listening; if the behaviour does not stop after this and no adults have intervened, the mermaid may be forced to swim away from the situation or sit on the side until the situation is resolved. This is extremely distressing to not only the attending guests and children but the mermaid as well and will only ever be used as a last resort; it is your responsibility to ensure that violence does not occur meaning the mermaid does not need to defend her/himself.
23. Mermaids may offer ‘mermaid rides’ as part of the party entertainment, this is at each mermaids discretion and in no way guaranteed for your party. Only one child can participate in a ‘mermaid ride’ at once and ‘bundling’ of the mermaid at any point during the booking is unsafe. Activities may be stopped if multiple children continue to jump onto the mermaid.
24. If any intentional harm is brought to the mermaid/s by children (after a reasonable effort to get them to stop) or intentional damages to our costumes occur (e.g. pulling off fins, breaking flukes by stomping on etc) you may be liable for additional fees for damages and compensation.
25. The mermaids will NOT tolerate any form of sexual harassment from the guests or clients.
26. Failure to follow our behaviour guidance policy may result in the mermaid/s leaving the booking before it has ended and clients being charged the full amount plus damages.
‘Mersona’ (Mermaid attire/look)
27. Whilst our mermaids costumes must meet a certain standard, every mermaids individual ‘Mersona’ (the colour theme, costume choice, backstory, personality traits etc) is different and is a personal artistic choice.
28. We will endeavour to send an image of your assigned mermaid when booking, however many of our mermaids have multiple tails/style choices and their chosen costume on the day may not exactly match that of the picture.
29. You are welcome to make specific styling requests and we will pass these on to the booked mermaid, however we do not guarantee that these requests will be actioned.
30. We do not guarantee a certain number of accessories or makeup that the mermaid will be wearing including but not limited to: Crowns, Necklaces, face glitter, bracelets etc – The level of accessories and the style of makeup is completely up to the individual mermaid (see points 27 & 29)
31. Mermaid tops vary in style, size, shape, colour & level of coverage – please keep in mind that they are often bikini tops/styled bra’s etc. Mermaids with larger breasts will naturally have more cleavage on show than mermaids with smaller breasts. Should you wish for your mermaid to be more covered for ANY reason (religious, personal etc) we are happy to accommodate your request. Coverage requests MUST be made at the time of booking or within reasonable advance of the party so that the mermaid can prepare accordingly. Complaints about the ‘level of cleavage’ or ‘appropriateness’ of the mermaid top received during or after the party when no prior coverage request was made will be ignored.
32. Hire A Mermaid UK does not discriminate against any body type, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation. Any form of abuse or discrimination from the client towards the mermaid or any of the entertainers we supply will result in the immediate cancellation of your booking and potential legal charges.
After Performance/Event:
33. When the booked time reaches its end, the mermaid must be allowed to leave promptly as the paid period has finished and they may have another booking to attend. The best ways to achieve a prompt finish are as follows:
A. Children/Guests must be cleared of the pool area immediately after the mermaid’s allotted booking time has finished so that they may take off their tail and exit the party. Ensuring that the children/guests leave promptly will keep the illusion of the mermaid alive.
OR
B. Should the festivities be continuing past the mermaids allotted time an appropriate exit strategy must be in place (see sections 9B & 10)
What to do if you are unsatisfied with our service:
34. We will always endeavour that all events run smoothly, but should you have a discrepancy or any concerns, please contact Hire A Mermaid UK directly and immediately to resolve the issue.
35. Should you wish to make a complaint, you must detail this in an email to parties@hireamermaid.co.uk attaching any appropriate evidence within 48 hours of your booking being completed, this is to allow us to begin our complaints procedure and take any appropriate actions. Our ability to take action is time sensitive, so any complaints received after the 48 hour window may not be addressed.
36. If you are unsatisfied with the service you are still legally obligated to pay the remaining balance owed to the mermaid in cash on the day for services rendered. Please follow the instructions outlined in point 33; once our complaints procedure is complete, should we deem that compensation is necessary this will then be fulfilled by the company.
By paying your deposit you acknowledge that you have read the above terms and conditions thoroughly and with understanding and you agree to all terms and conditions herein. These terms must be agreed to before your booking is confirmed.