22 Charlotte Street, The Historic District, Charleston, South Carolina 29403, United States
Read Our Rental Policies Before You Book.
Before Booking, Please Read Our Policy Terms, Conditions, and Disclosures.
Payment for your stay indicates your having supplied truthful information, your acceptance of ALL these policies, terms, conditions, and disclosures, and your intention to abide by these policies. Please do not ask or expect us to make exceptions and refunds later because you failed to read these policies.
1. Should guests violate any term of this agreement, the rental period will be terminated immediately. Guests will vacate the premises and waive all rights to process if they fail to vacate upon rental termination. Travelers acknowledge and agree that this Agreement is for transient occupancy and they do not intend to make the property a residence or household.
2. Travelers shall maintain the premises in a good clean condition and use the premises only in a lawful manner, not bringing animals, illegal drugs, or firearms on the premises. Travelers agree to pay for damages beyond normal wear and tear.
3. We despise smoking. Consequently this a smoke and vapor free home and yard. DO NOT BRING A SMOKER HERE, NOT EVEN A SMOKER WHO THINKS THEY CAN SMOKE OFF SITE. If you have a smoker, cancel your reservation NOW. Cigarette odor on clothes, hair, furniture, etc., contaminates and ruins the room and necessitates our cancelling the next reservation and going to expensive and time consuming lengths to detox and steam clean the carpet and furniture - all to prevent complaints and bad reviews. This can cost us up to $3,000 in lost revenue and cleaning costs. You will be charged every penny of this for our damages. If you arrive to check in and we smell smoke, you will not cross the threshold into our home; you will be turned away at the front door. If we detect smoke odor DURING your stay, you will be told to leave immediately and you will be charged for damages in the form of decontaminating your room with emergency professional steam cleaning of rugs and furniture, PLUS the value of the cancelled booking for the next guests who were to occupy your space. We do not care if it is your birthday, your anniversary, or your momma's funeral. You have no inalienable rights in our private home and smokers are not going to stay here. There will be no refund. The minute you booked a room here, you took that room out of our inventory, making it unavailable to nonsmokers who could have stayed with us. YOU will be responsible for the consequences of your violating this no smokers policy. Do not push our buttons on this subject. Advance notice of our no smokers, no smoking, no vaping, no refund, no excuses, and serious damages policy is the purpose of this disclosure. Telling us a dramatic story / excuse about your not having read these POLICIES or our front page headline, is not going to trigger a refund. You agreed you had read our POLICIES before you completed your reservation.
4. Cats. Be advised that two gentle, low dander Siamese cats live in the main house. Pets have not been in our Cozy Cottage, rented for 30 days or more. If you are allergic or believe our elegant ladies present a problem, please immediately cancel your reservation for a refund less your credit card processing fees, described in Item 8 herein. Except for last minute reservations made 48 or fewer hours before arrival, you have 24 hours after booking to cancel because of our cats, after which time our regular cancellation policy, described in Item 7 herein, shall apply. If you arrive and THEN announce that our cats are a problem, you won’t receive a refund under any circumstances because we could have rented your room to others. Advance notice of cats in the main house is the purpose of this disclosure. You further agree not to leave an online review saying our cats were a problem. Telling us a dramatic story / excuse about how you did not read these POLICIES, or you have an allergy, or you did not see pictures of our fur babies on our website, is not going to trigger a refund. You agreed you had read our POLICIES before you paid.
5. Bedroom and Bathroom Types. Our guest suites are on the second floor and there is no elevator in this historic home. When you made your reservation, you were given a choice of room / bath types. These choices were reflected in our room rates. Our historic home, though recently beautifully renovated and modernized, was constructed before modern plumbing. While each guest room has a private bath, some have a shower/tub combination, some are shower only, and some are big bubble bath soaking tub only. For relaxing tub soaks, we provide a big water pitcher for rinsing shampoo, although there is a tall, overhanging spigot. For instance, our largest, nicest room has a big soaking tub but no shower. If you object to a bath and there is no bathroom with a shower available, then we may not be the place for you. We do not want you to choose a room with only a bath, then leave us a bad online review later because you didn't have a shower. That makes no sense, it's not fair to us, and we would rather you stay elsewhere. The Marriott has LOTS of rooms with showers. You won't enjoy all the other things we have to offer, but by Goodness, you will have that shower.
If one of our bath types is so unacceptable that you feel your vacation will be ruined, please contact us immediately to request a specific bath, or if unavailable, to cancel your stay. We will do our best to accommodate your request. We understand that some folks have medical issues or joint problems that make getting up and down in a tub problematic. If we find later that we cannot accommodate your request, we will notify you and give you the option to cancel your stay for a full refund. Advance notice of our bath variety is a purpose of this disclosure. If you arrive and then declare your bath’s plumbing unacceptable, you won't receive a refund.
6. The Traveler and guests shall hereby indemnify and hold harmless the Host, the Host’s rental agent, and the Homeowner and staff against any and all claims for any reason including but not limited to personal injury, property damage, theft, or loss on the premises or loss arising from use of the premises regardless of the nature of the accident, injury or loss. Travelers expressly recognize that any insurance for accidents, property damage or loss which the Host/Landlord, rental agent, or homeowner may maintain on the property does not cover the accidents, injury, or personal property of Travelers or their guests.
7. Cancellation and Refund Policy: Cancel 15 or more days before arrive for a full refund, less your 3% Stripe credit card processing fee. If you cancel 14 or fewer days before arrival, you will not receive a refund. Our policies take precedence over those of Booking.com or other commissioned entities promoting their policies over those of small innkeepers like us. Booking a room here is not the same as making a chain hotel reservation. Cancellations affect us significantly.
Additionally, there will also be no refunds because of shortened stays or ruined expectations due to work, family, health, or pet emergencies, bad weather, acts of God, whims, boyfriend/girlfriend problems, or ANY other factors or reasons. Please don't ask us for an exception. Advance notice of our cancellation and refund policy is the purpose of this disclosure.
In an attempt to recoup your forfeiture, you may not give your stay to others, advertise "your" room for sale on social media, or attempt to control its use for what would have been the duration of your stay. Consider this: we operate like the airlines. If you reserve a seat but later cancel, that seat is going to have another occupant at take off. Cancellations are part of our budget model; we anticipate a certain number annually.
8. Credit Card Processing Fees. Our room rates do not include Stripe credit card processing fees. Our credit card processor is STRIPE and they charge you a processing fee of 3%. You are informed of this on the invoice you see prior to entering your credit card info. You were also asked to verify you had read our website policies page before you paid. We do not pay your credit card fee. You pay it. The minute you enter your card info and click our site's booking button, you have incurred this non-refundable 3% expense. We do not receive this money; we do not have this money; therefore we do not refund this money. Again: if you cancel your reservation that you paid with a credit card and ask for a refund, you will not be refunded this 3% fee. Therefore, you will get a 97% refund of the total amount you paid. If this 3% non-refundable fee is unacceptable, please don't make a reservation using a credit card; pay by Venmo, PayPal, personal check, or cash. If you get angry about your 97% refund and call your bank, they will assume that our rental rates include your card processing fee. Again, our room rates do not include your credit card processing fees. Despite what your bank says, STRIPE has your processing fee. Please don't call and tell us what you did when you ran your business. You made your choices. We have made ours. Be advised that many small businesses here, particularly in the City Market, will also add your credit card processing fees to your purchases. If you want to bargain or dicker with people down in The Market, bring cash. Telling us a dramatic story / excuse about your not having read these POLICIES or the terms printed on your INVOICE is not going to trigger a refund. You agreed you had read our POLICIES before you completed your reservation. Short of hitting people in the head with an axe, we don't know what else we can do to disclose these terms.
AGAIN: If you wish to make your reservation without using your credit card and thereby avoid the STRIPE 3% credit card processing fees, we will accept VENMO, PayPal, a cashier's check, or your personal check. However, if there is a fee, you must pay it. Your reservation will be complete when your payment clears our account.
9. Compliance with the American Disabilities Act (ADA) is not possible because we are in a historic home that can't be altered to meet ADA requirements. Additionally, under their standards, small B&Bs occupied by the proprietor are not required to meet accessibility requirements.
10. Travelers agree to pay all reasonable expenses, attorney’s fees, and court costs incurred by the Host enforcing these policies.
11. For safety and the protection of people and property, Travelers shall lock exterior doors each time, every time, and all times they enter or leave the home.
12. Valuables will be held and reasonable effort made to contact you for return via packing/postage paid by you to Quik Mail. We are not liable for item condition. After six months unclaimed items will be disposed.
13. Medications that ruin sheets and towels. Please let us know if anyone in your party uses medications that ruin linens. We will supply different sheets and towels than our regular green linens. Guest who ruin linens will be charged damages of from $100 to $150 for replacements, depending upon what has been ruined. Disclosure and notice of our ruined linens damages policy is the purpose of this notification.
14. DirecTV and WiFi are provided. No refunds are given for outages or disruptions.
15. Parking and Getting Around the Historic District. Due to limited space and liability concerns, we don't provide parking before guest tenancy begins at 4pm. When 4pm check-ins begin, you may park in our rear driveway by entering from Alexander Street. Pull forward tightly left or right so others may park beside and behind. Don't park in the middle and take all four spaces. If you block another car, please leave us your keys before you depart so we can let others out, then re-park your car. Don’t leave valuables in your car. For street parking in our decal neighborhood, be advised the City issues a $25 tickets after the first hour, plus $25 tickets often thereafter. There are limited free spots on the street that don't require a decal.
If you don't walk, short trips, particularly to supper, are usually done via Uber. Before you get here, download the app and set up an account. Uber will make two small deposits to your account which you will verify. It can take days. Don't wait till you get here and think you will use Uber and do a simple app download. If it rains, you will wish to Heaven you had an Uber account.
16. Our tours are offered to guests who book at least two nights. Sometimes our last minute, drastically reduced rates to get heads in beds do not include a tour. We usually conduct the tour at 10am after guests have had their 8:30 breakfast and are ready for the day. At the end we usually drop folks where they want to begin sightseeing. Occasionally we might offer a tour after guests have checked in at 4pm. Those familiar with Charleston often decline a tour.
17. Early Bag Drops are unnecessary if you have a car in which to store luggage. For those without a car, we will TRY to accommodate your early bag drop. The same applies to your leaving bags after your tenancy ends at 11am on check-out day. We charge a fee for early drop offs and storage. You may make these arrangements when you book your stay. We are not here 24 hours a day - we are out living our own amazing lives between 11am check-outs in the morning and 4pm check-ins in the afternoon. Early arrivals and late check-outs are $25 per hour. Early bag drops or bag storage after checkout are $25.
18. Charleston has uneven sidewalks and cobblestone streets. We suggest comfortable walking shoes. We provide bright LED flashlights with a folding handle for evening strolls to restaurants or events. Please do not rely on your cell phone flashlight, it is useless.
19. Keys. Our key fobs contain an Apple AirTag so we can find it if it gets lost. This saves the time, effort, and cost of replacing the keys and the leather fob. We are not tracking you; we don't care where you go to have fun. We do want to find our keys if they are lost, however. If you don't want to carry the AirTag fob, you are welcome to use our back door with a simple combination lock. Advance notice of the AirTag tracker in our key fobs and your choice of not carrying it and instead using our combination lock door, is the purpose of this disclosure. You will be charged $60 for lost keys, tracker and fob. If you mistakenly take it after check-out, we want you to FedEx Overnight it back to us. We will show you where to leave your keys in your room at check-out. Please don't bring them down to the kitchen. We do not keep room keys in the kitchen.
20. Security cameras. Like many businesses, 22 Charlotte has a camera system monitoring exterior areas including the streets, driveway, sidewalks, yards, and porches. Inside, plainly visible cameras monitor some common areas. There are no cameras in bedrooms or baths. There are no hidden or secret cameras or secret audio recording devices. We also use Amazon Alexas in common areas to play music but not to record. There are no cameras in areas where is an expectation of privacy. Disclosure and notice of our surveillance / security system is the purpose of this notification. Do not arrive and then ask for a refund because you see cameras. If you object to cameras as described herein, we are not the place for you.
21. Stairs and railings. For common sense safety, guests are asked to turn on stair lights each time they go up or down. Travelers agree that they shall NEVER sit or lean on wooden porch or stair railings.
22. Coffee, Ice, Sodas, Water, Your Road Trip Food, and Restaurant Leftovers. In our family room we have a simple beverage center. Guests are invited to brew coffee and tea pods. We also provide Cokes and Diet Cokes. We have a small ice maker but it does not make enough ice for coolers; we therefore discourage coolers. Our under counter refrigerator has room for a bottle or two or wine, or a six pack of beer. It is also a place for refrigerated medicine. It is not a place for boxes of leftover restaurant food which in our observation, guests never eat anyway. We do not provide bottled water because we drink the City of Charleston's delicious, clean water from the spigot, and plastic water bottles are terrible for the environment. If you bring a drink bottle, we will fill it with ice and water for your day. We also prefer you do not haul your road trip food into your room because it attracts bugs. And we do not wish to load our home refrigerator with your old bananas, funky grapes, loaves of bread, yogurt, half eaten hummus, cottage cheese, jars of mayo, jelly, peanut butter, three kinds of gnawed upon cheese, and other bizarre fixings, etc. Please keep your road food in your car cooler and buy ice at the Harris Teeter. However, if you buy a fresh salad or sandwich, we happily will set the breakfast table for you to eat there, or you may picnic on one of our porches. Tony, our Bug Dude, prefers you not eat in your room. He assures us, however, that your bourbon , beer, or wine will not draw bugs, so you are welcome to bring it. There are plastic wine and cocktail glasses in your room and our porches are perfect for a little nip before supper. We get it.
23. Breakfast Time. Breakfast is usually served at 8:30. We feed all of our guests at the same time. If you are late for breakfast, you may have missed your meal. We not make people who are on time wait for people who are late. Please be on time. If you are not going to eat breakfast, please let us know by 6pm the night before.
24. Cozy Cottage Guests for 30-Plus Day Visits. If you want to stay a month or more, call us at 843-270-0888 so you can tell us about yourself. We've hosted many traveling nurses and business people who work all day from the cottage because the WiFi works great out there. Generally, cottage guests pay a refundable damage deposit plus a non-refundable cleaning fee to secure their visit, in addition to their monthly rental rate. Rates vary depending upon seasonality, with peak season spring and autumn rates slightly higher than off-season. Rates are generally $2,500 to $3,500, a bargain in the Class A section of the Historic District. If you find a lower rate, consider the neighborhood in which you will be living, particularly if you will be coming home from work late at night! The longer you stay, the better your rate! If you cancel 14 or fewer days before your arrival, you'll lose your month's rent, but we will refund your security deposit and cleaning fee. Our other policies detailed above apply, but in addition:
The Cozy Cottage tenant agrees their deposit will be held as security for the full and faithful performance of all terms and conditions of their rental. Tenant agrees to leave the cottage exactly the way he found it, in condition generally clean enough for the next tenant.