Terms & Conditions

We are Expand Travel and are excited to help you with your travel. The following terms & conditions (the "Agreement") describe what you can expect from us. The terms "we", "us", and "our" refer to Expand Travel and the term "you" refers to the individual who signs this agreement.

Please note that many destinations require your passport to be valid 6 months after the date of your return. 

It is each traveler’s responsibility to make certain that they have proper immunizations before travel – please see your health provider for advice. The CDC website has a list of required immunizations and/or other health notes for each country. 

Each foreign country holds different views of past criminal offenses – if you have a current or past offense, please contact that country directly for entry and exit requirements. Travelers with DWI or DUI records should check whether current rules exclude admission to foreign destinations. As an example, Canada often denies entry to travelers with a DUI conviction.  We feel it is an invasion of privacy for members of our staff to make such an inquiry and these requirements remain the traveler’s responsibility. For further information, please visit the U.S. State Department web site: travel.state.gov.

Check-in & Departure Responsibilities: It is strongly recommended that you check in a minimum of 2 hours prior to scheduled departure for domestic flights and 3 hours prior to scheduled departure for international flights. It is the traveler’s responsibility to reconfirm flight times at least 24-72 hours prior to scheduled flights. Expand Travel does not assume responsibility for any air or schedule changes. Certain countries require departure taxes that require payment in cash.

*Recommended check in times are subject to change without notification. It is the traveler’s responsibility to remain abreast of changes in condition or airport rules that might require earlier arrival times. This information can be found when entering your confirmation number on the airline website.

Financial Terms

• Clients are responsible for ascertaining any foreign transaction fees on their debit or credit cards.  The travel agent is not responsible for any foreign transaction fees occurred when making payments to vendors located overseas. 

It is the traveler’s responsibility to note the final payment dates and plan accordingly.  The travel agent will make every effort to contact the traveler with reminders;  however, the travel agent is not responsible for missed payment dates when the traveler is unresponsive.  *Suppliers may have deadlines of 5pm, 9pm, or midnight for their cutoff dates.  It is the traveler’s responsibility to take this into account and not assume that their payment meets the deadline.  Any cancellations that result from the travelers’ missing final payment are the travelers' responsibility and reinstatement may have additional costs. 

Special Notice:  COVID19 Travel 

In consideration of the travel opportunity afforded to you, the Client and travelers in Clients party, Client, by applying payment on travel considered herein, acknowledges and agrees to the following: 

The 2019 Novel Coronavirus* (“COVID-19” “Coronavirus” “Pandemic”) is a known and rapidly evolving pandemic that is affecting travel worldwide, with continued spread and impacts expected. Client is fully aware of the current global Coronavirus COVID-19 virus outbreak, the current travel restrictions, and inherent risks involved if choosing to travel. Client understands that it is his/her responsibility to check, understand, and comply with the latest travel information regarding this virus outbreak with the CDC, domestic governing bodies,, destination governing bodies, and all vendors associated with Clients travel. Client is aware that it is his/her personal decision to travel and is doing so with full knowledge of current travel recommendations, restrictions, and requirements with regards to the Coronavirus COVID-19 and takes full responsibility for his/her actions with regards to this. Client understands and confirms that travel advisor, after reasonable inquiry, has made available to client, by reference, referral, or other conveyance, the best available information known to travel advisor regarding pandemic policies provided by travel suppliers and governing bodies, including but not limited to airlines, hotels, cruises lines, tour agencies, insurance provider, transfer agencies or any other entity involved in clients booking. Client is aware the travel warnings, travel restrictions and rules including screening and use of masks, travel insurance restrictions, and restrictions that may impede Clients ability to enter or exit a destination as planned, related to Covid-19 and understands the risks, is accepting of these and holds the travel advisor harmless for any travel restrictions, death, illness, cancellations by suppliers, hotels, airlines, cruise lines, tour agencies or any other travel provider, financial loss, quarantining rules or measures put in place at airports or destinations Client is traveling through. Client further agrees to hold the travel advisor harmless for any financial penalties or fees imposed by the by suppliers, hotels, airlines, cruise lines, tour agencies or any other travel provider due to cancellations or postponements due to Covid-19 and agrees not to sue or institute a credit card dispute or “charge back” to travel advisor or its partners for said penalties, fees, or real or alleged damages.

Client further acknowledges that the supplier’s own cancellation, rebooking and refund policies, subject to any applicable law that is now or may later be in effect, will govern their rights and remedies, including their right to receive a refund, in such an event. Moreover, they understand that should they elect to purchase travel insurance, the terms of the policy will dictate whether, and to what extent, coverage for any financial loss may exist under the circumstances.

Group Bookings

• When travelers do not live at the same address,  the travel agent will correspond with the initial group leader (the person who made the first contact) throughout the quote process. 
• The group leader will be responsible for communicating the details of the quote and/or any agent questions to the rest of the group. 
• The travel agent is not responsible for any dissatisfaction with the itinerary by group members: the group leader accepts responsibility for checking the itinerary.  By agreeing to move forward with the deposits, the group leader acknowledges that all parties have been informed of necessary details. 
• All quotes assume that travelers will arrive at destinations together.  If travelers arrive separately on different flights,  they will be responsible for the additional cost of airport transfers. 

Last Minute Bookings

Bookings made within 30 days of travel may incur a Rush Planning Fee in addition to any usual Planning Retainer Fees. Travel agent will inform travelers of this fee before moving forward with a quote.  Travelers traveling within the next 30 days may be asked to submit copies of their passport and a client demographic form before the travel agent moves forward with a quote. 

Limited Liability 

Travel agent is not responsible nor liable for any error, omission, injury, property loss, accident, act of terrorism, disappointment, or any other unforeseeable event. Travel agent is not responsible for missed connections, schedule changes, aircraft changes, or trip interruption. It is the traveler’s responsibility to have proper travel documents for all trips including but not limited to vouchers, passports, visas, marriage licenses, or birth certificates. Travel insurance should be purchased to protect you in these circumstances. Change and cancel fees may apply. Hotel and tour operator fees may apply at the time of a change or cancellation of existing schedule. PLEASE NOTE: all rates are subject to change without notice until deposit is made.

Travel Insurance 

• Travel protection and insurance is strongly recommended to protect your investment. Unless specifically noted, travel insurance is not included in the cost of client’s itinerary.
• Please note many ‘adventure destinations’ such as the Galapagos and/or African safaris may require a minimum level of travel insurance. 
• A waiver will be required to refuse travel protection. 
• The travel advisor may add travel insurance/protection to the booking and send the Description of Coverage to the client.  The travel advisor is not authorized to answer specific questions about coverage.  It is the client’s responsibility to contact the insurance provider if they wish to clarify the coverage before or after purchasing. 

Cancellation Fees and Non Refundable Payments

• All cancellation fees/penalties are from the supplier/vendor/hotel.  It is the traveler’s responsibility to review the terms and conditions on their invoice. 
• The traveler agrees that the term “non-refundable” in any quotes, bookings, or invoices means that the booking cannot be refunded under any circumstance, including for reasons of pandemic, war, force majeure, or other unforeseeable events.  The traveler waives their right to sue or institute a credit card dispute or “charge back” to travel advisor or its partners for said penalties, fees, or real or alleged damage related to non-refundable deposits/payments or any other transaction. The travel agent must be reimbursed by the client for any financial penalties incurred due to credit card “chargebacks”. 

Payments

The travel agent does not “keep” payments on behalf of clients.  When a traveler submits a credit card authorization,  the travel agent makes the payment directly to the hotel, cruise, tour, or activity vendor.   The travel agent never receives monies directly from the client except for the Planning Retainer/Service Fee and/or Rush Planning Fee. 

Travelers’ Responsibility to Communicate:

The travel agent is not liable for any errors or omis​​sions arising from travelers’ significant delay in responding to requests for necessary information including but not limited to:

• Airline schedule needed to book appropriate transfers
• Payment deadlines
• Customized suggestions for excursions or inquiries if services are needed​

The travel agent reserves the right to decline to book optional services when information is not received in a timely manner. 

Limitations for Concierge and Optional Services

The travel agent is not liable/responsible for any reservations the client has made directly with the resort/hotel/tour company/ship, such as: dining reservations, concierge requests, upgraded rooms/airline seats, independently booked tours, private guides, and so on.   In certain circumstances the travel agent may assist with restaurant recommendations and/or limited reservations for special events.  In the event that the traveler cannot attend these events once their trip has begun, the traveler is responsible for contacting the in­-country partner to cancel or change the reservation themselves.    The travel agent will do their best to assist but is not liable for any cancellation fees or delay in processing changes/cancellations. 

Gratuities and additional fees 

Wherever possible, the travel agent will attempt to inform the client of any additional costs such as hotel taxes payable upon check in or resort fees.  Hotel taxes may appear on travel vouchers at time of confirmation, and are not always able to be shown during the initial quote.   

The travel agent is not responsible for any omissions of additional fees during the quote process.  These types of fees include:

• Gratuities to guides, hotel staff, or drivers 
• Mandatory onboard service charges/gratuities for cruises 
• City taxes payable directly at the hotel (very common in Europe)
• Costs for transport to/from the airport if traveler did not include transfers in quote 
• Breakfasts or other meals at hotels unless they are specifically included in quote 

Travel agent is not responsible for any increases due to fuel surcharges, government imposed taxes/fees or supplier-imposed increases.

Privacy Policy / Use of Personal Information 

In this section, “you” refers to the traveler/client and “I” refers to the travel advisor. 

If you do choose to provide your personal information, I will not willingly share your information with companies outside my organization, except as described in this Privacy Policy. You may at times receive communications from me related to products and services that I believe might interest you. While I believe these services may enhance your time spent at the Sites, you will at all times have the option and ability to opt out from receiving these communications by specifically choosing to do so via a link which will be provided within emails that I send to you. I may disclose total aggregated user statistics in order to describe my services to potential advertisers, other third parties, affiliate companies, and for other lawful purposes. The information I gather from you may be used in several ways, either now or in the future, to gain a better understanding of my Sites’ users and their usage pattern as a whole, for site administration and troubleshooting, to process transactions, contest entries and other matters you initiate, to identify preferences in content and advertising, to target editorial, advertising or other content (such as promotions, special offers or other content) I think might be of interest to you. I may also use information I gather from you to communicate changes and improvements to my website or any registration you have made.

I do not give away, sell, rent or lease any users’ personally identifiable information to any merchant, advertiser or web publisher. 

I reserve the right to disclose personal information when needed to comply with the law or a legal process, cooperate with investigations of purported unlawful activities, to identify persons violating the law, or to enforce my Terms of Use.  You are responsible for reviewing the privacy statements and policies of other websites you choose to link to or from my website, so that you may understand how those sites collect, use and store your information. I am not responsible for the privacy statements, policies or content of any other websites. Websites containing co-branding (referencing my name and a third party’s name) contain content delivered by the third party and not me.

I may use third party applications to manage your information.  Each third-party service provider’s use of your personal information is dictated by their respective privacy policies. I currently use the following third-party service providers

• TravelJoy Client Management System (the system through which you are signing this contract)
• DocuSign for submitting additional contracts if necessary
• Cruise and tour companies’ direct booking software (examples include, but are not limited to: OneSource with Princess Cruises, CruisingPower with Royal Caribbean, etc). 
• I must give the tour provider / travel partners your private information such as your name, date of birth, and state of residency in order to complete your bookings.  Your email and/or telephone may also be required by certain travel providers

At this time, your personal information is not shared with any other third-party applications. This list may be amended from time to time. 

Additional Disclosures: 

Travel advisor is not the source or supplier of the travel services requested and acts solely as a booking agent for disclosed principal supplier cruise lines, hotels, airlines, ground transportation and other companies providing accommodations, transportations, and/or other services. Each of these suppliers is an independent entity with its own management and is not subject to the travel advisor. 

Travel advisor shall not be liable for any accident, injury, property damage or personal loss to client or to those traveling with Client in connection with any travel services we have booked, including but not limited to acts of God, weather conditions, natural disasters, acts of governments or other authorities, wars, civil disturbances, riots, strikes, epidemics, acts of terrorism, breakdown in equipment, theft, delay, fuel increases or cancelation or change in intermarry or schedules. 

Client acknowledges and accepts that there are cancelling policies, change fees and penalties that apply to my travel plans and services as set by travel suppliers. If for any reason my credit card charges are later declined, reversed or travel advisor is unable to receive payment for the travel plans and services, I acknowledge that this is a binding contract and travel advisor will be entitled to recovery, including reasonable attorneys fees in connection with collection.

By paying the planning fee and/or deposit and signing below, I have read and accept the Terms & Conditions for myself and anyone in my party.