General Terms and Conditions (GTC) of Travel Inventor Sàrl

1 Contract conclusion

1.1 Registration: 

Confirmation of a booking made by telephone or electronically (online) creates a contract between the customer and TI. This GTC governs the contract. No later than upon payment of an invoice (or prepayment), the customer agrees to the receipt of these GTC and consents to their content. 

The customer is responsible for giving accurate personal data (name and birth date in accordance with passport information) to TI. It is also the customer’s responsibility upon receipt of an invoice/confirmation to check that the information on it is complete and correct. Any inaccuracies must be immediately reported to TI. The customer shall bear costs resulting from a failure to report.

1.2 Flight bookings: 

TI is not providing flight bookings. It is the customer’s responsibility to get the right flight ticket from/to the starting point of the trip set up by TI. In exceptional cases, TI is booking flights for the customer; such flights are subject to the terms and conditions of carriage and the general terms and conditions of the airlines concerned. Please note that the contract between the customer and the airline is created when the flight ticket is issued. Any changes made by the airline before the ticket is issued accepted by the customer. 

1.3 Services of other providers: 

Services that are not arranged or provided by TI are governed by the terms and conditions of carriage and the general terms and conditions of the provider concerned, which TI provides to the customer before the contract is concluded.

2 Terms and conditions of payment and prices

2.1 Terms and conditions of payment:

For online bookings on one of TI’s websites, payment of a non-refundable deposit is due immediately. For bookings outside of one of TI’s websites, the payment is made upon receipt of the invoice/confirmation in accordance with the information on it. For long weekend trips (up to 5 days), a 50% deposit of the total price of the trip is applied. For long trips (more than 5 days), a 20% deposit of the total price of the trip is applied.

The booking of the trip by TI (and hence the reservation) will start only after the customer has fully paid the deposit indicated above. 

2.2 Final payment

The final payment shall be made at least 60 days before the departure. In case of last-minute booking (when the trip is starting within 60 days of booking), the full amount is applied and shall be paid as soon as possible to secure the reservation.

2.3 Price changes after reservation: 

TI may change the price in the following cases:

– Price changes by transport companies and/or other providers ;
– New or increased public taxes or charges (e.g., VAT, air­ port taxes, safety charges, etc.) ;
– Obvious publication errors on one of TI’s websites;
–  Force-majeure situations independent of TI.

3 Validity of booked services

The booked services are valid only on the dates indicated in the invoice/confirmation.

3.1 Availability of flights 

Due to possible short­term changes in flight schedules, TI recommends that customers check the current flight times no later than 72 hours before the flight directly with the airline. Missed flights may result in the loss of the right to travel on all booked flights, with additional costs being borne by the customer.

3.2 Service taxes and reservation fees

TI is not taking any additional fees for last-minute bookings. However, the price for the last-minute booking can be different from the one indicated on one of TI’s websites due to the high demand for the hotels and services. 

TI is entitled to a CHF 50 fee per person (max. CHF 100 per file) in case of protracted consultations to secure the customer’s services from the provider. This amount will be a deposit to pay firsthand but will be reduced in the price of the trip in case the customer books with TI.  

For bookings of services not linked with the accommodation stay of a customer (e.g., flight, car rental, camper, etc.) the booking fee is CHF 50 per booking (also applicable if the service is booked online).

3.3 Changes in bookings

Changes in bookings must be requested by the customer in writing. 

3.4 Changes in bookings of services provided by airlines, operators, and third-party providers: 

For changes in dates before the travel documents are issued, depending on the airline, operator, or third­party provider, an alteration fee of at least CHF 100 per person and per service (final fees on request) will be invoiced by TI. After the travel documents are issued, any changes requested before the departure are treated as cancellations. 

4 Cancellation provisions

4.1 General provisions: 

For cancellations prior to departure, TI is not refunding the initial deposit made by the customer. In case the customer made the final payment (as per article 2.2), the amount refunded by TI is the following:

• Between 31 to 59 days before the departure of the trip: a refund of 20% of the total program price. 
• Less than 30 days before the departure of the trip: no refund is possible.

4.2 Land services (camper, car rental, hotels, etc.): 

The cancellation costs vary according to the booked service and operator. The cancellation costs applicable to each booking are indicated on the invoice/confirmation.

4.3 Package tours: 

The cancellation costs for package tours appear on the valid travel description or price list used for the booking or the invoice/confirmation.

4.4 Early return/trip interruption: 

If the customer interrupts the trip or changes the services agreed during the trip, the customer has no claim for a refund. If the trip is interrupted, or the services are changed, all costs are borne by the customer.

5 Delivery of travel documents

The travel documents are sent to the customer, after receipt of payment, by post and/or email no later than 30 days before the departure. The customer is required to check that the documents are correct and complete.

6 Cancellation and rescheduling due to COVID-19

If the customer decides to cancel the trip due to COVID-19, TI will offer to postpone or modify the trip with a minimum of fees: TI is not taking any fees unless non-refundable payments have been done to local suppliers. In such cases, TI can ask for a confirmation of a canceled flight or a positive COVID-19 test result.

7 Loss of travel documents

TI recommends that customers keep copies of the travel documents in paper and/or electronic format. TI will assume no liability for lost travel documents.

8 Travel insurance

It is highly recommended that customers take out travel insurance (cancellation costs and travel incidents). The customer ensures that he has sufficient insurance for accidents and sickness abroad. Important: TI recommends that customers read the General Terms and Conditions of Insurance before their departure.

9 Passport, visa, vaccinations

The customer is responsible for complying with the individual passport, visa, customs, currency, and vaccination requirements, as well as for obtaining the necessary documents. 

10 Complaints

10.1 Complaints on location and remedial action: 

If the customer has reason to make complaints during the trip, they must be submitted immediately to the tour guide, to the local representative, or to the service provider concerned (e.g. hotel). This usually enables remed­ial action to be taken on location.

If no solution is found on location, the customer must request a written confirmation describing the complaint and its content. Tour guides, local representatives, or service providers are not entitled to acknowledge liability claims.

Upon return, if no satisfactory solution can be found on location, the customer must submit the complaint along with the confirmation by the service provider in writing within 30 days of his return to TI. If these conditions are not met, the claims will be forfeited.

11 Liability

The liability of TI is limited to a maximum of twice the total travel costs. This limitation does not apply to personal injury or to cases of gross negligence or intent. The claim must be submitted to TI in writing no later than 4 weeks after the end of the trip; otherwise, it will be forfeited. All compensation claims are time­barred 1 year after the end of the trip.

11.1 Disclaimers: 

TI is not liable if the non­performance or bad performance of the contract is due to

• a failure to act on the side of the customer;
• an unforeseeable and unavoidable omission by a third party, which is not involved in providing the contractually agreed services;
• force majeure or an event, which TI or a service pro­vider could not have foreseen or avoided, notwithstand­ing the exercise of due care.

TI, therefore, is not liable for changes in an itinerary caused by strikes, social unrest, weather conditions, deci­sions taken by the authorities, third­party delays, etc., or for changes in schedule due to flight schedule changes.

12 Data Privacy

12.1 Your data: 

TI needs various pieces of data from you and your party members (such as forename and surname, date of birth, address, phone number, etc.) for the correct processing of the contract. TI is subject to the Swiss Data Protection Act. TI is required to keep your data secure and store it in Switzerland.

12.2 Transfer to service providers and authorities:

TI will only forward your data where this data is required for processing the contract with the service providers.

They may be located abroad, where data protection may not meet Swiss standards. Both TI and the service pro­viders may be required by statutory regulations or official orders to disclose data from you to (foreign) authorities. This particularly, but not exclusively concerns flights to the USA (Advance Passenger Information System [APIS] or TSA Secure Flight Program) or holiday home landlords and hoteliers.

12.3 Particularly sensitive personal data: 

Depending on the service booked, it may be that TI has to collect particularly sensitive personal data. This means that conclusions may be drawn about the person’s religious affiliation based on their dietary requirements. Such data is generally forwarded to the service provider to fulfill the contract correctly or may, under certain circumstances, be disclosed to government agencies because of statutory requirements or official orders. By giving such details to TI, you expressly authorize TI to use this information under this provision.

12.4 Information on our services/programs: 

If you have registered for the newsletter, TI will take the opportunity to inform you about TI programs and travel in the future. You have the option to unsubscribe from this service at any time.

12.5 Asserting rights: 

TI reserves the right to disclose your data to authorities and third parties for the assertion of the legitimate interests of TI. The same applies to suspicion of a criminal offense.

13 Jurisdiction

The relationship between customers and TI is governed exclusively by Swiss law. Actions against TI may only be brought at the place of its registered office in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

 Neuchâtel, January 30, 2022