(updated October 2022)
1. Parties & Agreement
Souk & Co. is the trading name of Saltwater Consulting Pty Ltd (ABN 83 093 651 971), which is referred to in this agreement as ‘us’, ‘we’, ‘our’ or ‘company’
The person making a booking with us, whether for themselves or on behalf of others, is referred to in this agreement as ‘you’, ‘your’ ‘client/s’ or ‘traveler/s’
The travel services are referred to in this agreement as ‘trips’ or ‘tours’. We offer trips or tours on the terms set out in this agreement.
If we accept your booking, these terms and conditions constitute the legal binding agreement between us and the traveller/s, and you agree to the terms and conditions in this agreement on making a booking with us. A booking is made when we have (i) received payment of the deposit for each traveller(s) in your party, and (ii) provided you with confirmation of your booking.
2. Payment for trips
A deposit (as set out in the document providing details of the relevant tour) is required in order to confirm the client’s travel arrangements and/or spot on our tour. Please refer the documents in relation to the relevant tour for details on the required deposit.
Payment installments, including the final balance, will be specified in the documents in relation to the relevant tour, and payable no later than the due date. The final balance is required 60 days prior to the commencement of your tour.
Should the payments not be received by the due date, trip availability and/or arrangements for the client cannot be guaranteed, and is subject to fees as prescribed by us or our suppliers.
If a booking is made within 60 days of the start date, payment in full is required at the time of confirmation.
3. Transaction details
The price of trips includes all details as set out in our agreement with you, and any other documents in relation to the relevant tour.
All amounts are in Australian dollars (AUD), unless otherwise stated.
If the traveller chooses to pay in another currency other than the currency quoted, the applicable exchange rate of the day (selected by us, acting reasonably) will be applied.
Traveller/s hereby accept and are solely responsible for any and all exchange rate fluctuations and/or transaction fees imposed by their financial institution. (Please refer to your financial institution for more details). You accept that until amounts are paid in full, these amounts are subject to fluctuation in exchange rates.
Payments by credit card or payment platforms (eg. PayPal, Stripe etc) will incur a merchant fee, which we will advise at the time of payment.
4. Amendments and Cancellation Policy
Please take time to read these conditions carefully as these apply without exception. You must take out a comprehensive travel insurance policy that provides adequate cover in the event of a trip cancellation, amongst other things (see ‘Travel Insurance’).
These are our general conditions which will apply unless otherwise stated. If your trip is subject to special cancellation/refund terms, those terms will be specified in your itinerary or other documents relating to the relevant tour) and will override our general conditions to the extent of any inconsistency.
AMENDMENTS
Any changes and/or cancellations must be requested in writing (which we will assess and action at our discretion).
Amendments may attract a fee, which will be advised accordingly.
CANCELLATIONS
Should you decide to cancel your trip, our cancellation policy is:
61+ days prior to the commencement of your trip: the deposit will be non-refundable.
31 to 60 days prior to the commencement of your trip: 50% cancellation fee
0-30 days prior to the commencement of your trip: no refund will be provided (this includes ‘no-shows’)
In addition, to the extent that any third parties have cancellation charges that are greater than the amounts specified above, that amount will be added to the cancellation fee. We will also charge you the Trip Planning Fee and any other reasonable administrative costs in respect of the cancellation.
Our company reserves the right to cancel trips at any time prior to the trips starting date. Should this occur, we will notify you, and will issue a refund or apply a credit towards future trips.
In the event that trips are cancelled by our company due to circumstances beyond our control, such as but not limited to those listed under Force Majeure, we will provide you with a refund for any recoverable costs by us. Refunds cannot be provided for any unrecoverable costs.
In the event that a trip is cancelled, our company is not liable for any travellers’ associated costs, refund or damages, such as but not limited to, airfares, passport and/or visa fees, reservations, vaccinations etc. For this reason you are required to have comprehensive travel insurance in place.
In the event that we are refunding into a currency other than Australian dollars (AUD) the refund will be done based on the exchange rate on the day, regardless of the original exchange rate. This applies regardless of currency quoted in the original itinerary. A 5% charge will apply for all refunds into currencies other than Australian Dollars to cover the bank fees that we are subject to.
5. Cancellation of your trip due to Covid-19
Should your travel arrangements need to be postponed due to qualified Covid-19 conditions (such as border closures or official travel advisory regulations/restrictions) we will provide you with as much flexibility as we are afforded from third parties, noting that we have no control over supplier policies. You will have the following options:
i. You may nominate that any monies paid can be held in credit, and then applied to a new booking at a later date. (Please note that any rescheduled trips will need to be re-costed for the new dates, which may result in a higher or lower costing. This will be clearly communicated at the time of rescheduling).
ii. You may request a refund of any monies paid. We will be happy to provide you with a refund for any recoverable costs by us. Refunds cannot be provided for any unrecoverable costs (including our Trip Planning Fee or Merchant Fees. For this reason you are required to have adequate Comprehensive Travel Insurance in place).
Please note, in the event that you cancel due to ‘change of mind’ (even if it is due to fear of travelling due to the presence of Covid-19 or for other health reasons), this is deemed a cancellation by you, and our usual cancellation conditions apply.
6. Disruption to your trip due to Covid-19
Should there be a disruption to your tour or trip once it has commenced due to Covid-19, we will use all our reasonable endeavours to provide assistance as needed, based on the situation at hand.
This may include, but is not limited to, rearranging the itinerary to facilitate changed travel arrangements, assisting you should you need to obtain medical help, or facilitating tests or quarantine arrangements. Whilst we will do all possible to assist you, you are responsible for any additional costs incurred, and/or making arrangements other than those we originally stated we would provide.
7. Unused Portion of Trip
Should a traveler choose not to participate in or take up any portion of an event, activity or arrangement that is included on the trip, no further refund or compensation to the traveler/s will be provided. This includes any unused activities or services (including meals), late arrivals, early departures or missed days. The traveler will be responsible for any costs and/or arrangements for any alternate event, activity or arrangement that they choose to participate in that is not included in the trip.
There will be no refund or compensation in the event that part or all of your trip/tour is unused including, but not limited to, due to refusal of entry/exit by border officials, you being required to quarantine or a supplier denying you services (including if you display symptoms of, or have tested positive with, an infectious disease).
All participants of the tours we operate must obey the laws and regulations of the countries visited and any failure to do so will relieve us of all obligations that we may otherwise have, including any part of the tour which is unused due to your breach of local laws.
8. Trip Planning Fee
Our trip and/or tour prices include a $495 Trip Planning Fee per person. This is a non-refundable fee that covers our time and expertise to design, book and manage your bespoke trip or tour. As this is a service supplied by us, prior to the commencement of any trip, it is a cost that we cannot recoup should the trip be cancelled or disrupted.
9. Special Needs
It is each travelers responsibility to inform us, no later than at the time of booking the tour, of any special needs they have, such as but not limited to, dietary requirements, allergies, mobility issues, visual and/or hearing impairments. You must declare the true nature of any such issue and make arrangements for the provision of any support, medication or other items which may be required during the tour. Failure to make such disclosure will constitute a breach of this agreement and may result in that persons being excluded from the tour in which case no refund will be provided for the monies paid.
We will aim to accommodate any special needs, however this cannot be guaranteed.
It is possible that additional costs will be imposed by our suppliers, in order to cater to special needs.
10. Personal Requirements
Our policy regarding participant ages is:
On independent trips, traveler/s must be 18 years or older, or be accompanied by their legal guardian.
On our group tours, traveler/s must be 18 years or older. In the event that in our discretion we accept travelers on our group tour who are under the age of 18, the traveler must be accompanied by their legal guardian.
Traveler/s acknowledge that they have no known condition that could create a hazard to themselves, accompanying travelers, company staff and/or our suppliers, such as but not limited to, physical, mental or other conditions or disabilities, except those declared to us.
Most of our tours require a moderate level of fitness. However, on certain tours, or in certain seasons, or because of the nature of the tour, certain tours will require an above moderate or challenging level of fitness, as described in the documentation relating to the relevant tour. For the overall benefit of the group, at the time of booking you must declare in writing that you are fit to participate in your chosen tour according to the level of fitness required for that tour. If you (or we) have any doubts about your level of fitness, you may be required to undergo a medical assessment.
We reserve the right to remove any traveler/s from any trip if it is deemed that they are responsible for hazards or detrimental impact to themselves, accompanying travelers, company staff and/or our suppliers, or others.
11. Itinerary programme
Inclusions and exclusions for any given trip will be clearly specified in your itinerary or other documentation relating to the relevant tour.
We reserve the right to cancel or amend aspects of the programme, including but not limited to activities, the sequence of the itinerary, supplier products, guides, without prior notice. This may occur for various reasons, such as but not limited to, safety or comfort factors, adverse weather conditions, or to enhance your travel experience.
In the event that there is an unscheduled, unavoidable or unexplained cancellation or disruption outside our control we will endeavor to identify the reason and provide a suitable substitute to the best of our ability within the given time frame and conditions at hand.
In these circumstances, no further refund or compensation to the traveler/s will be provided.
Our beautiful group tours are designed to give each guest a rich, immersive and fabulously fun experience in the amazing Kingdom of Morocco.
Our group tours are filled with shopping opportunities however are not designed for large scale, complex or commercial sourcing. Given the timeframe and process involved in large volume sourcing, we highly recommend allowing some extra days - usually at the end of our tour. We are well versed and connected in commercial sourcing and shipping in Morocco, and would be happy to help design a sourcing ‘add-on’ that will allow you to focus on your job at hand, without it impacting the group tour.
12. Travel insurance
Comprehensive Travel Insurance is compulsory and must be put in place at the time of booking.
Obtaining adequate insurance is the sole responsibility of each traveller. It is the responsibility of each traveller/s to ensure that the policy provides adequate coverage for all relevant risks, including but not limited to personal accident, death, medical expenses, repatriation, emergency evacuation, personal liability, loss of luggage, personal effects, flight cancellations etc.
You must provide proof of your travel insurance policy on request.It is your responsibility to understand the specifics of your policy, and to ensure that your travel insurance covers all optional and included activities listed in your tour or trip.
13. Passport and visa entry
It is the sole responsibility of each traveler/s to ensure they have a current passport with a validity of at least 6 months beyond their return date.
It is each traveler/s sole responsibility to ensure they are holding the correct travel documents including visas and/or re-entry visas for your entire trip (including for any transit points).
The traveler/s are responsible for any costs related to obtaining a valid passport and/or visa for the trip.
Traveler/s accept sole liability if they are refused entry to Morocco (or any other country) for any reason, or stay beyond the legal length of stay pertaining to their visa, or for any onward travel and/or destinations.
14. Limitation of liability
Our service comes with guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law which cannot be excluded. These guarantees include that the services:
i. will be provided with due care and skill;
ii. will be reasonably fit for the specified purpose; and
iii. will be provided within a reasonable time to the extent within our control.
We are not liable for any technical errors, corruption of any data, unauthorised access to your personal data, inaccuracies in information supplied by you or third parties, or failure to complete bookings when that failure is due to circumstances beyond our control.
Apart from the rights you have that cannot be lawfully excluded, we shall not be liable for any inconvenience, delay, loss, death, injury or damage to you or your belongings or otherwise, including any loss or damage caused directly or indirectly by the acts, omissions or default, whether negligent or otherwise, of third party suppliers, force majeure or otherwise.
Travelers accept that medical services and/or administrative facilities may not be readily available or accessible during some or all of the time during the trip, however, should there be the need, we endeavor to assist to the best of our ability.
You agree, as a condition of this agreement, that in no event will we be liable for consequential or punitive damages in any circumstances, notwithstanding any law to the contrary.
We have no liability to you for any loss of or damage to your valuables (including cash, negotiable securities, precious metals, financial instruments or works of art), luggage, any perishable items, medicines, or other items.
To the extent that we have any liability under this agreement, no claim can be made against us for the personal injury, illness or death of any traveller, and any such claim will be forfeited, unless written notice of the claim with full particulars is given within 6 months from the date when such personal injury, illness or death occurred, and in no event may any claim with respect to personal injury, illness or death be maintainable, and any such claim is forfeited, unless court action, suit or proceedings are commenced within one year from the date when the personal injury, illness or death occurred.
It is a condition of this agreement that to the extent that we have any liability under this agreement, any claim for loss or damage must be notified to us in writing within 30 days from the day the tour finishes, and any court action, suit or proceeding must be brought no later than one year from that date. If you fail to comply with either of these conditions, we will be forever released and discharged from all claims, suits, actions or proceedings relating to or arising out of or in any way connected with the relevant tour and we will be discharged from all liability whatsoever, including any liability for negligence.
The provisions of this clause 14 are also subject to the third-party suppliers’ terms, conditions and limitations. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we do not accept responsibility or liability for matters for which the third-party suppliers are liable (which will be dealt with in accordance with the third-party suppliers’ terms, conditions and limitations), and you must to the extent appropriate make any claim directly against those third parties.
You must not bring any claims or actions against our employees, officers, agents and subcontractors. If you bring such a claim or action in breach of this agreement, you agree to indemnify us and the person against whom the claim or action is made against the consequences of that claim or action. You agree that in entering into this agreement, we are acting as the agent of and trustee for each of our employees, officers, agents and subcontractors, and each of these persons is deemed to be a party to the contract for the purpose of entitling each of them to enforce, have the benefit of and rely upon this agreement.
15. Optional Activities
Should the traveler opt to participate in any activities or events that are not included in our itinerary they do so at their own risk, and thereby accept all and any liability.
We make no representation about the safety, standard or quality of any independent operator.
Should one of our tour leaders or local representatives provide any assistance in the participation of any such non-trip activities or events, travelers release us for any and all liability, including but not limited to, any injury, loss or damage to person or property, death, delay or inconvenience.
16. Exiting Trips
In the event that a traveler must exit the trip for emergency personal and/or extenuating circumstances, we endeavor to assist to the best of our ability. If costs can be recovered we will issue a refund to you to the extent applicable for the relevant recovery.
We reserve the right to remove any traveller/s from a trip at any time for any reason, such as but not limited to, threatening, disruptive, abusive, obscene, discriminatory, disorderly and/or criminal behaviour, including where that behaviour is directed at any company personnel, accompanying travellers, third party suppliers, local community or others.
If the traveller is required to exit the trip, no refund will be provided, and the traveller/s accept sole responsibility and liability for any and all costs and arrangements for their return journey.
17. Force Majeure
We will not be liable for any failure or delay in performing our obligations in a trip that is due (directly or indirectly) to events beyond our control (referred to as “Force Majeure”).
Force Majeure is defined as, but is not limited to: acts of God, accident, riot, war, threat of war, terrorist act, advice against travel from any government including the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), nuclear disaster, epidemic, pandemic, quarantine, outbreaks of infectious disease or any other public health crisis, civil commotion, breakdown of communication facilities, natural catastrophes, adverse weather conditions, governmental acts or omissions, changes in laws or regulations, national strikes, fire, explosion and generalised lack of availability of raw materials or energy, technical or other maintenance problems with transport, changes imposed by cancellation or rescheduling of flights or other transport, or any other events beyond our control which we or our third party suppliers could not, even with due care, foresee or avoid
18. Media Use
Travelers hereby acknowledge and consent that by participating on our trips that any media in which they have been photographed, videoed or recorded can be published on our platforms.
Travelers grant us a royalty free perpetual license and give us permission for that content to be used for promotion of our company.
19. Update Terms
We may update and/or amend these terms and conditions at anytime.
20. Legal Venue
Any agreement made under these terms and conditions are governed by the laws of NSW, Australia.
Any claim or matter arising under, or in connection with, such agreement will be done so under the exclusive jurisdiction of the laws of NSW, Australia.
21. General
This agreement may be amended only by a document signed by the parties.
A waiver of a provision of or of a right under this agreement is binding on the party granting the waiver only if it is given in writing.
A waiver is effective only in the specific instance and for the specific purpose for which it is given.
We may subcontract any of our obligations under this agreement without notice (but remains responsible to you for ensuring those obligations are met).
If any part of this agreement is unenforceable, this will not affect the enforceability of any other part of the provision or any other provision deemed invalid, that part will be severed from this agreement and the remainder of this agreement will continue to be valid and enforceable.
Where this agreement is entered into by a person on your behalf, that person warrants that he or she has the authority and power to enter into this agreement on your behalf.
We may set off without any notice to you any amounts owed by you to us under this agreement. You may not set off any amount you owe to us under this agreement.
Unless this agreement expressly provides otherwise, a party may give or withhold an approval or consent in that party's absolute discretion and subject to any conditions determined by the party.
Subject only to your rights under this agreement, we may assign, transfer or otherwise deal with all or any part of our rights or obligations under this agreement without your consent. You must not assign, transfer or otherwise deal with any of your rights under this agreement without our prior written consent.
This agreement contains everything the parties have agreed in relation to the subject matter it deals with. No party can rely on an earlier written document or anything said or done by or on behalf of another party before this agreement were entered into.