Terms and Conditions

Contract

Your contract is with Matthew Rian Travel Concierge (hereinafter called “Matthew Rian”, “we” or “us”).  We draw your attention to the following terms and conditions, which cover all brochures and correspondence and all bookings made with us.  Any contract with us is subject to these terms and conditions from which no person has the authority to depart.  Before making a booking with us you must ensure that you have read and understood these booking conditions (raising any queries you may have with us).  By asking us to confirm your booking you are accepting the terms and conditions laid out below and acknowledging that you have read the terms of this contract and agree with it.

Booking Procedure

Matthew Rian will create a custom travel itinerary to suit your personal needs. A binding contract comes into existence between us upon the receipt of any monetary payment (either as a partial payment or in full) for that itinerary.  No contract will exist between the parties until such monies have been received.

If you are booking more than 90 days in advance of the date of travel, we require the payment of a minimum 25% deposit at the time of booking confirmation and the remaining balance to be paid 90 days prior to the departure date.  If you are booking within 90 days of the departure date, full payment will be due at the time of booking confirmation.

If full payment is not received 90 days prior to the departure date, we reserve the right to cancel your travel and apply the cancellation charges set out in paragraph 5.  Cancellation will be without penalty to us and we will have no further liability to you.  If you have provided us with your credit or debit card details, you agree that we may use such credit or debit card details to obtain payment of any balance due by you under this agreement, unless you have specifically notified us in writing that the credit or debit card on file is not to be used for the payment of any outstanding balance.

The lead booking name is liable for making full payment for all persons in the booking party and all those in the booking party agree to be bound by these terms and conditions (including anyone added or substituted at a later stage).  It is the responsibility of the lead booking name responsible for making the booking to ensure all in their party are aware of and have read these terms and conditions.

Medical Conditions and Disabilities

If you or any member of your party have any medical problem or disability which may affect your travel, please tell us before you confirm your booking so that we can advise as to the suitability of the chosen arrangements.  In any event, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking in order to ensure that the trip is suitable for the given conditions.  If full details are not given at the time of booking, we reserve the right to cancel in accordance with section 5 below and at no penalty to Matthew Rian when we become aware of these details.

Documentation

Please carefully read your confirmation invoice, tickets and all other documentation we send you as soon as you receive them.  Contact us immediately if any information appears to be incorrect as it may not be possible to make changes later. You will be responsible for any costs and expenses involved in rectifying any inaccuracies except where we made the mistake.

Cancellation by You

Cancellation of a travel must be made in writing and is effective from the date we receive the written notification.  Upon cancellation, the deposit and any amendment charges will be forfeited.  Cancellation charges are expressed at a percentage of quoted price as follows:

Pricing Itineraries

The price of your itinerary will be based on known costs at the date of issue of the itinerary.  All prices we advertise are accurate at the date published, but we reserve the right to change any of those prices from time to time. Prices include a cost for fuel and local taxes that are estimated at the date of this publication.  At the time of booking confirmation, we will provide you with a Confirmation Invoice. After a Confirmation Invoice has been sent to you, we reserve the right to add a supplement to your travel prices should our costs of supplying your travel increase.  Any increase to your travel price will be as the result of changes in our costs of supplying your travel resulting from transportation charges, (fuel, airport charges, scheduled air fares and other transport charges which form part of our contract with the transport provider), dues or taxes payable locally, VAT, currency fluctuations and government action, any other airline surcharges, taxes or fees payable for services such as landing taxes, or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports or airports, or increases in VAT, park fees, reserve fees or concession fees. If our costs to supply your travel increase, we reserve the right to increase the price of your travel and will forward an Amendment Invoice reflecting any changes made. Should you instruct your credit/debit card company to “charge back” any payment(s) properly due from you in respect of your booking, we will charge you a fee of $100 per incident and associated costs. We further reserve the right to cancel your booking and/or take legal action against you for all outstanding payment(s).
 
We reserve the right to make changes to and correct errors in advertised prices at any time before your travel is confirmed.  We will advise you of any errors of which we are aware and of the then applicable price at the time of booking.

Amendments by You

If you wish to change your itinerary after a deposit has been made, we will endeavor to make the changes required, provided that you provide a notification of the changes desired in writing.  We will charge you a fee of $150 for customer-initiated change to the booking after receipt of payment, and additional airline, hotel and/or supplier fees may also be charged. Any change made will result in the booking being re-priced at the rate in effect at the time of the change and additional deposit or balance payments may be required to confirm the change. A “name change” constitutes a cancellation and will be subject to the cancellation charges set out in paragraph 5.

Cancellation by Matthew Rian

We may cancel your confirmed travel if you fail to comply with any requirement of these booking conditions.  We also reserve the right to cancel your travel for any reason at any time before full payment has been received.
 
We cannot accept liability or pay compensation where the prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected by, or you suffer any damage or loss as a result of force majeure. In these booking terms and conditions, force majeure means any event which we or the supplier of services in question could not reasonably foresee or avoid.  Such events are likely to include war, threat of war, civil strife, riot, civil disorder/unrest, industrial dispute, actual or threat of terrorist activity, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, breakout of an epidemic or pandemic disease, technical problems with transport, cancelation or amendment to any scheduled flight, closure, congestion of airports or ports, adverse weather conditions and all similar events outside our control.  In the circumstances amounting to force majeure we will not be required to refund any money to you, although if we can recover any monies from our suppliers we will refund these to you without any charge by Matthew Rian.
 
Whilst we always endeavor to avoid changes and cancellations, we must reserve the right to do so.  If Matthew Rian cancels your travel for a reason not identified above, we will return to you all monies paid or offer an alternative travel of a comparable standard.  In this event we will pay compensation of USD $100 per person.

Amendments by Matthew Rian

It is unlikely that we will have to make any changes to your travel although we reserve the right to make changes at any time.  Most of these changes are minor and we will advise you of these in writing at the earliest possible date.  When an alteration of your outward or return flights by more than 12 hours or a significant change in the standard of accommodation is necessary, you will have the choice of accepting the new arrangements or cancelling your travel and receiving a full refund of all monies paid, provided it does not arise from conditions amounting to (i) force majeure, (ii) of failure to comply with these booking terms and conditions, (iii) of failure to make payments when required or (iv) as a result of an amendment to a scheduled airline timetable.

Limitation of Liability

You agree that Matthew Rian’s liability to you will never be greater than the amount spent on the trip, and that you will not seek to secure any judgment for an amount greater than the amount spent with Matthew Rian Travel Concierge.  YOU UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT THAT MATTHEW RIAN’S LIABILITY FOR LOSS AND ANY OTHER MONETARY CLAIMS/DAMAGES WILL BE LIMITED TO BE NO MORE THAN THE MONEY SPENT BY YOU WITH MATTHEW RIAN TRAVEL CONCIERGE.  This clause 10 restricts the total liability to you under these terms and conditions and is only intended to limit Matthew Rian’s total liability, and other than capping total exposure to you in no way modifies the limitations of liability contained elsewhere in this document.  You recognize that adventure travel is inherently risky.  You accept the inherent risks of this travel and acknowledge that the enjoyment of adventuring beyond the normal safety of home and work is part of the reason for your participation in this trip.  As a result, you release Matthew Rian from all or any liability to the undersigned, his/her personal representatives, heirs, assigns and next of kin, from any and all losses, damages, death, inconvenience or injuries to the person or damage or loss of property of the undersigned, or on account of death, injury, loss or inconvenience resulting from the negligence of Matthew Rian or the negligent or willful conduct of any third parties while the undersigned is participating in a tour or any travel or other arrangements made by Matthew Rian.
 
Please note we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss, expense or other sums of any description, which: (a) on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you, or (b) did not result from any breach of contract or any other fault by ourselves or our employees, or where we are responsible for them our suppliers.
 
Additionally, we cannot accept liability for any sums which relate to any business losses.

Our Responsibilities

Subject to clause 13 below, Matthew Rian accepts responsibility for ensuring (i) your travel is supplied as described in your Confirmation and any Amendment Invoices and (ii) services provided will reach a reasonable local standard.  Please note we cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of our contract.  This includes for example any additional services or facilities, which your hotel or other supplier agrees to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised in our brochure and we have not agreed to arrange them. The information contained in our brochure and website is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of the confirmation of your booking.
 
Our brochure descriptions and other information provided or made available in a resort, often refers to “other activities and excursions”, which are available in the resort.  These activities and excursions are not run nor controlled in any way by Matthew Rian.  They do not form any part of your contract with Matthew Rian, even where we suggest or recommend particular operators/centres/trips and assist you in booking such activities or excursions in any way.  Accordingly, we regret Matthew Rian cannot accept any liability in relation to these outside activities and excursions.  Where we make or take any bookings for or from you in respect of any activity or excursion available, we do solely as booking agents.  This is the case regardless of whether the activity is advertised or mentioned in our brochure, resort, on our website or elsewhere.  Your contract for any such activity or excursion will be with the supplier or operator of that activity or excursion.  Matthew Rian has no liability for any such activity or excursion or for any acts or omissions of the supplier or operator or for of it/their employees or agents or any other persons connected with the activity or excursion.  If we are found liable in any respect for any such activity or excursion for example in our capacity as booking agent, that liability is limited to the cost of the particular activity or excursion concerned.
 
Please remember that the infrastructure in the countries you are visiting may not be up the same standards of your country of residence.  Some resorts may experience the occasional power cut or water shortage.  We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss (for example loss of enjoyment), damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which results from any of the following: a) The fault of the persons affected or any members of their party, or b) The fault of a third party not connected with the booking of your travel, which we could not have predicted or avoided, or c) Force majeure and like events, or d) The fault of anyone who is not carrying out work for us (generally or in particular) at the time of booking.  This paragraph does not alter the limitations on liability contained in clause 10, but should be read to further limit Matthew Rian’s liability to you.
 
In addition we will not be responsible where you do not enjoy your travel or suffer problems because of a reason you did not tell us about when you booked your travel, or where any problems you suffered did not arise from any breach of our contract, or other fault of ourselves or where we were responsible for them, our suppliers or agents or where any losses, expenses, costs or other sum you have suffered relate to any business.

Our suppliers, such as accommodation or transport suppliers, have their own booking conditions or conditions of carriage, and these conditions are binding between you and the supplier.  Some of these conditions may limit or remove the relevant transport providers or other suppliers liability to you.  You can get copies of such conditions from any offices of the relevant  suppliers.  You should also note the carrier will rely upon its conditions of carriage, which may limit or remove the carrier’s liability to you and limit compensation under international conventions.  Matthew Rian accepts liability as above only if a claim is notified to us in writing no later than one month after your return.

Carriers

Carriage by air, and sea is subject to the terms and conditions of the carriers with whom you are travelling and to international conventions.  Matthew Rian accepts no liability whatsoever for cancellations, strikes, timetable changes, diversions, technical issues unrelated to Matthew Rian, lost or mislaid luggage, rescheduling costs, missed accommodation, or delays which result from any operational decision of the carrier concerned.  Matthew Rian accepts no liability for death, injury or illness that derives from carriage by air or sea.

Your Responsibility

You must ensure that your travel documents, passports, visas and vaccination certificates are in order and that you ensure that you have taken the advice of your primary care physician with regard to inoculations.  Matthew Rian will offer general advice but cannot be held responsible if you do not comply with current requirements before your departure.  Matthew Rian does not accept liability for any advice given of a general nature prior to the travel commencing.  You are responsible for a timely check-in for all flights and for presenting yourself to take up all pre-booked components of your travel.  No credit or refund will be given to you should you fail to take up any component of your travel or if you lose any travel documents.  Matthew Rian draws your attention to the fact that there are certain inherent risks involved in all of the travels that we supply and these must be accepted by you at your own risk.  If you wish to discuss any such risks with us we would be more than happy to provide advice over the telephone or in writing.

Insurance

Matthew Rian requires clients to purchase travel insurance.  We can provide details of a suitable policy with TAGIS.  You must purchase either this policy or a policy that offers at least comparable cover under all sections – specifically with regard to “abandonment”.  We reserve the right to cancel your travel at any time should such a policy not be taken out by you.

The Law

The above booking terms and conditions together with all correspondence form part of your contract with Matthew Rian.  This contract and any matters arising from it shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong.

Waiver of Claim Against Introducer

If you have been referred to us by another part (for example a travel agent) you agree to hold them blameless and waive any and all claims against such party.  Any issues you may have must be directed to us and dealt with under the terms of our contract.

Problems

If you have a problem during your travel, please inform the relevant organizer (camp/hotel manager/service provider) immediately and they will endeavor to put things right.  If your problem cannot be resolved locally you must send full details to Matthew Rian in writing within 28 days of your return from travel.  If you fail to follow this procedure, we will not accept liability as we have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify the problem.

Miscellaneous

Any purchase of goods or services which you make while on the trip are solely at your risk, including, without limitation, such problems as defects, failure to ship or damage to goods while in shipment, whether or not the purchase was made from a vendor recommended by a guide, other person rendering trip services or any third party. You agree that if you are injured or become ill, Matthew Rian may, at your cost, attempt to arrange medical treatment, evacuation or any other emergency services on your behalf as it deems essential for my safety and well-being but it accepts no responsibility for the quality or adequacy of any such treatment, evacuation or services. Baggage is carried entirely at your risk. Matthew Rian, and your local operators of tours and/or suppliers of services reserve the right to remove anyone from a trip without refund who acts in a manner which it considers unsafe or inconsiderate to fellow travelers or others and/or who ignores the requests of his or her guide(s) to act in a safe and considerate manner.