Introduction
These terms and conditions, as may be amended from time to time, apply to all our services directly or indirectly (through distributors) made available online, through any mobile device, by email or by telephone. By accessing, browsing and using our (mobile) website or any of our applications through whatever platform (hereafter collectively referred to as the “Platform”) and/or by completing a reservation, you acknowledge and agree to have read, understood and agreed to the terms and conditions set out below (including the privacy statement).
These pages, the content and infrastructure of these pages, and the online reservation service (including the facilitation of payment service) provided by us on these pages and through the website are owned, operated and provided by Africa Luxury Escapes (Pty) Ltd. and are provided for your personal, non-commercial (B2C) use only, subject to the terms and conditions set out below. The relationship that we have with the Trip Providers are governed by separate terms and conditions which govern the (B2B) commercial relationship we have with each of these Trip Providers. Each Trip Provider acts in a professional manner vis-à-vis Africa Luxury Escapes when making its product and/or service available on or through Africa Luxury Escapes (both for its business-to-business (“B2B”) and/or business-to-consumer (“B2C”) relationship). Please note that Trip Providers may have, declare applicable and/or require (acceptance of) – in addition to the policies and fine print as disclosed on the website, their own (delivery / shipping / carriage / usage) terms and conditions and house rules for the use, access and consummation of the Trip (which may include certain disclaimers and limitations of liability).
Definitions
“Africa Luxury Escapes”, “us”, “we” or “our” means Africa Luxury Escapes (Pty) Ltd, a limited liability company incorporated under the laws of the Republic of South Africa, and having its registered address at 17 Manchester Street, Hout Bay, Cape Town 7806, South Africa. “Platform” means the (mobile) website on which the Trip Service is made available owned, controlled, managed, maintained and/or hosted by Africa Luxury Escapes. “Trip” means the various different travel products and services that can be ordered, acquired, purchased, bought, paid, rented, provided, reserved, combined or consummated by you from the Trip Provider.
“Trip Provider” means the provider of accommodation (e.g. hotel, motel, apartment, bed & breakfast, landlord), attractions (e.g. (theme) parks, museums, sightseeing tours), transportation provider (e.g. car rentals, cruises, rail, airport rides, coach tours, transfers), tour operators, travel insurances, and any other travel or related product or service as from time to time available for Trip Reservation on the Platform (whether B2B or B2C).
“Trip Service” means the online purchase, order, (facilitated) payment or reservation service as offered or enabled by Africa Luxury Escapes in respect of various products and services as from time to time made available by Trip Providers on the Platform.
“Trip Reservation” means the order, purchase, payment, booking or reservation of a Trip.
1. Scope and nature of our Service
Through the Platform, we (Africa Luxury Escapes. and its affiliate (distribution) partners) provide an online platform through which Trip Providers – in their professional conduct of business (i.e. B2C or B2B) – can advertise, market, sell, promote and/or offer (as applicable) their products and service for order, purchase, reservation, rent or hire, and through which relevant visitors of the Platform can discover, search, compare, and make an order, reservation, purchase or payment (i.e. the Trip Service). By using or utilizing the Trip Service (e.g. by making a Trip Reservation through the Trip Service), you enter into a direct (legally binding) contractual relationship with the Trip Provider with which you make a reservation or purchase a product or service (as applicable). From the point at which you make your Trip Reservation, we act solely as an intermediary between you and the Trip Provider, transmitting the relevant details of your Trip Reservation to the relevant Trip Provider(s) and sending you a confirmation email for and on behalf of the Trip Provider. Africa Luxury Escapes does not (re)sell, rent out, offer any (travel) product or service.
When rendering our Trip Service, the information that we disclose is based on the information provided to us by Trip Providers. As such, the Trip Providers that market and promote their Trip on the Platform are given access to our systems and extranet through which they are fully responsible for updating all rates/fees/prices, availability, policies & conditions and other relevant information which is displayed on our Platform. Although we will use reasonable skill and care in performing our Trip Service, we will not verify if, and cannot guarantee that, all information is accurate, complete or correct, nor can we be held responsible for any errors (including manifest and typographical errors), any interruptions (whether due to any (temporary and/or partial) breakdown, repair, upgrade or maintenance of our Platform or otherwise), inaccurate, misleading or untrue information or non-delivery of information. Each Trip Provider remains responsible at all times for the accuracy, completeness and correctness of the (descriptive) information (including the rates/fees/prices, policies & conditions and availability) displayed on our Platform. Our Platform does not constitute and should not be regarded as a recommendation or endorsement of the quality, service level, qualification or (star) rating, type of accommodation of any Trip Provider (or its facilities, venue, vehicles, (main or ancillary) products or services) made available, save as explicitly indicated or set out otherwise.
Our Trip Service is made available for personal and non-commercial use only. Therefore, you are not allowed to re-sell, deep-link, use, copy, monitor (e.g. spider, scrape), display, download or reproduce any content or information, software, reservations, tickets, products or services available on our Platform for any commercial or competitive activity or purpose.
2. Prices, Best Price Guarantee
The prices as offered by the Trip Providers on our Platform are highly competitive. All prices for your Trip are displayed including VAT/sales tax and all other taxes (subject to change of such taxes) and fees, unless stated differently on our Platform or the confirmation email/ticket. Applicable fees and taxes (including tourist/city tax) may be charged by the Trip Provider in the event of a no-show or cancellation.
We want you to pay the lowest price possible for your product and service of choice. Should you find your property of choice booked through the Platform, with the same Trip conditions, at a lower rate on the Internet after you have made a reservation through us, we will match the difference between our rate and the lower rate under the terms and conditions of the Best Price Guarantee. Our Best Price Guarantee does not apply to non-accommodations related products and services.
The currency converter, where applicable, is for information purposes only and should not be relied upon as accurate and real time; actual rates may vary.
Obvious errors and mistakes (including misprints) are not binding.
All special offers and promotions are marked as such. If they are not labelled as such, you cannot derive any rights in the event of obvious errors or mistakes.
3. Privacy and Cookies
Africa Luxury Escapes respects your privacy. Please have a look at our Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy for further information.
4. Free of charge for consumers
Unless indicated otherwise, our service is free of charge for consumers because, unlike many other parties, we will not charge you for our Trip Service or add any additional (reservation) fees to the rate. You will pay the Trip Provider the relevant amount as indicated in the Trip Reservation (plus – insofar not included in the price – relevant applicable taxes, levies and fees (if applicable)).
Trip Providers pay a commission (being a small percentage of the product price (e.g. room price)) to Africa Luxury Escapes after the end user has consummated the service or product of the Trip Provider (e.g. after the guest has stayed at (and paid) the accommodation). Trip Providers can improve their ranking by increasing their commission (Visibility Booster). The use of the Visibility Booster (by increasing the commission in return for a better position in the ranking) is at each Trip Provider’s discretion and may be used from time to time and product to product offered. The algorithm of the ranking will take an increase in commission into account when determining the Default Ranking. Preferred partners pay a higher commission in return for a better position in the ranking.
Only Trip Providers which have a commercial relationship with Africa Luxury Escapes (through an agreement) will be made available on Platform (for their B2B and/or B2C promotion of their product). Africa Luxury Escapes is not an open platform (like Amazon or eBay) where end users can make their product available (no C2C platform); Africa Luxury Escapes does not allow non-professional parties to offer or sell their products on or through Africa Luxury Escapes.
5. Credit card or bank transfer
If applicable and available, certain Trip Providers offer the opportunity for Trip Reservations to be paid (wholly or partly and as required under the payment policy of the Trip Provider) to the Trip Provider during the Trip Reservation process by means of secure online payment (all to the extent offered and supported by your bank). For certain products and services, Africa Luxury Escapes facilitates (through third party payment processors) the payment of the relevant product or service (i.e. the payment facilitation service) for and on behalf of the Trip Provider (Africa Luxury Escapes never acts nor operates as the merchant of record). Payment is safely processed from your credit/debit card or bank account to the bank account of the accommodation provider through a third party payment processor. Any payment facilitated by us for and on behalf of, and transferred to the Trip Provider will in each case constitute a payment of (part of) the booking price by you of the relevant product or service in final settlement of such (partial) due and payable price and you cannot reclaim such paid monies.
For certain (non-refundable) rates or special offers, please note that Trip Providers may require that payment is made upfront by wire transfer (if available) or by credit card, and therefore your credit card may be pre-authorised or charged (sometimes without any option for refund) upon making the Trip Reservation. Please check the (reservation) details of your product or service of choice thoroughly for any such conditions prior to making your Trip Reservation. You will not hold Africa Luxury Escapes liable or responsible for any (authorized, (allegedly) unauthorized or wrong) charge by the Trip Provider and not (re)claim any amount for any valid or authorized charge by the Trip Provider (including for pre-paid rates, no-show and chargeable cancellation) of your credit card.
6. Pre-payment, cancellation, no-show and fine print
By making a Trip Reservation with a Trip Provider, you accept and agree to the relevant cancellation and no-show policy of that Trip Provider, and to any additional (delivery) terms and conditions of the Trip Provider that may apply to your Trip (including the fine print of the Trip Provider made available on our Platform and the relevant house rules of the Trip Provider), including for services rendered and/or products offered by the Trip Provider. The relevant (delivery/purchase/use/carrier) terms and conditions of a Trip Provider can be obtained with the relevant Trip Provider. The general cancellation and no-show policy of each Trip Provider is made available on our Platform on the Trip Provider information pages, during the reservation procedure or in the confirmation email (if applicable). Please note that certain rates, fees or special offers are not eligible for cancellation, refund or change. Applicable city/tourist tax may still be charged by the Trip Provider in the event of a no-show or charged cancellation. Please check the (reservation) details of your product or service of choice thoroughly for any such conditions prior to making your reservation. Please note that a Trip Reservation which requires down payment or (wholly or partly) prepayment may be cancelled (without a prior notice of default or warning) insofar the relevant (remaining) amount(s) cannot be collected in full on the relevant due or payment date in accordance with the relevant payment policy of the Trip Provider and the reservation. Cancellation and prepayment policies may vary per segment, product or service of each Trip. Please carefully read the fine print and important information in your reservation confirmation for additional policies as may be applied by the Trip Provider (e.g. in respect of age requirement, security deposit, non-cancellation/additional supplements for group bookings, extra beds/no free breakfast, pets/cards accepted). Late payment, wrong bank, debit or credit card details, invalid credit/debit cards or insufficient funds are for your own risk and account and you shall not be entitled to any refund of any (non-refundable) prepaid amount unless the Trip Provider agrees or allows otherwise under its (pre)payment and cancellation policy.
If you wish to review, adjust or cancel your Trip Reservation, please revert to the confirmation email and follow the instructions therein. Please note that you may be charged for your cancellation in accordance with the Trip Provider’s cancellation, (pre)payment and no-show policy or not be entitled to any repayment of any (pre)paid amount. We recommend that you read the cancellation, (pre)payment and no-show policy of the accommodation provider carefully prior to making your reservation and remember to make further payments on time as may be required for the relevant reservation.
If you have a late or delayed arrival on the check-in date or only arrive the next day, make sure to (timely/promptly) communicate this with the Trip Provider so they know when to expect you to avoid cancellation of your Trip (Reservation) or charge of the no-show fee. Our customer service department can help you if needed with informing the Trip Provider. Africa Luxury Escapes does not accept any liability or responsibility for the consequences of your delayed arrival or any cancellation or charged no-show fee by the Trip Provider.
7. Correspondence and communication
By completing a Trip Reservation, you agree to receive (i) an email which we may send you shortly prior to your arrival date, giving you information on your destination and providing you with certain information and offers (including third party offers to the extent that you have actively opted in for this information) relevant to your Trip (Reservation) and destination, (ii) an email after arrival to rate the (experience with your) Trip Provider and the Trip Service, and (iii) an email which we may send to you promptly after your stay inviting you to complete our guest review form. See our privacy and cookies policy for more information about how we may contact you.
Africa Luxury Escapes disclaims any liability or responsibility for any communication by or with the Trip Provider on or through its platform. You cannot derive any rights from any request to, or communication with the Trip Provider or (any form of) acknowledgement of receipt of any communication or request. Africa Luxury Escapes cannot guarantee that any request or communication will be (duly and timely) received/read by, complied with, executed or accepted by the Trip Provider.
In order to duly complete and secure your Trip Reservation, you need to use your correct email address. We are not responsible or liable for (and have no obligation to verify) any wrong or misspelled email address or inaccurate or wrong (mobile) phone number or credit card number.
Any claim or complaint against Africa Luxury Escapes or in respect of the Trip Service must be promptly submitted, but in any event within 30 days after the scheduled day of consummation of the product or service (e.g. check out date). Any claim or complaint that is submitted after the 30 days period, may be rejected and the claimant shall forfeit its right to any (damage or cost) compensation.
Due to the continuous update and adjustments of rates and availability, we strongly suggest to make screenshots when making a reservation to support your position (if needed).
8. Disclaimer
Subject to the limitations set out in these terms and conditions and to the extent permitted by law, we shall only be liable for direct damages actually suffered, paid or incurred by you due to an attributable shortcoming of our obligations in respect to our services, up to an aggregate amount of the aggregate cost of your reservation as set out in the Trip Reservation confirmation email (whether for one event or series of connected events).
However and to the extent permitted by law, neither we nor any of our officers, directors, employees, representatives, subsidiaries, affiliated companies, distributors, affiliate (distribution) partners, licensees, agents or others involved in creating, sponsoring, promoting, or otherwise making available the site and its contents shall be liable for (i) any punitive, special, indirect or consequential loss or damages, any loss of production, loss of profit, loss of revenue, loss of contract, loss of or damage to goodwill or reputation, loss of claim, (ii) any inaccuracy relating to the (descriptive) information (including rates, availability and ratings) of the Trip Provider as made available on our Platform, (iii) the services rendered or the products offered by the Trip Provider or other business partners, (iv) any (direct, indirect, consequential or punitive) damages, losses or costs suffered, incurred or paid by you, pursuant to, arising out of or in connection with the use, inability to use or delay of our Platform, or (v) any (personal) injury, death, property damage, or other (direct, indirect, special, consequential or punitive) damages, losses or costs suffered, incurred or paid by you, whether due to (legal) acts, errors, breaches, (gross) negligence, willful misconduct, omissions, non-performance, misrepresentations, tort or strict liability by or (wholly or partly) attributable to the Trip Provider or any of our other business partners (including any of their employees, directors, officers, agents, representatives, subcontractors or affiliated companies) whose products or service are (directly or indirectly) made available, offered or promoted on or through the Platform, including any (partial) cancellation, overbooking, strike, force majeure or any other event beyond our control.
Africa Luxury Escapes is not responsible (and disclaims any liability) for the use, validity, quality, suitability, fitness and due disclosure of the Trip and makes no representations, warranties or conditions of any kind in this respect, whether implied, statutory or otherwise, including any implied warranties of merchantability, title, non-infringement or fitness for a particular purpose. You acknowledge and agree that the relevant Trip Provider is solely responsible and assumes all responsibility and liability in respect of the Trip (including any warranties and representations made by the Trip Provider). Africa Luxury Escapes is not a (re)seller of the Trip. Complaints or claims in respect of the Trip (including related to the offered (special/promotion) price, policy or specific requests made by Customers) are to be dealt with by the Trip Provider. Africa Luxury Escapes is not responsible for and disclaims any liability in respect of such complaints, claims and (product) liabilities.
Whether or not the Trip Provider has charged you for your Trip, or if we are facilitating the payment of the (Trip) price or fee, you agree and acknowledge that the Trip Provider is at all times responsible for the collection, withholding, remittance and payment of the applicable taxes due on the total amount of the (Trip) price or fee to the relevant tax authorities. Africa Luxury Escapes is not liable or responsible for the remittance, collection, withholding or payment of the relevant taxes due on the (Trip) price or fee to the relevant tax authorities. Africa Luxury Escapes does not act as the merchant of record for any product or service made available on the Platform.
9. Intellectual property rights
Unless stated otherwise, the software required for our services or available at or used by our Platform and the intellectual property rights (including the copyrights) of the contents and information of and material on our Platform are owned by Africa Luxury Escapes (Pty) Ltd., its Trip Providers or providers.
Africa Luxury Escapes exclusively retains ownership of all rights, title and interest in and to (all intellectual property rights of) (the look and feel (including infrastructure) of) the Platform on which the service is made available (including the guest reviews and translated content) and you are not entitled to copy, scrape, (hyper-/deep)link to, publish, promote, market, integrate, utilize, combine or otherwise use the content (including any translations thereof and the guest reviews) or our brand without our express written permission. To the extent that you would (wholly or partly) use or combine our (translated) content (including guest reviews) or would otherwise own any intellectual property rights in the Platform or any (translated) content or guest reviews, you hereby assign, transfer and set over all such intellectual property rights to Africa Luxury Escapes. Any unlawful use or any of the aforementioned actions or behaviour will constitute a material infringement of our intellectual property rights (including copyright and database right).
10. Applicable law, jurisdiction, and dispute resolution
These terms and conditions and the provision of our services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa and the jurisdiction of the South African Court govern this user agreement and the use or inability to use this website. Notwithstanding the foregoing choice of law, a natural person using any of our services for a purpose which can be regarded as being outside their trade or profession (hereinafter also referred to as “consumer”) can rely on the mandatory provisions of the law of the country where they have their habitual residence (i.e. provisions that, in accordance with the choice-of-law rules of the said country, must apply regardless of this choice-of-law clause; hereinafter: “Mandatory Provisions”). Any dispute arising out of these general terms and conditions and our services shall exclusively be submitted to the competent courts in Cape Town, South Africa. Notwithstanding the foregoing jurisdiction clause, a consumer may also bring proceedings in respect of enforcement of relevant applicable Mandatory Provisions in the courts of the country in which they are domiciled, and proceedings against a consumer may be brought only in the courts of the country in which they are domiciled.
If any provision of these terms and conditions is or becomes invalid, unenforceable or non-binding, you shall remain bound by all other provisions hereof. In such event, such invalid provision shall nonetheless be enforced to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, and you will at least agree to accept a similar effect as the invalid, unenforceable or non-binding provision, given the contents and purpose of these terms and conditions.
10. About Africa Luxury Escapes and the support companies
The Trip Service is rendered by Africa Luxury Escapes (Pty) Ltd., which is a private limited liability company, incorporated under the laws of the Republic of South Africa and having its offices at 17 Manchester Street, Hout Bay, Cape Town, 7806, South Africa and registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission under registration number 2020/916423/07.
Africa Luxury Escapes has its headquarters in Cape Town, South Africa and is supported by various affiliated group companies (the “support companies”). The support companies only provide an internal supporting role to and for the benefit of Africa Luxury Escapes. The support companies do not have any Platform (and do not in any way control, manage, maintain or host the Platform). The support companies do not have any power or authority to render the Trip Service, to represent Africa Luxury Escapes or to enter into any contract in the name of, for or on behalf of Africa Luxury Escapes. You do not have a (legal or contractual) relationship with the support companies. The support companies do not operate and are not authorised to act as any form of process or service agent of Africa Luxury Escapes. Africa Luxury Escapes does not accept nor assume any domicile at any place, location or office in the world (also not at the office of its support companies), other than its registered office in Cape Town.