The booking terms and conditions apply to all bookings and services provided by us. All booking terms and conditions must be read and understood prior to booking your travel. Once accepted, the bookings terms and conditions will be binding to the person who has done the booking.

Xpatweb Travel (PTY) LTD (Registration nr 2008/059547/23) will herein be referred to as we, us, and our, as the context may indicate.

The Payee refers to the person/s, agencies or authorized representatives, who will be booking, or paying, the travel, accommodation, or transport services through the Xpatweb Travel platform.

Travel Services and Products mentioned herein refers to any travel-related services and products provided by us and/or third-party suppliers.

1) When you accept booking terms and conditions with us and one of the third-party service providers, please see details below:

When bookings are made, The Payee enters into multiple agreements: one being with Xpatweb Travel and the other with our third-party suppliers, such as airlines, coach operators, transport tour operators, accommodation, hotels, shipping companies, car hire, visa suppliers, rail and cruise line operators, wholesalers and other providers of air, land, sea or any other travel arrangements, products, or services. Each third-party supplier holds their own terms and conditions for services or products provided. The Payee must read and accept the booking terms and conditions from both Xpatweb Travel and that of the third-party supplier.

In the event of conflict between our booking terms and conditions and the third-party supplier, the most restrictive booking terms and conditions rule, provided that either booking terms and conditions will apply to The Payee. These terms and conditions will be provided on quotes, invoicing, during consultations, by email, telephonically, or face to face. The Payee must ensure that they understand the terms and conditions. Once signed the booking terms and conditions will be binding to The Payee and to all people who form part of the booking.

We act as agents for third-party suppliers of travel services and/or products, and will not be liable for any loss, costs, damage, injury, illness, harm, or death which The Payee may suffer or incur because of any act or omission on the part of, or the failure of, the third-party service provider to fulfil its obligations to you, whether in relation to travel services, travel arrangements, accommodation or in any other manner. In the event of a third-party supplier being declared insolvent or placed under administration, The Payee will subject to their refund and remedy rights under the South African Consumer Law to the third-party supplier. As an acting agent, Xpatweb will not be obliged to reimburse The Payee for the travel services or products booked.

2) Quotes, bookings made, travel services, products, price validity and rules:

Prices, travel services and products are subject to availability and can only be confirmed, and the booking processed, once the Payee has signed and confirmed that they agree and understand our booking terms and conditions, as well as that from all relevant third-party suppliers. Prices, travel services and products can only be guaranteed once the funds for the processed booking reflects in our banking account.

During the quotation, booking and invoice stages regarding the Travel Services and Products, we will fix incorrect prices quoted or booked to The Payee, which might have resulted from human error or price increase/decrease from time of having accepted the booking terms and conditions to payment being received. Should the price of the Travel Services and Products decrease after the funds from the Payee has reflected in our account, then we will refund the difference to the Payee.

All amounts will be quoted in Rands (ZAR). In the event that suppliers quote us in other currencies, we will convert the amounts on the quotations and/or invoices to Rands (ZAR). We will not be held liable for the increase in the rate of exchange. If there is an increase in the rate of exchange to the Rand (ZAR), we will quote The Payee the updated amount, which will then need to be paid and confirmed in terms of the booking terms and conditions provided. If there is a decrease in the rate of exchange to the Rand (ZAR), we will refund the difference to The Payee. This will only apply during the time of getting the booking terms and conditions approved by The Payee and once payment has been received in our account.

3) Deposits:

For some bookings depending on the terms and conditions with us and the third-party supplier’s booking terms and conditions, we could require a deposit to secure the Travel Services and Products being booked. The deposit does not secure the price for the Travel Services and Products, as the price can only be guaranteed once full payment has been made and the booking terms and conditions for the Travel Services and Products have been accepted by the Payee. The Payee must ensure that they are aware of all the booking terms and conditions, which will be provided during quotation and upon making the deposit, because the terms and conditions will be binding to the Payee.

4) Payments to us:

Payment details will be provided throughout the booking process. Payments can be made via EFT and by credit card via our online link. Please note that when making payment it must be an immediate payment. We cannot confirm any travel arrangements until the payment has reflected in our account. The amount will include payment for all Travel Services and Products, including our service fee.

The onus is on the Payee to exercise caution and beware of cyber-attacks. If you are unsure about your invoice or payments, please contact us so we can confirm it with you.

5) Travel Documents, changes, schedule changes, cancellations, and refund:

For any flight bookings made with us, it is important for the Payee to note that we act as agents on behalf of the airlines, which means that we will need to follow the airline regarding schedule changes, date changes and cancellations. The onus is on the Payee to understand the rules provided by both Xpatweb Travel and the relevant third-party supplier. We will confirm the airline rules during quotation and invoicing, and provide it with accompanying e-tickets via e-mail once all has been confirmed and as soon as payment has been received.

We will communicate third-party supplier booking changes timeously when and where possible, but cannot guarantee third-party approval or allowance of changes proposed by the Payee. Changes need to be done in accordance with the airline’s booking or fare rules. The fare rules will be given to the Payee during quotation or invoicing, or with the e-ticket. The onus remains on the Payee to understand these rules.

All intended changes must be communicated to us at best 24 hours before departure, and latest 6 hours before departure. If the flight is departing in 6 hours, there is still a chance that we could lose the flight. It is important to contact us in advance for date changes. Our emergency contact details are there for when these changes need to be communicated after hours. For cancellations and refunds on flights booked with us and the airlines, we will need to refund in accordance with our rules and the airline’s rules for the flight booked. Some fares are refundable with penalty and some are non-refundable. The Payee must contact us at best 24 hours before departure, and at least 6 hours before departure (by 6 hours before departure there is a chance we could lose the refund), to notify us of their decisions.

Once a passenger is declared a no-show, the airline will forfeit the ticket. If one leg of the flight has been missed, all the other legs of the flight will also be seen as a no-show and the airline will cancel the rest of the flight (ticket). Refunds on flights takes a minimum of 12 weeks to be processed by the airlines. For airline check-ins on international flights, the Payee must be at the airport for check-in at least 4 hours prior to departure, and for domestic flights at least 1 hour before departure. All flights must be booked as per the Payee passport particulars. Name changes are not permitted with most airlines, so it is important that the Payee provides us with current passport information to not expose themselves to the risk of forfeiture. When travelling internationally with a minor under the age of 18 years the Payee needs an unabridged birth certificate and passport for each minor.

For any arrangements which includes, tours, car hire, transfers, uber, cruises and hotels, etc. The vouchers and confirmations will be sent to the Payee. All Travel Services and Products will have booking terms and conditions regarding cancellation and changes. We will provide the booking terms and conditions during quotation, invoicing or booking confirmation. The onus is on the Payee to understand third party supplier booking terms and conditions before accepting them, as they are binding on all parties.

For any special travel requirements, including but not limited to seating, meals, bassinets, room location or any other special requests. Such requirements and requests are not guaranteed by us and must be confirmed by the third-party service provider. We may submit special requests on behalf of the Payee; however, we are not responsible for confirming and/or guaranteeing these requests. The Payee’s preferred choice of seating may be requested prior to departure, however the airline and/or third-party service provider reserves the right to amend seating plans up until the time of departure. The Payee could be requested pay for priority seating prior to departure. A travel itinerary will indicate the luggage allowances for each trip. Some airlines or low-cost carriers include a zero-luggage allowance and may charge a fee per bag. The Payee must familiarise themselves with luggage allowance requirements for their entire trip.

6) Travel insurance:

Travel insurance could assist with any loss of money or for any medical assistance required during travels. We strongly advise that the Payee, and all accompanying travellers party to the booking of the Travel Services and Products, obtain travel insurance for any unforeseen circumstances that may occur.  We have an inhouse provider that can assist with your travel insurance, it is up to the payee if they would like to take out travel insurance.

7) Important to ensure you have all the documents for your travels:

It is important that the Payee booking the Travel Services and Products, as well as accompanying travellers, have a valid passport that only expires a minimum of 6 months from date of return has a minimum of 6 pages open for needs. It is important to keep issued visas, vaccination certificates, travel insurance, unabridged birth certificates for minors under 18, and PCR tests ready before travel. We cannot be held liable for any delays, cancellations, and loss of money due to incorrect documentation. We can only advise on the above, but the onus is on the Payee to ensure that proper documentation is kept and displayed as required. The Payee can request assistance with their visa applications from our in-house visa team.

8) Unforeseen circumstances that may interrupt travel:

There are unforeseen circumstances that could affect your travel bookings, which is beyond our control, or that of third-party suppliers. Unforeseen circumstances and events could include pandemic outbreaks, terrorism, natural disasters, strikes, wars, invasions, acts of foreign enemies, and the like. We may be unable to refund the Travel Services and Products booked with us. Therefore, it is advisable to obtain adequate travel insurance to assist with any losses incurred in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

9) COVID19 regulations:

With COVID-19 (Coronavirus) travel restrictions, international lockdowns and related testing or hygiene protocols, the Payee is urged to stay abreast of regulations and requirements regarding COVID-19 that might pertain to their travel needs. We strongly recommend that the Payee contact the Department of Health or visit their website at http://www.health.gov.za/, as well as the South African Covid Portal on  https://sacoronavirus.co.za/ for general travel advice or safety alert level information relating to the destination they wish to visit. It is the responsibility of the Payee to be aware of the risks involved. We cannot be held liable for contracting COVID-19 during or after Travel Services and Products booked through us or any of our third-party suppliers.

10) Taxes:

There are taxes that may occur during your travels such as city taxes, departure taxes and any additional taxes levied by the relevant country or city visited. The Payee will be held liable for the taxes to be paid. It is their responsibility to declare any personal items with the South African Revenue Services prior to departure.

11) Privacy policy:

We require Payee personal information to assist with booking the Travel Services and Products. This information includes but are not limited to ID information, passport information, and contact details. The information will be used to book and issue the Travel Services and Products with our third-party suppliers. We will delete all information given to us unless granted permission to keep the personal information for future bookings.

The Payee accepts that we can take the information needed for the bookings to be made, and they are aware that other countries outside of South Africa are not as strict with the rules of privacy regarding their personal information.

12) Acceptance of the booking terms and conditions:

The Payee must accept the booking terms and conditions as mentioned above, including the booking terms and conditions that will be provided to them at the time of making the booking. The booking terms and conditions can be accepted by signing the booking terms and conditions pages in person or electronically. Once signed all the booking terms and conditions will be binding to the Payee.