Travel Agency Terms and Conditions

A travel agency terms and conditions is imperative for not only protecting your business, but ensuring you mitigate risks down the road. By having well-drafted legal contracts and travel waivers in place, you can help to avoid misunderstandings and disputes with clients, setting clear expectations from the outset.

At a minimum, your client terms and conditions should cover key areas such as payment terms, cancellation policy, liability and responsibility for bookings, force majeure clause, and refunds, chargebacks, and adjustments, plus no-shows. Including all this information upfront will help to avoid any issues further down the line.

While it may seem like an unnecessary step at the beginning, taking the time to draw up solid client terms and conditions will save you a lot of headaches in the long run. By outlining all your expectations up front, you can help ensure that both you and your clients are on the same page throughout the booking process and beyond.

It’s also important to note that if you don’t have a client terms and conditions in place for your travel agency, it may be difficult to pursue legal action in some cases. For example, in situations where there is an issue with a particular service provider (such as if a hotel was not up to par) or if a client decides to cancel their booking at the last minute.

Example components of a travel agency terms and conditions agreement include:

The responsibilities and liabilities of each party; travel agency, supplier, and customer.

When planning a trip, it is important to be aware of the responsibilities and liabilities of each party involved. The travel agency, supplier, and customer all have different roles and obligations.

Rates and inclusions.

There are various rates and inclusions for your services. Make sure your customers know what is included with your travel services and the suppliers so that they can be prepared.

Payment terms.

If a customer fails to make a payment on their trip, they may be subject to penalties.

Revisions, deviations, and cancellation fees.

It’s important to have a policy in place regarding revisions, deviations, and cancellation fees for your customers’ vacation plans. This ensures that everyone is on the same page and understands what to expect if changes need to be made.

Refunds, chargebacks, and adjustments, plus no shows.

Chargebacks, refunds, and adjustments can be a pain for both travelers and travel agencies. Having a clear policy in place helps everyone know what to expect. And a no-show policy can help travel agencies avoid last-minute cancellations.

Appropriate language for the key sellers of travel states.

When you are selling travel services, it is important to be aware of the laws in each state. Each state has its own laws governing the sale of travel services, so it is important to be familiar with the requirements in each state and include the required language in your terms.

Force Majeure.

“Force Majeure” is a legal term that refers to unpredictable events or circumstances that are beyond the control of the parties involved. In the context of travel, force majeure may include events such as natural disasters, political unrest, and other unforeseen circumstances that make it impossible or unsafe to travel.

Limitations of liability.

This provision is included to protect the travel agency from any indirect, special, incidental, exemplary, or consequential damages that may arise out of or in connection with the services provided. This provision is designed to help limit the travel agency’s liability to the client to the total amount of commissions earned by the travel agency.

Arbitration, jurisdiction, venue, and choice of law.

If you sell travel in some or all 50 states in the U.S., you’ll want to ensure your client terms and conditions are compliant, meet the requirements of sellers of travel law, are kept up to date with changing laws, continually reviewed, and written by experts.

Looking for more information on how to protect your travel agency? Check out our guide here. And remember, if you have any questions or need advice along the way, we’re always available to lend a hand! Just contact us at any time with your inquiries and we’ll be happy to help.