Group Administration
(How We Work Together)
Administrative Arrangements
A1. Introduction
We work as your partner toward the goal of making your group’s trip smooth and successful. Some administrative work is involved for both of us. We have tried to keep our demands on you minimal and simple. This section explains the steps which help us to manage your travel arrangements efficiently.
We recognize that many groups have restrictions and limitations on their ability to make deposits and payments. We always collaborate with group organizers to agree Administration Arrangements that suit the specific circumstances.
The Administrative Arrangements in this document are guidelines which apply when other arrangements are not specified in your Confirmation.
A2. Your Proposal and Confirmation
Travel arrangements and prices in your Proposal are subject to availability and contract.
Upon receipt of your deposit, we will issue a Confirmation. Your check will not be deposited or your credit card charged until the arrangements are confirmed.
A3. Agreement
The Agreement between us consists of three parts:
- your signed Confirmation;
- the Administration Arrangements in this section; and
- the Terms and Conditions in the following section.
A4.Deposits and Payments
Our schedule for deposits and payments reflects our supplier prepayment requirements.
Additional deposits may be required by airlines to secure special air fares. Special deposit arrangements may also apply to certain hotels, resorts, holidays, or high demand periods. These will be specified in your Confirmation.
It is important that your payments be received in our office by the dates due. If not, we may have difficulty in retaining your travel space and prices, and may be required to cancel your arrangements.
We are unable to deliver your tickets, vouchers, or travel documents until full payment has been received.
Initial Deposit: $ 100 per person due upon Proposal Acceptance.
Second Deposit: $ 450 per person due 120 days before departure + Travel Protection Plan Premium.
Final Payment: remaining balance due 65 days before departure.
Late Payment: A late payment fee of $10 per person applies, if the second deposit and/or final payment are received after the due date.
A5. Form of Payment
Our group travel prices are based upon receiving a single payment check for the entire group.
We regret that we cannot process individual checks or credit card payments at group prices. However, by payment of a fee of 3% of the total package price we can accept individual payments by personal check or credit card. We will supply you with forms to authorize these arrangements.
When payment by credit card is arranged, your group member is authorizing us to charge the deposit, final payment, and any other fees to the designated charge card, and he is agreeing not to initiate a charge-back.
Please understand if a check is returned, we must charge you a bank handling fee of $25 per item.
A6. Name Lists and Rooming Lists
Rather than waiting until everything is finalized, we can do a better job in managing airline and hotel room space when we work with your preliminary information, even if it is incomplete, or may change!
Please assist our planning, and your comfort, by sending us your name lists and hotel rooming lists as early as possible. For your convenience, we provide forms for this information.
We also supply individual “Guest Forms” to collect data required by the airlines and other travel suppliers. Please have every member of your group complete one of these forms and return them to us 120 days before your trip departure date.
Our suppliers expect us to use reserved space fully or to release unneeded space promptly. If your group reservations are not meeting your expectations, we will assist you in reducing your group size.
Preliminary Name/Rooming List: due 120 days before departure.
Final Name/Rooming List and Individual Travel Information: due 70 days before departure. Names supplied to the airlines must be the legal names, as in the passport.
A7. Air Customization
The airlines define a group as people traveling on a single itinerary between origin and destination airports on the same dates.
Travelers not meeting these criteria are termed deviations from the group itinerary and must be handled separately and incur additional costs. Some airlines limit the number of possible deviations from your group itinerary to 20%of your group size.
Many of our guests take the opportunity of traveling to Europe to extend their stay for independent travel.
Please ask each group member to request any air customization in writing at least 100 days before your departure date. There is a fee of $125 per person for air customization arrangements which deviate from your group’s basic travel arrangements.
A8. Late Booking
We recognize that travel plans sometimes come together quickly and that sometimes it is not possible to decide until the last minute. We will do everything possible to accommodate your late requests, subject to availability and the feasibility of issuing documents. Please send us full payment immediately upon confirmation of a late booking. You will understand that later requests incur extra communication, administration, and delivery costs.
As departure date approaches, it becomes increasingly difficult to process late bookings. Often the group documents must be entirely reprocessed.
There is a fee of $100 per person for reservations confirmed between 65 days to 45 days before departure and a fee of $175 per person for reservations confirmed less than 45 days.
A9. Travel Cancellation and Refunds
We are always sorry if someone has to cancel travel plans; we know what a disappointment and disruption this can be!
To avoid misunderstandings, please send us cancellations in writing and enclose all travel documents including air tickets and vouchers. The date of receipt in our office determines the effective date of cancellation.
We endeavor to minimize our fees for cancellation to reflect the cost imposed upon us by our suppliers and our administrative expenses.
Purchase of the Travel Protection Plan is recommended to minimize financial loss due to cancellation fees which cannot be waived in any circumstances.
Group Cancellation or Substantial Reduction
We collaborate with you to make adjustments to your group size without charge more than 120 days before departure date.
At 120 days before departure, if the entire group reservation is canceled, or the group size is reduced below 40% of the original size, a fee of $500 per group will apply.
A10. Travel Protection Plan
In collaboration with a leading insurer, SkiEurope has developed a customized Travel Protection Plan which provides financial protection against the cancellation fees specified as well as coverage for travel-related risks during your trip.
Our Insurer requires that all our guests be offered this coverage on an automatic basis. Consequently, we will add the insurance cost to the trip price with the Confirmation/Invoice.
Anyone not wishing to purchase the Travel Protection Plan is required to sign a Waiver/Release which must be returned to SkiEurope with the second deposit no later than 120 days prior to departure.
At 120 days prior to departure, the insurance becomes effective and the Waiver/Release cannot be accepted after this date.
Insurance premiums are due with final payment and are not refundable.
A11. Cancellation (without purchase of Travel Protection Plan)
This section applies in circumstances when the Travel Protection Plan has not been purchased.
From 120 days to 95 days before departure
A fee of $100 per person will be deducted from refunds for cancellations between 120 and 95 days prior to departure.
From 94 days to 46 days before departure
A fee of $500 per person applies plus any charges from our suppliers (airlines, hotels and other suppliers).
From 45 days or less before departure and “No Shows”
No refund will be given for cancellations less than 45 days prior to departure.
After Departure
No refund will be given for cancellation of any travel arrangements following departure or for any unused travel arrangements.
Special Circumstances
Different cancellation fees, specified in your Confirmation/Invoice, may apply to certain hotels, resorts, holidays, or periods of high demand.
A12. Changes in Travel Arrangements
We recognize that sometimes individual plans change. We will do everything possible to accommodate your change request, subject to availability. As departure date approaches, it becomes increasingly difficult, even impossible, to make any changes at all. To reduce misunderstandings, please send us all changes in writing. They will be effective on the date we receive your notice in our office.
In order for our prices to be as low as possible, our travel arrangements use special airfares which are not available to the general public, and which may have different restrictions than the normal published fares. We also use airfares which require advance purchase of tickets and which are highly restricted and non-refundable. Consequently, after reservations are confirmed, even before the ticket is issued, changes to your air tickets usually involve penalties, which may equal the entire value of the ticket. In all cases, we, and you, must abide by the airline restrictions and penalties. Please note, that once the ticket is issued, it is non-changeable and non-refundable.
We endeavor to minimize our fees for changes; the following change fees apply.
Changes More than 70 Days Before Departure:
$100 per person for each change.
Changes Less than 45 Days Before Departure:
$175 per person per change plus any applicable penalty assessed by the airline or other suppliers.
Changes After Departure:
We regret that we are not able to make refunds for any compo-nents of the inclusive travel package that you may not use, nor are we able to change air tickets.
A13. Name Changes
If one of your group members needs to cancel and you have a substitute for this person the following fees will apply:
Name Changes More than 70 Days Before Departure:
Names may be changed or substituted in writing without penalty up to 70 days prior to the scheduled trip departure date.
Name Changes Less than 70 Days to 45 days Before Departure:
A penalty of $100 will apply to any names changed or substituted in writing less than 70 days but more than 45 days prior to departure.
Name Changes Less than 45 days Before Departure:
Names may not be changed or substituted less than 45 days prior to the scheduled trip departure date due to airline’s restrictions. Requests for changes or substitutions during this time period will be treated as a cancellation of the original booking, subject to the applicable cancellation fees. A new name may be submitted as a new booking when possible, subject to payment of the full price plus a late booking fee of $175 per person.
A14. Delivery of Travel Documents
Your tickets, vouchers and other travel documents will be delivered to you about two weeks before your departure date. At that time, details of all local contacts will be provided.
A15. Trip Cost Basis and Selling Price
We purchase travel components at specially negotiated rates from air carriers, hotels and other suppliers. Our prices include costs of preparation, marketing and operation of the travel package.
The allowance for any commission or free participation which is included in your price is specified in your Proposal and Confirmation. The group organizer determines the selling price of the travel package.
A16. Foreign Currency and Price Guarantee
Our prices are based upon the foreign currency exchange rates which are in effect on the date of quotation.
Prices stated in your Confirmation are subject to increase prior to payment of the Final Payment, 65 days prior to departure, should an increase of more than 3 percent due to the exchange rate occur.
Price increases apply to the full land-portion of the inclusive basic bid price, and to the prices of other services and options, including lift tickets, excursions and pre- and post tours. Upon payment of the Final payment, the trip price will remain fixed thereafter.
However, we also offer the option of a price guarantee at the time of the First Deposit. Upon payment of an additional $125 per person for the first deposit, the trip price will remain fixed thereafter.
A17. Minimum Participation
Your price quotation is based upon the minimum number of participants specified in your Confirmation. We will always try to operate your trip even if this minimum is not reached. However, we may need to increase the price for higher costs of operating a smaller group.