Vicit Summits - Terms and Conditions
Last updated: Vicit Summits - Terms and Conditions v.2. 03.02.2023
By asking us to accept your booking request, you agree that you have both read and understood the full terms and conditions of the travel contract and that you agree to them.
Covid-19
We acknowledge the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic and accept our duty to consider any official guidance from governments or local authorities, both in the UK and whilst at the summit.
1. Before you book
1.1 Agent or Principal
When you purchase a Vicit Summit place we are acting as the Principal provider. We provide the services to you; your contract is with us and our full terms and conditions apply. Further conditions may also be applied by our suppliers and together these make the ‘conditions of contract’ and constitute the entire agreement between you and Vicit.
1.2 Services outside of your contract with Vicit
We will not be liable to you for any independent arrangements (such as flights and transfers in relation to the Summit etc) made to complement the services being provided by Vicit. Your contract(s) will be directly with the third-party supplier(s) providing those arrangements.
1.3 Special Requests
Where a special request e.g. room location, twin or double-bedded room, and/or dietary requirements etc, you must advise us before you book. Whilst we are happy to pass on any such requests, we cannot guarantee that they will be accommodated, and the provision of any special request does not constitute a term of your contract with us. Confirmation that a special request has been noted or passed on to the supplier, or the inclusion of the special request on any documentation, is not confirmation that the request will be met. Unless and until specifically confirmed, all special requests are subject to availability.
1.4 Marketing
We try to ensure that the information on our website and in our promotional material is accurate. However, trip information can change and errors can regrettably occur. Vict reserves the right to amend and/or give notice of any changes at the time of booking.
1.5 Companion Travel
Your room will be based on single occupancy so we will not allow companions to travel with you in the same room.
2. Booking & paying for your trip
2.1 Your Commitment to Us
When you wish to confirm a booking you must pay a fixed deposit specified by Vicit at the time of booking. If you make a booking within 61 days of your departure date then you must pay the full cost of the place at the booking stage.
2.2 Booking Conditions
When you make a booking, you confirm that you accept these booking conditions.
2.3 Travel Information & Documents
After booking you will receive a confirmation invoice with important information relevant to your place, inclusive of the total payment due. You must check the details carefully and notify us immediately if you believe that any of the details are incorrect.
2.4 Paying For Your Place
Full payment must be received not less than 21 days before departure. An invoice will be sent to delegates 30 days prior to the published start date. If we have not received full payment as detailed above, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you and you will forfeit your deposit or any higher sum that we are entitled to retain.
2.5 Travel Insurance
This is a vital part of any trip so please ensure you take out comprehensive travel insurance as soon as your booking has been confirmed. We strongly recommend that this includes, but is not limited to, appropriate cover against the cost of termination of the contract and the cost of any medical/other assistance, including repatriation, you might require whilst overseas. Vicit are not insurance providers and cannot offer advice on insurance products.
2.6 Passports
Every traveller requires a valid passport to travel. If your passport is endorsed in any way, please check with the relevant embassy. British passport holders should ensure a valid ten-year passport is held. We recommend that all passports are valid for a minimum of 6 months after your scheduled return to the UK as many countries require passport expiry dates to fall a considerable time beyond the dates of travel. It can take at least six weeks to get an adult passport. Requirements may change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure. If you renewed your current passport before the previous one expired, extra time may have been added to its expiry date. Any extra months on your passport over 10 years may not count towards the minimum time required for the destination(s) you are visiting. Check your passport validity by visiting https://www.gov.uk/check-a-passport-travel-europe and visit gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice for advice by country. If you are travelling on a non-British passport, you must check your requirements with the appropriate embassy, high commission or consulate. It is your responsibility to ensure you hold passports that are valid for your trip. We regret we cannot accept any liability if you are refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to failure on your part to carry all required documentation.
2.7 Our Commitment to You
We will arrange to provide you with the various services which form part of the trip you book with us. Before your booking is confirmed and a contract comes into existence, we reserve the right to increase or decrease, and correct errors in advertised prices and to change any of the information. Changes will be made known to you at the time of booking. Vicit reserves the right to refuse to accept any booking without needing to specify a reason why.
2.8 Prices
The prices we advertise are based on specially negotiated rates. At the time of booking, if there is a lack of availability, we will endeavour to secure an alternative and you will be told the impact that this has on your trip quote deposit before you book. All prices stated will be plus VAT.
2.9 Acceptance
A booking is not accepted until we have received your deposit. The date shown on your deposit confirmation is the date of booking. Please check the details on this carefully when you receive it and if anything appears to be incorrect or incomplete, contact us immediately as it may not be possible to make changes later. We cannot accept any liability if we are not notified of any inaccuracy (for which Vicit are not responsible) in any document within 10 days of our sending it out. We will do our best to rectify any mistake notified to us outside of this timeframe, but you must meet any costs involved in doing so.
3. Pre-Departure
3.1 If you want to change or cancel your place
If you want to make changes to your arrangements after the invoice has been issued, we will do our best to assist but it may not be possible. Requests for changes must be made in writing by the lead name. Changes will be subject to an administration charge of £50 per booking and payment of any further costs incurred as a result of the change. Costs are likely to increase, the closer to the departure date the changes are made.
3.2 Cancelling Your Place
If you decide to cancel your place you must notify us of the decision in writing as soon as possible. Any notification by telephone must also be followed up in writing before it can be accepted. Cancellation will take effect from the day written confirmation is received by us.
A cancellation invoice will be sent within 7 days. If you do not receive this, please contact us immediately in order to prevent an increase in charges.
Since we incur costs in cancelling your travel arrangements, the following scale of charges will be payable. Insurance premiums and amendment charges are not refundable in the event of cancellation. References to the deposit include all sums paid or payable at the time of booking.
Period prior to departure, notice of cancellation is received by us or your travel agent. Cancellation charge per person cancelling:
Prior to 61 days: full loss of deposit
60 – 42 days: 50% of total trip cost
41 – 33 days: 60% of total trip cost
32 – 15 days: 90% of total trip cost
14 days or less: 100% of total trip cost
3.3 Covid-19
3.3.1 We will not be responsible for any refunds, compensation, costs, expenses or other losses of any kind incurred by you (including, where applicable, the cost of medical treatment), in the following circumstances:
3.3.1.1 If you test positive for Covid-19 and have to quarantine for a period of time, or are notified or otherwise become aware that you have, or suspect you may have, come into close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 (or where they otherwise suspect they may have Covid-19) and have to self-isolate for a period of time. If this happens within 14 days of your departure date, you must contact us as you may no longer be able to travel.
3.3.3.2 You fail any tests, checks or other measures imposed by a supplier, airline, port or airport, border control authority or other government body or local authority or fail to submit for testing or assessment when requested to do so, and as such you are denied entry to board the flight, entry to the destination, access to the services or you are otherwise unable to proceed with the trip, or that portion of the trip.
3.3.3 You are responsible for complying with any official guidance from governments or local authorities, both in the UK and whilst on your trip. You also acknowledge that the suppliers providing your trip, including airlines, hotels and excursion providers, will need to comply with national and/or local guidance and requirements relating to Covid-19, and have implemented certain measures as a result. This will likely include specific requirements regarding personal protective equipment, such as use of face-masks by staff (and you may be required to wear a face-mask as well), social distancing, maximum number restrictions on the use of certain facilities, designated alternative entrance and exit routes, mandatory hand sanitisation, limited entertainment options and limited food/drink availability. We do not expect these measures to have a significant impact on your enjoyment of the trip and all measures will be taken with the purpose of securing your safety and that of those around you.
4. Administration and Changes
4.1 Website Accuracy
We rigorously check all trip information to ensure it is correct to the best of our knowledge before being published. Product descriptions and facilities may change before and after you book as our marketing material is prepared well in advance.
4.2 Pricing Errors
Whilst we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the pricing information provided, regrettably errors may occasionally occur. We will endeavour to notify you at the time of booking of pricing errors (if we are then aware of the mistake), within 7 days of the time of booking or as soon as reasonably possible. If a booking is already in place, you will have the choice to continue with the chosen itinerary at the corrected price or amend to a different trip. We reserve the right to cancel the booking if you do not wish to accept the price that applies to your trip or any quoted alternatives.
4.3 If We Change Or Cancel Your Trip Before Your Departure
We plan arrangements a long time in advance of your trip using independent suppliers. On occasions changes do have to be made, and we reserve the right to make these. Most of these changes are minor. However, occasionally, changes are significant.
Examples of a significant change include: a change of accommodation to that of a lower category and/or price for the whole or a major part of your time away, or a significant change of trip area. We do our best to avoid cancelling trips but we must reserve the right to do so and will only cancel your confirmed booking after you have made full payment where we are forced to do so as a result of ‘force majeure’ or lack of minimum numbers.
Period before departure within which a significant change or cancellation is notified to you as per the below.
Compensation granted:
More than 60 days: NIL
60 – 42 days: £20
41 – 28 days: £30
27 – 15 days: £40
14 – 0 days: £50
You will be offered the compensation as above, or a transfer to a summit at a later date.
4.4 Changes Due To Circumstances Beyond Our Control
Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions, we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our obligations under our contract with you is prevented or affected by, or you otherwise suffer any damage, loss or expense of any nature as a result of, "force majeure". In these booking conditions, "force majeure" means any unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances beyond our control which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not have avoided, even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Such events may include but are not limited to, whether actual or threatened: war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity and its consequences, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions; epidemics, pandemics or other outbreaks of illness, fire and any other situations which are outside our control.
4.5 Minimum Numbers
Our trips require a minimum number of participants to enable us to operate them. If the minimum number is not reached, we reserve the right to cancel your booking with compensation offered as per clause 4.3. We will advise you at least 61 days before departure if this is the case.
5. On Your Trip
5.1 Our Commitment To You For Your Trip Arrangements
5.1.1 We promise to ensure that the arrangements we have agreed to make, perform or provide as part of our contract with you are delivered with reasonable skill and care. Subject to these booking conditions, we will accept responsibility if, for example, you suffer death or personal injury or your contracted arrangements are not provided as promised or prove deficient as a result of the failure of ourselves, our employees, or suppliers to use reasonable skill and care in making, performing or providing, as applicable, your contracted trip arrangements. You must inform us without undue delay of any failure or improper performance of the travel services included in this package. It is your responsibility to show that reasonable care and skill has not been used if you wish to make a claim against us and we will only be responsible for what our employees and suppliers do or do not do if they were at the time acting within the course of their employment (for employees) or carrying out work we had asked them to do (for suppliers).
5.1.2 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: -
i) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party, or
ii) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party not connected with the provision of your trip and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable, or
iii) unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, which means a situation beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
5.1.3 For claims which do not involve personal injury, illness or death, the most we will have to pay if we are liable to you is three times the price the person affected paid for their trip (not including insurance premiums and amendment charges). We will only have to pay this maximum amount if everything has gone wrong and you have received no benefit from your trip whatsoever. Where enjoyment of only some days has been affected, we will refund reasonable related expenses and pay a daily sum of compensation up to £50 per day per person affected.
5.1.4 Further to 5.1.2 above, our liability will also be limited in accordance with and/or in an identical manner to:
i) The contractual terms of the companies that provide the travel services which make up your package. These terms are incorporated into this booking; and
5.1.5 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 any other supplier agrees to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised by us and we have not agreed to arrange them as part of our contract and any excursion you purchase in resort. In addition, regardless of any wording used by us on our website, in any advertising material or elsewhere, we only promise to use reasonable care and skill as set out above and we do not have any greater or different liability to you.
5.1.6 The promises we make to you about the services we have agreed to provide or arrange as part of our contract – and the laws and regulations of the country in which your claim or complaint occurred – will be used as the basis for deciding whether the services in question had been properly provided. If the particular services which gave rise to the claim or complaint complied with local laws and regulations applicable to those services at the time, the services will be treated as having been properly provided. This will be the case even if the services did not comply with the laws and regulations of the UK which would have applied had those services been provided in the UK. The exception to this is where the claim or complaint concerns the absence of a safety feature which might lead a reasonable traveller to refuse to take the arrangements in question. Please note, however, our obligation is to exercise reasonable skill and care as referred to in 5.1.1. We do not make any representation or commitment that all services will comply with applicable local laws and regulations and failure to comply does not automatically mean we have not exercised reasonable skill and care.
5.1.7 Our suppliers have their own booking conditions or conditions of carriage, and these conditions are binding between you and the supplier
5.1.8 If we make any payment to you or any member of your party for death, personal injury or illness, you must agree to transfer to us or our insurers any rights you may have to take direct action against the person or organisation responsible for causing the death, personal injury or illness and you must co-operate fully with us in seeking recovery of any payment that we make.
5.1.9 Operational decisions may be taken by air carriers and airports resulting in delays, diversions, overbookings, downgrades or rescheduling. Vicit has no control over such decisions and is therefore unable to accept responsibility for them. Where, as a result of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances we are obliged to change or end your trip after departure, but before the end of your trip, we will not pay compensation or reimburse you for expenses incurred. You should have adequate travel insurance for your trip and claim via your insurance company for any loss or damage to luggage and/or personal possessions.
If it is impossible to ensure your return as scheduled due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, we will bear the cost of necessary accommodation, if possible of equivalent category, for a maximum of three nights. The limit doesn’t apply to persons with reduced mobility and any person accompanying them, pregnant women and unaccompanied minors, or persons in need of specific medical assistance, provided that you notified us of these needs at least 48 hours before the start of your trip.
5.1.10 Whilst you are away on trip you may be offered the opportunity to buy optional excursions and activities. These are provided by independent local companies, which are neither owned nor controlled by Vicit, and for whom Vicit acts only as an agent (if we make a booking for you). If you decide to buy an excursion or activity, your contract will be made with the local company which provides it and it will not form part of your contracted trip arrangements with us. See 1.2 – Services Outside of your Contract with Vicit. The contract will be subject to the excursion/activity provider’s terms and conditions, some of which may exclude or limit its liability to you and will be governed by local law and jurisdiction. Vicit accepts no liability for any breach of contract or act or omission of any excursion/activity provider. Some excursions/activities may contain an element of risk or require a good level of physical fitness, and, if in doubt, you should make direct enquiries with the local provider, before deciding to buy and check that you are covered by your travel insurance policy.
5.2 If We Curtail Your Trip After Departure
Very rarely, we may be forced by "force majeure to change or terminate your trip after departure but before the scheduled end of your time away. This is extremely unlikely but if this situation does occur, we regret we will be unable to make any refunds (unless we obtain any refunds from our suppliers), pay you any compensation or meet any costs or expenses you incur as a result. Please ensure you have adequate travel insurance in place to cover any such eventuality.
5.3 Curtailment
If you cut short your trip and/or return home early in circumstances where you have no reasonable cause for complaint about the standard of accommodation and/or the trip services provided, or ii) any lack of conformity could reasonably have been remedied via the provision of alternative arrangements or an appropriate price reduction, your decision to curtail will be deemed elective. No refunds will be payable for any unused elements of your trip, and we will not be in a position to assist with any associated costs that you incur while making onward arrangements and/or returning home. We will, however, be happy to provide you with general assistance upon request. Depending on the circumstances, your travel insurance may offer cover for curtailment and we suggest that any claim is made directly with them.
5.4 Behaviour
If, in our reasonable opinion or in the opinion of any other person in authority, your behaviour is causing or is likely to cause danger, upset or damage to property or is persistently affecting the enjoyment of others, we reserve the right to terminate your trip. Should this happen, no refund or compensation will be paid to you or any member of your travelling party and we will have no further responsibility for your trip arrangements, including your return travel.
5.5 If You Have A Complaint While You Are On The Trip
You must bring any complaint to the attention of our local agent and the hotel immediately and they will do their best to rectify the situation. If matters remain unresolved, your concerns must be brought to the attention of Vicit, without undue delay It is unreasonable to delay or take no action whilst away, but then to complain upon your return and this may affect our ability to investigate and take remedial action and it may impact on the way your complaint is dealt with.