Privacy Policy

LAOS GROUP TOURS - A proud member of and operated by Huy Minh Travel. The following terms and conditions are applied to bookings made by you through your usage of www.laostravel.com .
 
Please read the booking terms & conditions carefully. By asking us to confirm your booking, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the terms outlined in this document as well as the specific day to day demands of your chosen tour program and agree to be bound by them. References to “us”, “we”, “our” and/or “Laos Group Tours”, “Huy Minh Travel” in these booking terms and conditions shall mean Huy Minh Travel, and includes our subsidiaries; “you” and “your”, “client”, “customer” means all persons named on the booking (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date) or any of them as the context requires; and “tour”, “holiday”, “package”, “booking”, “contract”, or “arrangements” mean such holiday arrangements unless otherwise stated.
 
These terms and conditions apply to bookings you make with our travel consultants (over phone or by email) as well as online bookings you make on our websites.
 
1. PRICING & SERVICES
We offer confidential rates based on market research, competition analysis, strategic negotiation and in-depth information for each specific season in each destination. These rates are offered under the condition that they cannot be displayed in any way to third parties. Rates are quoted in USD currency only. All quoted rates, unless otherwise specified, are net and non-commissionable.
 
Published prices on our websites are based on costs at the time of publication. We reserve the right to change published prices at any time before your booking is made.
 
Hoteliers and/or suppliers in the region may require us to adhere to a Recommended Retail Price (RRP), or Suggested Selling Price (SSP), which will be communicated to you for implementation where required.
 
All hotel rates in our confidential tariff are per room per night and inclusive of all applicable charges and taxes, unless otherwise specified; all tours and transfer rates in our confidential tariff are per person and inclusive of all applicable charges and taxes, unless otherwise specified; specific services from outside our confidential tariff will be offered on a case by case basis.
 
Many hotels include compulsory special Gala Dinners on Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and sometimes on national and/or other festive occasions in each country. This is a compulsory charge, and will be communicated and invoiced by us where applicable.
 
2. TAXES
Unless otherwise specified, all quoted rates are inclusive of applicable taxes (including service charges, Value Added Taxes and/or locally charged taxes). Domestic tourism taxes and/or airport taxes may be applicable and are not included. These need to be paid directly to the relevant authority, by the traveler.
In the event of government imposed tax changes, we reserve the right to alter the rates accordingly. We will work to avoid this from occurring. However, we reserve right to collect any differentials from the clients individually, which may arise.
 
3. DEPOSIT & PAYMENT
30% of the total tour cost to be deposited upon commitment of the tour, this deposit is non-refundable. This amount will be paid by credit card (Our Travel Consultant will send you the link to pay online) or by bank transfer. This is required to confirm your booking.
Pre-payment procedures during high/peak seasons may also vary, depending on the accommodation policy to guarantee the booking. We will inform you accordingly about this for each individual case.
The remaining balance of the tour cost (70%) will be paid at least 14 days prior to arrival date.
In case of urgent booking, full payment will be required.
There may be additional fees required – we will advise specifically case by case.
 
Notes:
- If the total booking price amounts is less than US$ 600.00, the full advance payment is required.
- The services of Mekong River Cruises (South Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos) and Booking of River Cruise in Myanmar are non-refundable. According to the contract of the cruise companies, this service once booked is non-refundable. We apply the non-refundable rate policy to these tours that include this service.
- Depending on the cost of flights including in each booking or the value of each package, our travel consultants will request the deposit more or less than 30% of the tour value.
- Depending on the group size (number of participants) in each booking or the value of each package, our travel consultants will request the full payment more than 30 days prior to arrival date.
- Final payment must be confirmed and validated by us. We are not responsible for errors or omissions that may occur as a result of the transfer of incorrect information from you or third party travel service suppliers.
- In case you write any wrong information (not the same as we officially provided) and it takes time to amend, we will request you to pay by other method such as credit card or cash to secure your booking. Otherwise, your service will be released.
 
3.1. Pay by credit card
We accept Debit/ Credit Card such as: Visa Card, Master Card, Amex Card. Please ask our travel consultants to get the SSL online payment link.
Note: When you pay by Visa/ Master Credit/ Debit Card, please add 3% of convenient fee and 4.5% if by Amex Card (our headquarter is located in Vietnam, banks issuing international payment cards can charge a commission fee on each foreign transaction – and we shall not responsible for such fees. We do not add this convenient fee hiddenly into our quotation).
 
3.2. Bank transfer
Our travel consultants will show you in detail.
 
4. CANCELLATION & REFUND
4.1. Cancellation by you
You may cancel the booking at any time provided that the cancellation is communicated to us in writing. Your notice of cancellation will only take effect when it is received in writing by us and will be effective from the date on which we receive it. It is important to be aware that once your deposits are paid, should you wish to cancel at any time thereafter, the deposits are non-refundable. In addition the cancellation penalties detailed below will be applied. It is strongly recommended that you have suitable cancellation insurance coverage from the time of booking. The following rules apply for cancellations:
* If a group is from 1 to 8 people:
More than Twenty One (21) days prior to departure: The total deposit paid to us (30% of the Tour value) will be spent for the administrative fee in accordance with canceling advanced arrangements, and the rest amount of money (if any) will be valid for one (1) year from the date the deposit was received. During this time (365 days) the amount can be applied to other tours and services. After one (1) year the deposit amount is forfeited.
- 7-21 days prior to departure: 50% on total value of the trip charged.
- Within 1-6 days prior to departure: 100% on total charged.
- No-Show: 100% on total charge.
* If a group is more than 8 people:
- More than Sixty (60) days prior to departure: The total deposit paid to us (30% of the Tour value) will be spent for the administrative fee in accordance with canceling advanced arrangements, and the rest amount of money (if any) will be valid for one (1) year from the date the deposit was received. During this time (365 days) the amount can be applied to other tours and services. After one (1) year the deposit amount is forfeited.
- 30- 60 days prior to departure: Loss of deposit plus any administration fees.
- 15-29 days prior to departure: 50% of total booking cost or deposit - whichever is the greater amount.
- Within 1-14 days prior to departure: 100% of total booking cost.
- No-Show: 100% on total charge.
 
Notes:
- We will endeavour to recover as much as possible from suppliers to pass on to the customer. Regrettably cancellation charges and fees cannot be waived.
- Certain arrangements (such as flight, rail tickets) may not be amended after they have been confirmed and any alteration or cancellation could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements in addition to the charge above.
- Should one or more members of a party cancel, it may increase the per person booking price of those still travelling and you will be liable to pay this increase.
- Other cases will be notified specifically by our travel consultant based on actual booking terms & price conditions that charged by our suppliers in case of amendment or cancellation.
- Tailor-made tours may be subject to alternative cancellation terms, please discuss with our travel consultants for further information.
 
4.2. Cancellation or modification by us
We aim to operate all tours as advertised but by as we plan the tours many months in advance, we may occasionally have to make changes or cancel your booking and we reserve the right to do so at any time. We will notify you as soon as possible of any material changes. In the event of any material modification or cancellation we will, if possible, arrange on your behalf three alternatives:
- Services of an equivalent or similar standard, if available;
- Services of a lower standard together with a refund of the difference in price;
- Cancellation with a full refund of all money paid.
After you have paid in full, we will only cancel the contract if circumstances beyond our control make it unavoidable. Such circumstances are in the clause 17 (Force Majeure). In the unlikely event that such circumstances arise, we will contact you immediately and offer you the choice of equivalent services or a full refund of all monies paid. No additional compensation will be paid over and above the total sum received from you.
 
5. UNUSED SERVICES
No refunds or exchanges can be made with respect to accommodation, meals, sightseeing tours, transport or any other services, included in the tour price, but not utilized by the tour members.
 
6. PASSPORT
For all travel to and from the countries in which we operate, a valid passport is required at all times. Conditions for specific validity of passports and regulations for other valid travel documentation can be obtained from each respective embassy and/or consulate in the client’s native country. For most countries, passports need to be valid for at least six months from the date of entry at a border post/airport/seaport and with at least 2 blank pages.
 
7. VISA
In addition to passport requirements, visas for certain countries are required. These can either be obtained in the country of residence prior to departure or on arrival at immigration or a visa processing desk. Full details about the specific visa conditions and requirements to obtain visas for each specific country can be obtained from your consultant or from your embassy and/or consulate in the client’s native country.
 
8. TRAVEL INSURANCE
We strongly recommend that you obtain travel insurance from your country before and during your travel. Neither Laos Group Tours nor our agents/suppliers or business partners shall/and can be held responsible for any loss, or damaged or stolen personal belongings.
 
9. HEALTH & SAFETY
We value health and safety as its top priority in the selection of product and provision of its services. All clients are encouraged by our guides to follow the safety regulations for any service provided. We check hotels, restaurants and other suppliers to ensure they meet our health and safety standards before recommending them to any of our clients.
Neither Laos Group Tours nor any of our representatives will be responsible for any illness, injury or death sustained on your trip except where such illness, injury or death is caused by negligence or that of our representatives, nor will we be liable for any uninsured loss of personal property.
 
10. ACCOMMODATION
There are limited hotels/resorts, with standard triple rooms in their inventory. These are commonly double/twin rooms with an extra (rollaway) bed, limiting space within the room. Please inform all concerned accordingly to correctly manage expectations. Extra bed rates / triple sharing room rates are available in the confidential tariff.
Single room supplements are indicated in the confidential tariff. It is common that the provided rooms are twin/double rooms for single use only.
Preferences such as smoking/non-smoking, interconnecting rooms, king-size beds, and location of the room cannot be guaranteed or confirmed in advance and are subject to hotel policy and availability at time of check-in.
 
11. HOTEL RATING
Although hotels/guest houses/accommodation in the region may provide you with information about their qualification, the properties used and offered by Laos Group Tours in this part of the world may not all have official star qualification issued by an official government-accredited hotel association in the country of operation. We provide you with its own internal star qualification which is based on its own experience and certain criteria to ensure you have an interpretation of the qualification. We cannot be held liable in any way for this star qualification.
 
12. TOURS
We will arrange sightseeing excursions and transportation as contracted in a professional manner. English, Italian, Spanish or other language speaking guides are provided to escort clients on all tour programs as per the proposed itinerary. Tours include entrance fees, meals (where mentioned) excluding any drinks, and other expenses, specifically mentioned in the tour program inclusions. All services provided by Laos Group Tours, our employees or agents are of the highest possible standard. All tour guides are licensed and will be responsible for demonstrating any safety equipment and highlighting any safety risk before commencing any activities on tour.
 
13. TRANSFERS & TRANSPORTATION
Unless otherwise stated, we will provide for each destination according to the rates provided in our tariff. Transfer service includes the meet and greet of travelers with a name sign and transportation according to the booked itinerary.
 
Where possible, we use coaches and cars, contracted on a long-term basis. Transportation (road or water transport) is operated by fully-licensed drivers / operators, in accordance with local safety standards. Vehicles are maintained in accordance with manufacturers’ specifications, kept clean and in good working order, registered and insured adequately. Water transport will be of a similar quality and lifejackets will be provided for all clients.
 
We aim to keep clients aware that standards of transportation in each destination are different, yet we are committed to the best available means of transportation in that specific area of operation.
 
We cannot be held responsible for any missed connecting transport that you have booked independently of Laos Group Tours.
 
14. SHOPPING & OTHER SERVICES
Shopping can be fun and entertaining, especially in local boutiques and markets, where many copies of international brand names can be purchased for next to nothing. However, Laos Group Tours, our staffs and employees are neither qualified nor permitted to ensure or guarantee the quality or value of any goods purchased or the suitability of any retail outlets visited and the security of using a credit card to purchase such goods. In all cases, the purchasing of goods and the use of a credit card for those transactions is entirely at your own risk and at all times you must use your own discretion. Leisure activities and services undertaken during free time is at the customer’s own discretion.
 
15. COMPLAINS & CUSTOMER SERVICE
A dedicated Customer Care team is assigned to handle any customer service issues whilst on the ground. We consider complaints as valuable feedback to improve service delivery levels. We request that service delivery failures or customer concerns, be reported during the guest’s stay to one of our representatives (travel consultants, Managing Director). It is the aim of the company to solve any irregularity immediately. In the event that you do not notify us in writing within 14 days of completion of the tour, our ability to investigate negative feedback may be prejudiced.
 
16. LICENSES & PERMITS
All Laos Group Tours offices, subcontracted suppliers and other service providers used comply with license and permit requirements, based on the relevant regulations of each country in which we operate.
 
17. FORCE MAJEURE
During the term of this agreement, neither party shall be in default of its obligations to the extent that its performance is delayed or prevented by causes beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to, acts of God, natural disasters, bankruptcy of a vendor, strikes and other labor disturbances, acts of war, or civil disturbances, or other equivalent or comparable events.
 
18. LEGAL NOTE
This agreement is governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Vietnam (and/or applicable in relation to the country it is legally represented) for the time being in force and the parties agree to submit any dispute arising between the parties under this agreement to arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the respectable Arbitration Institute, Office of the Judiciary applicable at the time of submission of the dispute to arbitration and the conduct of the arbitration thereof shall be under the auspices of the specific Arbitration Institute accordingly.
 
19. LIABILITY
We act as an intermediary between all airlines, hotels, local tourist offices and other service providers. Therefore, we reserve the right to modify tours and itineraries with or without notice. Our tours are organized in conjunction with the respective airline(s) scheduled flights, therefore, itineraries and timetables are provisional and subject to change without notice. Acknowledgement and confirmation of the above-mentioned conditions is active, once clients participate in one of the provided services via Laos Group Tours.
 
20. VALIDITY
These Terms and Conditions are valid at the time of publication but is subject to change without prior notice. However, should any changes occur, they will be posted on the website immediately.