Terms and Conditions for Group Bookings

By confirming a booking with XPLOREX & CO. for a group tour, you acknowledge and agree to the terms below. They form part of your contract with us once we confirm your reservation. Using the website itself is covered by our Terms of Use.

We arrange travel as an accredited travel and tour agency (DOT Accreditation No. DOT-R03-TTA-02443-2025). For flights, hotels, transfers, and activities we act as an agent for the supplier, and those services are additionally subject to that supplier’s own conditions of carriage or booking terms.

Your quotation and statement of account carry the details specific to your trip — the travel date, the destination, the reservation deposit, the deadline for full payment, and (for visa packages) the deadline for submitting your visa documents.

A group booking reservation is a travel arrangement for individuals travelling together as one group. Airline tickets are purchased collectively under a group booking with the airline, so all members share the same flight details. Transfers, the itinerary, activities, and accommodation are likewise reserved for the group as a whole.

The cost of a group tour package is quoted as a whole and then divided equally into individual rates. Before you choose a group tour over an individual customised package, understand that your reservation fee is used to secure the group’s airline tickets and land arrangements in the destination country. Because that money is committed to suppliers on your behalf, it is not refundable. This is what allows us to lock in the package price and shield the group from movements in ticket, hotel, and land- arrangement costs.

Airline tickets and booking confirmation details are issued only once the full group payment has been received and forwarded to our suppliers. This keeps every member aligned and prevents one individual’s changes from disrupting the whole group.

Our booking officers require a reservation deposit per person to secure a slot in the group booking. A per-person reservation deposit, quoted with your package. By paying it, you confirm that you understand and accept the nature of a group booking and these terms, including the policies on rates, cancellations, and adjustments.

The deposit breaks down as follows:

• Group Rate Security Fee. Non-refundable. Holds the group rate steady. If someone drops out, this fee absorbs the increase in cost per person so the remaining travellers keep the rate they were quoted.
• Visa Application Processing Fee. Visa packages only, and non-refundable if you fail to submit complete requirements by the deadline we give you. Shown as free or not applicable where the destination needs no visa.

We accept payment only through these channels:

• Bank deposit or transfer to our company account
• GCash to our registered business number
• Cash paid at our office, against an official receipt

For a traveller with a medical condition, or in the case of the death of the client or a relative, the Group Rate Security Fee may be converted into a travel fund, provided the request concerns the person involved and reaches us on or before 45 days before departure, with medical certification. In a bereavement case this applies to first-degree relatives only.

Past that point we can no longer offer a travel fund, because the transactions with our travel partners have already been incurred. Any payment made in excess of the deposit is refunded.

Cancelling a booking results in the forfeiture of the reservation fee.

Missing an agreed deadline for document submission or payment also forfeits the reservation fee, because it delays the processing and reservation of the services the whole group booking depends on.

Bookings are non-transferable. Your slot is reserved against your participation specifically, so a booking cannot be moved to another person. This keeps the group’s arrangements intact and the travel date viable.

Paying on time and submitting complete documents is what makes a group booking work. A sudden cancellation by one participant raises the cost for everyone else. To keep the cost per person unchanged for those who comply, non-refundable amounts such as reservation fees are applied to cover the increase in unit cost caused by the cancellation.

This protects the travellers who kept to the agreed terms. We ask every participant to meet their obligations promptly so the group avoids disruption and extra charges.

A visa application starts only once the reservation fee is settled. We are strict about the deadline our visa team gives you for submitting documentary requirements, and that deadline is stated in your booking confirmation.

If you do not submit the requirements, the application is treated as non-compliant and the reservation fee is forfeited. We are not liable for a visa released late because requirements arrived after the deadline.

• Once an application is submitted and under processing, the embassy or issuing office will not allow it to be pulled out. We are not liable for flights or tours to other countries missed while an application is in process.
• We only assist with the application and processing of requirements. The decision belongs to the embassy or issuing office, and we are not liable for it.
• An applicant whose visa is denied may generally reapply after 6 months from the date of denial.
• Where a visa or e-visa is denied, we refund your payment less the reservation fee, which covers the non-refundable administrative and preliminary booking costs already incurred.

The remaining balance is due on or before 45 working days from the date of departure. Failing to pay within that period cancels the booking and forfeits the reservation fee.

• Once a slot is reserved and booked, the booked date cannot be moved to another travel date.
• If you book a package within 45 days of the travel date, the package cost is payable in full immediately, so the group booking and the issuance of tickets and service vouchers are not delayed.
• Visas and passports for clients with an approved visa are released only after the balance is paid in full.
• Rush visas and e-visas do not change the payment deadline. Expedited timelines make it more important to pay on schedule, not less, because late payment disrupts the whole group’s documents.

• Tickets are issued under the group booking, 3 to 7 days before departure, once the balance of your package is fully paid.
• For packages booked close to the travel date, e-tickets are keyed in manually by our airline operator — expect them 1 to 3 days before departure.
• Service vouchers are issued 3 to 7 days before departure.
• The hotel named in the quotation may change depending on availability. Any replacement will be of the same category. The final hotel is confirmed at the pre-departure meeting and stated on your service voucher.
• The itinerary may be re-ordered on site because of traffic or weather. Personal trips or activities outside the package are not our responsibility. The final arrangement is discussed at the pre-departure meeting and sent with the service voucher.

Group bookings are subject to a minimum number of participants. If the group has not reached that number at least 45 days before the scheduled departure, the booking is treated as unfulfilled. You then have two options:

1. Reschedule the travel date to a later available date, subject to availability and any rate adjustment.
2. Take a refund of unused services, subject to the cancellation policies of the airlines, hotels, and transport providers involved.

Only services already used — visa processing and other completed transactions — are non-refundable, and we give you a written breakdown of every deduction before processing the refund. We will tell you as soon as it becomes clear the group may not fill, so you have time to choose.

Confirmed bookings are non-cancellable, non-transferable to other destinations or blocking dates, and non-refundable — including for personal reasons such as a change of mind or being unavailable on the chosen travel date. The exceptions are:

• fire, flood, storm, pandemic or epidemic, war or acts of war, insurrection, riot or civil commotion, terrorism, strikes, lockouts or other labour disturbance, explosion, sabotage, accident, government order, a change in law or regulation, shortages of fuel or power, acts of God, and acts, omissions, or delays by any government or military authority; and
• direct cancellation by the airline or our partner tour operator.

We are not responsible for a flight cancelled, rescheduled, or delayed by the airline operator, and neither we, our employees, nor our sub-agents are liable for such a change. Our staff will nevertheless help you rearrange the package within the restrictions the airline and hotel allow.

If a flight is rescheduled while you are travelling, the extra transport, hotel, and meal costs are not part of your original package and are not provided by us. Additional services carry additional fees.

Where the airline cancels a flight because of weather, the airline and tour operators refund what we paid them as a travel fund, and you may choose:

1. Rebook to the next available flight, provided the partner tour operator can accommodate the new date and every client in the group booking agrees to it. The new date carries the same inclusions as the original package; any change costs extra.
2. Convert what you paid into a travel fund usable on another of our group tour packages. A difference in price is either charged or refunded, depending on the new package.

An unused reservation, ticket, hotel, or tour is non-refundable and non-transferable where entry is denied by an immigration officer, because payment for the whole group tour has already been incurred. Late check-in at the airport is likewise your accountability: missed tours, transfers, activities, and hotel nights are not refundable, since all of them are served to us by our tour operators as a group.

Where XPLOREX & CO. fails to meet its obligations under these terms, you may be entitled to a refund. The process is:

1. Complaint form. Report the issue in writing to xplorex.travel@gmail.com so management can investigate.
2. Investigation. Management verifies the complaint.
3. Acknowledgement form. If the complaint is valid, you complete a form stating the refund amount, what it covers, and your bank details.
4. Refund. Refunds are issued by check deposit.

Raise a problem while you are travelling if you can — call us on 0917 173 8176. Most things can be fixed on the spot, and a problem reported only after you get home is much harder to put right. We acknowledge written complaints within two (2) working days and aim to resolve them within fifteen (15). Unresolved complaints may be escalated to the Department of Tourism or to the Department of Trade and Industry.

We are not responsible for incidents caused by the traveller, including:

• the traveller’s personal choices;
• negligence in obtaining the travel documents, visas, and permits needed to leave and enter the countries of origin and destination;
• document validity. It is your sole responsibility to ensure your passport, visa, and other travel documents are valid, current, and compliant with the entry requirements of your destination. We are not liable for disruption, delay, or denied entry caused by invalid, expired, or insufficient documentation. Check the expiry dates well ahead of your travel date;
• non-compliance with the laws, regulations, orders, and travel requirements of the countries involved;
• services not covered by the package you availed of; and
• flight delays or cancellations resulting in extra nights of accommodation, which are subject to additional cost.

Nothing here limits any liability that cannot lawfully be limited, including your rights under the Consumer Act of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 7394) and liability for fraud, death, or personal injury caused by our negligence.

We strongly recommend comprehensive travel insurance covering medical care, cancellation, and baggage. Some destinations require it as a condition of entry.

These terms are governed by Philippine law, and disputes fall to the proper courts of Bulacan — without prejudice to your right to bring a consumer complaint before the appropriate government agency.