Partner Agency Terms

These terms apply to the travel agency (“the Agency”) whose offers are presented on TrekFriendly. The Agency’s account accepts them on activation, then with each new version.

1. Who does what?

The Agency is the organiser and seller of its trips. The travel contract is concluded between the traveller and the Agency, on the Agency’s terms of sale.

TrekFriendly SRL (enterprise number 1043.353.180, Clos Chanmurly 2B, 4000 Liège, Belgique), hereinafter “TrekFriendly”, presents the Agency’s offers, passes on travellers’ booking requests and invoices the Agency a distribution commission. TrekFriendly does not organise the trips, does not sell them and is not a party to the contract between the traveller and the Agency.

2. The traveller’s money never passes through TrekFriendly

The traveller pays the Agency directly, following the Agency’s payment instructions (payment link, bank transfer or other means). TrekFriendly never collects, receives, holds or transfers the traveller’s money. No payment takes place on the platform for an agency offer.

The price displayed on TrekFriendly is the Agency’s public price per person. The traveller pays the same price as if they booked directly with the Agency: the Agency does not charge them any extra or any fee because of the commission.

3. Admission and mandatory documents

There is no open registration: TrekFriendly creates the Agency’s profile, then invites it to activate its account. To be published, the Agency must have validated with TrekFriendly three documents, all in date:

• its licence or approval as a travel agency in its country;
• an insolvency guarantee (certificate from the insurer, fund or bank providing it);
• professional liability insurance.

For each document, the Agency provides the document, its number, its issuer and its start and end dates. TrekFriendly checks and validates each document before publication. The Agency submits a new document before the previous one expires, from its area; it remains pending until validated. TrekFriendly notifies the Agency by email 30 days and 7 days before a validated document expires. Only the Agency and TrekFriendly can view the files submitted.

The licence number and the name of the insolvency guarantor are shown to travellers on the listing of each offer.

4. Suspension, withdrawal and end of the partnership

If the Agency ceases to be in good standing (a document expires, or the account is suspended), its published offers are withdrawn from the platform and the Agency is informed. As soon as the Agency is again in good standing, only the offers withdrawn for that reason are put back online.

Trips already sold remain the Agency’s responsibility. TrekFriendly may also suspend the Agency in the event of a serious breach of these terms or of the law. Any suspension or withdrawal of an offer is notified to the Agency with written reasons no later than when it takes effect. The Agency may challenge it by writing to info@trekfriendly.com.

The Agency may end the partnership at any time, from its area or by email. TrekFriendly may end it with 30 days’ reasoned notice, or without notice in the event of a serious breach or a legal obligation. Requests already paid remain governed by these terms until they appear on a statement.

5. Offers and information to the traveller

The Agency writes its offers, guarantees their accuracy and sets a public price per person, in euros. Offers go through a review by TrekFriendly before publication. TrekFriendly may refuse or withdraw an offer that is contrary to these terms or to the law; it gives the reason.

The Agency, as organiser, provides the traveller with the pre-contractual information and the official standard information form required by law, and publishes the link to its terms of sale. Cancellation, modification and refund of a trip are governed by those terms and by the law. If the Agency cancels a departure on the platform, its pending and confirmed requests are cancelled and travellers are notified by email.

6. Display order of offers

Agency offers appear in the same catalogue as other offers, with the “Partner agency” badge. By default, the catalogue shows the most recently published offers first. The traveller can filter offers, sort them by price or rating, and rank them by distance around a place. The commission rate does not influence the display order, and no Agency can pay to be placed higher.

7. Booking requests and response time

The traveller sends a booking request for an open departure. The Agency replies from its area: it confirms the request, stating the total amount, the payment method and a payment deadline before departure, or declines it, giving a reason of at least 10 characters, which is passed on to the traveller.

The Agency replies within 72 hours of the request being sent. It receives a reminder 24 hours before the deadline. If there is no reply, the request expires, the traveller is notified and their contact details are masked.

As soon as it receives the traveller’s payment, the Agency marks the request as “paid” on the platform.

8. Commission and monthly statement

TrekFriendly sets for the Agency a commission rate between 0 and 50%, communicated on its admission (10% by default). It applies to the public price of the trip, that is to the total amount confirmed by the Agency for each request marked “paid”, rounded to the nearest cent. The rate in force when the request is sent is kept for that request, even if the Agency’s rate later changes.

Each month, TrekFriendly draws up a statement of the paid requests whose departure took place before the end of the past month and which appear on no statement. It details each request, its commission and the total of the commissions, excluding VAT. A request cancelled before its departure appears on no statement. The statement is visible in the Agency’s area as soon as it is issued, with its invoice number. The commission invoice is issued by TrekFriendly outside the website and sent to the Agency. VAT is applied according to the country in which the Agency is established (reverse charge for a taxable Agency established in another Member State). The Agency pays the invoice by its due date.

The Agency marks as “paid” all the requests it has collected and does not circumvent the commission. For requests confirmed but not marked “paid” 7 days after departure, TrekFriendly sends the Agency a reminder so that it regularises the position.

9. The traveller’s personal data

To process a request, the Agency receives the traveller’s name, email and telephone number, the number of participants and any message. On receipt, the Agency is the controller of this data for its relationship with the traveller. It uses it to reply to the request and perform the trip, protects it, and does not pass it on for other purposes. After a refusal, an expiry, a withdrawal or a cancellation, the traveller’s name, email, telephone number and message are no longer displayed to the Agency on the platform; only their first name and the number of participants remain visible.

TrekFriendly processes data for the operation of the platform: see its Privacy Policy.

10. Liability

The Agency is responsible for the organisation and performance of its trips, for travellers’ safety, for the accuracy of its information and for the guarantees that the law imposes on it. It holds TrekFriendly harmless from travellers’ claims that relate to the organisation or performance of a trip it has sold.

TrekFriendly is liable for its own platform obligations. Its liability to the Agency is limited to direct damage, and to an amount equal to the commissions invoiced to the Agency during the last 12 months, with a minimum of €1,000. This limit applies neither to fraud, nor to wilful misconduct or gross negligence, nor to personal injury. These terms do not limit any right that the law gives to travellers or to the Agency.

11. Complaints, changes and governing law

The Agency handles travellers’ complaints about its trips itself and informs TrekFriendly if they concern the platform. TrekFriendly may amend these terms by notifying the Agency by email at least 15 days before the new version takes effect. The Agency may end the partnership before that date. The Agency accepts the new version from its area, and its offers are published only if it has accepted the version in force.

These terms are governed by Belgian law. Any dispute falls within the jurisdiction of the courts of the judicial district of Liège. For any question, write to info@trekfriendly.com.