A Special Announcement Regarding Empire Travel Consultants
Jan 1, 2024
We hope that everyone has been staying safe and healthy during these unusual times over the past several months.
With the events of Covid-19 and the growing demand of post-COVID travel, we’ve been looking at ways to ensure a sustainable Travel Agency business model going forward.
Some of you may already know that in most situations, Travel Consultants only get paid once their client returns from their travels. With over 85% of our client’s 2020 vacations cancelled we continue to work on these files to cancel vacations, assist with insurance claims and reschedule vacations into 2021 with no compensation for any extra work being done.
Therefore, after careful thought and consideration, going forward we have decided to institute travel consulting and research fees for all new travel bookings effective Jan 1, 2024.
Over the past 3 years, we have already been charging fees for air only bookings and for custom FIT (fully independent travel). Going forward we will also be charging fees for car rental bookings, hotel bookings, group packaged tours, cruises and all-inclusive vacations.
Like other professionals such as hairstylists, personal trainers, mechanics or massage therapists we feel that these fees are more than reasonable for our expertise and for the level of service that we provide. With professional expertise attained through extensive training and ongoing educational development in the travel industry, we research travel products and provide recommendations to meet your specific needs saving you time and money and providing peace of mind before, during and after your travels. These fees are payable before any work is started on your trip and a signed consultation fee agreement will be required.
We understand that it will not be in every client’s budget to pay a minimal consulting and research fee, and if that is the case we do understand and we wish you the best in your future travels. For those clients who would like to continue to work with us and this new fee structure, we look forward to working with you. Below, you will find our fee structure going forward.
Thank you again for your support!
NEW FEE STRUCTURE
$75 + HST for any individual flight, hotel or car rental components
$50 + HST per adult for all inclusive bookings, cruise bookings, tour bookings or $120 + HST per family.
$200 + HST and UP for group planning and complicated custom itinerary planning (will depend on how complicated the itinerary is and how many hours are estimated up front to plan).
$25+ HST for any changes post-booking such as name changes, date changes, etc.
$50 per person for ANY cancellations, even cancellations due to illness.
Terms & Conditions
As part of travel policies, passengers will be required to sign a waiver agreeing to the following conditions:
The Passenger has read and understands the travel restrictions and warnings advised by the government of Canada at https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/health-safety/covid-19-security
The Passenger has read and understands the travel advice and advisories for the destination they are traveling to at https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories
The Passenger understands that it is their responsibility to fulfill the destination country requirements for entry due to current COVID-19 rules. This could include but is not limited to: negative COVID testing prior to arrival, submitting necessary documentation to immigration prior to arrival, obtaining proper medical coverage that covers COVID-19, subject to COVID-19 testing on arrival, etc. The agents of Empire Travel are not responsible if you are denied entry due to failure to check & fulfill the entry requirements prior to arrival.
It is Passenger’s responsibility to:
Ensure you understand and agree to the terms and conditions of the chosen suppliers prior to asking the advisor/agent to book your trip on your behalf.
Ensure you take the time to read the understand the information provided to you. Some of this information may be mandatory; such as but not limited to, documentation requirements, airport arrival deadlines for flights, and vaccination information.
To provide the us with the correct information for your trip. This includes but not limited to; Legal Names as per your travel documentation, Gender, Date of Birth. Suppliers can deny boarding if information is not correct, and incorrect information may not be able to be changed once trip is booked. It could result in forfeit of funds and full rebook at current rates.
Be sure you take the time read and understand your supplier travel documentation at least one week prior to travel.
Complete all supplier(s) online check-in during the time given. • For Flights reconfirm all flights times before heading, to the airport and keep a close eye on gate numbers as they may change.
The Passenger understands that they may have difficulty obtaining essential products or services, face strict movement restrictions and quarantines while in or traveling to or from the destination, and that consular services may be limited.
The Passenger understands that they may be subjected to health screening, health questionnaires, COVID-19 testing, or even quarantining during their travels. The quarantining, if required, would be at a government-approved facility at The Passenger’s expense, with no refunds issued for the cost of the trip.
The Passenger understands that their insurance may not cover travel or medical expenses.
The Passenger understands that commercial airspace closures and movement restrictions can occur without warning and could prevent your return to Canada.
The Passenger has read, understands and agrees to the booking terms and conditions of the travel supplier as per their website including the change and cancellation policy and fees.
The Passenger agrees that they will be required to self-isolate for 14 days when they return to Canada. This is mandatory as per the Quarantine Act. This includes going directly to a place of quarantine without stopping anywhere, being in a place where there will have no contact with vulnerable people such as over 65 years or older or people with underlying medical conditions, they cannot have visitors or leave the quarantine area and must keep a distance of at least 2 metres from others
The Passenger agrees that if they develop COVID-19 symptoms within 14 days of their return, that they isolate from all others, immediately call a health care professional and extend the quarantine to 14 days following the appearance of symptoms.
The Passenger understands that if they have symptoms consistent with COVID-19, they may not enter Canada by air, to protect the health of all travelers
The Passenger acts on behalf of and represents every person(s) as listed on their invoice and who had booked in this travel reservation. The parties’ consent to electronic signature as an acceptable means to constitute a written acceptance of this Agreement, in which case, the signatures of the parties shall be deemed to be original.
