BOOKING TERMS + CONDITIONS

These are the Terms and Conditions that apply to all current bookings. Please read them carefully as you will be bound by them. 

By making a booking with Lotus Sojourns, you accept these Terms and Conditions. A booking is accepted and becomes definite once you make a payment and we send you a confirmation email. Even after this initial confirmation, there may be changes to your booking. Lotus Sojourns reserves the right to increase or decrease trip prices. Lotus Sojourns reserves the right to change or update these terms and conditions at any time and without advance notice. 

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

You may secure your spot in a retreat with a deposit until the “Balance Due Date” as listed in the table below. If you make a new booking after the Balance Due Date, full payment is required to secure your spot (if any are still available).

Balance Due Date / Cancellation Deadline 
Domestic (U.S.) Sojourns - 90 days before Sojourn start 
International Sojourns - 120 days before Sojourn start

After booking your Sojourn with a payment, you will receive a booking confirmation email. Confirmation of your participation does not necessarily mean that your trip is confirmed to depart as scheduled. Each itinerary is typically confirmed to proceed as scheduled by the balance payment due date specific to that itinerary.

PRICING

All prices are quoted and payable in USD. Lotus Sojourns is not responsible for any fees incurred due to currency exchange or fees charged by your credit card/bank for processing funds in another currency.

CANCELLATION BY YOU

You may choose one of the options below up until the retreat’s “Balance Due Date”. After your retreat’s Balance Due date, bookings are non-refundable and non-transferrable. For this reason, we strongly encourage you to purchase travel insurance with appropriate coverage. 

Option 1: Transfer your payment to a different Sojourn date and/or destination (less the cancellation fee of $500) taking place within the next 12 months. A $100 booking transfer fee is required to process this booking change.

Option 2: Cancel your booking and receive a refund less the applicable cancellation fee (equal to the amount of your non-refundable trip deposit).

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Pro Tip: We highly recommend that when you purchase travel insurance you include cancellation coverage, which may reimburse you for non-refundable trip costs in the event you cancel due to injury or illness. This kind of coverage must be purchased soon after paying your trip deposit. Refer to your travel insurance provider’s website for specific purchase terms, requirements and eligibility. We can provide you with a receipt for your non-refundable purchase that you can use to file your claim with the insurance company.
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CANCELLATION / RESCHEDULE BY LOTUS SOJOURNS 

Lotus Sojourns reserves the right to cancel or reschedule any trip for any reason, but will not cancel a tour less than 90 days before departure except for Force Majeure, natural disasters, pandemic, travel bans, war, civil unrest or other unusual or unforeseen circumstances outside the LS’s control.

When a tour is canceled by Lotus Sojourns before the agreed date of departure for any reason, you have a number of options:

Option 1) Transfer your payment (less any non-refundable costs already paid to suppliers) to the same retreat in the future, or to a different retreat. Tell us which retreat you choose and we will apply all remaining funds to your new booking. The $100 book transfer fee does not apply.

Option 2) Put your payment (less any non-refundable costs already paid to our suppliers) on file as credit with no expiration date. 

Option 3) Request a refund to you less any credit card processing fees, cancellation fees, and nonrefundable deposits we paid to local suppliers on your behalf. We work with our suppliers within each destination to minimize the amount of non-refundable costs and recover as much of your money as possible.

 

Note: You can file a claim with your travel insurance provider for reimbursement of the non-refundable portion of your retreat payment. We can provide you with a receipt and notice of cancellation for this insurance claim. 

 

To cancel your retreat, please reach out to us at: [email protected] or call 406- 240- 8214. Please do not request a chargeback from your credit card company. We will work with you process your refund in a timely manner.

Lotus Sojourns is not responsible for any incidental expenses or consequential losses that the Client may have incurred as a result of the booking such as visas, vaccinations, non-refundable flights or rail, non-refundable car parking or other fees, loss of earnings, or loss of enjoyment, etc. If the Client is offered a refund but requests an alternate tour of a higher value than that originally booked, then the Client must pay the difference in price.

Where, after departure, a significant element of the trip contracted for cannot be provided, LS will make suitable alternative arrangements for the continuation of the trip. If it is not possible to provide a suitable alternative or the Client reasonably rejects any suitable alternatives, LS will provide the Client a refund of unused tour portions. Where a significant alteration or cancellation occurs which is not due to Force Majeure or other circumstances beyond the LS’s control, LS will in some circumstances offer compensation. Significant alterations do not include the substitution of a transportation method, modification of itineraries, change in hotel accommodation or meal offering.

PRIVATE ROOM UPGRADE CHARGES FOR SOLO TRAVELERS

Private-room accommodations are subject to a private-room upgrade package price, which guarantees a private room without a roommate (where available). See individual trip pages on our website for pricing details. In order to keep our private-room package prices as low as possible, on occasion private rooms may be smaller than shared occupancy rooms. Private-room accommodations may not available on all trips. Additionally, we cannot always guarantee private accommodations, even after reservations and confirmations have been made.

SHARED ROOM CHARGES FOR TRAVELERS WISHING TO BE PAIRED WITH A ROOMMATE

For guests who wish to book into a shared accommodate package, we are happy to pair you with a roommate. We will do our best to find a roommate; however, if we cannot arrange a match, Lotus Sojourns may charge 50% of the private-room surcharge. Please consult specific trip pages on our website for details. This amount will be charged approximately 30 prior to departure for domestic trips and 60 days prior to departure for international trips.

AIRFARE

Lotus Sojourns trips do not include national or international airfare. You are responsible for your airfare and are responsible for any non-refundable expenses you incur in the event we cancel a retreat (generally not less than 90 days before it begins). Please purchase travel insurance covering all of your travel expenses.

TRAVEL + HEALTH INSURANCE

Lotus Sojourns highly recommends you obtain travel medical insurance with a minimum medical coverage of $100,000. This insurance must cover personal injury and emergency medical expenses including, but not limited to, helicopter evacuation, air ambulance and repatriation. It is strongly recommended the coverage be extended to include cancellation, curtailment, and all other expenses that might arise as a result of loss, damage, injury, delay or inconvenience that may occur during travel. 

We recommend booking with our trusted colleagues at Wanderwell Travel Insurance.

MEDICAL CONDITIONS + SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

You must notify us in writing during the process of booking (on your registration form) of any medical conditions, pregnancy, disability or any other mental and or physical condition which may affect fitness to travel and/or any medical condition. This includes any symptoms of Covid-19 or our suspected exposure to the virus that causes Covid-19. Failure to notify us of such a medical condition may result in your being refused travel, in which case the client is bound by the cancellation terms as laid out here.

Some itineraries may be unsuitable for you due to age, mobility, disability, pregnancy or physical or mental conditions. It is your responsibility to clear major medical issues with your doctor and with a Lotus Sojourns representative prior to booking. We may refuse to carry pregnant women over 24 weeks or clients with certain conditions. Lotus Sojourns is not required to provide any special facilities unless it has agreed to do so in writing. We do our best to meet clients’ special requests including dietary restrictions, but such requests do not form part of the booking contract and therefore Lotus Sojourns is not liable for not providing these requests. Medical facilities vary from country to country and we makes no representations and gives no warranties in relation to the standard of such treatment.

EVACUATION PROCEDURES AND COSTS

Evacuations costs are to be covered by the person being evacuated. You may file a claim with your travel insurance company to try to recoup any additional costs related to injury or illness treatment or travel.

REQUIRED TRAVEL DOCUMENTS

Valid Passport: You must have a valid passport required for entry, departure and travel to retreat destinations outside the U.S. (passport must be valid 6 months past the return date), all visas, permits and certificates including vaccination certificates (if required), insurance policies, etc. are required for the whole of the journey. The Client accepts full responsibility for obtaining all such documents, visas and permits prior to the start of the retreat and is solely responsible for any adverse consequences resulting from missing or defective documentation. Any information or advice given by Lotus Sojourns regarding visas, vaccinations, climate, clothing, baggage, special equipment, etc. is purely advisory, provided as a courtesy to the Client and LS is not responsible for any errors or omissions as to the information provided by third parties such as the appropriate governmental authorities.

If other documentation is required by the country, state or county (such as proof of vaccination, health declaration, affidavit, Covid-19 test results, etc), we do our best to relay that information to you during the trip planning period. However, it is ultimately your responsibility to have all the required documents completed prior to departure.

AGE LIMIT

Lotus Sojourns only offers tours and related activities to women aged 21 years and over. The only exception being our Mother & Daughter or Family Departures wherein a parent or guardian must be traveling with anyone under the age of 21.

SUPPLIERS + INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS

Hotels, shuttle services, guiding or other elements of a Lotus Sojourns are provided by local suppliers who may themselves engage the services of local operators and/or sub-contractors. We at all times endeavor to appoint reputable and competent local suppliers, though we cannot guarantee a certain standard of service quality or performance as these contractors are outside our direct control.

RETREAT ITINERARY CHANGES

Lotus Sojourns and its partners reserves the right to alter retreat programs and itineraries due to weather, road conditions, local circumstances or events, which may include mechanical breakdown, flight cancellations, illness, strikes, political disputes, natural disasters and other unforeseeable factors. This includes changes or cancellation of planned activities and any other aspect of the itinerary to ensure the safety of our clients and staff. We accept no responsibility for losses, expenses due to delays, changes of flights or other services because of strikes, accidents, sickness, damage, negligence, weather, war, natural disasters, changes in schedules or other similar causes. Lotus Sojourns and its partners do not assume responsibility for accidents or deaths that can be traced to the participants’ negligence, acts of third parties or exterior circumstances.

In the event a client elects to not participate in any part of the retreat itinerary (such as a guided run, group meal or other activity), the client is not entitled to any refund.

SAFETY + TRIP ENJOYMENT

We take your safety and well-being very seriously, which is why we partner with accredited tour operators, licensed guiding companies and other trained professionals for our all of domestic and international retreats. However, you are ultimately responsible for your safety, which is why we ask all retreat participants to sign a liability waiver before departure. To avoid possibly dangerous situations, it is extremely important that you obey any rules and regulations imposed by the Lotus Sojourn Trip Leaders and/or Local Guides and instructions given by them.

LS reserves the right to prohibit any Client from continuing on a trip or participating in any runs or activities, with no right of refund if, in our opinion, that Client’s actions pose a threat to their own safety or that of others, or seriously jeopardizes the enjoyment of the other participants. The decision of the LS Trip Leader or representative will at all times be final on all matters likely to affect the safety and well-being of the trip. All Clients must, at all times, strictly comply with the laws, customs, foreign exchange and drug regulations of all countries visited, and LS will not accept responsibility or liability for any Client who contravenes any laws or other regulations of any country visited.

HEALTH + FITNESS

Most of our retreats should not be overly strenuous for people who are healthy and reasonably fit. You are expected to carry your own luggage and supplies on the trail (water, snacks, additional clothes). If you are affected by any condition, medical or otherwise, that might affect your or other people’s enjoyment of the trip, you must advise us of this at the time of booking. If your health or fitness changes between the time of booking and the trip departure date, you must notify us ([email protected]) of these changes before the trip starts.

PHOTOGRAPHY

In the course of participation in a retreat, photos or video may be taken by participants, your trip leader or guides. These images may be used in any LS materials, website, Facebook, etc., unless you specifically request that we not use any material in which your image is depicted.  Otherwise, you agree to allow us to perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide, irrevocable license to use such images for publicity and promotional purposes.

CLAIMS + COMPLAINTS

If you have a complaint, please first inform the Trip Leader or guide at the earliest opportunity to allow the grievance to be rectified. If satisfaction is not reached, contact us ([email protected]) while on retreat in order to give us the opportunity to rectify the matter. Failure to indicate dissatisfaction during the retreat will result in your ability to claim compensation from us being extinguished or at least reduced. If satisfaction is still not reached through these means on retreat then any further complaint must be put in writing us within 15 days of the end of the trip.