Terms, Conditions & Disclosures

TERMS, CONDITIONS & DISCLOSURES

Trip Requests

We are a full service travel agency with a vast range of knowledge and expertise. We have preferred partnerships around the world that enable us to prepare unique and memorable vacations and incentive trips to just about any destination. Trip requests can be as detailed or minimal as you would like. We generally turn over an initial proposal within 48 hours for hotel requests and within a week for custom, multi destination itineraries. We generally do not accept air only requests, unless they are for roundtrip, business class or higher fares.

Requests for minor revisions to your itinerary are encouraged and welcomed. We will make every effort to make the necessary revisions for as long as needed. We will accept 1 major revision request per itinerary. A major revision is a complete change in destination, itinerary, or significant date change after trip planning has begun. Additional revisions may be subject to special handling fees. We are happy to assist with villa, home, and boat rentals through one of our preferred partners. However, we do not work with Airbnb, VRBO, and other ‘people to people’ home rental sites.

Fees

If you have any questions, please talk to your Travel Advisor about Fees at the beginning of your planning process.

Quick Weekends

For a hotel request that only requires us to provide 2 options in a single destination, likely will not be subject to a planning fee.

Planning Fees for Custom Trips

Planning fees will be communicated and agreed upon prior to the start of trip planning.

Fees are non-refundable, but may be covered by insurance.

Our Planning Fee structure is as follows:

• $75 per travel day* for all passengers traveling on the same itinerary
• $30 per person per domestic flight booked and $50 per person per international flight booked (waived in some cases)

Terms:

• Significant changes in dates, trip length, or destination are considered a different trip

• Planning Fees are non-refundable upon presentation of the first draft of an itinerary, first set of price quotes, or the departure date for the trip, whichever comes first.

• Fees are non-refundable, even if you cancel your trip or your flights.

* A "travel day" starts the day you arrive at the first destination on your itinerary and is each day until you board the last flight on the itinerary. Full days aboard luxury cruise lines are excluded. Additionally, days on luxury catalog tours are excluded from this calculation.

Special Handling/Rush Fees

Bookings requested within 45 days of departure may incur special handling fees up to $500 per person. Complex trips or multiple trip requests may incur special handling fees up to $500 per person. Should this apply to your trip, your Travel Advisor will alert you early in the planning process. This fee is non-refundable, but it may be covered by insurance.

Cancellation Fees

Our Travel Advisors spend considerable time researching, planning, and booking trips on your behalf. Should you need to cancel the trip, you may incur a 10% fee for reservations that need to be cancelled, subject to a minimum fee of $500. This fee covers the time spent processing the cancellations. This fee is non-refundable, but it may be covered by insurance.

Deposit & Final Payment

Suppliers have pricing and availability that can fluctuate quickly. Quote/option pricing is not guaranteed until we have confirmed the reservation with the supplier, which takes place after we place a deposit or a credit card guarantee. Certain products may have additional deposit requirements. Deposits may be refundable, partially refundable, or non-refundable; your Travel Advisor will notify you of the policy at the time of the quotation or on your balance due invoice.

For items that require additional deposits, if we do not receive approval for final payment by the specified date, suppliers may cancel the reservation. In the case of billing errors, we reserve the right to re-invoice with correct pricing. Third party charge cards are not accepted without written authorization.

Supplier Cancellations & Cancellation Fees

All cancellations must be advised in writing. At the time of booking your Travel Advisor will advise you of the cancellation policy for each supplier If a cancellation policy has not been provided to you, you are to assume the booking is non-refundable.

Cancellation policies vary and are implemented by the supplier. Please verify with your Travel Advisor if you have any questions on the cancellation policy for any supplier.

While you may feel some circumstances warrant leniency on cancellation penalties, it is not for Blackhawk Vacations or our agents to make this decision. We always recommend travel insurance for this reason.

Special Note about Groups, Charters, Special Events and High Season

Deposit and cancellation policies may vary under certain circumstances from what you might see on a supplier's website.

For example, an event, such as a destination wedding, that books multiple rooms may have different cancellation policies from a single room booking.

Here are some examples (this is a partial list) of situations:

Groups
Whole hotel or whole ship charters
Peak Season or Holidays, such as New Year's Eve or Valentine's Day
Special Events, such as Olympics, Super Bowl, Fashion Week

Passports, Visas and Travel Advisories

A valid passport is required of all travelers. Your passport must be valid at least six months after your final flights. The name on your reservation must match the name on your passport. This is a requirement of almost all foreign countries.

Securing any needed visas is the responsibility of the passenger, although your Travel Advisor will assist when possible. Non-U.S. citizens must consult with the appropriate consulates to determine if any additional visas are needed. It is suggested that all passengers, regardless of the passport they hold, check with the appropriate consulates of the countries being visited to determine if any visas are needed.

The US Department of State has information about the specific requirements for overseas travel, along with travel advisories that may be in place. It is advised that US travelers consult the State Department for the latest information, which can be found on their website. Travelers with non-US passports should consult their respective governments.

Prices

Cruise and packaged tour prices are per person, based on two persons sharing a room, unless otherwise stated. Many cruises and tours charge a single supplement as high as 100%. If you plan on traveling solo, your Travel Advisor may be able to find options that have a lower single supplement.

Hotel prices and daily tour prices may be per person or per room. It is important that rooms are booked with the correct number of people in each room.

All prices are based on rates (including foreign exchange rates) known at the time of quotation. Guests are responsible for foreign exchange increases or decreases up until final payment is made. We reserve the right to recover from you any increase in supplier-imposed fuel surcharges and taxes, charges or levies imposed by any government or its agencies, up to and including the first day of travel.

Some suppliers will add additional non-optional fees after quote/purchase. Examples include: seat assignment fees, baggage fees, departure taxes, resort fees, fuel surcharges. We make a best effort to disclose these as early in the process as possible.

Itinerary Variations

If unforeseen circumstances beyond our control make changes necessary, we reserve the right to vary itineraries and to substitute similar hotels.

Airfare

Airfare quoted by your Travel Advisor is only confirmed at the time of payment and when an E-ticket number has been generated. If you do not have an e-ticket number on your reservation, your ticket is not confirmed. Once an air ticket has been issued and a confirmation has been generated, any airline-imposed changes to seat assignments, departure and arrival locations/times, etc. are not a result of any actions by us. However, we will make every effort to remedy the situation if you are not happy with the change.

Blackhawk Vacations does not work for any airline nor is directly affiliated with any one airline. Therefore, Blackhawk Vacations cannot be held liable for any changes or complications caused by an airline. It is the passenger’s responsibility to confirm that all airline reservations are correct and include proper spelling of legal names at the time of confirmation. We understand that air travel can be frustrating at times. A benefit to booking your air travel through Blackhawk Vacations is that we are available to advocate on your behalf if you incur airline changes, cancellations and other disruptions. We will do the best we can within our capacity to make things right for our valued clients.

We work with an Air Team that charges fees: $30 per person domestic flight booked and $50 per person international flight booked. The Air Team's fees are non-refundable, even if you cancel your flights.

Travel Insurance

We recommend that all travelers purchase travel insurance at time of booking to protect you and your trip investment.

To that end, we have a page that provides an overview of the types of Travel Insurance available. Please click this link.

Pandemics (including Covid-19) and Government Actions

In the extreme case of a pandemic or government action that cancels, delays, or interrupts your travel, we will act in compliance with all government regulations and will act according to supplier imposed policy. We are not liable for any losses incurred during these situations, such as in the case of a refund not being issued by a supplier during extraordinary, unforeseen circumstances.

You acknowledge that due to the uncertainty of travel during the Covid-19 pandemic, your trip may be postponed or cancelled or changes may be made to itineraries due to closures of certain sites or activities, for which there may be no refund.

We will advocate for the traveler to the best of our ability and within reason before required to charge a minimum of $100 service fee to the traveler. Please note, traditional travel insurance policies might not cover pandemics or government actions, you must purchase a “Cancel for Any Reason” add on to be covered for these extreme events.

Diseases (including Covid-19)

By making a booking, you acknowledge that contagious diseases (including Covid-19 and its variants) exist throughout the world, and that exposure to viruses or disease is an inherent risk of traveling that cannot be controlled or eliminated by us. Such exposure or infection may result in personal injury, illness, permanent disability, and death. You voluntarily assume the risk for yourself and any minors traveling with you.

You understand that you may become sick before the trip and may not be able to travel and such cancellation will be subject to the cancellation terms of each supplier. You also acknowledge that you may become sick during the trip and that your travel plans may change, (for example you may be asked to quarantine for part or all of your trip, or you may be asked to return home early) for which we will not be liable.

We strongly encourage the purchase of travel protection coverage, including Cancel for Any Reason coverage.

Our privacy policy is described separately, at this link.

Documents

If documents are required, they will be mailed approximately 14 days prior to departure. Should you need them earlier, please inform your Travel Advisor. Documents will not be released until full payment and all guest details have been received.

California Seller of Travel Disclosures

California Seller of Travel: 2130475. Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California.

Most payments are arranged with suppliers using a client's credit card. For most cards, this provides additional benefits to the client. It is our policy to hold any payments made directly to Blackhawk Vacations are in a separate account until forwarded to a supplier or your planned departure date.

Responsibility

The suppliers providing transportation, sightseeing arrangements, tours, shore excursions, and hotel/cruise accommodations are independent contractors and are not agents, affiliates, representatives or employees of Blackhawk Vacations, or any of its subsidiaries, related companies, or parents. We have no ownership interest in any Supplier. Any use of the Blackhawk Vacations name by a Supplier is for identification purposes only and does not constitute ownership, agency, supervision, or control by us. All documentation, receipts and tickets are issued subject to the terms and conditions specified by the Supplier. By utilizing the services of the Suppliers, you agree that neither Blackhawk Vacations nor any of our Travel Advisors shall be liable for (1) any accident, loss, injury or damage to you or to those traveling with you in connection with any accommodations, transportation, or other services (2) loss or damage to property or injury to persons, caused by reason of any act or omission, intentional, negligent or otherwise by such third party Suppliers. For any service issue disputes, please contact us by phone or in writing within 30 days of your return. We will do everything in our power to resolve these issues.