These Terms and Conditions apply to bookings made July 2, 2024 or after.

Please read these “Terms and Conditions” carefully as they contain important information about your legal rights and obligations.

We, Guides of Italia referred to in these Terms and Conditions as “Guides of Italia”, operate a marketplace platform that connects users and independent tour guides who shall be referred to as “Local Experts” or "Guides". Our platform allows independent tour guides to market their tours and travelers to find and book guided tours and process payments. We do not publish, create, sell, control, offer, deliver, or supply any guided tour. We are not a travel agency or a tour operator, and we do not provide tours. When you make a booking, you are entering into a contract directly with a Local Expert. In no event shall Guides of Italia be deemed a party to any agreement whereby you book a guided tour from a Local Expert. The Local Experts, and not Guides of Italia, are responsible for the tours they publish and provide.

IMPORTANT: PLEASE REVIEW THE LITIGATION CLASS ACTION WAIVER PROVISION CONTAINED HEREIN, AS IT REQUIRES THE PARTIES TO RESOLVE DISPUTES ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE, DO NOT ACCESS OR USE THE SITE AND/OR THE SERVICES.

1. Introduction.

These Terms and Conditions, as may be modified and amended from time to time, sets forth the terms on which:

(a) Guides of Italia (“Guides of Italia”, “We”, “us” or “our”) provide services (“Services”) through its proprietary marketplace platform accessible via the www.guidesofitalia.com website and subdomains (the “Site”) and/or over the phone and/or by email;

(b) to any person (“You”) that accesses the Site and/or uses our Services, which includes booking guided tours (the “Tours”) from independent tour guides (the “Local Experts”).

2. Acceptance of These Terms and Conditions.

When You access the Site and/or use our Services, You hereby represent and warrant that:

(a) You have read, understand, and agree to comply with and be bound by these Terms and Conditions;

(b) You are an individual at least 18 years old or a duly organized, validly existing business, organization or other legal entity in good standing under the laws of the country in which You are established;

(c) You are able to enter into legally binding contracts; and

(d) You are not forbidden by Guides of Italia to access and/or use the Site.

If You do not agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions, You may not access and/or use the Site and/or our Services and should immediately leave the Site.

3. Scope of Guides of Italia Services.

We operate the Site, which is an online marketplace platform which allows the Local Experts to upload and publish their Tours and You to search and book Tours, and post reviews and process payments.

You may search for Tours using a variety of filters. Once You decide on a specific Tour, You may connect and conclude contracts directly with the Local Experts and through the Site.

We are constantly updating our Site and its functionalities. Therefore, We may modify and/or delete any functionality on the Site and/or introduce new ones from time to time.

4. Payment.

You will ensure that any and all payments to the Local Experts are processed through the Site, or such other means as Guides of Italia may determine.

You will make payment of bookings by credit card or other form of payment available through the Site. We do not store credit card information.Guides of Italia uses a third party service to process your payment information for all transactions made through Guides of Italia. You authorize Guides of Italia and its payment service partners to process your payments. These payment processing services are governed by the terms and conditions of those third party services and will apply to the payments You make through their system.

5. Cancellations.

All sales of Tours are final and there are no refunds, except in the following cases. The refund terms vary according to the Service purchased.

1. Tours
   1. You will receive a 100% refund of the Tour price (minus our 3% Processing Fee) if You cancel at least 15 days before the start date of the Tour. Cancellations made within 14 days of the start date of the Tour are non-refundable. Timing is calculated in accordance with the time zone of the Tour. Guides of Italia Tour prices include a 3% Processing Fee which is always nonrefundable. Any ticket fees included in your booking are nonrefundable regardless of the date of cancellation.
   2. We encourage you to purchase a Travel Insurance plan that includes Cancel for Any Reason coverage. Such a plan at a minimum should cover Trip Cancellation or Interruption, Cancel for Any Reason, Medical Expense, Emergency Evacuation/Repatriation, and Baggage. Travel insurance plans can help protect you in the event of loss of non-refundable trip deposits and payments that result from cancellation or trip interruption (due to a covered reason such as injury or illness before or during the trip). It also helps with reimbursement for medical emergency costs (including very costly medical evacuation costs), missed connections, and baggage loss. Time constraints may limit purchasing coverage, so you must purchase protection as soon as possible after booking.

6. Errors.

In the event of an error in connection with the pricing or charging of a Tour, we reserve the right to correct such error and revise your order accordingly (including charging the correct price) or to cancel the purchase and refund any amount charged. Your sole remedy in the event of a billing error is to obtain a refund for the excess amount charged. To be eligible for such refund, you must provide notice of any billing error within 120 days of the date of the billing statement in which such error first appeared.

7. Credit Card Chargebacks.

You have the ability to dispute charges with credit card companies (“chargebacks”). If you have a question about a charge on your credit card statement, you agree to contact Guides of Italia prior to disputing a charge with your credit card company to discuss any questions or concerns about your charges with us. Guides of Italia will work with you in resolving your concerns. Guides of Italia retains the right to dispute any chargeback that it believes is improper, as described more fully below. Guides of Italia also retains the right to cancel any Tour in the event of a chargeback related to that Service. Guides of Italia deems the following chargeback scenarios as improper and retains the right to investigate and rebut any such chargeback claims and to recover costs of such chargeback claims from You.

• Chargebacks resulting from the purchase of a non-refundable Tour in the event that Guides of Italia or the Local Expert cannot provide a refund, whether or not the Tour is used.
• Chargebacks arising from the Local Expert’s failure to deliver a Tour in a manner that’s consistent with the Local Expert’s product description.
• Chargebacks resulting from force majeure, including but not limited to pandemics, natural disasters, political unrest and border closings or other circumstances that are beyond the control of Guides of Italia or its Local Experts.

8. Independent Contractor Relationship.

You understand, acknowledge and agree that all the Local Experts are independent contractors and not employees, agents, joint venturers or partners of Guides of Italia, and that the Local Experts act exclusively on their behalf and for their own benefit, and not on behalf, or for the benefit, of Guides of Italia.

You hereby understand and expressly agree that Guides of Italia does not direct or control the Local Experts generally or in their performance during the Tours including, but not limited to, quality, timing, legality or any other aspect whatsoever of the services actually delivered by the Local Experts, nor the integrity, responsibility or any of the actions whatsoever of the Local Experts.

The Local Experts, and not Guides of Italia, are responsible for determining, understanding and complying with all laws, rules and regulations that apply to their activity and to the Tours provided to You.

Guides of Italia (i) does not employ, recommend or endorse any Local Expert and has no control over the acts or omissions of any Local Expert; (ii) is not responsible or liable in any manner for the conduct of any Local Expert or other third parties online or offline; (iii) makes no representations or warranties about the quality of the services provided by any Local Expert or about your interactions or dealings with any Local Expert; and (iv) does not screen Local Experts or automatically conduct any kind of identity or background checks. You should exercise caution and perform your own screening before connecting with Local Experts on our Site, meeting anyone, hiring Local Experts or purchasing their services. Guides of Italia hereby expressly disclaims, and you hereby expressly release Guides of Italia from, any and all liability whatsoever for any controversies, claims, suits, injuries, loss, harm or damages arising from or related to our Services or your interactions or dealings with Local Experts, including any acts or omissions of Local Experts online or offline.

9. Acceptance of Risk and Waiver of Liability.

We urge You to obtain suitable medical insurance prior to booking a Tour.

You acknowledge that all travel involves an element of risk. Also, some Tours may be adventurous in nature and may involve a significant amount of personal risk. We encourage You to ask the Local Experts for information and fully educate yourself about any risks, skills and level of fitness inherent to the Tour.

Also, We strongly encourage You to search for information about your destination to determine the level of risk when traveling to certain areas. We do not make any representation and/or warranty about any risk associated with any travel destination and We are not liable for any damage or loss that may arise out of, or in connection with, any such destination.

You hereby assume all such risk and You, your estate, your family, heirs and assigns hereby agree to release and hold harmless Guides of Italia its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, and employees from all liabilities and claims that arise from damages of every kind and nature, known and unknown, both pecuniary and non-pecuniary, including but not limited to, illness, bodily injury, disability and death to You and/or any other Tour participant, that may arise out of, or in connection with, the participation in a Tour.

10. Disclaimer.

GUIDES OF ITALIA DOES NOT PUBLISH, CREATE, SELL, CONTROL, OFFER, DELIVER, OR SUPPLY ANY GUIDED TOUR. THE LOCAL EXPERTS ARE INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS AND NOT AGENTS OR EMPLOYEES OF Go ASK A LOCAL. GUIDES OF ITALIA DOES NOT TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY AND ARE NOT LIABLE FOR, AND THE LOCAL EXPERT IS SOLELY AND EXCLUSIVELY RESPONSIBLE FOR, ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, CONSEQUENTIAL OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES OR EXPENSES, ARISING OUT OF, OR IN CONNECTION WITH, WITHOUT LIMITATION, (I) THE DELIVERY OF ANY TOUR, (II) THE PERFORMANCE OF THE LOCAL EXPERT OR FAILURE TO PERFORM THE TOUR, AND/OR THE LOCAL EXPERT’S SERVICES, (III) ANY TRANSPORTATION SERVICE ASSOCIATED TO ANY TOUR, (IV) ANY OTHER SERVICE OFFERED OR DELIVERED BY THE LOCAL EXPERT, (V) THE LOCAL EXPERT’S ACTS OR OMISSIONS, REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, NEGLIGENCE, GROSS NEGLIGENCE OR WILLFUL MISCONDUCT AND (IV) PERSONAL, BODILY INJURY, DEATH, PROPERTY DAMAGE TO YOU, THE LOCAL EXPERT OR ANY OTHER PARTY. GUIDES OF ITALIA’S LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO LISTING AND MAKING AVAILABLE THE TOURS AND OTHER ANCILLARY SERVICES THROUGH THE SITE.

ALTHOUGH WE PERFORM CERTAIN LIMITED SCREENINGS ON THE LOCAL EXPERTS, WE DO NOT GUARANTEE THE EFFICACY AND/OR ACCURACY OF SUCH PROCESS AND, THEREFORE, WE DO NOT GUARANTEE THE RELIABILITY OF THE LOCAL EXPERTS. ALSO, WE MAY NOT CONDUCT IDENTITY VERIFICATIONS AND WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE IDENTITY VERIFICATION OF ANY USERS OF THE SITE, INCLUDING THE LOCAL EXPERTS.

DUE TO THE NATURE OF GUIDES OF ITALIA’S SERVICES, GUIDES OF ITALIA DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE CONTINUOUS AND UNINTERRUPTED AVAILABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY OF THE SITE. THE SITE IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND ‘AS AVAILABLE’, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. GUIDES OF ITALIA DOES NOT MAKE OR GIVE ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, QUALITY, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. ALSO, GUIDES OF ITALIA MAY RESTRICT THE AVAILABILITY OF THE SITE IF THIS IS NECESSARY IN VIEW OF CAPACITY LIMITS, THE SECURITY OR INTEGRITY OF OUR SERVERS, OR TO CARRY OUT MAINTENANCE MEASURES FOR THE PROPER OR IMPROVED, MODIFIED OR ENHANCED FUNCTIONING OF THE SITE.

11. Limitation of Liability.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL GUIDES OF ITALIA EITHER BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OR LIABILITIES WHETHER IN ACTION BASED IN CONTRACT, WARRANTY, STRICT LIABILITY, TORT OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF SUCH PARTY HAS BEEN INFORMED IN ADVANCE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR IF SUCH DAMAGES COULD HAVE BEEN REASONABLY FORESEEN BY SUCH PARTY.

IN NO EVENT SHALL GUIDES OF ITALIA’S LIABILITY TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OR THE SITE EXCEED, IN THE AGGREGATE, THE TOTAL AMOUNT PAID BY YOU FOR A PARTICULAR BOOKING WITH RESPECT TO WHICH SUCH LIABILITY RELATES, PLUS A 25%, OR IN THE CASE OF ANY LIABILITY NOT RELATED TO A PARTICULAR BOOKING THE TOTAL AMOUNT PAID BY YOU IN THE 12 MONTH PERIOD PRIOR TO THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE LIABILITY, PLUS A 25%, OR FIVE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US$500), IF NO SUCH PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE, AS APPLICABLE. THE LIMITATIONS IN THIS SECTION SHALL SURVIVE AND APPLY EVEN IF ANY LIMITED REMEDY IN THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.

12. Your Liability and Indemnification.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Guides of Italia from all liabilities, claims, losses and expenses, including attorney’s fees, that may arise, directly or indirectly from, as a result of or in connection with (i) your use of the Site and/or the Services and/or your participation in a Tour, including any damages, whether to persons or property, or death to any person, (ii) your Reviews, and (iii) any violation by You of these Terms and Conditions, including any infringement of any rights of third parties. Guides of Italia reserves the right, at their own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any claim subject to indemnification by You, in which case You agree to cooperate with Guides of Italia in asserting any available defenses.