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These policies encompass tours where a Group Organizer has contracted with Backside Tours. The Group Organizer is financially responsible for filling the seats on the bus. Individual Participants sign up and make payment for Group Tours directly through the Backside Tours website (using our online ecommerce tool called MyTrips). The online tool that Backside Tours refers to as MyTrips is solely designed to make our Group Organizers job easier. Backside Tours acts as the agent/intermediary tour company that executes on the logistics of the adventure.
If you do not see the information you require below, please visit our FAQs page for more info.
This policy applies for all tours booked through Backside Tours.
1. Any trip specific terms and conditions are to be added to the contract documents.
2. Payments:
a) An initial deposit of a minimum of $500 per bus and the signed contract is required within seven (7) days of the Verbal Booking Date(the "Initial Deposit") in order to confirm your reservations. Package reservations will be released if contract and deposit is not received within seven (7) days of the Verbal Booking Date.
b) The Initial Deposit is refundable if notice of cancellation is received within seven (7) days of signing this contract.
c) After seven (7) days of the signing of this contract, the Initial Deposit becomes non-refundable but is transferable as a credit valid for eighteen (18) months from the time of verbal booking. This credit must be used towards another group trip with BST of equal or larger contracted volume.
d) The Initial Deposit will be refunded at the time of account reconciliation within thirty (30) days of trip completion if there are no outstanding payments owed to Backside Tours Inc. by the Group Organizer, which includes, but is not limited to the following: charges for empty seats, property damage to the place of accommodation or the tour bus, or extra lift tickets requested.
e) A second deposit of $2500 per bus is required two (2) calendar months prior to departure. If your total group sign up payments via MyTrips exceed $2500, this second deposit will NOT be required.
f) Final payment must be received by the BST office at least one (1) calendar month prior to departure.
g) Online payment for all credit card transactions in the MyTrips system will be subject to a $3 admin fee, which will be added to the cost of the trip upon checkout. Cash or cheque can be accepted at the BST office without the added fee.
3. Free Trip: One (1) complimentary organizer trips are provided based on 35 paid seats, making seat 36 your free seat. All empty seat charges must be paid 14 days prior to the trip. Free Trips are provided by Backside Tours deducting the retail rate of the lowest priced skiing person (max occupancy cost) from your final invoice.
4. Room List: The tentative rooming list must be provided at the time of final payment a minimum of 1 calendar month prior to departure. Final rooming list must be received 14 days prior to departure. Room list changes within 14 days of departure will result in a $100 fee for each change. Within 1 month of departure, rooms may be requested on an As Per Needed basis, although there is no guarantee of availability.
5. Room Drop Date: Groups must drop any excess rooms not required a minimum of one calendar month (45 days out for Kicking Horse on-hill groups) prior to departure. Any rooms dropped after these dates may be charged back to the group organizer, by the accommodation provider, upon check-in.
6. Security Deposit: A $500 per room security deposit may be required by the accommodation provider. BST will provide the group organizer an Express Check-In Form that must be completed prior to or at the time of departure by the allocated Room Captain. The Room Captain is considered an occupant of the room who will take responsibility for the well-being of the room. Any and all other outstanding charges including damages incurred by the Group are the responsibility of the Group and must be paid prior to check-out.
7. Liquor License: BST will not be issuing liquor licenses for the 2021/22 season.
8. Disclaimer
a) BST is not responsible for injury, damage or loss to persons or property as a result of the
consumption of alcohol on the bus or at any point in the tour.
b) BST accepts no responsibility for the actions of persons and/or companies supplying goods and/or services as part of the Package, or for any additional costs arising from the cancellation, complication or prolongation of the Package for any reason..
c) Each Participant will be required to sign a waiver before being allowed to participate in the Package booked through BST.
d) BST acts as an agent on behalf of the Group and makes arrangements with transportation companies, accommodation suppliers and ski areas ("our Suppliers") for the group adventure of the Participants. BST is unable to directly control the service provided by our Suppliers and, as such, BST is not liable for any acts or omissions, including any negligence, gross negligence, or reckless or willful acts on the part of our Suppliers.BST., its owners, agents, directors, shareholders, employees and guide representatives assume no responsibility for any injury, loss, damage, delay, or death to persons or property arising from the negligent or willful act or failure to act of any person who is or does provide goods or services for the Package.
e) BST is not responsible for acts of God, ROAD CLOSURES, equipment failures, vehicle accidents, illness, detention, assaults, theft or criminal activity, annoyance, delays, quarantine (due to COVID-19 or related pandemic or epidemic) , strikes, failure of any means of conveyance to arrive or depart as scheduled, civil disturbances, terrorism, government restrictions or regulations, and discrepancies or changes in transit or hotel services over which it has no control. Reasonable changes in the itinerary may be made where deemed advisable for the comfort and well being of the Participants. The right is reserved to substitute accommodations, alter the itinerary, and reverse the order of places to be visited. The Group Organizer will be informed of any necessary changes. Refunds will solely be at the discretion of BST.
f) BST is not responsible for property loss or damage over the duration of the Trip Package. Participants alone are responsible for the well fare of their property and property they are interacting with.
10. Cancellation Policy
a) General Group Travel
Backside Tours will not refund on ANY trip that is within 30 days of departure.
All cancellation requests MUST go through the Group Organizer that Backside Tours is contracted with unless the trip is an Open Trip
All cancellations outside (1) calendar month will be subject to a $50 administration fee.
Any trip that is cancelled will have two options: the patrons move to an available OPEN TRIP bus regardless of destination. If there is no Open Trip available on the cancelled trips dates a credit for the current season will apply to future travel. This credit can be used for any products offered by Backside Tours (Open Trips, U-drive) Any increase in cost is the responsibility of the Patron
b) General UDrive (FIT) Travel*
Outside 30 days full refund minus a $50 administration fee per order.
Inside 30 days, no refunds, name changes only. Name changes subject to a $50 administration fee per name change.
No changes inside 72 hours from trip date.
*These policies are subject to destination and time of travel.
COVID-19 Policy
In acknowledgement of these uncertain times within the Tourism Industry, please note that in the event Backside Tours ceases operations, or if local government health authorities, or equivalent international authorities are mandating no non-essential ground/air travel during the scheduled time of a patrons trip due to COVID-19 or related pandemic or epidemic, Backside Tours will work with groups and organizers on a case-by-case basis to revisit the cancellation policy, depending on how these restrictions would affect travel to destination & resort partners.
c) Replacement for Group Travel
Outside 14 days prior to trip date, will be subject to a $50 administration fee for the order updates associated with said replacement.
All Replacements within 14 days prior to trip date will be subject to a $100 administration fee. This fee is to be paid prior to the bus departure. The individual who initially purchased the package is responsible to pay this fee.
It is solely up to the Group Organizer to provide/advise Backside Tours of replacement names for Individual Participants.
11. Group Amalgamation: If at the time of cancellation, the Group A (represented by this contract) has 20 or more financially committed participants, BST reserves the right to match the group with another group traveling to a resort on the same weekend. In this event, Group A participants will not incur additional costs if Group A’s listed trip price is within $20 of the listed two-head per bed rate of Group B (the group being joined). Group A will be provided a refund if the listed two-head per bed package rate price is $20 or more lower than the price Group A paid. Group A will be governed by Group B itinerary including departure times.
12. Self-Drive in Relation to Group Tour: Any individual not traveling with the group on the bus will be subject to FIT (Fully Independent Traveler) rates and will NOT be considered a part of the group tour nor count toward the fulfillment of the group contract.
13. Resort Switch and Distress Rates: In the event of road closures preventing arrival or departure, Backside Tours will work with Group Organizer(s) to determine best course of action. If another resort and accommodation is available the tour will continue despite the resort switch. In the event of road closure preventing return from the resort to point of origin, BST will cover the additional transportation costs; however, additional accommodation costs will be covered by the participants or Group Organizer. BST has organized Distress Rates specifically for accommodations in the event of this occasional occurrence and your BST Account Manager can advise on this rate. Refunds are at the sole discretion of BST.
14. USA Destined Groups - Passport Information (for USA group destinations)
15. MyTripsUse: BST has developed an online promotion, communication, organization and payment system that has been termed MyTrips. Our system is designed to assist our Group Organizers in marketing and tracking sign ups and payments for their packaged tours. Although careful planning has went into this system, BST can not be held liable for any for any errors, omissions or damages that may result from MyTrips system use.
Online payment for all credit card transactions in the MyTrips system will be subject to a $3 admin fee, which will be added to the cost of the trip upon checkout. Cash or cheque can be accepted at the BST office without the added fee.
Trip participants are responsible for any damages to accommodation properties or damages to any equipment, while on the tour. All tours are responsible to provide a credit card deposit to the accommodation property at the time of check in. Room occupants as outlined on the final rooming list accept responsibility on an equal basis for any damages to their rooms.
A one time $25 NSF fee will be applied to all returned cheques, whether personal or for a group tour payment.
The cardholder's online authorization of the use of their credit card indicates consent has been provided for Backside Tours to process deposits, full payments and any administrative fees as per Backside Tours' payment, cancellation and replacement policies.
All pricing on our website and promotional materials is inclusive of National Park fees and municipal taxes. All prices are subject to Goods & Services Tax.
All participants must sign a waiver prior to departure and generally are completed on the bus at the time of departure. Group Organizers may facilitate the completion of the waiver copy prior to departure.
The nature of travel involves risks and unpredictable weather and therefore Backside Tours can not assure departure times, arrival times or conditions. Backside Tours travel packages are inclusive packages and can not be separated into individually priced components, unless services are agreed upon, by contract, to be split. Backside Tours can not guarantee that refunds or exchanges can be made for unused travel services, services that may be cancelled after your departure or for any other circumstances beyond the control of Backside Tours. This includes road closures resulting in groups being rerouted to other destinations.
Backside is not responsible for property loss or damage over the duration of the tour. Individual Participants alone are responsible for the well fare of their personal belongings including ski and snowboard equipment.
Backside Tours Inc. is solely acting as an agent for the suppliers who provide all accommodations, transportation, snow sport activities and other services for the adventure package. Although we carefully select our suppliers, the suppliers are independent parties over which Backside Tours exercises no control. Therefore, we are not responsible for their acts or omissions and all services provided are subject to the conditions imposed by the suppliers. The participants acknowledge that Backside Tours' representatives are not chaperones but merely facilitators of the package. Backside Tours' representatives do not instruct or otherwise accept responsibility for the participant while he/she is engaged in snow sport activities or during any portion of the tour.
Backside Tours reserves the right to remove participants from a package if he/she engages in behaviour that is deemed by Backside Tours to be detrimental to the safety of himself/herself or others, or if the participants behaviour causes damage to the property of a supplier or if the participant refuses to sign the mandatory waiver at the time of departure. If a participant's continuation in a tour is terminated, no refund will be granted and the participant will be responsible for any and all costs associated with his/her return to the place of departure. Reasons for immediate removal include engagement in illegal activities, verbal or physical abuse of guides, staff, suppliers or patrons, or engagement in property damage.
The Backside Tours guide(s) must be notified of all injuries. If required, the guide(s) will assist the ski patrol or EMS. If the injury requires hospitalization, an ambulance will be called to transport to a local hospital. If possible, the guide(s) will arrange to have the coach pick up from the hospital on the way home. If a longer stay is required at the hospital, guides will ask to have a friend stay at the hospital with the injured person. The guide(s) will assist to arrange hotel accommodation and transportation home, if necessary. However, the individual is responsible for all expenses that may be incurred due to the injury.
When accessing our applications using your social media profile we may collect your email address, basic public profile, and a list of friends. When we collect this information it is for authentication and communication purposes only, you may request to delete this data at any time by reaching us through our contact page.
We have created this email privacy policy to demonstrate our firm commitment to your privacy and the protection of your information.
How do we protect your privacy? We use security measures to protect against the loss, misuse and alteration of data used by our system.
We will never share, sell or rent individual personal information with anyone without your advance permission or unless ordered by a court of law. Information submitted to us is only available to employees managing this information for purposes of contacting you or sending you emails based on your request for information and to contracted service providers for purposes of providing services related to our communications with you.
Each promotional email sent contains an easy, automated way for you to cease receiving email from us, or to change your expressed interests. If you wish to do this, simply follow the instructions at the end of any email.
We make every reasonable effort to ensure that our customer information is accurate and complete. We rely on our customers to notify us if there is a change to their personal information that may affect their relationship with our organization, such as a change in phone number. If you are aware of an error in our information about you, please let us know and we will correct it on request if possible.
We do not store or save credit card details. You will have to reenter your visa or mastercard information anytime payment is due.
We protect client personal information in a manner appropriate for the sensitivity of the information. We make every reasonable effort to prevent any loss, misuse, disclosure or modification of personal information, as well as any unauthorized access to personal information.
We use appropriate security measures when destroying client personal information, including shredding paper records and permanently deleting electronic records.
We retain client personal information only as long as is reasonable to fulfil the purposes for which the information was collected or for legal or business purposes.
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