Q: Your July 17 Legal Briefs column, “Cruise line contracts will hold up in court,” concludes by stating that travel advisors need to be sure to send the cruise line’s contract to the consumer as soon as it is received from the cruise line. How, exactly, do we do that? Do we just forward what the cruise line sends us (other than the agency copy with the commission on it)? Will a link suffice? What about tour operators or all-inclusive resorts’ terms and conditions? If we have to send out all these documents, our advisors will have a lot of busywork and the client could be overwhelmed.
A: If a supplier requires that you send its agreement (aka terms and conditions or T&C) to your client, you need to do so. Keep a record of what you sent so that the client cannot blame you for failing to send it.
However, in most cases, suppliers have no such explicit requirements. In those cases, it is sufficient to send the client a link to the T&C. You can put the link in the agency’s invoice or itinerary. Again, keep a record of what you sent.
It would also be a good idea to cover yourself by adding a relevant notice to your agency’s disclaimer. At the end of the paragraph that states that your agency is an agent for travel suppliers, you can add, “Many suppliers, including cruise lines and tour operators, have their own terms and conditions, and we will send you links to them so that you can read them and agree by checking a box if required.”
I realize that, in some cases, you need to act more quickly, such as when the supplier requires that you click “I agree” on the client’s behalf to secure a desired but popular booking, and it may be too late by the time the client realizes the need to click. In those cases, the client will have had no notice of what you have done until you tell them.
It would also be a good idea to mention this possibility in your disclaimer so that you will have had implied permission to have checked the box for the client. At the end of the same paragraph, you could add, “If a supplier requires that we check a box in order to make a reservation, you authorize us to do so on your behalf.”
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