Terms and conditions
Introduction
This website (“Website”) is owned and controlled by Smartie. If you use this Website you agree to the terms and conditions (“Terms and Conditions”) set out below. These terms and conditions, apply to all our services directly or indirectly (through distributors) made available online, through any mobile device, computer, email or telephone.
We respect your privacy. Please refer to our Privacy Policy to review how information about users of the Services is collected, used and shared.
Users must not use this site for any purpose or in any way which is contrary to law.
We may amend all or part of the Terms and Conditions at any time. If we do, the new Terms and Conditions will be published on the Website. Your subsequent or continued use of the Website will constitute your acceptance of any changes.
Last updated: January 15th, 2019
Definitions
"Smartie", "us", "we" or "our" means Smartie, a registered company incorporated under the laws of the Cook Islands, and having its registered address at Rarotonga, Cook Islands.
"Platform" means the (mobile) website and app on which the Service is made available owned, controlled, managed, maintained and/or hosted by Smartie.
"Service" means the online reservation service (including the facilitation of payments) of various products and services as from time to time made available by Suppliers on the Platform.
"Supplier" means the provider of accommodation (e.g. hotel, motel, apartment, bed & breakfast), (theme) parks, attractions, museums, sightseeing tours, cruises, rail and coach tours, transfers, tour operators, insurances, and any other travel or related product or service as from time to time available for reservation on the Platform.
Our Service
Smartie and its affiliate distribution partners provide an internet platform through which Suppliers can advertise their service (or their product) for reservation, and through which users/visitors of the Platform can make reservations (i.e. the reservation service). If you make a reservation (purchase a service or product) through Smartie, you enter into a legally binding relationship with the Supplier. After you make reservation, we act only as an intermediary between the Supplier and you, transferring the information of your reservation to the chosen Supplier and sending you a confirmation email for and on behalf of the Supplier.
When we provide our Service, the information that we release is based on the information provided to us by Suppliers. The Suppliers are fully responsible for updating all rates, availability and other information which is indicated on our Platform. Although we take reasonable care in performing our Service, each Supplier remains responsible for the accuracy, completeness and correctness of the information displayed on our Platform.
Your use of this Website and our service
You must not use this Website or our service for any activities that breach any laws, infringe any party’s rights or breach any standards, content requirements or codes promulgated by any relevant authority. You must not distribute or place through this Website any inappropriate communication or any virus or other disabling code in any form.
Furthermore, you may not use the website or our service for any of the following purposes:
• Disseminating any unlawful, harassing, libellous, abusive, threatening, harmful, vulgar, obscene, otherwise objectionable material;
• Transmitting material that encourages conduct that constitutes a criminal offence, results in civil liability or otherwise breaches any relevant laws, regulations or codes of practice;
• Interfering with any other person's use or enjoyment of the Site or our service;
• Breaching any laws concerning the use of public telecommunications networks;
• Interfering or disrupting networks or web sites connected to the Site;
• Making, transmitting or storing electronic copies of the materials protected by copyright without the permission of the owner; and
• To harm, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise offend others.
Our Service is made available for personal and non-commercial use only and therefore, you are not allowed to re-sell, use, copy, display, download or reproduce any content or information, software, reservations, tickets, products or services available on our Platform for any commercial or competitive activity or purpose or in a manner that is contrary to applicable laws or contrary to these Terms and conditions.
Commission and fees
Our service is free of charge. Unlike many other parties, we will not charge you for our Service or add any additional (reservation) fees to the rate.
Suppliers pay a commission, being only 15% of the product price, to Smartie after the end user has consummated the service of the Supplier or after the guest has stayed at (and paid) the accommodation.
Prices and Best Price Guarantee
The prices indicated on our Platform are highly competitive. Indicated room prices are per room for your entire stay and all prices are stated including VAT/sales tax and all other taxes (subject to change of such taxes), unless stated otherwise on our Platform or the confirmation email/ticket. Ticket prices are per person (or group) and subject to validity as indicated on the ticket (if applicable). Applicable fees and taxes, including tourist tax and city tax, may be charged by the Supplier in the case of a no-show or cancellation fee. Applicable taxes may be charged by the accommodation in the case of a no-show or cancellation fee.
If cheaper rates are available on our Platform for a specific service (or product) please note that these rates made available by Suppliers may come with special restrictions or conditions (non-cancelable and non-refundable). Please check all information and details about the relevant service and reservation conditions prior to making your reservation.
The crossed-out rate displayed for rooms is based on the third highest current price of the Supplier for your service (or product) with the same booking conditions in a 30-day window around your check-in date. To ensure we are forming a just comparison, we always use the same reservation requirements. Therefore, you obtain the same room for a lower price compared to other check-in dates at the same time of year.
We desire that you pay the lowest price possible for your selected service or product. If you find your service (or product) booked through the our Platform, with the same reservation requirements, at a lower rate on the Internet after you have made a reservation through our Platform, we will match the dissimilarity between our rate and the lower rate according to the terms and conditions of the Best Price Guarantee.
Payment options
Certain Suppliers offer the possibility for reservations to be paid (wholly or partly) to the Supplier during the reservation process by methods of secure online payment. For certain services (or product), Smartie facilitates (through third party payment processors) the payment of the such service (or product) for and on behalf of the Supplier. Please note that Smartie never acts as the merchant of record. Payment is securely transferred from your credit card, debit card or bank account to the bank account of the accommodation/service provider through a third-party transfer processor. Any payment facilitated by Smartie for and on behalf of, and assigned to the Supplier will in each case form a payment of the booking price amount by you of the such service (or product) in final settlement of such due and payable price and meaning that you cannot reclaim such paid monies.
Please check the service details thoroughly for any special conditions prior to making your reservation (i.e. payment in advance, special offers). You will not consider Smartie liable for any authorized, unauthorized or wrong charge/transfer by the Supplier and not reclaim any amount for any valid or authorized charge/transfer by the Supplier of your credit card.
Cancellation, no-show and pre-payment
By obtaining a reservation with a Supplier, you agree to the cancellation policy and no-show policy of that Supplier, and to any connected terms and conditions of the Supplier that may be relevant to your visit or stay. Please note that certain rates or special offers are not available for cancellation or change. Applicable city tax or tourist tax may still be charged by the Supplier in the case of a no-show or charged cancellation. Please check the details of your service (or product) for any such conditions prior to making your reservation. A reservation which requires down payment or prepayment may be cancelled (without a prior notice of default or warning) insofar the relevant (remaining) amount(s) cannot be collected in full on the relevant payment date in accordance with the relevant payment policy of the Supplier and the reservation. Cancellation policies and prepayment policies may differ according to room type. On our Platform you can find the fine print related to the room types or related to each Supplier and additional policies as may be applied by the Supplier.
In your confirmation email you can find instructions in case you wish to review, adjust or cancel your reservation. Please note that in accordance with the accommodation provider's cancellation policy, (pre)payment policy and no-show policy you may be charged for your cancellation or not be entitled to any repayment of any (pre)paid amount. Furthermore, please read the (pre)payment policy, cancellation policy and no-show policy of the accommodation (service) provider prior to making your reservation and remember to fulfil further payments timely as may be required for the relevant reservation or service.
Our customer service department can assist you if needed with informing the Supplier in case you have a late or delayed arrival on the check-in date or if you arriving the next day. You can also communicate this issue with the Supplier so they know when to expect you (to avoid cancellation of your reservation or room or charge of the no-show fee). Please not that Smartie does not accept any liability for the consequences of your delayed arrival or any cancellation or charged no-show fee by the Supplier.
Correspondence and communication
For more information about how we may contact you, please read our privacy and cookies policy.
After accepting a booking, you agree to the following communication:
(a) to receive an email which we may send you prior to your arrival date, with information about your destination and with other information and offers in connection with your chosen service, reservation and destination; and
(b) to receive an email which we may send to you after your stay asking you to complete our guest review form.
Please note that Smartie disclaims any liability for any communication with the Supplier on or through its platform. In order to complete and secure your reservation, it is necessary that you use your correct email address.
Ranking, preferred programme, stars and guest reviews
For your convenience we offer various methods to grade Supplier and the default setting of the ranking of Suppliers on our Platform is 'Recommended' or any similar wording. Please note that the default ranking is created through a fully automatic ranking system and based on diverse criteria, including not only the popularity of a Supplier among our users, but also customer service history and data related to booking.
In specified cities or areas, Smartie operates a preferred partnership program, allowing specified Suppliers that meet and maintain the preferred program conditions to be listed in front of the other of the Suppliers in the default “Recommended” ranking for the relevant city or region. The preferred Suppliers are marked with a certain symbol (e.g. “thumbs-up”) and in return for this high ranking, selected Supplier pays a higher commission. Only selected Suppliers with a certain level of qualification criteria can be listed as preferred.
The completed visitor review may be displayed onto the relevant Supplier's information page on our website and used and displayed by Smartie at its sole discretion on our Platform or other (social) media platforms owned or controlled by Smartie and our partners. Please note that Smartie reserve the right to adjust, refuse or remove reviews at our sole discretion.
Limitation of Liability and Disclaimer
In no occasion shall Smartie be liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, incidental, special or consequential damages arising out of, or in any way connected with, your access to, display of or use of our services/platform (including, but not limited to any information, software, linked sites, products and services obtaining through our services/platform, or otherwise arising out of the access to, display of or use of our services/platform) whether based on negligence, contract, tort, strict liability, consumer protection statutes, or otherwise.
If, despite the provision of limitation above, Smartie is found liable for any loss or damage which arises out of or in any way connected with any of the circumstances stated above, then the liability of the Smartie will in no event exceed, in the aggregate, the greater of (a) aggregate amount of the aggregate cost of your reservation as set out in the confirmation email (whether for one event or series of connected events), or (b) One-Hundred Dollars (US$100.00) or the equivalent in local currency.
Whether or not the Supplier has charged you for your service (or product), or if Smartie is facilitating the payment of the such price, you agree that the Supplier is at all times responsible for the collection, withholding, remittance and payment of the applicable taxes due on the total amount of the service (or product) price to the relevant tax authorities. Smartie is not liable or responsible for the remittance, collection, withholding or payment of the relevant taxes due on the service (or product) price to the relevant tax authorities. Please note that Smartie does not act as the merchant of record for any product or service made available on the Platform.
By submitting content to our platform by e-mail, postings or otherwise, including any service reviews, photos, videos, questions, comments or suggestions (collectively, "Submissions"), you grant Smartie a nonexclusive, royalty-free, everlasting, transferable, irreversible and sub-licensable right to use, reproduce, change, distribute, publish, create derivative works from and publicly display your Submissions worldwide in any media and to use the name that you submit in connection with. We take no liability for any submissions posted or submitted by you and we have no duty to post your submissions. Please note that we reserve the right in our sole discretion to decide which comments are placed on the Platform. Furthermore, please keep in mind that you are fully responsible for the content of your Submissions.
Intellectual property rights
For the purposes of this Terms and conditions, "material" means material including, without limitation, text, video, graphics and sound material, software and software code published or placed on this site, whether Intellectual Property of Smartie or a third party.
Unless stated otherwise, all intellectual property in relation to material on this site belongs to Smartie or its suppliers, providers, licensors, advertisers or affiliates. You obtain no interest in that intellectual property. All material or information on this site is protected by the laws of Cook Islands and international copyright and other intellectual property laws. You may not do anything which interferes with or breaches those laws or the intellectual property rights in the content.
Severability
If any provision of the Terms and Conditions is deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of the Terms and Conditions, which shall remain in full force and effect.
Applicable law
These Terms and Conditions and the provision of our services shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the Cook Islands. You consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Rarotonga, Cook Islands to determine any matter or dispute which arises under the Terms and Conditions.
About Smartie
The online reservation service is provided by Smartie, which is a private company, registered under the laws of the Cook Islands and having its offices at Rarotonga, Cook Islands. Our VAT registration number is RMD14501.
Support companies
Smartie is supported by numerous affiliated group companies (the "support companies") worldwide. The support companies do not have any authority or capacity to represent Smartie or to enter into any contract in the name of, for or on behalf of Smartie. You do not establish a legal or contractual relationship with the support companies. The only official residence of Smartie is in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.