Terms & Conditions

1. Who these terms bind, and how a contract forms

These Terms & Conditions govern every booking made with 99Travels, a travel business operated by Catalyst Web Trendz Pvt. Ltd., D 29, 2nd Floor, Greater Kailash Enclave 2, Greater Kailash, New Delhi – 110048. "We" and "us" mean 99Travels; "you" and "the traveller" mean the person making the booking and every traveller named on it.

Browsing this website, receiving a quotation or holding an option on a hotel does not create a contract. A binding contract comes into existence only when we issue a written Booking Confirmation carrying a booking reference, and the deposit specified in that confirmation has reached our account. The lead booker warrants that they are 18 or older, that they are authorised to accept these terms on behalf of every traveller in the party, and that all names supplied match the travellers' passports exactly.

The person who books is our single point of contact for the whole party — all invoices, itinerary revisions and refunds are issued to them, and instructions we receive from them are treated as instructions from the group.

2. Quotations, inclusions and what a price actually covers

Every quotation states, in writing, exactly what is included: which nights, which meal plan, which transfers, which entrance fees, whether flights are included and in which cabin, and whether a guide is private or shared. Anything not written into the inclusions list is not included. Common exclusions are visa fees and biometric charges, travel insurance premiums, tips and porterage, personal expenses, optional excursions, camera fees at monuments, city taxes payable at the hotel, and meals outside the stated plan.

A quotation is valid for 7 days unless the document says otherwise, and only while the specific hotels, flight fares and rates quoted remain available. Airline fares in particular are held in inventory buckets that empty without notice, and a fare quoted on Monday may not exist on Thursday.

3. Deposits, the payment schedule and taxes

A deposit of 25% of the total package value confirms a booking. The balance is payable 21 days before departure. If we receive the balance later than that, we may treat the booking as cancelled by you and apply the cancellation tiers in section 5.

• Some products demand more at the outset. Chartered flights, cruise cabins, festival-period hotels, Kumbh and Amarnath arrangements, and any supplier requiring full prepayment may carry a higher deposit, which will always be stated on the invoice before you pay.
• Air tickets are issued only against full ticket value, because the airline takes payment at issue. Once ticketed, the airline's own fare rules govern that ticket, not this contract.
• GST is charged on tour packages at the rates prescribed under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and shown as a separate line on every invoice. If a statutory rate changes between booking and departure, the rate in force on the date of the taxable supply applies.
• TCS — Tax Collected at Source under section 206C(1G) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 applies to overseas tour programme packages remitted under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme. We collect it, deposit it against your PAN and issue Form 27D. It is not a fee we keep; you claim it back against your income tax liability. Supply a valid PAN or a higher rate applies.

Payment is accepted by NEFT, RTGS, UPI, credit or debit card and net banking to our declared current account only. We will never ask you to transfer money to an individual's personal account, and no employee will ever request an OTP, card CVV or net-banking password. Any such request is fraudulent — stop and call us on +91-9953590779.

4. Price revisions after confirmation

We hold the confirmed price wherever we can. Three things sit outside our control and may force a revision, always evidenced in writing before you are asked to pay:

• Currency movement. International packages are costed against a stated INR exchange rate printed on your invoice. If the rate moves against the rupee by more than 3% before the balance date, the unpaid portion is re-costed at the prevailing rate.
• Fuel and carrier-imposed surcharges. Where an airline levies a surcharge on an unticketed booking, that amount is passed through at cost.
• Government levies. New or increased visa fees, tourist taxes, national park permits, GST or TCS rates are passed through at cost with the notification referenced.

No revision is applied once the full balance has been received and the booking is fully paid. If a revision after confirmation increases the total by more than 8%, you may cancel within 7 days of being notified and receive a full refund of everything paid, less any amount an airline or supplier has already made non-refundable — which we will itemise for you.

5. Cancellation by you, and refund tiers

Cancellations take effect only when received in writing at info@catalystwebtrendz.com, and are dated by the day that email arrives. Telephone notice alone does not cancel a booking. Charges are calculated on the total package value:

• More than 45 days before departure — 10% of package value, or the deposit if lower.
• 45 to 31 days — 25% of package value.
• 30 to 16 days — 50% of package value.
• 15 to 8 days — 75% of package value.
• 7 days or fewer, no-show, or abandonment mid-trip — 100% of package value. Unused hotel nights, meals, transfers and excursions carry no refund value.

Three carve-outs sit above these tiers and always take priority. Issued air tickets refund only what the airline's fare rules permit, which for most promotional and low-cost fares is nothing beyond statutory taxes. Visa fees, biometric charges and courier costs are paid to the mission and are never refundable, whatever the decision. Cruise cabins, chartered aircraft and non-refundable hotel rates carry the supplier's own penalty schedule, which is disclosed on your invoice at the time of booking and may reach 100% far earlier than the tiers above.

Approved refunds are processed within 10 working days of the cancellation being confirmed, to the original instrument of payment. Where a supplier has to refund us first — airlines commonly take 45 to 90 days — we pass the money on within 7 working days of receiving it, and we will show you the supplier's acknowledgement on request. GST already remitted to the exchequer on a cancelled booking is refunded only to the extent the law allows us to reclaim it. TCS already deposited is claimed back by you through your income tax return, not from us.

6. Amendments, name changes and date shifts

Ask us early and most things are possible. An amendment request received more than 30 days before departure attracts an administration fee of ₹2,500 per booking plus whatever the supplier charges. Inside 30 days, an amendment is treated as a cancellation and rebooking, and section 5 applies.

Airline name changes are usually not permitted at all — a ticket is issued to a named passenger and most fares prohibit transfer, so a spelling correction may require a fresh ticket at the fare available that day. Please check the name spelling on every ticket and voucher within 24 hours of receiving it; corrections requested after that window may not be free. Substituting one traveller for another on a land arrangement is at each supplier's discretion and, where permitted, carries their fee.

7. Cancellation or alteration by us

We may occasionally have to change a confirmed arrangement. Minor changes — a hotel of equivalent or better standard, a reordered sightseeing sequence, a different guide, a flight time moving by under three hours — will be notified but do not entitle you to compensation.

For a significant change, such as a change of destination, a reduction in the number of nights, a downgrade in hotel category or a departure date moving by more than 24 hours, you may accept the change, accept an alternative journey of comparable standard with any price difference settled either way, or cancel and receive a full refund of all monies paid to us. Group departures require a stated minimum number of travellers; if that number is not reached we will tell you at least 30 days before departure and offer the same three choices. Beyond this we are not liable for consequential losses such as separately purchased flights, visa fees or leave taken from work — which is one of several reasons insurance is mandatory.

8. Passports, visas and entry requirements are yours

Every traveller is responsible for holding a valid passport and every visa, permit and health certificate the journey requires. Most destinations require a passport valid for at least six months beyond your date of return, with at least two blank facing pages; some require more, and a damaged or water-affected passport is routinely refused at immigration.

Where you buy our visa assistance service we prepare, check and lodge the file, and our fee buys that professional work. It does not buy an outcome. A visa is granted or refused solely by the embassy, consulate or immigration authority concerned, on grounds it need not explain, and neither a refusal nor a delay is a breach of this contract. A refusal does not suspend the cancellation tiers in section 5: if you cannot travel because a visa was refused, the cancellation charges applicable on that date still apply, which is precisely the risk a good travel insurance policy is designed to absorb.

Overstaying a visa, travelling on a passport reported lost, or being denied boarding or entry for reasons personal to you leaves the booking wholly non-refundable and any repatriation cost to your account.

9. Travel insurance is a condition of travel

Comprehensive travel insurance is mandatory on every international booking we operate and strongly recommended on domestic ones. Cover should include medical treatment and hospitalisation abroad, emergency evacuation and repatriation, trip cancellation and curtailment, baggage and personal documents, and any adventure activity in your itinerary — trekking above 3,000 metres, scuba diving, skiing, rafting and paragliding are commonly excluded as standard and need an explicit rider.

We can arrange a policy through a licensed insurer, or you may buy your own; if you buy your own, send us the policy number and the insurer's 24-hour assistance line before departure. If you decline insurance you do so entirely at your own risk, you remain liable for the full cost of any medical or evacuation event, and we will ask you to record that decision in writing. Pre-existing medical conditions must be declared to the insurer — an undeclared condition is the single most common reason a claim abroad is rejected.

10. Third-party suppliers and the limits of our liability

99Travels designs, books and coordinates your journey. We do not own or operate the aircraft you fly on, the hotels you sleep in, the coaches and cars that carry you, the cruise ships, the restaurants or the activity operators. Each is an independent business supplying its service under its own terms and conditions, and its own national law, and you are bound by those terms when you use its service.

We accept liability for the parts we control: the accuracy of the itinerary we sell you, the bookings we make on your behalf, the professional care of our consultants, and our own negligence. Subject to that, and to the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 — nothing in this section limits any right you have as a consumer under that Act, and no clause here excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by our own negligence, which cannot lawfully be excluded — our total liability for any claim arising from a booking is limited to the amount you paid us for that booking. We are not liable for indirect or consequential losses including lost earnings, lost leave, missed events, or the cost of arrangements you made independently of us. International carriage is additionally governed by the Montreal and Warsaw Conventions, which cap carrier liability irrespective of anything written here.

11. Force majeure

Neither party is liable for failure to perform caused by an event beyond reasonable control. For travel this specifically includes war, civil unrest, terrorism and threat of terrorism; epidemics, pandemics and government health directions; border and airspace closures; earthquake, flood, cyclone, avalanche, landslide and wildfire; volcanic ash and severe weather; strikes and industrial action including air traffic control action; airport closure, curfew, and adverse advisories issued by the Ministry of External Affairs or a destination government.

In a force majeure event we will make reasonable efforts to recover value from suppliers and pass on whatever they release, but we cannot refund money that airlines, hotels and ground operators have kept. Where a supplier issues a credit note rather than cash, we pass on that credit note. Costs of extended stay, rebooked flights, quarantine accommodation and repatriation in such circumstances are for the traveller's account, and are typically recoverable from a comprehensive insurance policy.

12. Conduct on tour

Travel involves other people. We ask every traveller to arrive at the stated time for each departure, transfer and flight — a group cannot wait indefinitely, and a traveller who misses a departure rejoins the itinerary at their own cost. Please respect local law, custom and dress codes, particularly at religious sites, and follow reasonable safety instructions from guides, drivers and activity operators.

We, or any supplier, may terminate the arrangements of a traveller whose behaviour causes or is likely to cause danger, distress or material damage to others, or who is repeatedly intoxicated, abusive or in breach of local law. In that event the contract ends immediately, no refund is due, no onward or return travel is our responsibility, and you are liable for any damage caused. Airlines and hotels apply their own offloading and eviction policies independently, and we cannot overturn them.

Where a traveller has a medical, mobility or dietary requirement, please tell us in writing at booking. Many arrangements can be adapted with notice; almost none can be adapted on the day. If a requirement is disclosed only after departure and cannot be met, that is not a breach of this contract.

13. Complaints procedure

Raise a problem while you are still on the trip — call our 24×7 duty line or message the WhatsApp group your consultant created for your journey. Most complaints about a room, a vehicle or a guide can be fixed within hours on the ground and cannot be fixed at all once you are home. Please also report the issue to the supplier at the time, and keep the reference they give you.

If the matter remains unresolved, write to us within 30 days of returning, quoting your booking reference and attaching whatever evidence you have. We acknowledge every complaint within 48 hours and give a substantive written response within 21 working days. Nothing in this clause affects your right to approach a Consumer Commission under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 or to use the National Consumer Helpline.

14. Governing law, disputes and general terms

This contract is governed by the laws of India, including the Indian Contract Act, 1872, the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. Personal data is handled under our Privacy Policy and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

Any dispute that our complaints procedure does not resolve shall be referred to arbitration by a sole arbitrator under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The seat and venue of arbitration is New Delhi and the proceedings shall be in English. Subject to that, the courts at New Delhi have exclusive jurisdiction. Consumers retain every right to approach the appropriate Consumer Commission instead, and this clause does not oust that forum.

If any provision of these terms is held unenforceable, the remainder continues in force. Our failure to enforce a term on one occasion is not a waiver of it. These terms, together with your Booking Confirmation and the written itinerary attached to it, form the entire agreement between us and supersede any earlier discussion or draft. We may update these terms; the version in force on the date of your Booking Confirmation is the version that governs your booking.