By accessing and using the Hero Platform, you are entering into a contract with Hero. Hero operates as a booking and payment platform facilitating transactions between you (the “Customer”) and travel Suppliers, as guided by your Agent.

Products provided by Suppliers entail inherent risks. Therefore, you agree that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, you assume the risks associated with accessing and using the Platform, including engaging in any Products, or interacting with Agents or Suppliers, whether online or in person.

You are also responsible for evaluating Suppliers and their Products to determine their suitability for you. Products may involve risks such as illness, injury, disability, or death, and by choosing to participate, you freely assume these risks.

In addition to this Customer Agreement, our contract includes our Privacy Policy at https://hero.travel/privacy-policy

By proceeding, you confirm your acceptance of all these terms and conditions, and policies. If you do not agree with any of these Terms, please refrain from using our Platform.

1. Definitions

Agency / Agent means a travel agent, travel consultant or similar service provider.  

Agreement means this Customer Agreement 

Booking means the booking and legally binding purchase of a Product via the Platform by a Customer (through either an Agent or directly with Hero). 

Content means and all text, graphics, images, audio, video, information, pricing or other materials published on or through the Platform.

Customer means the person purchasing Products on the Platform, through Agent or Hero. 

Fee means the fees payable to Hero for, or in relation to a Booking, as specified on the Product Details or confirmation page. 

Open Dated Tickets means a Booking that has been made for you without a set date, which has a 12 month expiry from the date of the Booking. 

Platform means the proprietary Hero online booking platform and system owned and developed by Hero, including the www.hero.travel and www.my.hero.travel websites. For the avoidance of any doubt, the Platform shall also include Hero’s Agent-facing API and Hero’s ‘Widget’ technology.

Product means the products and services provided by the Supplier, as listed on the Platform, including but not limited to any accommodation, attractions, transport, tours, activities and other tourism and leisure based services.

Supplier means a person who is authorised by Hero to create and publish Products on the Platform.

2. Term and Termination

1. This Agreement between the Customer and Hero is effective when the Customer accesses the Platform (including when confirming a Booking or making payment) and remains in effect until either Party terminates the Agreement in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
2. A party may terminate this Agreement by providing written notice at any time, however, such termination shall not affect any existing Bookings.
3. The clauses in this Agreement that by their nature survive termination, will survive termination, including clauses 3.2, 3.3, 4, 6-10, 11, 12, 14 and 15.

3. Hero’s Services

1. Subject to your ongoing compliance with this Agreement, Hero grants to you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable and non-sublicensable right to access and use the Platform solely to confirm Bookings and make payments to Hero.
2. You do not acquire any intellectual property or other rights, express or implied, relating to the Platform or any trademarks, service marks, logos, trade names or other proprietary designations of Hero, all of which are owned by Hero.
3. You must not remove, obscure, or alter Hero’s copyright notices, trademarks, other proprietary rights notices, or any other content of any kind appearing in the Platform.

4. Products & Suppliers

1. We do not sell or provide Products. When you book, you enter into a contract directly with the Supplier and your Agent, as disclosed during the booking process.
2. We solely operate the Platform and have no involvement in Supplier / Agent agreements. Except as described in these Terms, we bear no liability to you regarding your Booking.
3. Product information on the Platform is managed by Suppliers. We cannot be held liable for any errors, interruptions, or omissions in the information. Rest assured, we will promptly address any issues brought to our attention.
4. Our Platform does not endorse or recommend any Supplier or its offerings.
5. We are not a party to the agreements between you and the Supplier. The Supplier is solely responsible for delivering the Product.
6. For some Products, you may be issued with an Open Dated Ticket, which has an expiry date of 12 months from the date of Booking. If the Open Dated Ticket is not used within this period, you will forfeit the right to experience or use the Product.

5. Payment

1. Hero will charge the relevant Fees (and any applicable GST or other indirect taxes, sales taxes, tourist taxes or other taxes) to you for the right to use the Platform and to make Bookings. Fees are always disclosed to you prior to you confirming and paying for a Booking. However, if any financial institutions apply fees to the transaction, you will be responsible for grossing up such payment of Fees such that the balance payable to Hero after deduction of the applicable banking fees shall be equivalent to the original amount due to Hero.
2. Hero is also authorised by the Supplier to collect and accept funds from you on behalf of the Supplier. When you pay Hero, your payment obligation to the Supplier is extinguished and Hero is responsible for remitting to each Supplier the amounts due.
3. If your booking was processed through Hero Payments (appearing as ‘Hero’ on your bank statement), we oversee the completion of your transaction with the Supplier.
4. For bookings processed through an Agent (via cash, bank transfer, or the Agent’s credit card facility), the Agent handles payment to Hero, and we subsequently ensure the transaction is completed with the Supplier.
5. In some cases, additional payments may be necessary, paid directly to the Supplier at check-in, which will be itemised as ‘Levies’ within the total quoted price.

6. Problems and Complaints

1. For queries or complaints, please contact our Customer Service team at https://hero.travel/customer-contact. We will require
   • your Name
   • your Ticket Number; and
   • a summary of the issue and how you would like us to assist you.
     
2. While we may facilitate communication between you, your Agent, or Supplier, this does not imply responsibility for the Product or any actions or inactions of the Supplier. We cannot guarantee that your messages will be read or acted upon by the Supplier.

7. Amendments, Cancellations and Refunds

1. When making a Booking, you accept the individual terms and policies of both your Agent and the Supplier, as presented during the booking process and on your ticket.
2. Subject to the terms of your Supplier’s and Agent’s agreement with you and their policies, you may be able to amend or cancel your Booking. Cancellations, no-show fees, and any refunds (whether full or part) will also depend on the Supplier’s and Agent’s terms and policies.
3. To request an amendment, such as a change of date, contact the Supplier using the details provided on your ticket. If the Supplier cannot assist, contact your Agent.
4. For cancellation requests, if you booked via an Agent, contact your Agent initially. If they are unable to assist, reach out to us at https://hero.travel/customer-contact. If you booked direct with Hero, contact us at https://hero.travel/customer-contact.
5. Refund procedures depend on the payment method. For any Bookings that are paid via Hero Payments (appearing as ‘Hero’ on your bank statement), once refunds are authorised by the relevant Agent or Supplier, the refunds are processed by Hero and issued back to you via the original payment method. If your Booking was processed through paid through to an Agent, they are responsible for issuing refunds.

8. Customer’s Other Obligations and Warranties

1. You agree that:
   1. the Suppliers, not Hero, are solely responsible for honouring Bookings and providing the Products; and
   2. when you confirm a Booking, you have entered into a separate agreement with the Supplier and you accept all terms, conditions, rules and restrictions associated with the Product, which is imposed by the Supplier.
2. When using the Platform, you agree you must not:
   
   1. permit access to, or use of, the Platform by anyone other than you;
   2. use manual or automated software, devices, scripts, robots or other means or processes to access, “scrape,” “crawl” or “spider” any web pages or other services contained within the Platform;
   3. use the Platform for any purposes that are not expressly permitted by this Agreement; 
   4. copy, store or otherwise access any information contained on the Platform for purposes not expressly permitted by this Agreement;
   5. build a competitive product or service or build a product or service using similar ideas, features, functions or graphics of the Platform;
   6. infringe the rights of any person or entity, including without limitation, their intellectual property, privacy, publicity or contractual rights; 
   7. interfere with or damage our Platform, including, without limitation, through the use of viruses, cancel bots, Trojan horses, harmful code, flood pings, denial-of-service attacks, packet or IP spoofing, forged routing or electronic mail address information or similar methods or technology;
   8. use the Platform to transmit, distribute, post or submit any information concerning any other person or entity, including without limitation, photographs of others without their permission, personal contact information or credit, debit, calling card or account numbers;
   9. use the Platform in connection with the distribution of unsolicited commercial email (“spam”) or advertisements unrelated to lodging in a private residence;
   10. “stalk” or harass any other user of our Platform, or collect or store any personally identifiable information about any other User except to make a Booking;
   11. recruit or otherwise solicit any supplier or agent to join third-party services or websites that are competitive to Hero, without Hero’s prior written approval;
   12. impersonate any person or entity, or falsify or otherwise misrepresent itself or its affiliation with any person or entity;
   13. use automated scripts to collect information from or otherwise interact with the Platform;
   14. systematically retrieve data or other content from our Platform to create or compile, directly or indirectly, in single or multiple downloads, a collection, compilation, database, directory or the like, whether by manual methods, through the use of bots, crawlers, or spiders, or otherwise;
   15. use, display, mirror or frame the Platform, or any individual element within the Platform, Hero’s name, any Hero trademark, logo or other proprietary information, or the layout and design of any page or form contained on a page in the Platform, without Hero’s express written consent;
   16. access, tamper with, or use non-public areas of the Platform, Hero’s computer systems, or the technical delivery systems of Hero’s providers;
   17. attempt to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of any Hero system or network or breach any security or authentication measures;
   18. avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, impair, descramble, or otherwise circumvent any technological measure implemented by Hero or any of Hero’s providers or any other third party (including another User) to protect the Platform;
   19. forge any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any email or newsgroup posting, or in any way use the Platform to send altered, deceptive or false source-identifying information;
   20. attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer any of the software used to provide the Platform; or 
   21. advocate, encourage, or assist any third party in doing any of the foregoing.
3. You understand and agree that Hero has the right to investigate and prosecute violations of any of the above to the fullest extent of the law.

9. Limitation of Liability

1. The Platform is provided on an “as-is” basis and Hero will not be responsible for any unavailability or interruption of service, or any event outside of Hero’s reasonable control.
2. To the maximum extent permitted by law, you agree to release, defend, indemnify and hold Hero harmless from and against any third party claims, liabilities, damages, losses and expenses (including without limitation reasonable legal fees) arising out of your: (a) material breach of the terms of this Agreement; (b) material breach of any third party contract, including a failure to comply with instructions with regards to a Product; and (c) breach of applicable law.
3. You understand and agree that Hero is not responsible or liable for any damage, harm, liability, responsibility arising in connection with interactions between, and acts or omissions of, Suppliers and Agents or you, for any breach of terms between these parties, or for any damage or destruction to property or personal injury or death that is caused by Suppliers, Agents or you.
4. Hero does not endorse any Product, Supplier or Agent and has not conducted any background checks on such parties.
5. To the extent permitted by law, the liability of Hero under this Agreement for breach of any guarantees under applicable Australian Consumer Laws that cannot be excluded or modified by this Agreement, will be limited at the option of Hero to any one or more of the following: (a) the supplying of the services again; or (b) the payment of the cost of having the services supplied again.
6. The liability of a party is reduced proportionately to the extent to which the liability is caused, or contributed to, by the other party. Each party must do what is reasonable in the circumstances to mitigate and minimise any costs, damages, expenses and/or losses incurred by the defaulting party.
7. Notwithstanding any other provision of this agreement and to the extent permitted by law, in no event will a party be liable to the other party for: (a) any special, punitive or indirect damages;  and (b) any form of consequential loss or damage that does not arise naturally and directly from a breach of this Agreement by the relevant party.
8. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement and to the extent permitted by law, Hero’s liability to you is limited, save in the case of Hero’s fraud, to the aggregate amount of the  Fees paid by you under the relevant Booking that is subject to the claim.

10. Confidentiality

Each party shall keep the other party’s non-public information private and confidential. 

11. Force Majeure

1. Force Majeure means the occurrence of:
   1. an act of war (whether declared or not), hostilities, invasion, act of foreign enemies, terrorism or civil disorder;
   2. strikes or other industrial action or blockade or embargo or any other form of civil disturbance (whether lawful or not), in each case affecting on a general basis the industry related to the Parties and which is not attributable to any unreasonable action or inaction on the part of either Party or any of its subcontractors or suppliers and the settlement of which is beyond the reasonable control of all such persons;
   3. tempest, earthquake, flood, public health crisis, pandemic, or any other event / disaster of overwhelming proportions;
   4. discontinuation of electricity supply, telephone or other communication services, or SaaS, service hosting or equipment hosting outages; or 
   5. any other circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the Party affected.
2. Neither party shall be in breach of its obligations under this Agreement or incur any liability to the other party for any losses or damages of any nature whatsoever incurred or suffered by that other party (otherwise than under any express indemnity in this Agreement) if and to the extent that it is prevented from carrying out those obligations by, or such losses or damages are caused by, a Force Majeure Event.
3. As soon as reasonably practicable following the date of commencement of a Force Majeure Event, and within a reasonable time following the date of termination of a Force Majeure Event, any party invoking it shall submit to the other party reasonable proof of the nature of the Force Majeure Event and of its effect upon the performance of the party’s obligations under this Agreement.
4. If a party is prevented from carrying out its obligation for a period of 30 days or more, either party may terminate this Agreement immediately upon giving written notice to the other party.

12. Third Party Links

1. The Platform may contain links to third-party websites or resources. You acknowledge and agree that Hero is not responsible or liable for: (i) the availability or accuracy of such websites or resources; or (ii) the content, products, or services on or available from such websites or resources. Hero does not endorse these websites or any content available. You use such websites and its contents at your own risk.
2. Some portions of the Platform may implement Google Maps/Earth mapping services, including Google Maps API(s). Any use of Google Maps/Earth is subject to Google’s terms of use, located at, https://google.com/intl/en_us/help/terms_maps.html

13. Entire Agreement

This Agreement represents the entire agreement between you and Hero in relation to its subject matter and supersedes all prior negotiations, correspondence, discussions, and representations or agreements, either written or oral.

14. Notices

We will send you any notices, demand or other communications via email at the address stated on the confirmation page. Please send Hero any notices, demand or other communications to [email protected]

15. Applicable Law and Jurisdiction

This Agreement is governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia. The parties agree to submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales, Australia. 

16. Miscellaneous

1. You may not assign this Agreement or your rights under this Agreement without Hero’s prior written consent. Hero may assign this Agreement or its rights under this Agreement, at its sole discretion, without restriction.
2. In the event that any one or more of the provisions contained in this Agreement shall, for any reasons, be held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable in any respect, such invalidity, illegality, or unenforceability shall not affect any other provision of this Agreement or any other such instrument.