Powered by Vacations To Go, with over 10 million happy customers since 1984
Terms and Conditions
1. Agreement and Acceptance
Vacations To Go is a fully accredited travel agency that has been in operation since 1984.
This is an agreement between you and Vacations To Go (“VTG”), that describes your rights to use any VTG website and its services. These terms and conditions also apply to each and every transaction involving VTG as well as every service that VTG sells (“Terms and Conditions”). The disclaimers, limitations of liability, and release and indemnity in Sections 6, 7, and 8 also protect VTG’s officers, directors, owners, and employees.
Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully. Section 12 contains an arbitration agreement and class action waiver that apply to claims between you and VTG. You may opt out of Section 12 as described in paragraph 12.12.
By using the services covered by these Terms and Conditions, you agree that you have read and accepted all of the terms of this agreement (“Agreement”).
Your acceptance of these Terms and Conditions applies to your registration and account, to your use of our websites and services, and to every quote, reservation, and booking you make with us afterward, whether you make it on our website, by telephone, by email, through one of our travel counselors, or in any other way, unless you and VTG have signed a separate written agreement covering that booking. The Terms and Conditions posted at the time you make a reservation apply to that reservation. If you later accept revised Terms and Conditions, the revised version applies to your use of our websites and services and to bookings you make from that point forward, and does not change the terms of a reservation already confirmed except as you and VTG agree.
2. Who These Terms Apply To
(a) You are agreeing for everyone in your party. If you register on a VTG website, log in to a VTG website, request a quote, or make a reservation, you do so for yourself and, if the reservation covers any person other than you, as the authorized representative of each person named on or added to that reservation, whether or not you are traveling, including any accompanying minor and any person who joins the reservation later. By doing so, you represent and warrant that (i) you are at least 18 years of age, (ii) you have full authority to accept these Terms and Conditions on behalf of each of those persons, and (iii) you have made these Terms and Conditions available to each of them, or will do so before travel.
(b) Effect. Each person named on a reservation is bound by these Terms and Conditions to the same extent as the person who made the reservation, and each of them, and anyone claiming through or on behalf of any of them, is entitled to the benefits of these Terms and Conditions and subject to their obligations, including the Arbitration Agreement and Class Action Waiver in Section 12. The person who makes a reservation is bound by these Terms and Conditions, including Section 12, whether or not that person travels on it. Where a minor is named on a reservation, the adult who made the reservation accepts these Terms and Conditions on that minor’s behalf as the person authorized to do so. Nothing in Section 7 or Section 8 waives, releases, or limits a minor’s own claim for bodily injury or death.
(c) Travelers who accept the benefit of a reservation. Any person who travels on, or otherwise accepts the benefit of, a reservation made through VTG accepts these Terms and Conditions with respect to that travel, whether or not that person personally registered with VTG or personally made or paid for the reservation.
(d) If you are not authorized. If you accept these Terms and Conditions on behalf of another person without that person’s authority, you remain personally bound by them, and you are responsible to VTG for any loss, liability, or expense VTG incurs as a result of the lack of authority.
(e) Communications. VTG may send confirmations, changes, notices, and other communications about a reservation to the person who made it, and delivery to that person is delivery to everyone named on the reservation.
(f) Businesses. If you use our websites or services on behalf of a business, that business accepts these Terms and Conditions.
3. Services
VTG provides its services to assist you with booking travel. To make a booking with VTG, you agree that:
- You will only use this site and its services to make legitimate reservations and purchases.
- You will not use this site or the representatives of VTG to make false or fraudulent or speculative reservations or purchases.
- You are at least 18 years of age and have authority to enter into contracts, including the authority described in Section 2.
- You are providing VTG with accurate, truthful, and complete information.
4. Pricing
(a) How prices are quoted. Unless VTG states otherwise, prices are quoted in U.S. dollars. For ocean cruises, river cruises, tours, and safaris, displayed prices are per person and are based on two people sharing a cabin or room. Prices for solo travelers, third and fourth occupants, children, and other occupancy arrangements differ and will be quoted separately. For hotel stays and hotel and air packages, displayed prices are shown per person, per night, or as a total, as indicated, and are based on the number of travelers and dates in your search or quote request.
(b) Price changes and availability. Prices are set by travel suppliers, not by VTG. Displayed prices are subject to change and must be reconfirmed at booking. A displayed price does not become the price applicable to your travel until VTG has reconfirmed the price with the supplier, you have made a reservation, and a payment has been applied. A price may change or become unavailable at any time before that happens, including while you are speaking with a travel counselor, because the supplier controls the inventory and may change or withdraw a price at any time. Cruise cabins, hotel rooms, tour seats, and flight seats are sold by the suppliers on a continuous basis and can sell out without notice. Availability generally tightens as the departure date approaches, and space that was available when a price was displayed may have sold before you contact us.
(c) FastDeals and other limited-inventory offers. FastDeals and similar promotional fares are limited-inventory offers made available to VTG by travel suppliers. They are available in small quantities, often in a single cabin category on a single sailing, and they may sell out or be withdrawn by the supplier without advance notice to VTG. The appearance of a FastDeal on a VTG website does not mean it remains available. Availability is confirmed only when you contact VTG and VTG confirms it with the supplier.
(d) What displayed prices include.
(i) Ocean cruises, river cruises, tours, and safaris. Displayed prices include port charges and the government taxes and fees that the cruise line or other supplier includes in the booking price. What else is included varies by product and is stated in the itinerary, quote, or confirmation. Unless that description states otherwise, displayed prices do not include airfare or airport taxes or fees, gratuities, travel protection, shore excursions, onboard or on-site purchases, transfers, or visas.
(ii) Hotel stays and hotel and air packages. Displayed total prices include mandatory hotel and resort fees and applicable taxes, including fees and taxes that the property collects directly. Where the quote includes air, displayed prices include airfare and airport taxes and fees. If a destination imposes a new tax or fee that has not been reported to VTG by the supplier, it may not be reflected in a displayed price until VTG is notified. What else is included varies by product and is stated in the itinerary, quote, or confirmation. Unless that description states otherwise, displayed prices do not include travel protection, optional activities, on-site purchases, transfers, optional parking, or visas.
(iii) Amounts collected at the property. Some of the mandatory fees and taxes included in a displayed hotel price are collected by the property rather than by VTG, usually at the end of your stay. VTG identifies those amounts separately when it displays the price. They are calculated using rates supplied to VTG at the time of booking, and the property collects them at the rate in effect at the time of your stay.
(iv) Prices and promotions are for new bookings only, in accordance with supplier policies.
(e) Charges collected by cruise lines after booking. Some governments impose per-passenger taxes or fees that apply only to cruise passengers who go ashore at a particular port. Certain cruise lines collect those charges on board rather than including them in the fare, and they are not included in displayed prices. Charges of that kind will be billed to your onboard account by the supplier.
(f) Errors. Prices, descriptions, itineraries, and availability information on VTG websites and in VTG emails, newsletters, and other materials are supplied by travel suppliers and VTG does not guarantee their accuracy. Despite VTG’s efforts, errors occur. VTG may correct pricing errors and cannot honor prices that are incorrect or that are no longer offered or that are for cabins, hotel rooms, tours, or flights that are unavailable. A change in a supplier’s price, promotion, or policy after booking is not an error, and does not entitle you to re-fare a confirmed booking. If a price or promotion you were quoted is erroneous, VTG will tell you the corrected price, and you may either accept it or decline to make the booking at no cost to you. If an error is not identified until after your booking is confirmed, you may either accept the corrected price or cancel the affected booking for a full refund of all amounts you have paid to VTG, with no cancellation penalty.
(g) Your price after you book. The total price VTG confirms at booking will not increase after confirmation, except for government-imposed taxes or fees that must be collected as required by law and except for amounts described in paragraph (d)(iii), which are collected by the property at the rate in effect at the time of your stay. If a supplier seeks to impose any other charge after booking, VTG will notify you before it applies and present the options the supplier makes available, which may include canceling the affected booking. Nothing in this paragraph limits any right you may have under applicable law, including any right to cancel or to a refund where the law requires it. This paragraph does not apply where prohibited by law.
(h) Verbal and email quotes. A price quoted to you by telephone or email is based on information available to the travel counselor at that time and is subject to reconfirmation under paragraph (b).
5. Booking
(a) Confirmation. After purchase, a VTG confirmation email will be sent to you. These Terms and Conditions apply to the transaction described in the confirmation. If you did not accept these Terms and Conditions on a VTG website before booking, your acceptance of the confirmation, including by traveling on the reservation it describes, constitutes your agreement to these Terms and Conditions as to that transaction. No oral understandings, statements, promises, or inducements contrary to or inconsistent with these Terms and Conditions exist. The confirmation is not subject to any modification, waiver, or addition that is made orally. The confirmation is subject to modification, waiver or addition only by means of a new confirmation email that will be sent to you or the passenger of record after any agreed upon change.
(b) Supplier rules. VTG strictly abides by all of the rules, procedures, and terms established by third-party providers, including, but not limited to, cruise lines, river cruise lines, airlines, hotels, tour operators, safari operators, car rental companies, travel insurance companies, companies that provide transportation to or from an airport, and shore excursion providers. You do not have an automatic right to cancel or change your booking with us unless allowed by the rules, procedures, and terms established by third-party providers. You acknowledge that there may be charges or fees associated with cancelling or changing your booking, and you agree to pay any charges or fees that you incur. VTG is not responsible for any losses or alleged damages that you claim occur due to changes or cancellations to your booking.
(c) Hosted singles bookings and roommate matching. This paragraph applies only to a reservation for which VTG has agreed to provide roommate matching.
(i) Roommate matching. VTG offered roommate matching as a courtesy. VTG does not screen, vet, interview, or conduct background checks on participants, and VTG makes no representation about the character, conduct, or suitability of any person you may be matched with. VTG accepts no responsibility for roommate compatibility. VTG will seek to match you with a participant of the same gender, based solely on the gender each participant reports to VTG, which VTG does not verify. VTG will also try to match you with someone close to your age and of the same smoking preference, but cannot guarantee any of these. The final match decision is made in VTG’s sole discretion, generally the week of departure.
(ii) Timing of your match. VTG may identify a possible roommate for you at any time after you book, and may change that match for a variety of reasons. Your match is not final until VTG confirms it, which may be as late as the week of departure. VTG does not release the name of, or any other information about, your roommate in advance. You will typically see your roommate’s name when you check in online.
(iii) Declining a match. At any time before cancellation penalties begin under the travel supplier’s terms, you may decline roommate matching and either request a single occupancy cabin at the applicable single occupancy rate or cancel your booking without penalty. Once cancellation penalties have begun, a single occupancy cabin may not be available and the supplier’s cancellation penalties will apply to any cancellation.
(iv) Late requests. If you requested a roommate within 90 days of departure, VTG added you to a waitlist but cannot guarantee that a roommate will be found.
(v) Number and ratio of single travelers. VTG cannot guarantee the number of single travelers on any sailing and does not control the ratio of men to women.
(vi) Conduct of your roommate. Your roommate is not a VTG employee or agent. VTG is not responsible for your roommate’s conduct or for any loss or damage caused by your roommate. If a problem arises during your travel, report it immediately to the ship’s guest services staff and to VTG.
6. Third Parties
Much of the information on our websites and in our newsletters and marketing materials is supplied by third-party providers, and VTG accepts no responsibility for errors, omissions, inaccuracies, or misleading statements in information supplied by them. This does not limit VTG’s responsibility for its own statements to the extent applicable law makes VTG responsible for them.
All suppliers named on our websites or in our marketing materials, including but not limited to cruise lines, river cruise lines, airlines, hotels, tour operators, safari operators, car rental companies, travel insurance companies, companies that provide transportation to or from an airport, and shore excursion providers are third-party providers, and VTG has no control over their actions or inactions. VTG is not responsible for a third party’s failure to perform, breach of contract, or any action, intentional or negligent, which results in any loss, injury, delay, or damage to you or your property or to anyone traveling with you, or to the property of that party. VTG cannot and does not guarantee third-party provider reservations, timeliness, employee conduct, or the performance of scheduled flights, airport transportation, cruises, or tours, or the availability of hotel rooms or rental cars. You acknowledge that upon receipt of fare by third-party provider, the provider accepts the passenger subject to the terms of the provider contract. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT VTG SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, AND/OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES RESULTING FROM A THIRD-PARTY’S NEGLIGENCE, GROSS NEGLIGENCE, BREACH OF CONTRACT, FRAUD, OR ANY OTHER CAUSE WHATSOEVER.
7. Disclaimers and Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, VTG DOES NOT WARRANT THE CONTENTS OF ITS WEBSITES AS TO ACCURACY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, COMPLETENESS, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. ALL WARRANTIES THEREOF, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE DISCLAIMED.
VTG WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY ALLEGED INJURY OR DAMAGE RESULTING FROM AN ALLEGED ERROR IN INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY A THIRD-PARTY PROVIDER AND DISPLAYED ON ANY VTG WEBSITE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, A MISPRINT OR OMISSION OF INFORMATION.
VTG ALSO WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY SICKNESS, LOSS OF LIFE, OR DAMAGE RESULTING FROM THE CONTRACTING OF ANY CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. IT IS YOUR PERSONAL DECISION TO TRAVEL, AND YOU DO SO SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE TRAVEL RECOMMENDATIONS AND TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS. VTG ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR AND SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR UNSAFE CONDITIONS, BODILY INJURY, OR HEALTH HAZARDS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PANDEMICS OR OTHER ILLNESSES RELATED TO YOUR TRAVEL. VTG HAS NO SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE OR CONTROL OF LOCAL TRAVEL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WEATHER, CRIME, OR FOOD OR BEVERAGE QUALITY OR SAFENESS. INFORMATION RELATED TO SUCH TRAVEL CONDITIONS CAN BE FOUND AT THE STATE DEPARTMENT TRAVEL WEBSITE AT HTTPS://WWW.TRAVEL.STATE.GOV.
IN NO EVENT SHALL VTG BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM VTG’S SERVICES OR USE OF THIS SITE REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE ALLEGED DAMAGE ARISES FROM NEGLIGENCE, CONTRACT, TORT, STATUTES, OR OTHER ALLEGED OR ACTUAL STANDARD OF CARE AND EVEN IF VTG HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IF YOUR STATE DOES NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
IF VTG IS FOUND TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE OR LOSS BASED ON SERVICES VTG PROVIDED OR UNDER THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, THEN VTG WILL ONLY BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DIRECT DAMAGES THAT WERE: (1) INCURRED BY YOU; (2) FORESEEABLE BY YOU AND VTG; AND (3) DIRECTLY CAUSED BY VTG. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT VTG'S LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES INCURRED BY YOU OR ANYONE ELSE FROM LOSS OR DAMAGE TO PROPERTY OR FROM BODILY INJURY OR DEATH OR OTHERWISE IS LIMITED TO THE GROSS AMOUNT PAID BY YOU TO VTG. YOU ALSO AGREE TO WAIVE ANY CLAIMS FOR DAMAGES WHICH YOU OTHERWISE MIGHT BE ENTITLED TO ASSERT AGAINST VTG FOR DAMAGE TO OR LOSS OF PROPERTY WHEN THE DAMAGES ARE COVERED BY PROPERTY INSURANCE, AND FURTHER AGREE THAT NO PROPERTY INSURANCE COMPANY SHALL EVER BECOME ENTITLED TO ASSERT ANY CLAIM YOU HAVE AGAINST VTG, BY SUBROGATION, ASSIGNMENT, OR OTHERWISE, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
THE LIMITATIONS, EXCLUSIONS, AND WAIVERS IN THIS SECTION 7 DO NOT APPLY TO LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY VTG’S GROSS NEGLIGENCE OR WILLFUL MISCONDUCT.
8. Release and Indemnity
YOU agree to release, defend, indemnify, and hold VTG harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, and causes of action of every kind and character (including without limitation, fines, penalties, court costs, and reasonable attorneys’ fees, including attorneys’ fees incurred in the enforcement of this indemnity) (collectively the “Indemnifiable Claims”) arising out of, without limitation, any physical or mental injury, illness, and/or death AND loss of or damage to YOUR property or interests in property WHICH in any manner ARE incident to, connected with, or arising out of YOUR USE OF THIS WEBSITE OR YOUR USE OF VTG’S TRAVEL PLANNING SERVICES. This obligation is without regard to the cause or causes of such physical or mental injury, illness, death, or loss of or damage to property or interests in property and includes, but is not limited to, Indemnifiable Claims resulting from any sole, joint or concurrent negligence, strict liability, or other act and/or omission of VTG. This release and indemnity does not apply to VTG’s own gross negligence or willful misconduct.
9. Intellectual Property
Our websites, newsletters, and marketing materials, and all of their contents are the copyrighted property of VTG. All information, text, graphics, software, images and coding (together comprising the “contents”) are the property of VTG and/or its various third-party providers. No part of the contents may be reproduced, modified, removed, sold, transferred, or otherwise distributed without the express written permission of VTG and/or the applicable third-party providers. All VTG trademarks and trade names used on or in connection to our websites shall remain the exclusive property of VTG, and your use of our websites shall not be deemed to give you any rights in or to any trademarks of VTG.
10. Privacy Policy
At Vacations To Go, privacy is important. We use the personal information that we collect to make researching and purchasing a trip at Vacations To Go as easy as possible. This entails such uses as personalizing your experience at our sites by greeting you by name, informing you of new changes to our sites, and making you aware of discounts that are specific to age, occupation, travel history or residency in certain states or provinces.
We also measure traffic on our sites to assist us in improving the overall design and navigation of our sites.
To ensure the quality of the service we provide, all calls to and from Vacations To Go may be monitored and will be recorded.
By becoming a member of our sites or making a booking through us, you consent to the collection and use of this information by Vacations To Go.
All of the personal information that we collect is protected against unauthorized access. We share your personal information with travel providers to obtain pricing for vacations and to confirm and manage bookings.
We may also share limited information with trusted service providers who assist us in operating our business. Examples of business uses may include advertising, data storage (e.g., cloud services), quality control, analytics, customer support and document processing to ensure booking accuracy. These providers use your information only for the purposes we specify, protect it with appropriate security measures and do not retain or use it for their own purposes. We do not share your information for unrelated uses.
For any questions about personal information or to request that we delete any information you may have provided, please email contact@vacationstogo.com or call 800-338-4962 extension 0.
11. Photography and Promotional Materials
(a) Photographs and recordings. VTG and its representatives may photograph or record customers at VTG-hosted events, group activities, and hosted travel programs. By participating, you agree that VTG may use those photographs and recordings, and your likeness as it appears in them, without compensation, on VTG’s websites and in VTG’s newsletters, emails, social media, and other promotional materials.
(b) How VTG identifies customers. In promotional materials, VTG may identify you by first name and last initial and may identify your state or region of residence. VTG will not publish your full last name, your city or street address, or your contact information. In any material that identifies customers as single travelers or as participants in a hosted singles program, VTG will identify you by first name only.
(c) Others on your reservation. This permission applies to you and, if you accept these Terms and Conditions on behalf of others under Section 2, to each person named on your reservation, including any minor.
(d) Declining. You may decline to be photographed or recorded at any time by telling the VTG host or representative on site, and VTG will honor that request for the remainder of your travel. You may also ask VTG to stop using a photograph, recording, or reference to you in future materials by writing to Vacations To Go, Attn: Kari Bean, Vice President, Customer Care, 5851 San Felipe St. #500, Houston, TX 77057. VTG will honor that request as to materials produced after it is received. VTG cannot recall materials already printed or distributed.
(e) Photographs taken by others. This Section covers only photographs and recordings made by VTG and its representatives. Photographs taken by other travelers, by the travel supplier, or by the supplier’s onboard photographers are governed by the supplier’s own terms and are outside VTG’s control.
12. Arbitration Agreement and Class Action Waiver
Please read this Section carefully. It requires that disputes between you and VTG be resolved by individual, binding arbitration or in small claims court. You and VTG each waive the right to a jury trial and the right to participate in a class action or class arbitration. You may opt out of this Section as described in paragraph 12.12.
12.1 Federal Arbitration Act. This Section evidences a transaction involving interstate commerce, and the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq., governs its interpretation and enforcement. This Section is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act and not by any state arbitration statute.
12.2 Scope. Except as provided in paragraph 12.3, you and VTG agree to arbitrate any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms and Conditions, VTG’s websites, VTG’s emails and newsletters, VTG’s marketing, any quote or reservation, any travel product VTG sold or offered to sell you, any product or service sold with your travel, any charge or fee, any renewal or subscription, or your relationship with VTG, whether based in contract, statute, regulation, tort, fraud, misrepresentation, consumer protection law, or any other legal theory, and whether the claim arose before, on, or after the date you accepted these Terms and Conditions, except that this Section does not apply to any dispute as to which either party had, before the effective date of this Section, already given written notice of a claim or filed suit. This Section survives the termination of your relationship with VTG.
12.3 Small claims court. Notwithstanding the rest of this Section, either you or VTG may bring an individual claim in small claims court if the claim is within that court’s jurisdictional limit. If a demand for arbitration asserts only claims within a small claims court’s jurisdictional limit, either you or VTG may elect, by written notice to the other before the arbitrator is appointed, to have those claims heard in small claims court instead. A claim in small claims court must remain an individual claim and may not be brought, consolidated, or joined on a class or representative basis.
12.4 Informal resolution first. Before starting an arbitration, the party raising the dispute must send a written Notice of Dispute to the other and give it 60 days to resolve the matter. A Notice of Dispute from you must be signed by you personally (an electronic signature is sufficient) and must state your full name, your mailing address, the email address and telephone number associated with your account or reservation, the reservation or FastDeal number at issue, a description of the specific facts of your dispute, and the specific relief you are seeking. A Notice of Dispute from VTG will state the same categories of information. Notices to VTG go to: Vacations To Go, Attn: Kari Bean, Vice President, Customer Care — Notice of Dispute, 5851 San Felipe St. #500, Houston, TX 77057. Either party may request an individualized settlement conference during the 60-day period, and the other party will participate in good faith. The 60-day period tolls any applicable limitations period. Completing this step is a condition precedent to starting an arbitration, and either party may ask a court to enforce it.
12.5 Administrator and rules. The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures and any other AAA rules that AAA determines apply, as modified by this Section. The AAA rules are available at www.adr.org. If AAA is unavailable or declines to administer the arbitration consistent with this Section, the parties will agree on a replacement administrator, and if they cannot agree, either party may ask a court to appoint one. There will be one arbitrator. If multiple individual arbitrations against VTG are filed by or with the assistance of the same representative, AAA will administer them under any AAA supplementary rules for multiple filings in effect when they are filed, and each claim will still be decided individually as provided in paragraph 12.8.
12.6 Fees. VTG will pay all AAA filing, administrative, and arbitrator fees that exceed the amount the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures and the applicable AAA fee schedule require you to pay. Each party otherwise bears its own attorneys’ fees and costs, except that the arbitrator may award attorneys’ fees and costs to the extent, and only to the extent, authorized by the statute or other law governing the claim.
12.7 Location. The arbitration will be seated in Harris County, Texas, and any in-person hearing will be held in Harris County, Texas, except where the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures provide otherwise. At your election, a hearing may be conducted by telephone or videoconference. Any court proceeding permitted by this Section, including a proceeding to compel arbitration or to confirm, modify, or vacate an award, will be brought in the state or federal courts located in Harris County, Texas, consistent with Section 13.
12.8 Class action waiver. YOU AND VTG AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF, CLAIMANT, OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLASS, COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED, COORDINATED, MASS, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. The arbitrator may award relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by that party’s individual claim. The arbitrator may not consolidate or join the claims of more than one person and may not preside over any form of class, collective, or representative proceeding. This paragraph 12.8 applies whether the claim is heard in arbitration or, under paragraph 12.3, in court.
12.9 Jury trial waiver. YOU AND VTG EACH WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL ON ANY CLAIM SUBJECT TO THIS SECTION.
12.10 Dispositive motions and disclosure of evidence.
(a) The arbitrator will consider and decide a motion to dismiss or a motion for summary judgment applying the same standard a Texas state court would apply to the same motion, and is not limited by any administrator rule requiring a preliminary showing that the motion is likely to succeed.
(b) No later than 30 days before the hearing, each party will disclose to the other the witnesses it intends to call and the exhibits it intends to offer. The arbitrator will exclude any witness or exhibit not disclosed as required by this paragraph, absent a showing of good cause.
12.11 Severability. If any part of this Section other than paragraph 12.8 is found unenforceable, that part is severed and the rest remains in effect, notwithstanding Section 13(f). If paragraph 12.8 is found unenforceable as to a particular claim or a particular request for relief, then that claim or request for relief, and only that claim or request for relief, is severed from the arbitration and will proceed in the courts identified in Section 13. All other claims will be arbitrated. If paragraph 12.8 is found unenforceable in its entirety as to a dispute, this Section does not apply to that dispute.
12.12 Your right to opt out. You may opt out of this Section. To opt out, send written notice within 30 days after the date you first accept these Terms and Conditions to: Vacations To Go, Attn: Kari Bean, Vice President, Customer Care — Arbitration Opt-Out, 5851 San Felipe St. #500, Houston, TX 77057, or by email to arbitration-optout@vacationstogo.com. Your notice must state your full name, mailing address, the email address associated with your account, and that you are opting out of the Arbitration Agreement and Class Action Waiver. An opt-out sent by the person who made a reservation is effective for every person named on that reservation, and VTG will not separately notify, or accept opt-outs from, individual travelers who did not personally make the reservation. Opting out affects only this Section; the rest of these Terms and Conditions continue to apply. Opting out will not affect your ability to register, log in, book, or travel with VTG, and VTG will not treat you differently because you opted out.
12.13 Changes to this Section. If VTG changes this Section after you accept it, the change will not apply to any dispute for which a Notice of Dispute was sent or a proceeding was filed before the change took effect.
12.14 Jurisdictions where this Section does not apply. This Section does not apply to the extent it is unenforceable under the law of the jurisdiction where you reside.
13. Governing Law, Venue, Changes to These Terms, and General
(a) Governing law. These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules, except that Section 12 is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act as provided in Section 12.1. Nothing in this paragraph deprives you of the protection of any mandatory consumer-protection law of the jurisdiction where you reside that applies to your claim despite this choice of law and cannot be waived by contract.
(b) Venue for court proceedings. You and VTG agree that any legal action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement that is not subject to Section 12 shall be brought exclusively in the state courts located in Harris County, Texas, or, if federal jurisdiction exists, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. You and VTG irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of such courts and waive any objection based on improper venue or inconvenient forum.
(c) Informal resolution before court proceedings. Before initiating any lawsuit or formal legal action that is not subject to Section 12, you and VTG will follow the Notice of Dispute and informal resolution process in Section 12.4. If a lawsuit or claim is filed before that process is complete, the case shall be abated until it is concluded.
(d) Changes to these Terms and Conditions. VTG may change any aspect of its sites and may modify, add to, or remove any of these Terms and Conditions. VTG will post the revised Terms and Conditions with a new effective date and version number, and the revised Terms and Conditions will take effect no earlier than 30 days after posting. Changes apply prospectively only. No change will apply to any dispute for which a Notice of Dispute was sent or a proceeding was filed before the change took effect. Your continued use of VTG’s sites or services after the revised Terms and Conditions take effect constitutes your acceptance of them.
(e) Termination of access and refusal of service. VTG may, in its sole discretion and for any reason or no reason, restrict or terminate your access to VTG’s websites, decline to provide travel planning or booking services to you, and decline to accept a reservation. VTG may also cancel a confirmed reservation where VTG reasonably believes your conduct violates applicable law, is abusive or threatening toward VTG personnel or other travelers, is harmful to VTG or to any third-party provider, or involves fraudulent, speculative, or repeatedly incomplete bookings. If VTG cancels a confirmed reservation for one of those reasons, VTG will refund amounts you have paid to VTG, less any cancellation penalties imposed by the travel supplier. If VTG cancels a confirmed reservation for any other reason, VTG will refund all amounts you have paid to VTG. This paragraph is subject to applicable law.
(f) Severability. If any provision of these Terms and Conditions is found to be unenforceable, such provision shall still be enforced to the fullest extent of applicable law and shall not affect the enforceability of the remaining provisions, except that Section 12.11 governs the severability of Section 12.
(g) Payment method. VTG prefers that customers pay by credit card, strictly for customers’ own protection, in the event of default of third-party providers. Customers paying by check, cash, money order or any electronic funds transfer such as a wire transfer, ACH payment or eCheck, etc., are hereby advised that VTG accepts no financial responsibility in the event of default by third-party providers.