Please read the following before continuing your correspondence with us, as it explains how our business operates and will assist you with having a trouble-free procedure.
BACKGROUND & WHO BOOKS WITH US:
Our company is called SA Safari Trips, and was created officially in 2009 by Willie and Robert, as a Tour Operating business. We plan & book safari holidays for tourists, who live in Southern Africa or any country in the world – and who want to enjoy a fantastic holiday to any of the Southern Africa countries that we do business in. 90% of our clients are from the USA, UK and Europe – the remainder of our clients are from South Africa and other countries around the world.
Our speciality is to customise (tailor-make) a holiday to your requirements, which would include your available dates, budget and interests. We do support a number of our colleagues who have packages and set tours. These could be budget overland camping safaris or luxury flying safaris. We charge the same rates, as you would pay if you booked directly with them, there is no additional charge. We also do book just accommodation for our clients – for example, 3 nights at Sun City Resort or 2 nights at Mala Mala Game Reserve – and again, we charge the normal public rates, we do not mark up their rates.
HOW TO PROCESS A BOOKING:
1. We have now received your enquiry – via e-mail normally, and over the next few days/weeks, we shall correspond, regularly, as we share ideas with you after having asked you numerous questions so that we ‘get to know you’ better and what you would like to experience. We share with you names and description of destinations, lodges, wildlife reserve and ideas. We receive your answers, questions and comments – and then finally come up with an itinerary, customised for you.
2. During this exchange of ideas, I will send you information to look at, or refer you to certain web pages, to read about the recommendations we make – and this information and/or websites, have the nightly rates… and you need to make a note of these guideline prices, to see if you are able to afford these recommendations. Please do not make direct contact with the lodges we recommend, as it complicates the booking systems we have.
3. Once your itinerary is finalised, we then contact all lodges concerned and compile a quotation… this will take a few days, as we need to get answers from everyone. It is pointless us quoting you an itinerary and including certain lodges, when they are actually full, so, we prefer to check availability. When we make contact with the lodges, we will normally make a “provisional booking” – this means we are holding the room/s for you and can only do so for a few days, before we must commit to the lodge with a deposit to confirm the booking, (or cancel that booking.)
4. As soon as you receive the quotation, you will need to either ask us to fine-tune it or accept it and pay the deposit immediately, so that we can use those funds to pay all the various lodges their deposits to confirm the booking. Normally, there is a 35% deposit required and the balance must be paid 8 weeks prior to the start of your holiday. Some lodges require 50% deposit and if we are booking any local flights for you, they require 100% payment – so the actual deposit might be more than 35% of the total.
5. We do not issue invoices for private holidays, they are not necessary. If you are claiming expenses for a business trip, then we require all your company details.
6. Once you have paid your deposit, then the various lodges cancellation policies come into force, so please ensure that you have travel insurance to cover ‘cancellation & curtailment’.
7. For payments, we can process either a credit card (Visa or MasterCard only), or you can pay into our bank account. If you live in South Africa, then we require a bank deposit. Only once the funds are reflecting in our account, will we pay any of the lodges. Payments via credit card or overseas bank transfers, typically take 3 to 5 working days… often as long as 10 working days.
8. After the balance of your payment has been made to us, and we have then paid everyone, then we complete your Booking Confirmation Document for you, and if required, a detailed itinerary, and email these to you. Your confirmation document shall have all details about each booking made plus the lodges contact phone number for urgent use.
9. After your trip, we appreciate any feedback about your holiday – both positive and constructive.
10. Our only source of income is from commissions from each establishment, which are included in the public rates. It is for this reason; we do not book campsites, cheap guesthouses or hotels, as they do not include any commission. We prefer to book only those establishments that are listed on our website, however, we are not limited to these, as long as any requested establishments you have, include a commission in their public rates.
We look forward to concluding a great booking with you.