General terms and conditions

Version 01/03/2023

These General Terms and Conditions (“General Terms and Conditions”), together with the Privacy Policy (https://secretsofpatagonia.com/privacy-policy/) govern the use of the Secrets of Patagonia online mediation platform (“Secrets of Patagonia platform”), which can be accessed through  (i) https://secretsofpatagonia.com/ and certain other websites powered by Secrets of Patagonia (collectively the “Secrets of Patagonia Website”), and (ii) certain mobile apps published by Secrets of Patagonia  (“Secrets of Patagonia Apps”).

The Secrets of Patagonia platform is available to users worldwide.

  1. About us

We, Secrets of Patagonia, registered address Bolivar 1743 – C1141 Barracas, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, (“Secrets of Patagonia” or “we” or “us”) is the operator of the Secrets of Patagonia platform and are responsible for it accordingly.

  1. Scope

2.1 These General Terms and Conditions apply to all visitors to and users of the Secrets of Patagonia platform and to all content within the offered operating systems (currently iOS, Android) (“Users”). As soon as you use the Secrets of Patagonia platform, you are obliged to comply with these General Terms and Conditions. Therefore, please read them carefully during your first use.

2.2 They are available online and apply to all of our services, unless more specific terms and conditions for a specific service prevail. Should this be the case, we will make this clear at the appropriate time. Any of your terms and conditions that conflict with or deviate from the General Terms and Conditions shall not apply unless we have expressly agreed to them in writing.

2.3 The use of the Secrets of Patagonia platform is only for you personally, i.e. you may not use it under any circumstances for business purposes. Keyword: Reselling tickets is absolutely forbidden! This means that any use that goes beyond your personal use in your private environment and/or serves commercial or business purposes, those personally connected to you and/or other third parties, in particular the commercial resale of tickets, is strictly prohibited.

  1. What we do

3.1 We act as a commercial agent for the Suppliers and are commissioned and authorized by the Suppliers to conclude transactions directly between Suppliers and Users, e.g. you, and for the account of the Suppliers and to collect payments from the Users. We do not offer any activities ourselves and therefore do not become your contractual party to any Service Agreement. We do not act as the organizer, the landlord, reseller or other contractual partner in relation to the Service Agreement with you. We receive a commission from the Supplier.

3.2 The list created on the Secrets of Patagonia platforms will show you Activities that are matching with the personal experience of the editor. If more than one Supplier is able to offer an Activity that matches the criteria entered, the applicable Activities will be displayed in an order based on the factors including popularity, diversity, availability, cancellation rate, rating, performance over time, and amount of revenue generated.

3.3 In the interest of a fast and smooth process, you may direct questions about your booking to the Secrets of Patagonia customer service. For this purpose you can contact us by sending an email to info@secretsofpatagonia.com. As commercial agents, we support the Suppliers in this process. We usually answer within 24 hours, or at the latest usually within 48 hours. In case of emergency, the contact details can be found on your voucher/ticket or on the Secrets of Patagonia platform.

3.4 We reserve the right to make the use of the Secrets of Patagonia platform, individual functions of the Secrets of Patagonia platform or the extent to which individual functions can be used, subject to certain conditions, such as the payment behavior of the User (e.g. in the case of prior bookings) or the presentation of certain proof (e.g. proof of identity, purchase, payment, or ownership). We reserve the right to restrict your booking of Activities, or cancel Activities you have booked, in the case of suspected fraud, violation of these General Terms and Conditions, or violation of obligations under the Service Agreement, which become known to Secrets of Patagonia.

3.5 We are not obligated to improve, extend (update/upgrade) or make available the content, functions and services provided via the Secrets of Patagonia platform. We may discontinue our services and performances at any time; there is no right to continuation.

  1. Registration and Secrets of Patagonia account

4.1 Although registration is not required to access the Secrets of Patagonia platform, you must register with us in order to use all features.

4.2 In order to create an account  (“Secrets of Patagonia Account”), you must enter your full legal name and email address in the registration form on the Secrets of Patagonia platform and may set a password. If  available, you can create an account without a password by using the option to create a passwordless account with an email verification link. You must keep this data secret so that no third party has access to your account. After clicking the button “Confirm email” you will receive a confirmation ‘welcome’ email from Secrets of Patagonia. Your Secrets of Patagonia account has now been created.

4.3 You may only create one Secrets of Patagonia Account for yourself. You may not transfer the account to anyone else.

  1. Secrets of Patagonia Apps

5.1 Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, we hereby grant you a non-exclusive, revocable, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, limited license to download, install and use the Secrets of Patagonia Apps on your mobile device; provided that your installation and use of the Secrets of Patagonia Apps is solely (i) for your personal use and for non-commercial purposes, and (ii) in accordance with the restrictions and limitations set forth in this Agreement. You may not copy, transfer, lease, loan, modify, adapt, create derivative works of, redistribute, or sublicense the Secrets of Patagonia Apps and, if you sell your mobile device to a third party, you must remove the Secrets of Patagonia Apps from the mobile device before doing so. You may not reverse-engineer, disassemble, attempt to derive the source code of the Secrets of Patagonia Apps, or any part thereof, except where such restriction is expressly prohibited by applicable law. All rights not expressly granted to you hereunder are reserved to us and our licensors.

5.2 Secrets of Patagonia may from time to time in its sole discretion develop and provide Secrets of Patagonia Apps updates, which may include upgrades, bug fixes, patches, other error corrections, and/or new features (collectively, including related documentation, “Updates“). Updates may also modify or delete in their entirety certain features and functionality. You agree that Secrets of Patagonia has no obligation to provide any Updates or to continue to provide or enable any particular features or functionality. Based on your Mobile Device settings, when your Mobile Device is connected to the internet either:

You shall promptly download and install all Updates and acknowledge and agree that the Secrets of Patagonia Apps or portions thereof may not properly operate should you fail to do so.

You further agree that all Updates will be deemed part of the Secrets of Patagonia Apps and be subject to all terms and conditions of these General Terms and Conditions.

5.3 You acknowledge that when you download, install, or use the Secrets of Patagonia Apps, Secrets of Patagonia may use automatic means (including, for example, cookies, SDKs and web beacons) to collect information about your mobile device and about your use of the Secrets of Patagonia Apps. You also may be required to provide certain information about yourself as a condition to downloading, installing, or using the Secrets of Patagonia Apps or certain of its features or functionality. All information we collect through or in connection with the Secrets of Patagonia Apps is subject to our Privacy Policy. You can control certain data processing activities by choosing not to give your consent when prompted by the Secrets of Patagonia App.

  1. Conclusion of contract with Secrets of Patagonia- User Agreement

6.1 The subject matter of the contract with us as the contracting party, is the use of the Secrets of Patagonia platform free of charge (“User Agreement”).

6.2 The contractual relationship between you and us comes into effect as soon as you use the Secrets of Patagonia platform (which includes the installation of the Secrets of Patagonia App). A blocking, termination or deletion of your Secrets of Patagonia Account is possible at any time via the Secrets of Patagonia customer service by mail: info@secretsofpatagonia.com.

6.3 Secrets of Patagonia may unilaterally terminate your User Agreement, Secrets of Patagonia Account or your access to the Secrets of Patagonia platform at any time with a notice period of one week. However, the termination will become effective only after any already established Service Agreements have been executed or canceled. The right to termination for good cause remains unaffected.

  1. Payment at Secrets of Patagonia

7.1 The price offered on the Secrets of Patagonia platform (“Posted Price”) shall apply to the Activity. The amount you pay for an Activity (“Booking Price”) is the Posted Price less any applicable discount. Unless otherwise agreed, the Booking Price for the Activity is payable immediately upon booking.

7.2 Secrets of Patagonia is entitled to receive the invoiced amounts in the name of and on behalf of the Supplier (as a commercial agent), unless otherwise expressly stated in the Supplier’s invoice. With the successful payment to Secrets of Patagonia, you have fulfilled your payment obligations towards the Supplier with a discharging effect. If claims are to be paid in a currency other than your local currency (foreign currency claim), Secrets of Patagonia may (in its role as a commercial agent) collect payment in your local currency and convert the foreign currency claim at the current exchange rate at the time of the conclusion of the contract. For highly volatile currencies, we may charge a reasonable exchange fee.

7.3 We are your contact in connection with a Service Agreement and payment therefore as the commercial agent of the Supplier. If you wish to request a refund of the Booking Price outside of our cancellation policy, you may contact us. We will then contact the Supplier, and the Supplier will determine in its discretion whether to honor the refund request. A refund granted by the Supplier can be processed by the Supplier through us.

7.4 You must provide payment information truthfully and update it immediately in the event of changes. The means of payment permitted for the Activity will be displayed to you in the order process. The terms and conditions of the payment service provider will apply. Your payment service provider may charge additional fees. You are required to confirm to us that you are authorized to use or have the right to use a payment method you select.

7.5 By authorizing payment, you consent to your payment information being used to collect payment for the Supplier. We reserve the right to make the use of the payment function or individual payment methods on the Secrets of Patagonia platform dependent on a check of the required creditworthiness.

  1. Changes and Cancellations

8.1 You may only cancel the Service Agreements in accordance with the cancellation conditions as stated in the description of the Activity on the Secrets of Patagonia platform, or on the voucher/ticket/confirmation mail issued for the Activity.

8.2 To avoid misunderstandings, you must make changes (e.g. rescheduling the Activity date or making changes to the participants) and cancellations by sending an e-mail to info@secretsofpatagonia.com, unless otherwise agreed. A cancellation or changes can be made via sending an e-mail to info@secretsofpatagonia.com. The change or cancellation must be made in good time; what is “in good time” depends on each individual case (e.g. within the applicable cancellation period) and may be subject to the Activity’s availability. Therefore, it is very important that you carefully read all terms and conditions on the Activity page. The decisive factor for a timely cancellation is the timely receipt of the notification by Secrets of Patagonia. If these conditions are met, we will issue a cancellation/change confirmation. This will serve as proof of the cancellation/change and therefore must be kept.

8.3 We can notify you of changes or cancellations on behalf of the Supplier, especially if at short notice, by your provided telephone number and by sending changes to your email address.

8.4 Unless there are different cancellation conditions specified in the description of the Activity on the Secrets of Patagonia platform or on the Activity voucher/ticket, the following cancellation conditions shall apply:

  1. a) For cancellations more than 24 hours before the start of the Activity of the first original booking: full refund of the Booking Price; and
  1. b) For cancellations 24 hours or less before the start of the Activity of the first original booking or in case of a no-show: no refund and no rebooking possible.

In the case of airport transfer service, the start of the Activity refers to the official and initial arrival hour communicated by the airline.

  1. Reviews and Other User Content

9.1 We offer you the opportunity to view reviews and other content posted by other users on the Secrets of Patagonia platform. The reviews reflect the personal opinion of a respective user from a specific point in time and are therefore shaped by personal ideas and expectations. It must also be noted that the Activity may have changed since the review or other content was posted. The number of reviews and ratings given should also be taken into account, as a single opinion is often less meaningful than the synopsis of a large number of opinions.

9.2 You can personally influence the content of the Secrets of Patagonia platform by writing reviews of Activities which you have purchased or posting pictures (together, “User Content”). You are fully responsible for the User Content you post. It is strictly forbidden to post User Content on the Secrets of Patagonia platform that: (i) is untrue or misleading; (ii) openly or covertly advertises products, services or companies; (iii) is created in return for remuneration from a third party; (iv) is created by or at the direction of the Supplier who provides the Activity; (v) violates the intellectual property, privacy, or other rights of a third party; or (vi) contains links or similar information/references that are likely to impair the functioning of third-party data processing systems.

9.3 You are obligated to ensure that you are entitled to the necessary rights of use for images before uploading the User Content. In particular, images or photos where we can see  other people  may only be uploaded to the Secrets of Patagonia platform if these persons gave their consent. If you want to use pictures that have been taken by a person other than you, you also need the consent of this person.

9.4 The public accessibility of the User Content may not violate legal provisions, morality and/or the rights of third parties; in particular, you may not upload and/or make publicly accessible any User Content with depictions of violence, pornography, discrimination, insults, racism, defamation or other illegal content or depictions.

9.5 You retain ownership of any User Content you create. You grant to Secrets of Patagonia a non-exclusive, sublicensable (through one or more tiers), worldwide, fully-paid and royalty-free license, in any and all media now known or hereafter discovered or developed, to use, reproduce, adapt, translate, make derivative works of, modify, perform, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, and distribute the User Content including (i) on or through the Secrets of Patagonia Platform, (ii) on or through Secrets of Patagonia’s partners, and (iii) in online and offline marketing materials.

9.6 We may remove User Content as necessary and at our sole discretion. For example, Secrets of Patagonia may remove User Content if, in our opinion, it violates our obligations under Sections 9.2-9.4. We are not obligated to keep copies of User Content or to provide such copies.

  1. Data protection

10.1 All your personal data collected through the Secrets of Patagonia platform is processed by Secrets of Patagonia as a data controller, in accordance with relevant data protection laws and for the purposes described in the Privacy Policy. Secrets of Patagonia shares your personal data with Suppliers to the extent it is necessary for the performance of the Service Agreement between you and Supplier or when necessary to comply with a legal obligation and for other purposes legally allowed. Suppliers are independent data controllers and bear the sole responsibility of processing your personal data.

10.2 You will find detailed information on how to exercise your data protection rights in the Privacy Policy.

  1. Indemnification

11.1 You shall fully indemnify us for all damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal defense costs) incurred by us, our agents, or partners as a result of:

11.1.1 your intentional or negligent misrepresentation, act, or omission in connection with your use of the Secrets of Patagonia platform;

11.1.2 your intentional or negligent non-compliance with the General Terms and Conditions; or

11.1.3 claims asserted by third parties arising out of or in connection with your access to or use of the Secrets of Patagonia platform that intentionally or negligently violates these General Terms and Conditions.

  1. Assignment

You may not transfer or assign your rights and/or obligations under these General Terms and Conditions, except for any claim for damages.

  1. Severability clause

Should individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions be or become void or ineffective in whole or in part, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. Statutory law shall take the place of any provisions of these General Terms and Conditions that are not included or are invalid. If such statutory law is not available in the respective case or would lead to an unacceptable result, the parties shall enter into negotiations to replace the non-included or invalid provision with a valid provision that comes as close as possible to the economic purpose of the invalid provision.

  1. Supplier – Service Agreement

14.1 Conclusion of contract with the Supplier 

14.1.1 If you select and purchase an Activity on the Secrets of Patagonia platform, you conclude a contract directly with the Supplier. When concluding the contract, we act as the commercial agent of the Supplier.

14.1.2 After checking the availability of the Activity, you add the respective Activity to the shopping cart by clicking the button “proceed booking”. After clicking the button “Checkout”, you will be asked for further mandatory information, in particular the payment method, which must be completed.

14.1.3 By clicking the button “Pay now” at the end of the ordering process, you submit a binding offer to conclude a Service Agreement with the Supplier that will provide the Activity. You are bound to the offer for two working days. After receipt of the offer, we will send you an automatic order confirmation. This order confirmation does not constitute an acceptance of the offer.

14.1.5 We accept the offer in the name and on behalf of the Supplier once you receive a booking confirmation issued in the name and on behalf of the Supplier and, if applicable, have access to a voucher or ticket (either a mobile voucher or a downloadable PDF voucher/ticket) and a payment confirmation. We reserve the right to accept or reject contract offers at our sole discretion.

14.1.6 The contract between you and the Supplier is not set out in a separate contract text. The content of the contract results from the ordered product (i.e. the description of the Activity selected by you), applicable provisions in Section 14 of these General Terms and Conditions, and – if applicable – the Supplier T&Cs.

14.1.7 You must immediately check the order confirmation to ensure that all data has been entered correctly.

14.2 Prices 

14.2.1 In most cases, Posted Prices quoted are inclusive of all taxes and fees.  However, it is possible that additional local taxes or fees are levied locally.  If additional taxes or fees will be levied locally, this will be disclosed in the description of the Activity.

14.2.2 The Posted Prices set by the Suppliers may be subject to special provisions, for example, with regard to cancellations and the refund of payments. You must independently check before booking whether the respective Supplier prescribes deviating conditions.

14.3 Provision of the Activity 

14.3.1 You must arrive on time at the meeting point indicated by the Supplier. Please also take note of the Supplier T&Cs. If you are traveling to the Activity from abroad, you are responsible for the necessary travel documents (passport, visa, etc.) and compliance with health or other requirements.

14.3.2 The Booking Price does not include insurance of any type. You are responsible for obtaining sufficient insurance coverage. We strongly encourage you to obtain travel insurance, especially if you are booking an Activity that involves outdoor or high-risk activities. We do not operate tours, employ guides, or set safety standards for Activities.

14.3.3 Suppliers are independent contractors and not agents or employees of Secrets of Patagonia. We are not liable for the acts, errors, omissions, representations, warranties, breaches, negligence, or misconduct of any Supplier, or for any personal injury, death, property damage, or other damages or expenses resulting therefrom or otherwise arising from any booking or Activity.

14.3.4 For time and deadline calculations, the time zone of the Supplier shall be decisive.

14.4 Further rights of the Supplier 

14.4.1 The Supplier may cancel the Activity on the agreed date without observing a cancellation period if weather conditions, official measures, strikes or other external circumstances that are unforeseeable or can only be averted by disproportionate efforts on the part of the Supplier and are beyond the Supplier’s control (in particular events of force majeure) make it impossible or significantly impede or endanger the performance of the Activity. In this case, the Booking Price paid for the canceled Activity will be refunded. You may direct any additional compensation request directly to the Supplier according to 14.3.3.

14.4.2 The Supplier may exclude you from an Activity if (i) you do not meet the requirements for participation specified on the Secrets of Patagonia platform, (ii)  you would endanger yourself or others through your participation, or (iii) you disrupt the implementation of the Activity in any way. In these cases, the Booking Price paid for the Activity will not be refunded.

14.4.3 The Supplier may make immaterial changes to the program of the Activity at any time if this appears necessary due to circumstances arising at short notice. Insignificant program changes also include a change of the starting/meeting point for the Activity, provided that the new meeting point can be reached by the customer from the originally agreed meeting point on foot or by public transport within 14 minutes. A change of the start/meeting point is possible up to 24 hours before the start of the booked Activity and will be communicated to you by email or displayed via the Secrets of Patagonia platform.

  1. Final provisions

15.1 For the purpose of fulfilling the contract and exercising rights due to us under these General Terms and Conditions, we may use third parties as vicarious agents.

15.2 We may amend or adjust these General Terms and Conditions in the future, e.g. to take into account changes in the law, market changes ,or regulatory gaps. We will then inform you of this in good time and in an appropriate manner. If you object, we or you can terminate your Secrets of Patagonia Account or your access to the Secrets of Patagonia platform with immediate effect.

15.3 All notices and other declarations transmitted within the framework of these General Terms and Conditions must be made in writing (e.g. by email).

15.4 The provisions of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods shall not apply to these General Terms and Conditions or any purchase made pursuant thereto.

15.5 The contract between you and us is formed and entered into in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

15.6 In these General Terms and Conditions, (i) “including” means “including but not limited to,” (ii) general words shall not be given a restrictive meaning by reason of the fact that they are preceded by words indicating a particular class of acts, matters or things, and (iii) words suggesting the singular include the plural, and vice versa. Captions and section headings used in these General Terms and Conditions are for convenience only and shall not be used in construing the General Terms and Conditions.

  1. Jurisdiction and applicable legislation

These General Conditions of Use are in accordance with the Argentine Legislation. In case of a litigation concerning the interpretation, execution or validity of these General Conditions of Use, the Courts and Tribunals of the User shall be competent.