1. Agreement
TripJoiner is operated by Hikepilot LLC, which also operates the other site named at the top of this page. By creating an account or using TripJoiner, you agree to these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy. The same terms apply on both sites. If you do not agree, do not use the service.
2. The TripJoiner service
TripJoiner provides marketplace software for discovering trips and experiences, submitting requests to join trips or custom trip requests, publishing listings, messaging, booking workflows, documents, reviews, forums, AI features, and support. Depending on the site, independent organizers publish scheduled group trips, or local guides offer experiences that travelers request on their own dates. TripJoiner is not a tour operator, travel agent or guide for trips and experiences offered by third-party organizers and guides unless we expressly say otherwise for a specific offering.
3. Eligibility and minors
You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter a binding contract to hold a TripJoiner account. An adult traveler may include minors as trip participants and is responsible for their participation, permissions, documents, and information. Organizers and guides remain responsible for applying their lawful age, guardian, and safety rules to each trip.
4. Direct payment — money does not flow through TripJoiner
- TripJoiner does not collect, hold, transmit, escrow, refund, guarantee, or pay out traveler tour money.
- Traveler-to-organizer payment happens directly outside TripJoiner, using whatever method the parties arrange.
- Payment-status records in TripJoiner are user claims and workflow records only — not proof that funds moved through the platform.
- TripJoiner cannot reverse, recover, or refund direct payments made between travelers and organizers.
- When Stripe (or another payment provider) is connected later, it is only for organizer memberships and promotions — never for traveler tour payments.
See the full Direct-payment disclosure.
5. Organizer, guide and platform responsibility
- Organizers are responsible for trip delivery, pricing, cancellation policies they publish, and any direct-payment arrangements with travelers.
- TripJoiner is responsible for operating the marketplace software, account access, messaging and booking workflows, and enforcing platform policies.
Organizers and guides are independent businesses or individuals, not our employees, agents or partners. Your contract for a trip or experience is with the organizer or guide who offers it.
6. One account on both sites
Your account works on both sites we operate. When you move between them while signed in, a short-lived, single-use sign-in handoff keeps you signed in. Your profile, settings and account status are shared, so a suspension or deletion applies on both sites. You may receive notifications and transactional email about activity on either site; you can mute a site in your notification settings. Bookings, listings, requests and reviews remain subject to the site where they were created.
7. Accounts and acceptable use
You must provide accurate information, keep credentials secure, and comply with applicable law. We may suspend or disable accounts for fraud, abuse, policy violations, or safety concerns. You may not scrape, interfere with, or misuse the platform.
You may not impersonate another person; submit false booking, payment, review, or safety claims; upload unlawful or malicious material; harass others; evade a suspension; or use TripJoiner to violate another person’s privacy or intellectual-property rights.
8. Organizer and guide obligations and verification
Organizers must accurately describe trips, prices, inclusions, availability, risks, requirements, cancellation terms, and direct payment instructions. They must have authority to offer each trip and comply with applicable licensing, insurance, tax, consumer-protection, accessibility, and safety obligations. Verification or moderation by TripJoiner is not a guarantee of an organizer or trip.
Organizers and guides who set a home base or service areas must keep them accurate. They may be asked to submit identity, business, licence or insurance evidence for verification; we review what is submitted, and a verification badge means only that the evidence met our review at that time. We may decline, suspend or remove a listing, profile or verification at any time.
Answer requests within the response time the site shows.
9. Requests, bookings, cancellations, and disputes
A request to join a trip or a custom trip request is not a booking until the organizer or guide accepts it under the workflow shown on the site. Quotes, dates and terms that an organizer or guide offers are theirs; review them before you accept.
If the organizer or guide doesn't answer a request within the response time shown, the request closes automatically; nothing is charged.
Booking statuses and payment milestones are records of claims and workflow steps between the parties. Disputes and support cases focus on communication, evidence, policy enforcement, and account action — not on reversing off-platform payments. TripJoiner does not guarantee trip outcomes and does not act as an escrow agent for traveler tour money.
The organizer’s disclosed cancellation and refund terms govern direct trip-payment arrangements, subject to applicable law. TripJoiner may preserve records, facilitate communication, and enforce platform rules, but cannot compel or process an off-platform refund.
10. Messages
Use messages to arrange trips and bookings. Do not send card numbers, passwords or unnecessary sensitive data in messages. Messages may be reviewed by authorized admins when handling a report, dispute or support case, and we may restrict messaging to prevent spam, fraud or abuse.
11. User content, reviews and forums
You keep ownership of content you submit. You give Hikepilot LLC a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, reproduce, display, format, and distribute that content only as reasonably needed to operate, secure, and improve TripJoiner and the other site we operate. Public listing, profile, review and forum content may also be displayed to promote TripJoiner and the relevant organizer, guide or trip. Private messages and booking documents are not licensed for advertising. You represent that you have the rights and permissions needed to submit content.
Reviews must reflect genuine experiences. Forum posts and reviews are public and must stay on topic, lawful and respectful: no spam, advertising, hate, harassment, threats, explicit material, personal data about others, or misleading safety information. You can report content you believe breaks these rules. We may remove, hide, restrict, or preserve content to enforce these terms, protect users, comply with law, or investigate a report.
12. AI features and AI-generated content
Some content and tools are produced with AI: articles from the automatic Travel Journal are written by AI and checked by a separate AI review step; descriptive text and travel tips on destination pages are AI-generated, and a destination image may be AI-generated when no suitable credited photo exists; the AI assistant answers questions; and AI writing help suggests wording for organizers and guides. AI-generated content can be inaccurate, incomplete or out of date. It is general information, not professional, safety, legal, visa or medical advice, and it is not a statement by any organizer or guide. Check important details with the organizer or guide and official sources. If you publish text suggested by AI writing help, you are responsible for it.
13. Maps, photos and third-party data
Maps use data from OpenStreetMap contributors and services from Geoapify, credited on each map. Destination photos come from Wikimedia Commons and are shown with their author and licence; those photos remain subject to their licences. Place facts may come from Wikidata, and historical weather data from Open-Meteo. Third-party data is provided as available and may be incomplete or out of date; do not rely on it for navigation or safety.
14. Memberships and promotions
Organizer memberships and promotions may be billed separately when a payment provider is connected. Those charges are distinct from traveler-to-organizer tour payments, which remain direct and off-platform.
15. Travel and third-party risks
Travel involves risks that vary by destination and activity. Travelers are responsible for evaluating suitability, visas, health and safety guidance, insurance, and organizer or guide terms. Links, maps, location search, payment methods, and organizer or guide services may be supplied by third parties under their own terms. TripJoiner does not control those services.
16. Disclaimers and limitation
The service is provided “as is” to the fullest extent permitted by law. Independent organizers and guides, not TripJoiner, run the trips and experiences listed on the site. TripJoiner is not liable for off-platform payment failures, organizer or guide performance, injuries or losses during a trip, or losses arising from arrangements made directly between travelers and organizers or guides, except where the law does not allow that exclusion. Nothing in these terms limits non-waivable consumer rights.
17. Suspension, termination and account deletion
You may stop using the service and may delete your account yourself in your account settings, or ask Support to do it; because the account is shared, deletion applies to both sites and cannot be undone. Open bookings, disputes or unpaid amounts may need to be resolved first, and booking and review records are kept in de-identified form. We may restrict or terminate access for violations, fraud, safety risk, legal requirements, or material harm to users or the service. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination, including payment responsibility, ownership, disclaimers, and limits of liability, continue to apply.
18. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms as the service or law changes. We will post the revised terms with a new effective date and provide additional notice when required or when a material change warrants it. Continuing to use TripJoiner after the effective date means you accept the revised terms, except where applicable law requires another form of consent.
19. Governing law and disputes
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, except where the law where you live requires otherwise. Before filing a claim, you and Hikepilot LLC agree to try in good faith for 30 days to resolve it through Support. Unless applicable law permits or requires another forum, claims may be brought in the state or federal courts located in Kings County, New York. This section does not prevent either party from using an eligible small claims court or seeking urgent injunctive relief.
20. Support and contact
Questions about these terms or account issues can be raised via Support, or by mail to Hikepilot LLC, 1625 East 7th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11230, United States.