Cancellation, Rescheduling and Refunds Policy

Your custom and satisfaction are of great importance to me. I always strive to provide excellent customer service and in this section I want to be clear about what to expect should you need to cancel or make changes to a tour.

Each tour is personalised and private, requiring a deal of preparation on my part. This often includes buying tickets and droits de parole (reservation fees for tour guides, giving us the right to speak inside the venue) which are timed, dated and assigned to a specific name. As such, on the Prices page, you will see an amount to be paid as a deposit which I will then use to purchase tickets, reservations, headsets and other items and services essential to the tour. I recommend paying the deposit quickly so that museum and monument tickets can be purchased as far in advance as possible, which is especially important in high season (April-October). You can pay the rest of the amount later if you wish, up to seven days before the tour. If you wish to pay the deposit up front and the rest of the bill at a later date, please let me know, as by default I will issue an invoice for the full amount which includes the deposit. After the invoice has been issued, I will pen in your chosen time and date for 72 hours to give you time to pay. Past this time, I will assume you are no longer interested and other tours may be booked for your chosen time and date. Payment methods accepted include card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Wise, Revolut or bank transfer. All major credit and debit cards are accepted. Alongside the invoice issued at the time of booking, I will issue a payment link via Stripe for card payment; if you wish to pay using one of the other methods listed, just let me know and I will send you the appropriate information.

Rescheduling and cancellations

Deposits are non-refundable and non-transferable. Tickets and reservations are specific to times, dates and people; they cannot be reused, resold or refunded. As a result, please make sure that you choose the correct time, date and number of participants for your tour. Tours of museums and monuments that have been modified for another date or time cannot re-use the initial deposit, as a new set of tickets and reservations have to be purchased; the rest of the bill can however be transferred. As an example, for a 2-hour tour of the Louvre for 2 adults, the initial 100€ deposit will be forfeited as the tickets and reservation fee cannot be reused; however, the rest of the bill can be transferred and I will issue another 100€ invoice to cover the cost of new tickets and reservation fees for the new date and time. In the case of a walking tour, I will do my best to reschedule your tour, but it is best to let me know with as much advance as possible.

If you cancel a tour with seven days' advance or more, you will receive a refund with the exception of the deposit. If you wish to cancel, please send me an email, text or WhatsApp message or direct message on social media; I will get back to you as soon as I can. For cancellations made within seven days of the tour, but at least 24 hours before, I will issue a 50% refund. This is to compensate for tickets, reservations and lost income. This applies to all tours, regardless of category. For rescheduling within 7 days of the tour, the general rescheduling procedure outlined in the previous paragraph applies, but be aware that I may not be able to accommodate your request on such short notice. If there is no availability despite my best efforts, and there is no chance of you joining the tour booked initially, your case will be treated as a cancellation, meaning that you will receive a 50% refund if made within 7 days of, but at least 24 hours before, the tour. For cancellations made within 24 hours of a tour, no refunds will be issued. This also applies to no-shows. On the day of your tour, I will get in touch with you once I am at the agreed meeting point, usually around 15-20 minutes before the tour. I'm there to help you if you need directions or other assistance, but if I do not hear back from you within 30 minutes of the starting time of the tour, I will assume that you are no longer coming. For example, for a tour scheduled for 1pm, with no further contact from you after repeated attempts to call and message you, I will leave the meeting point at 1:30pm. In this case, no refunds will be issued. Of course, if we stay in touch while you're delayed, I will wait for you and will make reasonable allowances once we have reached the venue of the tour. That being said, please try your best to arrive on time; if you ever have trouble finding me or know you're going to arrive late, just reach out and I will respond. On a tour, if you would like to finish up early, that is no problem - however, no refunds will be issued for the unused time.

Customer satisfaction

Your satisfaction with my tours is of utmost important to me, so if you feel that I have not offered you the level of service that you expected, I would be grateful to find out why that is the case and how I can help remedy the situation. You can discuss this with me via email, on the phone, by text or WhatsApp message or by direct message on social media. While refunds will not be issued in the case of you not enjoying a tour, I can potentially offer you a different tour or service while you are in Paris to make up for the dissatisfaction. All reviews, positive and negative, are useful to me as a tour guide and I would be thrilled to receive your feedback.

Tipping culture

While not applicable to refunds or cancellations, many clients have questions about tipping culture in France and in Europe more generally. Tipping is never required but is welcome if you feel you have received outstanding service. This applies to both tour guides and other service workers. There is no set percentage or amount that is considered 'good' or 'bad'; it is always considered an act of generosity and importantly, is optional. Another great and free way of showing your appreciation is by leaving a review - for example, on Google, TripAdvisor or on social media. This greatly helps me expand my reach and I would be very grateful if you could take a few moments to leave some feedback after a tour if you feel like it.

If you have any questions about my Cancellation, Rescheduling and Refunds Policy, please contact me by email at hamishinparis@outlook.com, by phone or WhatsApp at +33752089556 or on Instagram or TikTok @hamishinparis