1. Who I Am
Rugg Travel is the travel advisory of Kevin Rugg, an independent travel advisor affiliated with Fora Travel, Inc., which acts as the agency of record. Travel is supplied by the airlines, hotels, tour operators, and cruise lines you book. I do not sell travel, take payment for it, or act as a principal in any booking.
These terms cover ruggtravel.com, the trip pages I set up for clients, and the trip planning app at app.ruggtravel.com. Using any of them means you accept them.
CST No. 2151995-50 (Fora Travel). Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California.
2. What I Do
I research trips and write up what I find. I help book the pieces where booking through me is useful. While you travel, I keep your itinerary and travel documents on a trip page you can reach from the web or your phone.
What I am not: a tour operator, an insurer, or an emergency service. I am one person in the Pacific time zone. I answer as quickly as I reasonably can, and I will tell you before a trip if I expect to be hard to reach during it, but I do not offer 24-hour support and you should not plan around having it.
3. Research Fees
Research is a flat fee per trip, quoted before we start, covering a set number of hours. The current rates are on the home page. If a trip needs more time than the quote covers, I will tell you before going past it, and additional hours are billed at the rate quoted.
If you book enough of the trip through me, the bookings cover my time and I waive the fee. I tell you where that line sits when I quote the trip. For trips quoted before December 31, 2026, the fee is waived for everyone, though hours beyond the quote are still billed.
Fees are invoiced through Fora. Any deposit for research is non-refundable, and anything outstanding is due at the end of the research. You are paying for my time rather than for an end product, so the fee stands whether or not the trip happens.
4. Bookings
Every booking is a contract between you and that supplier, on their terms. Their cancellation rules, change fees, and conditions of carriage govern it, not these terms. Please read them before you book, especially for anything nonrefundable.
When you book through me, the supplier pays a commission. That is how this part of the business is paid for, and it is the same arrangement that produces preferred-partner rates and perks. Some of what I recommend pays little or nothing, and I will say so when it comes up.
Prices, availability, and perks come from suppliers and change without notice. Nothing is held until the supplier confirms it.
Any payment details you give me are not stored by me. They may be entered and stored in Fora's booking system.
5. What You Are Responsible For
- Passports, visas, and entry requirements for everyone traveling, including transit countries
- Names on bookings matching travel documents exactly
- Vaccinations and health requirements
- Travel insurance, which I recommend on every trip and strongly on anything nonrefundable
- Telling me about mobility needs, dietary restrictions, or medical considerations that affect planning
I will flag requirements I am aware of, but the rules change and they depend on your citizenship. Verify them with the relevant consulate or government source before you travel.
6. The App and Your Account
The trip planning app is optional. You can work with me entirely by email and a document, and plenty of clients do.
Accounts are created through Google Sign-In. Keep your Google account secure, tell me if you think someone else has reached your trips, and understand that anyone you send a share link to can view that trip page.
The app is something I build and change as I go. Features may appear, change, or be removed. It is not the product you are paying for, and I do not promise any particular feature will exist on your travel dates.
7. Suggestions Generated in the App
Some features in the app generate suggestions using AI. They are drafts to work from, not advice and not bookings. They can be wrong about prices, schedules, and availability, so check anything before you rely on it. What I put in your itinerary is what I have verified.
8. Acceptable Use
Do not:
- Use the site or app for anything unlawful
- Try to reach accounts or data that are not yours
- Interfere with or disrupt the service
- Upload malicious code
- Scrape or harvest content from the site
- Impersonate anyone, or misrepresent a connection to me or to Fora
9. Content
The site's writing, photographs, maps, and design are mine, except for stock photography credited where it appears. Trip write-ups and itineraries are published as examples of my work. Please do not republish them as your own.
Your trip information stays yours. I use it to plan your trip and run the app. If I ever want to feature your trip publicly, I will ask you first, and the answer can be no.
10. Disclaimer of Warranties
THE SITE, THE TRIP PAGES, AND THE APP ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. I DO NOT GUARANTEE THEY WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR SECURE, AND I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACCURACY OF INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY THIRD PARTIES.
11. Limitation of Liability
I am not liable for the acts or omissions of suppliers, or for anything outside my reasonable control: weather, strikes, mechanical problems, illness, government action, war, or civil unrest. If a supplier fails to deliver what you booked, your recourse is against that supplier, and I will help you pursue it.
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, MY TOTAL LIABILITY ARISING FROM THE ADVISORY SERVICE, THE SITE, OR THE APP IS LIMITED TO THE RESEARCH FEES YOU PAID ME FOR THE TRIP IN QUESTION, AND I AM NOT LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES.
12. Governing Law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, and disputes about my advisory work belong to the state and federal courts located there.
Bookings are separate. Those are covered by Fora's terms of use, which specify New York law and binding individual arbitration before the American Arbitration Association, including a waiver of jury trial and of class actions. Read them at foratravel.com/legal/terms-of-use before you book.
13. Changes
I may update these terms. The date at the top changes when I do, and the terms in effect when you engaged me govern that trip.
14. Contact
Questions about any of this: kevin@ruggtravel.com