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Terms of service

Last Updated: Jul 27, 2023

Welcome to Traveling Spoon! You are now reading our Terms of Service (“Terms”), an agreement between you and Traveling Spoon, Inc. (“Traveling Spoon”), for your use of our online platform and service, which connects travelers with local, authentic food experiences in people’s homes around the world. The platform and service are available at https://travelingspoon.com (the “Site”).

To make these Terms easier to read, our online platform and service and the Site are called the “Services.” You should read the Terms carefully before you use the Services – we’ve tried to be straightforward and if you have any questions feel free to send us a note at support@travelingspoon.com. We want you to feel comfortable using the Services and will happily answer any questions you have.

What’s With The Defined Terms?

You’ll notice that some words appear in quotes in the Terms. They’re called “defined terms,” and we use them so we don’t have to repeat the same language again and again, and to make sure that the Terms are consistent. We’ve included the defined terms throughout because we want it to be easy for you to read them in context.

Important! Traveling Spoon is a Platform Service Provider

One thing we want to make clear up front is that, through the Services, Traveling Spoon offers an online platform to allow Hosts and Travelers to connect. Your safety (and satisfaction) is our top priority. Although our goal is to make your experience as seamless and delicious as possible and we have done our best to vet each of our Hosts for quality, you acknowledge and agree that Traveling Spoon’s responsibilities under these Terms are limited solely to facilitating the availability of the Services, serving as the limited payment agent of each Host, processing refunds to Travelers, and holding and administering payments as a trustee on behalf of Hosts and Travelers. More on this below.

  • A “Host” is a Member who offers and provides a Culinary Experience.
  • A “Traveler” is a Member who requests a booking of a Culinary Experience via the Services, or a Member who partakes in a Culinary Experience.
  • A “Culinary Experience” is a customized dining experience provided by a Host to a Traveler, and might include a meal, cooking experience, or market visit, which is available for purchase by Travelers via the Services.

Your access to the Site and use of the Services is at your own risk and Traveling Spoon disclaims all warranties, express or implied, and limits its liability in these Terms. You’ll see that we’ve included a disclaimer towards the end of these Terms. If, during your Culinary Experience, or through your use of the Services, you’re subjected to behavior you believe is offensive, threatening, dangerous or otherwise illegal, or if you suspect theft of, or damage to, your property or personal belongings, you should immediately contact the appropriate local authorities or safety emergency agency (calling 911 in the U.S. or a similar local public emergency safety agency). Traveling Spoon isn’t able to provide or arrange for local emergency services.

Agreement Between You And Traveling Spoon

Agreeing to our Terms

By accessing the Site or using our Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms, whether or not you have registered with the Services. If you don’t agree, then you shouldn’t, and in fact aren’t permitted to, use the Services. If you are accessing and using the Services on behalf of a company (such as your employer) or other legal entity, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to bind that company or other legal entity to these Terms. In that case, “you” and “your” will refer to that company or other legal entity.

Certain areas of the Site or features of the Services may have additional terms and you should read those additional terms. If there’s a conflict between these Terms and the additional terms, the additional terms will govern your use of those areas of the Site or features of the Services.

Changes to Terms or Services

We can change the Terms at any time. If we do so, we’ll let you know either by posting the changed Terms on the Site or through other communications. We’ll also update the “Last Updated Date” at the top of these Terms. It’s important that you review the changed Terms because if you continue to use the Services after we’ve let you know that they’ve been changed, you’re telling us that you agree to be bound by the changed Terms. If you don’t agree to be bound by the changed Terms then you’re not allowed to use the Services anymore – sorry! We’re always striving to make the Services better and because they’re evolving over time we may change or discontinue all or any part of the Services, at any time and without notice, at our discretion. As an example, we might stop providing a feature that our users don’t like or use very often.

Using the Services

You can only use the Services if you are 18 years or older and are not barred from using the Services under applicable law. In addition, you’re only allowed to become a Member in order to offer and provide a Culinary Experience as a Host and to search for and book Culinary Experiences as a Traveler. e.g., You can’t become a Member to try to collect information about other Members, or to contact other Members for other purposes.

If you want to use certain features of the Services, you’ll need to create an account with a username and password (an “Account”) and become a “Member”. You can do this via our Website or through your account with certain third-party social networking services such as Facebook (an “SNS Account”). If you choose the SNS Account option, we’ll create your Account by extracting from your SNS Account certain personal information such as your name and email address and other personal information that your privacy settings on the SNS Account permit us to access.

It’s important that you provide us with accurate and complete information and you promise to keep your Account information up to date. If you don’t, we might have to suspend or terminate your Account. You agree not to share your password and you’ll let us know if there is any unauthorized use of your Account. You’re responsible for all activities that occur under your Account and you’ll immediately tell us about any unauthorized use of your Account.

Privacy Policy

Please refer to our Privacy Policy (www.travelingspoon.com/privacy) for information about how we collect, use and disclose information from our users.

Data Protection

As a User, Member, or Host of our Services, you will have access to personal information related to the Services, including a Host’s name and general location. You are required to only use this information in relation to the Services. To the extent that you have access to any personal information, you are required to abide by applicable data protection laws and adhere to the Privacy Policy (www.travelingspoon.com/privacy) in the processing of that information. At no time are you to copy, alter, or access information for any reason other than allowed under these Terms.

Featured Hosts and Member Testimonials

From time to time, we may feature certain Hosts on our Site (each, a “Featured Host”) in order to highlight the types of Culinary Experiences they offer. We also post Members’ reviews of their Culinary Experiences through the Services. We do this so that other users (both potential Hosts and potential Travelers) can get a flavor for what their own experiences might be like through the Services. We don’t endorse any Members. We don’t have an obligation to conduct background checks on any Member, but we might do so on a discretionary basis. We’re not responsible for any damage or harm resulting from your communications or interactions with other Members. By using the Services you agree that any legal remedy or liability that you seek to obtain for actions or omissions of other Members or other third parties will be limited to a claim against the particular Members or other third parties who caused you harm and you agree not to attempt to impose liability on Traveling Spoon, or seek any legal remedy from Traveling Spoon with respect to such actions or omissions.

What if I’m a Host?

Through the Services, Travelers traveling (or planning to travel) the world and who are interested in an authentic home dining experience in a location in which we operate can complete our online reservation form (“Reservation Form”) to let us know when and where they are traveling, and their preferences for a customized dining experience. For example, our Reservation Form will prompt a Traveler for information such as his name, contact information, location and dates of travel, the number and names of his guests that will be accompanying him, his dietary restrictions and his food preferences. We will also collect additional information that we have heard from our Hosts is helpful, such as whether or not Travelers are traveling on a special occasion (like a honeymoon!). Additionally, such Traveler can choose whether his dining experience will comprise: (i) a home cooked meal, (ii) a meal plus a cooking experience, or (iii) a meal, cooking experience, and local market visit. Travelers can sort through our online platform and select a Culinary Experience they desire, and will make a booking through the Site with that particular Host. As a Host, if a Traveler makes a booking with you, you will be notified via email and asked to confirm your availability. At this time you will be able to see the date of request and information about the Traveler(s). If you confirm your availability, we will notify the Traveler, providing them with your contact information, and the experience will be fully confirmed. You as a Host are responsible for not sharing the personal information of your Traveler(s) and are required to maintain the privacy of your Traveler(s)’s contact information; under these Terms you are allowed to message them through the Site platform or contact them only as needed to render Services. Once you have rendered the Services, you must delete any personal information related to the Traveler(s) that you have received through the Services.

Contract with Travelers

You understand and agree that Traveling Spoon doesn’t act as your insurer, broker, contracting agent or other representative, other than as noted under “How Do I Get Paid? Appointment Of Traveling Spoon As Payment Agent” and “Payment And Administration Of Member Funds” below. If a Traveler books your Culinary Experience, any contract that you enter into with the Traveler, written or oral, will be between you and the Traveler only. While we’ll use reasonable efforts in our sole discretion to help you in your dealings with Travelers to make the experience between you and Travelers as enjoyable as possible, you, and not Traveling Spoon, will be responsible for performing the obligations of any contracts with the Travelers, and Traveling Spoon will not be liable in connection with such contracts.

Booking Terms

When a booking is requested for your Culinary Experience, you must confirm or reject the request within 48 hours of the time the booking was requested. Otherwise, the request may be automatically rejected. The time of the booking request will be tracked via the Services. If you confirm, Traveling Spoon will send the Traveler and the Host notification of the confirmed Culinary Experience (a “Confirmed Booking”). Once a Traveler requests a booking, the price for the booking cannot be changed.

What Can I Charge, When Do I Get Paid And How Much Do I Pay to Traveling Spoon?

As a Host, you, not Traveling Spoon, decide what you are paid for a Culinary Experience (the “Culinary Experience Fees”). We will mark up the Culinary Experience Fees at our sole discretion (the amount of such mark up to be referred to as the “Mark Up”). The Culinary Experience Fees plus any Mark Up (the “Total Culinary Experience Fees”) will be included in each Itinerary, so that a Traveler is aware of the cost prior to requesting a booking. Travelers have to pay the Total Culinary Experience Fees in advance. Where applicable, Traveling Spoon may charge Taxes or a Payment Processing Fee in addition to the Mark Up. Traveling Spoon will deduct its Mark Up and applicable Taxes and Fees from the Total Culinary Experience Fees before remitting the remaining funds to you. Traveling Spoon will use commercially reasonable efforts to remit funds to you via PayPal, Xoom, direct deposit or other payment methods described on our Site, in your local currency, within three (3) business days following the date of the Traveler’s arrival at your location, as indicated in the Confirmed Booking confirmation documentation. Traveling Spoon will bear any foreign currency processing and conversion costs incurred in order to pay you in your local currency. That said, we may delay payment to you in cases where we suspect fraud or other misuse of the Services. The amount of time it takes for you to receive your funds will vary depending on the payment method you select.

As a Host, you are responsible for honoring your commitment to each Traveler for any Confirmed Bookings. In the event of a cancellation by you, or in the event that the experience is not provided as described in the Itinerary, or in the event that you receive multiple negative reviews and fail to comply with Traveling Spoon host quality standards, Traveling Spoon reserves the right to remove you from our community of Hosts. Traveling Spoon will do its best to notify you if you receive negative reviews and can automatically deactivate your profile after three negative reviews. Additionally, Traveling Spoon may charge you an additional fee (up to the amount of the fees paid to you by Traveling Spoon for the booking in question) if you cancel a Confirmed Booking, if your Culinary Experience is not as described in the Itinerary, or if the Traveler cancels a Confirmed Booking for cause based on applicable law.

How Do I Get paid? Appointment Of Traveling Spoon As Payment Agent

Travelers will pay Traveling Spoon directly via the Services, and as a Host you hereby appoint Traveling Spoon as your limited agent solely for the purpose of collecting payments made by Travelers on your behalf when such payments are earned by you. Such funds will be paid into and held by Traveling Spoon in a segregated trust account and Traveling Spoon will administer such funds as the trustee of such account. Please see “Payment and Administration Of Member Funds” below. You agree that payment for Total Culinary Experience Fees made by a Traveler to Traveling Spoon once earned will be considered the same as a payment made directly to you as a Host and that you’ll make the Culinary Experience available to Traveler as if you had received the Total Culinary Experience Fees yourself. In accepting appointment as your limited agent, Traveling Spoon assumes no liability for any of your acts or omissions.

What’s The Deal With Taxes?

As a Host, you have to determine your own Tax reporting and payment requirements. You can do this in consultation with a tax advisor if you like. We don’t and can’t offer Tax-related advice to any Members – we leave that to tax experts! Please note that each Host is responsible for determining any applicable Taxes on the amounts collected by Traveling Spoon on a Host’s behalf. Traveling Spoon is not responsible for determining the amount of, or invoicing Travelers for, Taxes. “Tax” or “Taxes” mean sales taxes, value added taxes (VAT), goods and services taxes (GST), and other similar municipal, state and federal direct, indirect or other withholding and personal or corporate income taxes imposed on amounts collected from Travelers. Where applicable, or if a Host asks, Traveling Spoon may issue a valid VAT invoice to such Host. If Traveling Spoon is required by any taxing jurisdiction to pay over Taxes attributable to the amounts collected by Traveling Spoon for such Host, Traveling Spoon will be entitled to pay such amounts to a taxing authority out of, and as a reduction in, funds otherwise payable to a Host.

What If I’m A Traveler?

How Much Does It Cost To Book a Culinary Experience?

As a Traveler, you’ll have to pay the Total Culinary Experience Fees (described above) in order to enjoy a Culinary Experience. We’ll tell you what the Total Culinary Experience Fees will be during the booking process, which may include applicable taxes and payment processing fees.. Exact pricing is based on the number of people traveling and the exact service being requested (a meal vs. a meal and cooking experience, for example). At the time of booking, Travelers requesting to book a Host will be provided the complete pricing breakdown and will be asked to enter their credit card information. The credit card will only be charged once your Host confirms the booking. At that point, your payment obligation to the Host for the Total Culinary Experience Fees is complete. Traveling Spoon accepts all major credit cards which are processed via Stripe’s secure processing system.

If you make a request for a booking via the Services, you agree that (a) Traveling Spoon may charge your credit card for verification, pre-authorization and payment purposes (and such charges are fully effective as payments to the Host, because as noted above, Traveling Spoon is the payment agent of the Host); (b) you will pay the applicable Total Culinary Experience Fees and other charges to Traveling Spoon, acting as payment agent of the Host, which funds will be held in one or more Customer Accounts (defined under “Payment and Administration Of Member Funds” below) and (c) you agree to bear any additional charges that your bank or other financial service provider may levy on you as well as any Taxes that may apply to you. You’ll receive a confirmation email once the Confirmed Booking transaction is complete. If you have any concerns or objections regarding charges, you agree to raise them first with Traveling Spoon and you agree not to cancel or reject any credit card charges unless you have made a reasonable attempt at resolving the matter directly with Traveling Spoon or the Host.

Your Contract With The Host

The Hosts, not Traveling Spoon, are responsible for honoring any Confirmed Bookings and making the applicable Culinary Experiences available. You agree to leave the Host’s location upon the completion of your Culinary Experience, or in the event the Host notifies you that the Host is uncomfortable with your presence in the Host’s location. You as a Traveler are responsible for not sharing, and maintaining the privacy of your Host’s contact information; under these Terms you are allowed to message your Host through the Site platform or contact them only as needed to render Services. While we’ll use reasonable efforts in our sole discretion to help you in your dealings with Hosts to make the experience between you and Hosts as enjoyable as possible, you, and not Traveling Spoon, will be responsible for performing the obligations of any contracts with the Hosts, and Traveling Spoon will not be liable in connection with such contracts.
As a Traveler, you acknowledge that by providing us with certain personal information, we will use that personal information to provide you with the Services, including sharing some of that personal information with the Hosts. Any personal information provided by you will be protected as described in our Privacy Policy and you can request additional information by emailing us at www.travelingspoon.com/privacy

Claims Under Traveling Spoon’s Insurance Policies

Traveling Spoon may allow a Traveler to make a claim (up to $1000.00 U.S. dollars) under Traveling Spoon’s insurance policy for medical costs (for example, hospital bills) incurred directly resulting from the Traveler becoming sick as a direct result of consuming food prepared as part of a Culinary Experience. You agree to cooperate with and assist Traveling Spoon in good faith, and to provide Traveling Spoon with such information as may be reasonably requested by Traveling Spoon in order to facilitate such a claim, including, but not limited to, executing documents and taking such further acts as Traveling Spoon may reasonably request. If Traveling Spoon’s insurance provider decides not to process any such claim, Traveling Spoon may, in its discretion, reimburse the Traveler for the medical costs outlined in such claim (up to $1000.00 U.S. dollars).

Dealing With Complaints Or Claims

As we’ve mentioned throughout these Terms, we’re going to try to make the experience between Travelers and Hosts as enjoyable as possible. If you are a Traveler or a Host and you have an issue with a Host or Traveler (as applicable), we encourage you to reach out directly to the other party to resolve such issue, and we’ll use reasonable efforts to help you resolve the issue. Both Travelers and Hosts agree to cooperate with and assist Traveling Spoon in good faith, and to provide Traveling Spoon with such information and take such actions as may be reasonably requested by Traveling Spoon, in connection with any complaints or claims made by Hosts or Travelers relating to Culinary Experiences, relating to conduct of Travelers and Hosts, or with respect to any investigation undertaken by Traveling Spoon or a representative of Traveling Spoon regarding use or abuse of the Services. If you are a Traveler or a Host, upon Traveling Spoon’s reasonable request, and to the extent you are reasonably able to do so, you agree to participate in mediation or similar resolution process with a Host or a Traveler, at no cost to you. Any such process will be conducted by Traveling Spoon or a third party selected by Traveling Spoon.

Payment And Administration Of Member Funds

Members acknowledge and agree that funds paid to Traveling Spoon for Culinary Experiences are provided to Traveling Spoon solely for the purpose of obtaining and paying for Services, including, without limitation, payment of Total Culinary Experience Fees, and the Mark Ups and other fees we are permitted to charge under these Terms (such amounts “Members Funds”). Traveling Spoon agrees to hold such Member Funds in trust in one or more accounts with banks or financial institutions of Traveling Spoon’s choice (such accounts, the “Customer Accounts”), and not to use any of such Member Funds for its own operations (except for Mark Ups, any interest earned on Member Funds and expenses and other amounts reimbursed or paid to Traveling Spoon as permitted under these Terms). Upon receipt of Member Funds, Traveling Spoon agrees to deposit and hold all such funds in one or more Customer Accounts, which will be identified as being for the benefit of, or held in trust for, the Members and segregated from any operating, investment or other similar accounts of Traveling Spoon. Traveling Spoon agrees not to comingle amounts held in such Customer Accounts with other operating funds of Traveling Spoon (other than Mark Ups, any interest earned on Member Funds and reimbursements or payment of expenses that may accrue with respect to Member Funds for Services); but Member Funds of a Member held in one or more Customer Accounts may be comingled with Member Funds of other Members. Traveling Spoon further agrees to use its reasonable commercial efforts to not permit such Customer Accounts or Member Funds which are the property of Members held therein to become subject to any voluntary lien or security interest in favor of a creditor of Traveling Spoon. Hosts specifically authorize Traveling Spoon to make payment out of such Customer Accounts to Traveling Spoon of any Mark Ups, interest earned on Member Funds, refunds to Travelers and for reimbursement or payment of expenses otherwise permitted under these Terms. Similarly, Travelers specifically authorize Traveling Spoon to make payment out of such Customer Accounts to Traveling Spoon of any portion of Total Culinary Experience Fees due a Host, interest earned on Member Funds and for reimbursement or payment of expenses otherwise permitted under these Terms.

Although Traveling Spoon will have no obligation to invest any Member Funds held in any Customer Account paid to it or to otherwise seek to obtain interest or other return on such Member Funds, Traveling Spoon may in its sole discretion invest or deposit such funds in an interest bearing or similar account with a bank or financial institution of national standing. You agree that you will not receive interest, other earning or return on the Member Funds that Traveling Spoon administers in the Customer Account. In consideration for your use of the Services, you irrevocably transfer and assign to Traveling Spoon any ownership right that you may have in any interest, returns or earnings that may accrue on Member Funds held in a Customer Account. This assignment applies only to interest, returns or earnings earned on Member Funds held in Customer Accounts, and nothing in these Terms grants Traveling Spoon any ownership right to the principal of the Member Funds you maintain with Traveling Spoon (except for Mark Ups and expenses and other amounts reimbursed or paid to Traveling Spoon as permitted under these Terms).

Traveling Spoon will have no obligation to account for or report to any Member with respect to its Member Funds paid pursuant to the Terms or held in a Customer Account, other than as expressly set forth herein as to an individual Member by Member basis with respect to such Member’s Traveling Spoon Account. In performance of its obligations as the limited payment agent for Hosts (described above), as trustee with respect to Member Funds held in one or more Customer Accounts and with respect to handling of Member Funds as described in the preceding paragraphs, Traveling Spoon will have no duty to Members except as expressly set forth in the Terms and will not be liable for any breach of duty not expressly undertaken in the Terms, except for actions that constitute intentional misconduct, gross negligence or bad faith, and in such case, liability will be subject to the limitations set forth below.

Traveling Spoon may, at any time, without notice to or consent of Members, modify the specific terms set forth in this section with respect to Customer Accounts or adopt different terms with respect to the holding, administration and investment of Member Funds.

Cancellations

What If The Traveler Cancels?

You, as a Traveler, may cancel a Confirmed Booking for a full refund minus payment processing fees by contacting us up to forty-eight (48) hours before your Culinary Experience is scheduled. If your Culinary Experience is scheduled to take place within forty-eight (48) hours, you will not be entitled to a refund. Hosts will be entitled to receive payment for Culinary Experiences that have not been cancelled on or prior to this forty-eight (48) hour period, whether or not the Culinary Experience takes place. For experiences that are cancelled within this forty-eight (48) hour period, Hosts will receive full payment for their Culinary Experiences minus Alcohol or Transportation costs.

What If The Host Cancels?

If you, as a Host, cancel a Confirmed Booking, Traveling Spoon will refund the Total Culinary Experience Fees for such booking to the Traveler within a commercially reasonable time after the cancellation date. Additionally, Traveling Spoon may charge you an additional fee (up to the amount of the fees paid to you by Traveling Spoon) for such cancelled booking.

Cancellation Policy for Partner Bookings:

When a booking is made through a partner or third-party website, the cancellation policy of that partner applies. Travelers are encouraged to review the partner’s cancellation terms before booking, as refunds, credits, or rescheduling will follow the partner’s policies, not Traveling Spoon’s. Hosts are also required to comply with the cancellation terms set by the partner and should be familiar with these policies prior to accepting partner bookings.

What’s The Deal With The Content On Traveling Spoon?

You’ll notice that there’s a lot of great content on the Site. “Content” means text, graphics, images, music, software, audio, video, works of authorship of any kind, and information or other materials that are posted, generated, provided or otherwise made available via the Services.

Some of the Content belongs to us – for example if we have a photographer take photographs of Hosts, their locations, or the food they prepare, Traveling Spoon owns those photographs. If, on the other hand, you provide the photographs then we don’t own those photographs. Any Content that you provide to us, including feedback about the Services, is called “Your Content”. Your Content (not surprisingly!) is yours and nothing in these Terms restricts any rights that you have to use it now and forever. We do however, need to get some permissions (also called “rights”) from you to make Your Content available via the Services. These permissions are described below.

Subject to your ownership of Your Content, Traveling Spoon and its licensors own all rights in the Services and Content, including all associated intellectual property rights. This includes any Content that Traveling Spoon creates or that is created by a third party for, or on behalf of, Traveling Spoon, and of course, just as you can use Your Content in any way you like, we can also use our Content in any way we like – e.g. we can sell it or use it for advertising.

The Services and Content are protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of the United States and foreign countries so you agree not to remove, change or obscure any copyright, trademark, service mark or other proprietary rights notices incorporated in or accompanying the Services or Content.

Rights You Grant to Traveling Spoon

By making Your Content available on or through Services you hereby grant to Traveling Spoon a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, view, copy, adapt, modify (for formatting purposes only), distribute, license, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast, access and otherwise exploit Your Content on, through or by means of the Services, including for commercial, advertising and promotional purposes relating to the Services.

Rights Traveling Spoon Grants to You

Subject to your compliance with these Terms, Traveling Spoon grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to (i) access and view any Content that belongs to Traveling Spoon solely for your personal and non-commercial purposes when you are using the Services; (ii) access and view any Content that belongs to other Members to which you are permitted access, solely for your personal and non-commercial purposes when you are using the Services; and (iii) access and use the Services via an industry standard consumer web browser (such as MS Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc.), solely for the purpose of providing and booking Culinary Experiences, as permitted herein. You have no right to sublicense the license rights granted in this section.

You will not use, copy, adapt, modify, prepare derivative works based upon, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, broadcast or otherwise exploit the Content, Services or any portion thereof, except as expressly permitted in these Terms. No licenses or rights are granted to you by implication or otherwise under any intellectual property rights owned or controlled by Traveling Spoon or its licensors, except for the licenses and rights expressly granted in these Terms.

Don’t Do Bad Things

We really want everyone to have a great experience and to feel safe when using the Services. Accordingly, you agree that you’ll only use the Services in a manner that is consistent with the User Conduct Terms, set forth below. If you don’t we might have to suspend or terminate your Account.

User Conduct Terms

In connection with your use of the Services you agree that you won’t:

  • use the Services for any commercial or other purposes that are not expressly permitted by these Terms;
  • copy, store or otherwise access any information contained on the Services for purposes not expressly permitted by Traveling Spoon or that would violate any laws;
  • interfere with or damage the Services, including, without limitation, through the use of viruses, cancel bots, Trojan horses, harmful code, flood pings, denial-of-service attacks, packet or IP spoofing, forged routing or electronic mail address information or similar methods or technology;
  • use the Services to transmit, distribute, post or submit any information concerning any other person or entity, including without limitation, personal contact information or credit, debit, calling card or account numbers;
  • use the Services in connection with the distribution of unsolicited commercial email ("spam") or advertisements unrelated to the Accommodations;
  • if you are a Host, install or use webcams or other surveillance equipment in the interior/dwelling space of your location for the purposes of recording a Culinary Experience, without the express permission of the Traveler and his guests;
  • if you are a Host, solicit Travelers for money or any other thing of value during and/or in connection with a Culinary Experience;
  • if you are a Traveler, pay or offer money to a Host during and/or in connection with a Culinary Experience;
  • violate any local, state, provincial, national, or other law or regulation, or any order of a court, including, without limitation Tax regulations and data protection regulations;
  • cause any damage to a location or to the other property, real or personal of a Host or Traveler;
  • recruit or otherwise solicit any Host or other Services user to join third party services or websites that are competitive or similar to Traveling Spoon, without Traveling Spoon’s prior written approval;
  • use manual or automated software, devices, scripts robots, or other means or processes, including automated scripts, to collect information or otherwise interact with the Services or to access, “scrape,” “crawl” or “spider” any web pages or other services contained in the Services or Content;
  • "stalk" or harass any other user of our Services or collect or store any personally identifiable information about any other user other than for purposes of transacting as a Traveler or Host;
  • if you are a Traveler, contact a Host for any purpose other than asking a question related to your booking of a Culinary Experience (other than with the Host’s permission);
  • if you are a Host, contact a Traveler for any purpose other than asking a question related to a booking or such Traveler’s use of the Services, (other than with the Traveler’s permission);
  • mistreat any Traveling Spoon employees including, but not limited to, using abusive language in writing or by telephone;
  • impersonate any person or entity, or falsify or otherwise misrepresent yourself or your affiliation with any person or entity;
  • post, upload, publish, submit or transmit any Content that: (i) infringes, misappropriates or violates a third party’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy; (ii) violates, or encourages any conduct that would violate, any applicable law or regulation or would give rise to civil liability; (iii) is fraudulent, false, misleading or deceptive; (iv) is defamatory, obscene, pornographic, vulgar or offensive; (v) promotes discrimination, bigotry, racism, hatred, harassment or harm against any individual or group; (vi) is violent or threatening or promotes violence or actions that are threatening to any other person; or (vii) promotes illegal or harmful activities or substances;
  • use, display, mirror or frame the Services, or any individual element within the Services, Traveling Spoon’s name, any Traveling Spoon trademark, logo or other proprietary information, or the layout and design of any page or form contained on a page, without Traveling Spoon’s express written consent;
  • access, tamper with, or use non-public areas of the Services, Traveling Spoon’s computer systems, or the technical delivery systems of Traveling Spoon’s providers;
  • attempt to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of any Traveling Spoon system or network or breach any security or authentication measures;
  • avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, impair, descramble, or otherwise circumvent any technological measure implemented by Traveling Spoon or any of Traveling Spoon’s providers or any other third party (including another user) to protect the Services or any of the content on the Services;
  • attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer any of the software used to provide the Services or content on the Services; or
  • advocate, encourage, or assist any third party in doing any of the foregoing.

Traveling Spoon’s Enforcement Rights

Although we’re not obligated to monitor access to or use of the Services or Content or to review or edit any Content, we have the right to do so for the purpose of operating the Services, to ensure compliance with these Terms or to comply with applicable law. We reserve the right, but are not obligated, to remove or disable access to any Content, at any time and without notice, including, but not limited to, if we, at our sole discretion, consider any Content to be objectionable or in violation of these Terms or of our User Conduct Terms. We have the right to investigate violations of these Terms or conduct that affects the Services. We may also consult and cooperate with law enforcement authorities to prosecute users who violate the law or other legal requirements, including providing such authorities with access to any Content on the Site.

DMCA/Copyright Policy

Traveling Spoon respects copyright law and expects its users to do the same. It is Traveling Spoon’s policy to terminate, in appropriate circumstances, Account holders who repeatedly infringe the rights of copyright holders. Please see Traveling Spoon’s Copyright Policy at www.travelingspoon.com/copyright, for additional information.

Links to Third Party Websites or Resources

The Services may contain links to third-party websites or resources. We provide these links only as a convenience and are not responsible for the content, products or services on or available from those websites or resources or links displayed on such third-party websites. You acknowledge sole responsibility for and assume all risk arising from, your use of any third-party websites or resources.

Termination

We may terminate these Terms or your access to the Services, at our sole discretion and without liability to you, at any time and with or without prior notice to you. Upon any termination, or cancellation of the Services, the following provisions will survive: What’s the Deal With The Content On Traveling Spoon?; Rights You Grant to Traveling Spoon; Disclaimers; Limitation of Liability; and Dispute Resolution. Upon any termination, discontinuation or cancellation of the Services or your Account, we’ll promptly pay you any amounts that we in our discretion determine we are legally obligated to pay you.

Disclaimers

THE SERVICES AND CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS,” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, WE EXPLICITLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, QUIET ENJOYMENT AND NON-INFRINGEMENT AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING OUT OF COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE.

ALTHOUGH WE DO OUR BEST TO WORK WITH HOSTS THAT ARE OF A HIGH QUALITY, AND WE VET OUR HOSTS TO TRY TO ENSURE THIS, TRAVELING SPOON MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE CULINARY EXPERIENCES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR REGARDING THE QUALITY OF ANY CULINARY EXPERIENCES.

TRAVELING SPOON MAKES NO WARRANTY AS TO THE IDENTITY, CHARACTER OR CONDUCT OF USERS OF THE SERVICES AND ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR A HOST’S OR A TRAVELER’S COMPLIANCE WITH ANY APPLICABLE LAWS AND REGULATIONS. YOU AGREE TO TAKE REASONABLE PRECAUTIONS IN ALL COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER USERS OF THE SERVICES WITH WHOM YOU COMMUNICATE OR INTERACT AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION TRAVELERS AND HOSTS, PARTICULARLY IF YOU DECIDE TO MEET OFFLINE OR IN PERSON, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH MEETINGS ARE ORGANIZED BY TRAVELING SPOON. TRAVELING SPOON EXPLICITLY DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY ACT OR OMISSION OF ANY TRAVELER, HOST, OR OTHER THIRD PARTY.

Indemnity

You will defend, indemnify and hold Traveling Spoon and its affiliates and subsidiaries, and their respective officers, directors, employees and agents, harmless from and against any claims, disputes, demands, liabilities, damages, losses, regulatory fines, and costs and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, arising out of or in any way connected with (i) your access to or use of the Site, Services or Content, including without limitation your booking or provision of a Culinary Experience; (ii) your breach of these Terms; or (iii) Your Content.

Limitation of Liability

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SERVICES AND CONTENT, YOUR PROVIDING OR BOOKING OF ANY CULINARY EXPERIENCES VIA THE SERVICES, AND ANY CONTACT YOU HAVE WITH OTHER USERS OF THE SERVICES, WHETHER IN PERSON OR ONLINE, REMAINS WITH YOU.

NEITHER TRAVELING SPOON NOR ANY OTHER PARTY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING, OR DELIVERING THE SERVICES OR CONTENT, WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA OR USE, OR GOODWILL, SERVICE INTERRUPTION, COMPUTER DAMAGE OR SYSTEM FAILURE, OR THE COST OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES, OR FOR ANY DAMAGES FOR PERSONAL OR BODILY INJURY OR EMOTIONAL DISTRESS ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS, OR FROM THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES OR CONTENT, OR FROM ANY COMMUNICATIONS, INTERACTIONS OR MEETINGS WITH OTHER USERS OF THE SERVICES OR OTHER PERSONS WITH WHOM YOU COMMUNICATE OR INTERACT AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, OR FROM YOUR PROVIDING OR BOOKING OF ANY CULINARY EXPERIENCES VIA THE SERVICES, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), PRODUCT LIABILITY OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT TRAVELING SPOON HAS BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE, EVEN IF A LIMITED REMEDY SET FORTH HEREIN IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

EXCEPT FOR OUR OBLIGATIONS TO PAY AMOUNTS TO APPLICABLE HOSTS PURSUANT TO THESE TERMS, OR REFUND AMOUNTS TO THE APPROPRIATE TRAVELERS IF APPLICABLE, IN NO EVENT WILL TRAVELING SPOON’S AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS AND YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, OR FROM ANY COMMUNICATIONS, INTERACTIONS OR MEETINGS WITH OTHER USERS OF THE SERVICES OR OTHER PERSONS WITH WHOM YOU COMMUNICATE OR INTERACT AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, EXCEED THE AMOUNTS YOU HAVE PAID OR OWE FOR BOOKINGS VIA THE SERVICES AS A TRAVELER IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTH PERIOD PRIOR TO THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE LIABILITY, OR, IF YOU ARE A HOST, THE AMOUNTS PAID BY TRAVELING SPOON TO YOU IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTH PERIOD PRIOR TO THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE LIABILITY, OR ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100), IF NO SUCH PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE, AS APPLICABLE. THE LIMITATIONS OF DAMAGES SET FORTH ABOVE ARE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN TRAVELING SPOON AND YOU.

Dispute Resolution

Governing Law

These Terms and any action related thereto will be governed by the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. To the extent that an action is related to the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation 2016/679), that action will be governed by the laws of the country where the data at issue originated.

Agreement to Arbitrate

You and Traveling Spoon agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to (a) these Terms or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation or validity thereof, or (b) the use of the Site, Services, or Content (collectively, “Disputes”) will be settled by binding arbitration, except that each party retains the right: (1) to bring an individual action in small claims court and (2) to seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation or violation of a party’s copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents or other intellectual property rights (the action described in the foregoing clause (2), an “IP Protection Action”). The exclusive forum, jurisdiction and venue of any IP Protection Action will be the state and federal courts located in the Northern District of California and each of the parties hereto waives any objection to jurisdiction and venue in such courts. You acknowledge and agree that you and Traveling Spoon are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class action or representative proceeding. Further, unless both you and Traveling Spoon otherwise agree in writing, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of any class or representative proceeding. If this specific paragraph is held unenforceable in a putative class or representative proceeding, then the agreement to arbitrate will be deemed void. Except as provided in the preceding sentence, this “Dispute Resolution” section will survive any termination of these Terms.

Arbitration Rules

The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules and the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes (the “AAA Rules”) then in effect, except as modified by this “Dispute Resolution” section. (The AAA Rules are available at http://www.adr.org/arb_med or by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879.) The Federal Arbitration Act will govern the interpretation and enforcement of this Section.

Arbitration Process

A party who desires to initiate arbitration must provide the other party with a written Demand for Arbitration as specified in the AAA Rules. (The AAA provides a form Demand for Arbitration at http://www.adr.org/aaa/ShowPDF?doc=ADRSTG_004175 and a separate form for California residents at http://www.adr.org/aaa/ShowPDF?doc=ADRSTG_015822.) The arbitrator will be either a retired judge or an attorney licensed to practice law and will be selected by the parties from the AAA’s roster of arbitrators. If the parties are unable to agree upon an arbitrator within seven (7) days of delivery of the Demand for Arbitration, then the AAA will appoint the arbitrator in accordance with the AAA Rules.

Arbitration Location and Procedure

Unless you and Traveling Spoon otherwise agree, the arbitration will be conducted in the county where you reside. If your claim does not exceed $10,000, then the arbitration will be conducted solely on the basis of the documents that you and Traveling Spoon submit to the arbitrator, unless you request a hearing or the arbitrator determines that a hearing is necessary. If your claim exceeds $10,000, your right to a hearing will be determined by the AAA Rules. Subject to the AAA Rules, the arbitrator will have the discretion to direct a reasonable exchange of information by the parties, consistent with the expedited nature of the arbitration.

Arbitrator’s Decision

The arbitrator will render an award within the time frame specified in the AAA Rules. The arbitrator’s decision will include the essential findings and conclusions upon which the arbitrator based the award. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The arbitrator’s award of damages must be consistent with the terms of the “Limitation of Liability” section above as to the types and amounts of damages for which a party may be held liable. The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the claimant and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the claimant’s individual claim. If you prevail in arbitration you will be entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses, to the extent provided under applicable law. Traveling Spoon will not seek, and hereby waives all rights it may have under applicable law to recover, attorneys’ fees and expenses if it prevails in arbitration.

Fees

Your responsibility to pay any AAA filing, administrative and arbitrator fees will be solely as set forth in the AAA Rules. However, if your claim for damages does not exceed $75,000, Traveling Spoon will pay all such fees unless the arbitrator finds that either the substance of your claim or the relief sought in your Demand for Arbitration was frivolous or was brought for an improper purpose (as measured by the standards set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)).

Changes

Notwithstanding the terms of “Changes to Terms or Services” above, if Traveling Spoon changes this “Dispute Resolution” Section after the date you first accepted these Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms), you may reject any such change by sending us written notice (including by email to terms@travelingspoon.com) within 30 days of the date such change became effective, as indicated in the “Last Updated” date above or in the date of Traveling Spoon’s email to you notifying you of such change. By rejecting any change, you are agreeing that you will arbitrate any Dispute between you and Traveling Spoon in accordance with the provisions of this “Dispute Resolution” section as of the date you first accepted these Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms).

General Terms

These Terms constitute the entire and exclusive understanding and agreement between Traveling Spoon and you regarding the Site, Services, and Content, and any bookings or provision of Culinary Experiences made via the Services, and these Terms supersede and replace any and all prior oral or written understandings or agreements between Traveling Spoon and you regarding the Services, Content, and any bookings or provision of Culinary Experiences made via the Services. If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of these Terms invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the other provisions of these Terms will remain in full force and effect.

You may not assign or transfer these Terms, by operation of law or otherwise, without Traveling Spoon’s prior written consent. Any attempt by you to assign or transfer these Terms, without such consent, will be null and of no effect. Traveling Spoon may freely assign or transfer these Terms without restriction. Subject to the foregoing, these Terms will bind and inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns.

Any notices or other communications provided by Traveling Spoon to you under these Terms, including those regarding modifications to these Terms, will be given by Traveling Spoon: (i) via email; or (ii) by posting to the Site. For notices made by e-mail, the date of receipt will be deemed the date on which such notice is transmitted. These Terms apply only to Traveling Spoon and you. These Terms are not intended to, and shall not, create any third party beneficiary rights, except as expressly provided in these Terms.

Traveling Spoon’s failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of future enforcement of that right or provision or of any other right or provision. The waiver of any right or provision will be effective only if in writing and signed by a duly authorized representative of Traveling Spoon. Except as expressly set forth in these Terms, the exercise by either party of any of its remedies under these Terms will be without prejudice to its other remedies under these Terms or otherwise.

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You Are Done!

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