1. About these terms
These terms form an agreement between you and BuddyEase (“BuddyEase”, “we”, “us”), covering the BuddyEase website, your account, and every booking you make through it. By creating an account or making a booking you accept these terms. If you do not accept them, please do not use the service.
Two other documents form part of this agreement and should be read alongside it: our Privacy Policy and our Cancellation Policy.
2. What BuddyEase is, and is not
BuddyEase connects travelers with verified local companions, whom we call Buddies. A Buddy is an independent individual, not a BuddyEase employee, and not a licensed tour guide operating a packaged tour. Buddies set their own availability and deliver the experience themselves.
Our role is to:
- Verify each Buddy’s identity and interview them before their first trip.
- Match your request to a suitable Buddy based on interests, language and dates.
- Handle the booking, the paperwork and the money flow.
- Provide support and an emergency contact for the duration of your trip.
Because the experience is delivered by an independent person, we do not control every detail of what happens on the day, and we are not a party to the personal interaction between you and your Buddy beyond the responsibilities set out in these terms.
3. Your account
You must be at least 20 years old to create an account and make a booking, which is the age of majority in Thailand. Travelers under 20 are welcome on a trip when accompanied by a booking adult, who remains responsible for them. You agree to give accurate information, to keep your login details to yourself, and to tell us promptly if you believe someone else has used your account. You are responsible for activity carried out under your account.
We may refuse, suspend or close an account where information is false, where these terms are broken, or where we reasonably believe an account puts other people at risk.
4. Booking and matching
You send a request for an experience with your dates, group size and any preferences. Our team then matches a verified Buddy to it. You see the full Buddy profile once the match is confirmed. A booking is only confirmed when we tell you it is, not at the moment you submit the request.
Some experiences are solo only and are capped at one traveler. Where that applies it is marked on the experience itself and enforced at booking.
If we cannot find a suitable Buddy for your dates, we will tell you and the booking will not proceed. Nothing is owed by either side in that case.
5. Prices, fees and payment
All prices are shown in Thai Baht and include a BuddyEase service fee, which is listed as its own line before you confirm. The price covers the Buddy’s time. Unless the experience description says otherwise, it does not cover your own transport, entry tickets, food, drinks or shopping, and it does not cover the Buddy’s personal expenses beyond what the experience states.
Payment is made in person to your Buddy, at the meeting point, before the trip starts. BuddyEase does not take your card details, does not hold your money at any point, and takes no part in how the two of you settle. The amount is the one confirmed on your booking, in Thai Baht. Bring it with you: a Buddy is not expected to begin the session unpaid, and may decline to start if the agreed amount is not settled.
The Buddy receives the full amount and owes BuddyEase its commission and service fee out of it. That arrangement is between the Buddy and us; the amount you pay is the amount you were quoted, and it does not change based on it.
Paying a Buddy outside the confirmed booking, or arranging a trip with a Buddy off the platform to avoid fees, is not permitted. It removes the protections in these terms, including our support and emergency cover, and may result in the account being closed.
6. Cancellations and changes
You can cancel free of charge up to 24 hours before your trip starts. Inside 24 hours your Buddy has already committed the time, so late cancellations and no-shows are treated differently. The full detail, including what happens if we or the Buddy cancel, is on the Cancellation Policy page, which forms part of these terms.
To change a date, time or group size, contact us as early as you can. Changes depend on your Buddy’s availability and may change the price. A confirmed change replaces the original booking.
7. How you are expected to behave
A Buddy is a person spending their day with you, and the same standards apply in both directions. When using BuddyEase you agree not to:
- Harass, threaten, discriminate against or endanger a Buddy, another traveler or our staff.
- Request or pursue anything illegal, or anything of a sexual or romantic nature. BuddyEase is not a dating or companionship-for-intimacy service, and requests of that kind end the booking immediately with no refund.
- Share personal contact details before a booking is confirmed. Our messaging masks contact information on purpose, and attempts to work around that masking are a breach of these terms.
- Misuse the platform, for example by scraping it, attacking it or impersonating others.
- Post content that is false, unlawful or infringes someone else’s rights.
A Buddy may end a session early if they feel unsafe or if the conduct above occurs. Where that happens, no refund is due.
8. Safety
Every confirmed booking includes a 24/7 emergency contact. Please use it if something goes wrong on the day. You remain responsible for your own health, insurance, visa status and personal belongings. We strongly recommend travel insurance. If you have a medical condition, mobility need or allergy that affects the experience, tell us before you book so the match can account for it.
9. Terms for Buddies
If you are approved as a Buddy, you provide your services as an independent contractor, not as an employee, and you are responsible for your own taxes and any permits your activity requires. You agree to keep your availability accurate, to turn up for confirmed bookings, to complete our verification, and to follow the conduct standards above.
BuddyEase earns a commission on each completed booking. You receive the full amount from the traveller and owe us our commission plus the service fee out of it. Once the trip is complete you transfer that back to us and file the slip in your Buddy dashboard; the balance is settled only once we have matched it against our own account, and a transfer we cannot match is returned to you with the reason so you can send new evidence. Repeated no-shows, late cancellations or verified conduct complaints can end your access to the platform.
10. Content you provide
You keep ownership of the photos, text and other content you upload. By uploading it you give BuddyEase a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, display and use it for the purpose of running and promoting the service. You confirm you have the right to give that licence, and that the content does not breach anyone else’s rights. We may remove content that breaks these terms.
11. Our intellectual property
The BuddyEase name, logo, site design, written content and software are ours or our licensors’. You may use the site for its intended purpose. You may not copy, resell or build a competing service from our content without written permission.
12. Availability of the service
We aim to keep the site available and correct, but we do not promise it will be uninterrupted or free of error. We may change, suspend or withdraw features, and we may carry out maintenance. Where a change materially affects a booking you have already made, we will contact you.
13. Limits of our responsibility
To the extent the law allows, BuddyEase is not liable for the acts, omissions or quality of service of an independent Buddy, for loss or damage to your belongings, for personal injury arising from your own choices during a trip, or for indirect or consequential loss such as missed flights, lost earnings or spoiled plans. Where we are found liable, our total liability for any booking is limited to the amount paid for that booking.
Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, including liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or for fraud.
14. Complaints
If something goes wrong, contact us first and give us a chance to put it right. Most issues are resolved quickly this way. Please raise a complaint about a trip within 14 days of the trip date, while the detail is still fresh and we can still act on it.
15. Suspension and termination
You can close your account at any time by contacting us. We may suspend or close an account that breaks these terms, that presents a safety risk, or that we are required to act on by law. Closing an account does not cancel obligations already incurred, such as a commission owed on a completed booking.
16. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms as the service changes. The date at the top of this page always reflects the current version. Bookings are governed by the terms in force when they were confirmed. Where a change is significant, we will give notice through the site or by email.
17. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of Thailand, and the courts of Thailand have jurisdiction over any dispute arising from them.
18. Contact
Questions about these terms are welcome. Email us at contact@buddyease.com or use the details on our contact page.