Cancellation and Refund Policy

This Cancellation and Refund Policy of QEMBARA EXPERIENCES PRIVATE LIMITED, a company incorporated in Singapore with Company Unique Entity (UEN) Number 202645696M (Qembara, we, us or our), applies to confirmed Qembara Bookings for activities, tours, workshops, classes, meals, events, transport components and other Experiences supplied by Hosts through the Platform. It does not apply to a transaction arranged outside Qembara.

Contractual priority is: (1) mandatory law; (2) a more favourable transaction-specific commitment; (3) the Booking Confirmation and confirmed Listing for transaction facts; (4) this Policy for cancellation and refund entitlement; (5) the Standard Experience Contract Terms in section 7 of the Guest Terms for the Guest–Host relationship; (6) the Payment Terms for payment mechanics; and (7) the Guest Terms and Host Terms for each user’s separate relationship with Qembara. A Host cannot add a less favourable cancellation term after confirmation unless the Guest expressly agrees and applicable law permits it.

All cancellation deadlines use the local date and time at the Experience location. The Platform shows the applicable deadline before payment and keeps it in the Booking Confirmation. This Policy uses the defined terms in the Guest Terms, Host Terms and Payment Terms. It is provided in English. This does not limit any language-related right required by law.

Booking means a reservation confirmed by a Booking Confirmation.

Booking Confirmation means Qembara’s written confirmation, issued on the Host’s behalf, that a Booking Request has been accepted and an Experience Contract has been formed between the Booking Guest and the Host.

Booking Guest means the Guest who submits the Booking Request and contracts with the Host for the Booking.

Experience means an activity, tour, workshop, class, meal, event, transport component or other service listed through Qembara and supplied by a Host.

Host means the independent third-party supplier identified in the Listing and Booking Confirmation who offers and is contractually responsible to the Booking Guest for delivering the Experience.

Host Amount means the Experience price the Host sets and the Booking Guest owes the Host, collected by Qembara as the Host’s limited payment-collection agent. It includes every unavoidable Host charge and Host taxes where applicable, but excludes the Qembara Guest Service Fee and charges payable to another disclosed supplier.

Listing means the page on the Platform that describes an Experience.

Material Issue means a failure that prevents delivery as booked, creates a serious undisclosed safety risk, makes the Experience materially unsafe, or makes it materially different from the confirmed description.

Participant means any person included in a Booking.

Qembara Guest Service Fee means the fee, if any, charged by Qembara to the Guest for its marketplace services, set per market and shown before payment.

Total Price means the total amount accepted at checkout, comprising the Host Amount, Qembara Guest Service Fee, applicable taxes and identified third-party charges or selected extras, less any valid discount or credit.

Qembara uses two standard cancellation settings so that Guests can compare Experiences easily and Hosts cannot create hidden or confusing rules. The setting for each Booking is shown before payment and kept in the Booking Confirmation.

Flexible – 24 hours (default): cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled local start time for a full refund under section 9.

Advance Preparation – 72 hours: cancel at least 72 hours before the scheduled local start time for a full refund under section 9. This setting applies only to Listings Qembara has approved because of documented material advance preparation, committed non-recoverable cost or constrained capacity.

After the deadline: if you cancel later than the deadline but before the start, the Host Amount and Qembara Guest Service Fee are normally non-refundable, subject to sections 6 to 8, any exception the Host approves and mandatory law.

No-show or cancellation after start: normally no refund unless the Host, a Material Issue, an event beyond reasonable control or mandatory law justifies one.

Qembara reviews each Advance Preparation approval at least every 12 months and may withdraw it for future Bookings if the justification no longer applies; existing Bookings keep the setting shown when they were made.

3.1 How Guest cancellation works. Open the Booking on the Platform or use the support route shown with the Booking. Before you confirm, Qembara shows the applicable setting, deadline, the time the cancellation will take effect and the estimated refund for each price component. A cancellation takes effect when Qembara records it and confirms it to you. If self-service is unavailable, a time-stamped request to Qembara Support received before the deadline preserves your position while Qembara verifies it. Support is available through the Help Centre, in-app chat and the phone or WhatsApp line described in section 27 of the Guest Terms, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Once Qembara determines that a monetary refund is due, Qembara will issue it without waiting to recover any Host-funded amount. Recovery from the Host is a separate matter under the Host Terms and Payment Terms and does not reduce or delay the approved Guest refund.

3.2 Late cancellation exception requested from the Host. After the deadline, a Guest may ask the Host to approve an exception. The Host is not required to approve it unless this Policy or mandatory law already gives the Guest a remedy. Any approval must be recorded through Qembara, state the amount refunded and must not require the Guest to withdraw a genuine complaint or review. A Host’s discretionary refund of the Host Amount does not by itself decide the treatment of the Qembara Guest Service Fee, taxes, credits or third-party charges; those follow section 9.

A requested change takes effect only when the Host accepts it, any price difference is paid or refunded, and Qembara issues an updated Booking Confirmation. Before you confirm, Qembara will show any price change and any effect on cancellation rights.

A material change proposed by the Host, including to the date, time, location, Host, itinerary, duration, capacity or a key inclusion, requires the Guest’s agreement. If the Guest declines, the Guest may cancel for a full refund. A minor operational change is permitted only if it does not materially reduce value, safety, accessibility or the essential character of the Experience. Qembara assesses changes together: several changes that are individually minor are treated as material if their combined effect materially alters the confirmed Experience.

For a Guest-requested reschedule, the cancellation deadline is the earlier of the deadline from the original Booking and the deadline calculated from the new start time. Rescheduling does not reset or revive a free-cancellation right unless a later deadline is granted through an authorised Qembara workflow and recorded in the updated Booking Confirmation. For a Host-requested material reschedule, the Guest may decline for a full refund; if the Guest accepts, the updated confirmation must state a cancellation deadline no less favourable than the one disclosed when the Guest accepted the change.

If the price decreases after an accepted change, Qembara refunds the difference. If it increases, the Guest must expressly accept and pay the difference before the change becomes binding.

Where the Listing prices Participants separately and the remaining group still meets the confirmed minimum, a Guest may cancel one or more Participants. The applicable deadline applies to the cancelled places, and the Platform will show the revised Participant count and refund before confirmation.

Where a private or minimum-price Experience is priced for the group as a whole, removing Participants does not automatically reduce the Host Amount. Any changed group price must be clearly shown and accepted. Qembara will not impose an undisclosed minimum charge after Booking.

A Host must honour a confirmed Booking unless there is a valid reason under this Policy, a material Guest-caused safety disruption, applicable law or an event beyond reasonable control. A Host must not ask a Guest to cancel on the Host’s behalf.

If the Host cancels, fails to appear, or no part of the Experience can be delivered for a Host-responsible reason, the Booking Guest is entitled to a full refund of 100% of the monetary amounts actually charged through Qembara for the affected Experience, including the Host Amount, Qembara Guest Service Fee, taxes and paid Experience-specific extras or third-party charges. This does not apply where the cancellation results solely from a substantiated serious Guest breach, fraud or material Guest-caused safety disruption and section 11 lawfully permits a reduced or zero refund. Qembara may offer a suitable alternative, another date or Qembara credit, but will not substitute them for money without the Guest’s agreement.

If a substitute Host or materially different delivery arrangement is proposed, the Guest may accept it. If the Guest declines, or no suitable alternative is available, the monetary refund remains available.

Unless a different threshold is prominently disclosed before checkout because of the Experience type, a Host who is more than 15 minutes late is treated as a potential Material Issue. Whether the Host can be contacted is relevant to the remedy but does not by itself prevent a Material Issue arising. The remedy reflects the waiting time, shortened duration, ability to complete the essential Experience, the quality of the Host’s communications and any reasonable alternative accepted by the Guest.

A Material Issue can override the ordinary cancellation setting. Examples include a Host no-show; material Host lateness; an unsafe or unexpectedly unusable venue; missing essential equipment; a materially inaccurate meeting location; failure to deliver a key advertised element; an undisclosed material accessibility barrier contrary to a confirmed arrangement; failure to deliver a confirmed Muslim-friendly, halal or gender-sensitive arrangement; or delivery materially different from the confirmed description.

Report a Material Issue through Qembara Support as soon as reasonably possible, preferably while the Experience is still taking place, so the issue can be corrected and evidence preserved. Submit any refund request within 72 hours after the Material Issue occurs. The 72-hour period is not an automatic bar to a remedy where an emergency, incapacity, lack of access or another reasonable circumstance prevented timely reporting. Provide the Booking reference, what happened, relevant times, Platform communications and available photographs, receipts or other proportionate evidence.

Qembara may request information from both the Guest and the Host and review Platform records. Under section 15 of the Host Terms, the Host must respond to a live or same-day issue within 15 minutes and to an ordinary evidence request within three calendar days (24 hours for an urgent safety, safeguarding, fraud or evidence request). The remedy depends on the impact:

No meaningful part delivered, or unusable or materially unsafe: full refund where the issue defeats the essential Experience.

Meaningful part delivered but material value lost: partial refund reasonably reflecting the undelivered part, seriousness and impact.

Issue corrected promptly with no material remaining impact: continuation or correction may be sufficient; any refund reflects the remaining impact.

Guest accepts rescheduling or replacement: the updated Booking Confirmation governs, and any price difference is stated and settled.

A covered event is an unavoidable event outside the reasonable control of both parties that materially affects the Experience location and prevents or legally prohibits safe completion. It may include severe weather meeting any disclosed location-specific threshold, a natural disaster, government prohibition or material warning, mandatory evacuation, civil disruption, emergency closure, a serious public-health event or a location-wide transport or essential-utility shutdown.

The following are not automatically covered events: ordinary or foreseeable weather that does not prevent safe performance; Guest-only flight or transport disruption; insufficient Host staffing; overbooking; missing permits; poor scheduling; avoidable maintenance; or ordinary supplier failure.

If no part can be delivered, the default is a full monetary refund unless the Guest chooses rebooking or credit. If a meaningful part was safely and lawfully delivered before interruption, a proportionate remedy reflects the value received and the remaining impact. Host preparation costs, non-recoverable supplier costs and the allocation of refund funding between Qembara and the Host do not reduce a Guest refund where this Policy grants a full refund. Host cancellation consequences may be waived for a properly evidenced event beyond the Host’s control, but the waiver does not remove the Guest’s refund entitlement.

Qembara calculates refunds component by component. A full refund means 100% of the monetary amounts actually charged through Qembara for the affected Experience. A supplier, acquiring, payment-processing or other third-party cost that Qembara or a Host cannot recover does not reduce that full refund. Each component is treated as follows:

Host Amount: refunded in full when this Policy grants a full refund; otherwise according to the applicable cancellation setting or an approved exception.

Qembara Guest Service Fee: refunded in full when the Guest cancels before the deadline, when the Host cancels, or when this Policy grants a full refund for non-delivery or a Material Issue. After the deadline, it is normally non-refundable on a voluntary Guest cancellation unless Qembara approves an exception or mandatory law requires otherwise.

Taxes: included in a full refund if charged through Qembara for the affected Experience. For a partial refund, tax treatment follows the refunded component and applicable law.

Paid Experience-specific extras: included in a full refund if charged through Qembara for the affected Experience; otherwise refunded where the qualifying cancellation or issue makes the extra unusable, subject to mandatory law and the disclosed extra terms.

Third-party charges: included in a full refund if charged through Qembara for the affected Experience, even if the underlying cost cannot be recovered; otherwise treated under the disclosed third-party terms and mandatory law.

Credits and promotional value: governed by section 21 of the Guest Terms. Credits and promotional codes follow the terms shown when issued, are non-transferable and have no cash value. If a Host cancels, any reusable credit applied is restored and any money paid is refunded, unless the Guest chooses another remedy. Credits never replace a monetary refund that is due.

9.1 Partial-refund calculation. A partial refund must be reasonable, evidence-based and explainable. Qembara considers the part not delivered, the seriousness and duration of the issue, the extent to which the essential purpose was achieved, whether the issue was corrected, and any refund already issued. Qembara applies internal guidance for consistency, but that guidance never overrides the facts of the Booking, mandatory law or the full-refund rules in this Policy. Nominal, abandoned or materially unsafe performance will not be used to defeat a full-refund entitlement. The refund equals the eligible Host Amount, Qembara Guest Service Fee, taxes, extras and third-party charges, less amounts already refunded for the same components; Qembara will not double-count a refund, credit or Host payment.

9.2 Currency, rounding and exchange rates. Refunds are made in the Booking’s transaction currency using the component amounts recorded at checkout and the rounding rules in section 5 of the Payment Terms. A card issuer or payment provider may apply its own exchange rate or fee when posting a refund.

A monetary refund is returned to the original payment method where reasonably possible. If that method cannot receive the refund, Qembara will offer another lawful method. Credit or rebooking is optional unless the Guest expressly chooses it after being told the monetary amount otherwise due.

Qembara will initiate an approved monetary refund within 2 business days after the cancellation is recorded or Qembara determines that the refund is due, as stated in section 10 of the Guest Terms and section 10 of the Payment Terms. The time for funds to appear after initiation depends on the payment method, bank and payment provider. Qembara will show the available estimate and a reference or status where available. A processing delay does not convert a monetary refund into credit.

Guests and Participants must arrive at the confirmed local start time with the disclosed identification, clothing and equipment. Unless a different rule is prominently disclosed before checkout because the Experience is time-critical, Guests have a 15-minute grace period after the confirmed start time, and the Host must make at least one contact attempt through the Platform before treating a Guest as a no-show. A Listing-specific rule must be objectively justified by the Experience, shown before payment and kept in the Booking Confirmation.

A Host may reasonably refuse admission or end participation for a material safety risk, intoxication or material impairment, threats or harassment, discrimination, deliberate property damage, refusal of reasonable safety instructions, an unauthorised Participant or another serious breach. Refund entitlement depends on the cause, proportionality, evidence, this Policy and mandatory law. A Host cannot rely on an undisclosed, discriminatory or irrelevant requirement to deny a refund.

Where an Experience crosses an international border, a refusal of entry or boarding caused by the Guest’s own travel documents or admissibility is not a Host failure, as stated in section 15 of the Guest Terms, and is treated as a Guest cancellation or no-show under this Policy. If a Guest voluntarily leaves early for reasons unrelated to a Material Issue, the unused time is not automatically refundable.

Qembara pays a qualifying Guest refund whether or not it has first recovered the Host-funded portion. Recovery, withholding, offset or settlement with the Host is handled separately under section 13 of the Host Terms and section 11 of the Payment Terms. Under those terms, the Host ordinarily funds the Host-side portion of refunds caused by Host cancellation, non-performance, a Host-responsible Material Issue, inaccurate Listing, breach, or acts of personnel or suppliers for whom the Host is responsible. Qembara bears refunds of the Qembara Guest Service Fee and any discretionary goodwill it chooses to provide.

A Host cancellation ordinarily results in no Payout for the cancelled Booking and may lead to a cancellation charge under section 14 of the Host Terms. Where a Host-responsible cancellation requires Qembara to arrange a replacement Experience for the Guest, Qembara may recover the reasonable cost from the Host, up to the Host Amount of the cancelled Booking. Waiving a Host cancellation charge because the Host had a valid reason does not remove the Guest’s refund entitlement and does not create a Payout entitlement.

A Guest chargeback does not automatically establish Host fault. Chargebacks follow section 12 of the Payment Terms, card-scheme rules, applicable law and the evidence of delivery and responsibility. A Guest must not seek duplicate recovery through both a Qembara refund and a payment dispute.

Qembara may cancel or restrict a Booking where reasonably necessary for safety, fraud prevention, sanctions, legal compliance, payment failure, a serious breach or the inability to maintain a workable delivery plan. The refund outcome depends on the cause and mandatory law.

If Qembara cancels because of its own Platform, payment-processing or support failure and the Experience cannot proceed, the Guest receives the refund this Policy requires. If cancellation is required solely because of the Guest’s serious breach, fraud, prohibited conduct or material Guest-caused safety disruption, the Guest may receive no refund of the Host Amount to the extent lawful and proportionate. If the reason is an event beyond reasonable control, section 8 applies. If the cause is Host-responsible, section 6 or 7 applies. Unless fraud, intentional misconduct or a serious Guest breach is established, a Qembara-initiated cancellation receives the refund applicable under this Policy, as stated in section 22 of the Guest Terms.

For a same-day Host no-show, material Host lateness or immediate safety issue, use the urgent-support route shown with the Booking. Qembara will prioritise the live report, aiming for a first response within 15 minutes, attempt to contact the Host and explain the available continuation, replacement or refund options. For an immediate safety incident, contact local emergency services first.

For any other refund dispute, provide the Booking reference, the remedy requested and relevant evidence. Qembara may make an administrative determination for Platform refunds, credits, Payouts and account action within the authority granted by the Host, and will briefly explain the outcome.

The Booking Guest or Host may request one administrative review within 14 calendar days of the determination, as stated in section 12 of the Guest Terms and section 15 of the Host Terms, where material evidence was overlooked, this Policy appears to have been applied inconsistently, or material new information exists. Qembara aims to complete an urgent review within 48 hours and an ordinary review within 14 calendar days, as stated in section 22 of the Guest Terms and section 15 of the Host Terms. A review does not remove contractual, statutory or court rights.

Qembara considers proportionate evidence from both sides, including Booking records, confirmed Listing content, Platform messages, attendance records, timestamps, photographs, receipts, safety records and other relevant information. Failure to provide requested evidence may allow Qembara to decide on the information available, but is not automatically an admission.

Qembara may act urgently to protect safety or prevent ongoing harm. A refund decision must not be based on a protected characteristic, retaliation for a complaint or review, or an undisclosed rule. Fraudulent refund claims or fabricated evidence may lead to account action and do not create a refund right.

Nothing in this Policy limits a mandatory consumer right, remedy, cooling-off right, statutory refund or liability that cannot lawfully be excluded. The governing law and dispute route for the Experience Contract are stated in section 29 of the Guest Terms and the Booking Confirmation, subject to any mandatory consumer forum or protection. A Guest may also use an available consumer dispute-resolution process, such as the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) or the Small Claims Tribunals of Singapore where eligible.

This Policy is not travel or cancellation insurance, and Qembara does not provide insurance, as stated in section 14 of the Guest Terms. Unless the confirmed Listing expressly says otherwise, Qembara does not reimburse external costs such as flights, hotels, visas, ferry tickets, transport to the meeting point or lost earnings merely because an Experience is cancelled. This does not exclude compensation or liability that applicable law does not permit the parties to exclude.

The version accepted for a confirmed Booking remains the applicable version for that Booking unless a change is required by law or the affected parties expressly agree to a change that is lawful and does not remove a mandatory right. Qembara may update this Policy for future Bookings and will show the new effective date and archive earlier versions.

Contact Qembara about a cancellation or refund through the Help Centre, in-app chat or support@qembara.com. For urgent day-of-Experience issues, use the support routes in section 27 of the Guest Terms, which operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Include the Booking reference, and do not send sensitive identity or payment documents by ordinary email unless Qembara has provided a secure route.