XploreU Privacy policy

Our Commitment to Privacy

XPloreU, LLC, an Illinois limited liability company (“XPloreU” or “We”), values and respects your privacy. We collect information about you through our website located at www.xploreu.com (the “Website”) in an effort to improve your experience at the Website and to communicate with you about various products, services, contests and/or promotions. We do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties. As described in this policy, we may share your information, under certain circumstances, with third parties that provide services on our behalf or with whom we have partnered to offer a particular product or service.

This policy describes the personal information we collect about you, why we collect it, how we use it, and when we share it with third parties. Our policy also describes the choices you can make about how we collect and use your information. If our information practices change, we will post an updated policy on our website. You can tell if the policy has changed by checking the revision date that appears at the end of this policy. You may exercise your choices about how we collect and use your information consistent with this policy at any time.

If you have any questions about our privacy policy, please contact us as described in the section entitled, "How do I contact you?", below.

What kind of information does XPloreU collect?

We may collect personal information from you, such as your name, email address, postal address, phone number, credit card number, gender, birthday, personal interests, etc., when you visit our website, make a submission or posting at the Website, place an order online or by phone, save your information with us online, contact us with a question or concern, earn or use any XPloreU Points or participate in a contest, promotion or survey. We may also maintain a record of your product and/or travel interests. We may combine all of this information with information about you that we acquire from our joint marketing partners or from unrelated third parties.

How does XPloreU use my information?

We may use your personal information in the following ways:

1. To process and fulfill any order, including to send you emails to confirm such order status

2. To communicate with you and to send you information by email, postal mail, telephone, text message, or other means about our products, services, contests, and promotions, unless you have directed us not to contact you with promotional communications

3. To administer and fulfill our contests and other promotions

4. To help us learn more about your preferences

5. To help us address problems with and improve our site design, products and services

6. To enhance your experience

7. To analyze trends and statistics

8. To protect the security or integrity of our website and our business

9. To contact you if necessary

You always have the choice not to receive marketing information or calls. For instructions on opting out, please see the section entitled, "How do I make choices about receiving promotional communications?", below.

Does XPloreU share my information?

We may share your personal information in the following ways:

1. We may share your information with our service providers who manage our customer information and perform services on our behalf, such as fulfilling promotions, sending communications to our customers, conducting surveys, etc. We do not authorize any of these service providers to make any other use or disclosure of your information.

2. We may share your information when we team up with another company to offer or provide products, services, contests, or promotions to our customers.

3. In addition, if you choose to participate in any loyalty or similar program in which XPloreU is a participating vendor (if any such program is offered at any time), and you authorize XPloreU or our credit card processor to provide information about your purchases to the company administering the program, we will share your personal information with that program.

In the event of a sale or merger of XPloreU, our customers' personal information and other information we have collected as described in this policy may be among the transferred business assets.

How do I access or change my information?

You can review and change certain personal information related to your use of our online site (such as your name and contact information). To access your information at the Website, simply sign in to your account, and you will be able to edit your personal information in your account profile.

You can also ask us to update your personal information by contacting us as described in the section entitled, "How do I contact you?", below. Please note that any request to update your personal information may take up to 10 days for your email request and 6-8 weeks for your postal mail request.

How do I make choices about receiving promotional communications?

XPloreU wants to communicate with you only if you want to hear from us. If you prefer not to receive promotional information, such as information about special offers and sales events, you can let us know by contacting our customer service as described in the section entitled, "How do I contact you?", below.

Please be sure to include your full name and the email address you used when you registered with or made a purchase from XPloreU. If you ask us to remove your name and address from promotional lists, we will maintain your name in a "do not contact" file to ensure that we can honor your request. It may take up to 10 days to process your email request and 6-8 weeks to process your postal mail request, during which period you may continue to receive communications from XPloreU. If you change your mind, you can start receiving promotional communications from us again by logging into your online account and changing your preferences, by signing up when you visit our website or when you enter a sweepstakes or contest, or by contacting customer service.

How does XPloreU protect kids' privacy?

XPloreU is concerned about the privacy and safety of children when they use the Internet. We will never knowingly request personally identifiable information online from anyone under the age of 13 without prior verifiable parental consent. Our website is a general audience site and is not targeted to or intended for use by children.

How does XPloreU use cookies?

Our website uses "cookies," which are small data files that are stored on your computer when you visit a website. Cookies may be used in a variety of ways to enhance or personalize your online experience.

For example, we may use cookies to enable you to use certain website features, store your preferences, recognize you when you return to our website, track your orders, and monitor and maintain information about your use the Website. Cookies may also be used to collect transaction information needed by a scrip or loyalty program to which you have authorized us to provide your personal information. (See the section entitled, "Does XPloreU share my information?", above.)

You can set your browser not to accept cookies or to notify you when you are sent a cookie, giving you the opportunity to decide whether or not to accept it. If you do not accept cookies, however, you will not be able to access your account information or utilize certain other services or features available at the Website.

How does XPloreU use pixel tags?

We may use "pixel tags" (also called "web beacons" or "clear gifs"), which are tiny graphic images, on our website and in our emails. Pixel tags, if we elect to use them, will help us analyze our customers' online behavior and measure the effectiveness of our website and our advertising. We would, in all likelihood, work with service providers that help us track, collect, and analyze this information.

Pixel tags on our site may be used to collect information about your visit, including the pages you view, the features you use, the links you click, and other actions you take in connection with the site. This information may include your computer's Internet protocol (IP) address, your browser type, your operating system, date and time information, and other technical information about your computer. We may also track certain information about the identity of the website you visited immediately before coming to our site. We do not otherwise track any information about your use of other websites.

Pixel tags and cookies in our emails may be used to track your interactions with those messages, such as when you receive, open, or click a link in an email message from us.

We may also work with third-party companies that use tracking technologies to serve advertisements on our behalf across the Internet. These companies may collect information about your visits to our website and your interaction with our advertising and other communications.

We may combine the information we collect through cookies and pixel tags with other information we have collected from you. This information may be used to improve our website, to personalize your online experience, to tailor our communications with you, to determine the effectiveness of our advertising, and for other internal business purposes.

How do I know my personal information is secure?

We do our best to provide you with a safe and convenient online experience. We have in place certain physical, electronic, contractual, and managerial safeguards to protect the security and privacy of your personal information, however please understand that we do not guaranty the security of any such information.

When you enter your personal information on our website, we use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology to protect your information as it is transmitted to us. To make sure you are accessing our secure server before you submit personal financial information, look at the lower left-hand corner of your browser. If you see an unbroken key or a closed lock (depending upon your browser), then SSL is active. To double-check for security, look at the URL or Location line of your browser. If you have accessed a secure server, the first characters of the address in that line should change from "http" to "https."

What is "phishing"?

"Phishing" is a scam designed to steal your personal information. If you receive an email that looks like it is from us asking you for your personal information, do not respond. We will never request your password, user name, credit card information or other personal information through email.

What about links to other websites?

For your convenience and information, our website may contain links to other sites, which may have privacy policies that differ from our own. We are not responsible for the content or practices of any linked site. We recommend that you review the privacy policy of any site that you access through our site.

How do I contact you?

For questions about our privacy policy, to make choices about receiving promotional communications, to update your personal information, or to place an order, you can contact XPloreU by email, telephone, or postal mail:

XPloreU
737 w Washington, 3701
Chicago, IL 60661

Email: comments@xploreu.com

Your California Privacy Rights

California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits customers of XPloreU who are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please write to us at the following address:

XPloreU
737 w Washington, 3701
Chicago, IL
Attn: Legal



Last Revised: August 20, 2010

Terms of Use

XPloreU Terms of Use Agreement

DATE LAST MODIFIED: June 20, 2011

This Terms of Use Agreement (this “Agreement”), which is a legal agreement between you (“you”) and XPloreU, LLC, an Illinois limited liability company (“XPloreU”, “we” or “us”), shall govern your use of and access to XPloreU’s Website located at www.xploreu.com (the “Website”), your posting and/or review of content and/or information regarding travel, products and services at the Website and all other services described at the Website (collectively, the “Services”). By checking any acceptance boxes, clicking any acceptance buttons or simply by making any use of the Website, you (a) accept this Agreement and agree to be bound by each of its terms, and (b) represent and warrant to XPloreU that (i) you have the authority to enter into this Agreement, (ii) this Agreement is binding and enforceable against you, and (iii) you have read and understand XPloreU’s Privacy Policy, the terms of which are posted at the Website and incorporated herein by reference [hot link this reference to the Privacy Policy] (the “Privacy Policy”), and agree to abide by the Privacy Policy.

PLEASE READ THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT OR THE PRIVACY POLICY, YOU SHOULD IMMEDIATELY CEASE ANY AND ALL ACTIVITIES ON THE WEBSITE AND/OR USE OF ANY SERVICES.

CHANGES TO SERVICES, AGREEMENT AND/OR WEBSITE

XPloreU may amend any part of this Agreement at any time, and the amended terms will be effective 2 days after initial posting at the Website. In addition, XPloreU may, without prior notice, add, delete or modify some or all of the Services and/or content available on the Website at any time in its sole discretion. Further, XPloreU may discontinue disseminating any portion of information or category of information and/or may change or eliminate any transmission method. IF ANY OF THESE RULES OR ANY FUTURE CHANGES ARE UNACCEPTABLE TO YOU, YOU SHOULD IMMEDIATELY DISCONTINUE USE OF THE SERVICES AND WEBSITE. YOUR CONTINUED USE OF THE SERVICES OR WEBSITE NOW, OR FOLLOWING THE POSTING OF NOTICE OF ANY CHANGES IN THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY UPDATED VERSION OF THIS AGREEMENT, WILL INDICATE ACCEPTANCE BY YOU OF SUCH RULES, CHANGES AND/OR MODIFICATIONS. You should review this Agreement periodically to ensure you become aware of changes which are made to this Agreement by XPloreU from time to time.

SERVICES; PARTIES; FEES

The Services are described within various pages of the Website and in certain printed materials. You should review these pages and materials to gain a better understanding of the Services and the goals behind the Website. At a general level, the Website serves as an information portal where students and other travelers can learn about various travel destinations and living abroad, share travel information and earn “XPloreU Points”. XPloreU does not currently charge you a fee to use the Services.

XPloreU expressly reserves the right to discontinue, suspend or terminate the offering of the Services at any time. Unless expressly stated in writing, nothing contained herein shall constitute an offer or promise for any type of commitment.

PURCHASES

To the extent you purchase any products or services from XPloreU (if any such products and/or services are offered for sale by XPloreU), you hereby authorize XPloreU to charge any credit card you provide to XPloreU at the Website or elsewhere for all fees due and owing to XPloreU, such fees to be charged at such times as are specified in the applicable portion of the Website. Any such fees, once charged, are non-refundable. You hereby agree and acknowledge that you shall not, under any circumstance, (i) revoke the above-referenced authorization to charge the above-referenced credit card(s) for any Services rendered, or (ii) contest any charges to the above-referenced credit card(s) which are made by XPloreU. You shall, as is the case with other disputes arising hereunder, be entitled to resolve any and all such disputes pursuant to the dispute resolution Section set forth below. Your use of the Website and/or the Services constitutes your acknowledgment of, and agreement with, this fee arrangement.

XPLOREU’S ROLE; XPLOREU NOT LIABLE

You acknowledge that XPloreU is not a travel provider, travel agent, travel guide service or travel planner. XPloreU does not endorse or recommend any hotels, travel providers, travel companies, guides, tourist attractions, “things to do”, activities, rental or vacation homes, airlines, car rental services, or any other travel-related products or services discussed, referenced, reviewed or otherwise included within the Website. XPloreU’s Services are administrative in nature, and as such, XPloreU is not party to any transaction which may result between you and any third party listed within or otherwise associated with the Website, including without limitation, sponsors of online contests and/or sweepstakes and/or sponsors who or which elect to accept XPloreU Points in return for merchandise or services. Your communications with any of the foregoing service providers and/or vendors are solely your responsibility, and any issue which may arise between you and any such party, whether such issue involves faulty travel planning, injury or death, is to be resolved between you and such service provider or vendor without the involvement of, or any liability on the part of, XPloreU. XPloreU shall not be liable in any way for any claims, damages, expenses, amounts or liabilities which may arise in connection with any travel you may undertake or any product or service you elect to purchase or otherwise use on account of any content posted at the Website or purchased through the Website. As such, you shall not name XPloreU or any of its officers or equity holders as a party in any litigation or arbitration arising out any communications or transactions relating to any of the foregoing.

For purposes of clarity, because XPloreU is not a party to any transaction and does not provide any direct services to you, XPloreU does not make, and should not be construed as having made, any representation or warranty of any kind concerning any destination, hotel, activities or any other aspect of travel or living abroad. Additionally, XPloreU makes no representation or warranty of any kind as to the willingness or ability of any sponsor or vendor listed at the Website to complete a sale or any other transaction with you. You are solely responsible for independently verifying the background and credit-worthiness of those parties with whom you enter into, or with whom you prospectively will enter into, a transaction, as well as the condition or any description of an asset or service involved in a prospective transaction.

XPLOREU POINTS

XPloreU may, from time to time and at its discretion, make available to you and other users of the Website the opportunity to earn XPloreU Points. There may be opportunities, for example and at XPloreU’s sole discretion, to earn such points for submitting content to the Website, providing reviews at the Website and/or participating in various contests at the Website. XPloreU Points are non-transferrable, have no cash value, and may be cancelled by XPloreU at any time in its sole discretion. Any decisions made by XPloreU regarding the earning of XPloreU Points shall be final, and XPloreU shall not be liable to you or any other third party on account of any such decision. XPloreU Points are not redeemable for products and/or services except as may explicitly be set forth at the Website from time to time, it being understood that any such offer by a vendor, sponsor or service provider to provide you with any product or service in return for the redemption of XPloreU points may be terminated, revoked or modified at any time by either XPloreU or such service provider or vendor. While participating vendors and service providers have indicated to XPloreU that they will honor approved offers made available at the Website regarding XPloreU Points, XPloreU does not represent and warrant, or otherwise guaranty, that such is the case, and as such, (i) any dispute regarding the redemption of any XPloreU Points shall be resolved solely between you and the applicable vendor or service provider, and (ii) XPloreU shall not be liable in any way or for any amount in respect of any such dispute. Further information regarding XPloreU Points may be found here. [Meghan – I would hotlink this “here” to the Points page you are creating]

QUESTIONS; SUBMISSIONS

By submitting a question on any page within the Website and/or making any submission to the Website, you hereby understand and agree that you have established a business relationship between you and XPloreU, which is the owner of the Website. As such, you agree that XPloreU may contact you using contact and/or other information you provided with information, surveys and offers of services available through XPloreU, the Website or any other website owned or operated by XPloreU or an affiliate of XPloreU from time to time. You hereby consent to any such communication, phone calls or e-mails even if your phone number is on any Do Not Call list or if your e-mail is on any other restricted access list. In the event you wish to opt out of receiving any such communications from XPloreU, please send an e-mail to _______@xploreu.com to be removed from this list.

LIMITED LICENSE
XPloreU hereby grants you a non-exclusive, nontransferable, revocable limited license to access and use the Website and its contents, strictly in accordance with this Agreement and solely for the permitted uses described in this Agreement. This license and authorization is not a transfer of title in any content posted at the Website and is subject to strict compliance with the rules and other terms of this Agreement.
WEBSITE ACCESS AND LISTING RULES
In return for the license and authorization XPloreU grants you in this Agreement to use the Website, you agree to abide by all the terms of this Agreement and any additional restrictions displayed on the Website, as and when they are updated from time to time, including, without limitation, the rules in this Section. This Section includes certain activities that are expressly not permitted on this Website. Inclusion of these prohibited uses is not intended and should not be construed to modify any description of permitted uses in this or any other Section of this Agreement and you may not construe the fact that a particular activity is not described as a prohibited use in this Section as an indication of permission to engage in that activity if it is not consistent with the permitted uses. XPloreU reserves the right to remove any posting at the Website, block the sending of any inquiry or other content it deems inappropriate in its sole discretion, and may terminate your or any other user’s access to the Website at any time in its sole discretion for any or no reason. While XPloreU reserves the right to monitor all postings at the Website and/or other content contained within the Website, it has no obligation to do so.
a. Permitted Uses. You may use the Website only in good faith for your own use for the purposes described herein. You may download and print out portions of the content from the Website for non-commercial purposes provided that you follow the rules in this Agreement.
b. Distribution. Except as expressly permitted under other provisions of this Agreement, you may not modify, reproduce, duplicate, copy, photocopy, print, republish, display, translate, transmit, distribute, sell, resell, rent, lease, loan, exploit, reduce to any electronic medium or machine-readable form, or otherwise make available in any form or by any means all or any portion of the Website, the content or any information or materials retrieved from either of them, including, without limitation, graphics and logos, in whole or in part, for any purpose without XPloreU’s express prior written consent and approval (which consent may be withheld at XPloreU’s sole discretion).
c. Website Functionality. You may not remove, disable, defeat or change any functionality or the appearance of the Website or any of the content included on the Website.
d. Interference. You may not interrupt or attempt to interrupt or otherwise interfere with the operation of the Website in any way.
e. Derivative Works. You may not create compilations or derivative works of the Website, the Website content or any other materials from the Website.
f. Proprietary Notices. You may not remove, change or obscure and you must retain on all copies of the content you download any copyright notice or other proprietary notice, Privacy Policy, legal disclosures, or terms of use contained in the content or on the Website.
g. Transfer. You may not transfer the Website content to any other person unless you have received all consents necessary from XPloreU (which consents may be withheld at XPloreU’s sole discretion) and, in addition, you give such other person notice of and they agree to accept the obligations arising under this Agreement.
h. Infringement. You may not use the Website, the Website content, or any other materials from the Website in any manner that may infringe upon any copyright or other intellectual property right, proprietary right, or property right of XPloreU or any third party.
i. Software. You may not (i) decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any of the Website’s software, (ii) use any network monitoring or discovery software to determine its architecture, or (iii) use any robot, spider or other automatic device or manual process to monitor materials available on the Website.
j. Information Distribution. You may not use the Website or any communications service, chat room, message board, blog, forum, newsgroup, software library, or other interactive service that may be available to you on or through the Website to transmit, upload, post, distribute or facilitate distribution of, or otherwise make available any information or content, including text, communications, software, images, sounds, data or other information, that:
i. is false;
ii. contains explicit or graphic descriptions or accounts of sexual acts, including, without limitation, sexual language of a violent or threatening nature directed at another individual or group of individuals;
iii. you are restricted from using under contractual restrictions or fiduciary obligations, including, without limitation, inside information and proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of an employment relationship or under nondisclosure agreements;
iv. you are restricted from using under any law;
v. infringes upon the intellectual property rights of any third party; or
vi. contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs that are designed or intended to disrupt, damage, or limit the functions of any software, hardware, or telecommunications equipment or to damage or obtain unauthorized access to any data or other information of any other party.
k. Other Prohibited Uses. You may not use the Website for any purpose that:
i. is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, deceptive, fraudulent, invasive of another's privacy, tortious, or otherwise violates XPloreU’s rules or policies;
ii. victimizes, harasses, degrades, or intimidates an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, disability, or any other classification protected by law;
iii. invades any person’s or entity’s privacy or other rights;
iv. constitutes unauthorized or unsolicited advertising, junk or bulk e-mail (also known as "spamming"), chain letters, any other form of unauthorized solicitation, or any form of lottery or gambling;
v. misidentifies yourself or impersonates any person or entity, including, without limitation, any employee or representative of XPloreU, or falsely states, implies, or otherwise misrepresents your affiliation with a person or entity by, for example, pretending to be someone other than yourself or pretending to represent a company or organization that you are not affiliated with or authorized to represent; or
vi. could otherwise reasonably be deemed or viewed to be unethical, illegal or offensive.
l. Others’ Personal Information. You may not use any automatic or manual process to harvest, collect or store information about other users of the Website or its services or use any such information for any purpose whatsoever without XPloreU’s express prior written consent and approval (which consent may be withheld at XPloreU’s sole discretion). In any event, you may not knowingly solicit or collect personal information from a child 12 years old or younger without appropriate prior verifiable parental consent.
m. Harm to Minors. You may not take any action on the Website or use the Website content to harm minors in any way.
n. Data Collection. You may not access the Website for data mining or extract any content from the Website for any purpose other than your personal use as described in this Agreement.
o. Commercial Database. You may not use any portion of the Website or any of the Website content as a component of or to develop, in any media, an information storage and retrieval system, database, infobase, or similar information resource that is offered for commercial distribution of any kind, including, without limitation, through sale, license, lease, rental, subscription, or any other distribution mechanism.
p. Sharing. You may not make any portion of the Website, including, without limitation, the Website content, available through any timesharing system, service bureau, the Internet, or any other technology, without XPloreU’s express written consent and approval (which consent may be withheld at XPloreU’s sole discretion).
q. Identifiers. You may not forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers on the Website in order to disguise the origin of any Website content transmitted through the Website.
r. Securities Laws. You may not intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law relating to securities and other aspects of business ownership, including, without limitation: (i) regulations promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, (ii) any rules of any national or other securities exchange, including, without limitation, the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, and the NASDAQ, and (iii) any other similar regulations that have the force of law.
s. Solicitation. You may not use the Website or any Website content to solicit business or to advertise any product or service, or in a manner that violates any state or federal law regulating commercial e-mail, facsimile transmissions or telephone solicitations.
t. Export. You may not export or re-export the Website, any of the Website content, or any software available on or through the Website in violation of the export control laws and regulations of the United States.

RESTRICTED AREAS

Certain portions of the Website may be limited or restricted to registered users or may otherwise require that you provide certain information (such as, for example, posting content to the Website). By using any such service or portion of the Website, you represent and warrant that: (a) all registration information you submit is truthful and accurate; (b) you will maintain and promptly update the accuracy of the information; (c) the person submitting information to XPloreU is 18 years of age or older; and (d) your use of such services does not violate any applicable law or regulation. You may not share your passwords with any third party or otherwise provide access through your account to any restricted area of the Website. XPloreU shall have the right to terminate or limit your access to any restricted area, to terminate your registration and/or to terminate your ability to create a posting at the Website in its sole and absolute discretion at any time and for any reason. You agree to notify XPloreU immediately if you suspect any unauthorized use of your account or access to your password. You are solely responsible for any and all use of your account. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other companies and/or individuals through the Website or in connection with the Website. XPloreU reserves the right, but has no obligation, to become involved in any way with disputes between you and vendors or any other third party.

COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK NOTICES

All contents of the Website are: Copyright © 2010 XPloreU, LLC. All rights reserved. “XPloreU” is a service mark of XPloreU, LLC. Other product and company names mentioned herein or within the Website may be the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. To this end, you may not, without the prior, written consent of XPloreU (which consent may be withheld at XPloreU’s sole discretion) or the applicable copyright holder (which consent may be withheld at the sole discretion of such holder), modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce, create new works from, distribute, perform, display, or in any way exploit, any of the content posted at the Website or otherwise owned by XPloreU or any of its licensors. This Agreement shall not be deemed to transfer from XPloreU to you (i) any of XPloreU’s or its licensors’ intellectual property (including, without limitation, patents, trademarks, service marks, trade names, copyrights and licenses), technology, software programs or any related assets owned by XPloreU, or (ii) any rights to use or license any of the foregoing except as explicitly set forth in this Agreement.

In exchange for your use of the Website, you hereby grant to XPloreU an unlimited, irrevocable, fully-paid, transferable, non-exclusive worldwide license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, edit, translate, distribute, perform and display any content, photographs or other materials you post to the Website or any forum contained in the Website (including, without limitation, each review, travel story, content posting or blog posting), alone or as part of other works in any form, media or technology whether now known or hereafter developed, and to sublicense such rights through multiple tiers of sublicensees. You may remove your content from the Website at any time. If you choose to remove such content, the license granted above (a) will automatically continue with respect to any content used by XPloreU as permitted above, and (b) will expire with respect to any such content not used by XPloreU; however, you acknowledge that XPloreU may retain archived copies of your content. XPloreU does not assert any ownership over your content; rather, as between us and you, subject to the rights granted to us in this Agreement, you retain full ownership of all of your content and any intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights associated therewith subject to the license granted herein.

DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS

XPloreU intends that the information contained in the Website be accurate and reliable; however, errors sometimes occur. In addition, changes and improvements to the information provided herein or on the Website may be made by XPloreU at any time. THE WEBSITE AND THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH IT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS, WHERE IS AND AS AVAILABLE." XPLOREU AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO ANY MATTER WHATSOEVER RELATING TO THE WEBSITE AND ANY INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, MATERIALS AND SERVICES PROVIDED WITHIN OR THROUGH THE WEBSITE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION (I) THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT, OR (II) AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED BY USE OF THE WEBSITE, THE SUBMISSION OF ANY INQUIRY OR ANY OTHER USE OF XPLOREU’S SERVICES. USE OF THE WEBSITE AND/OR XPLOREU’S SERVICES IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. XPLOREU IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR OTHER INJURY ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE USE OF THE WEBSITE AND/OR XPLOREU’S SERVICES OR WITH THE DELAY OR INABILITY TO USE THE WEBSITE, OR FOR ANY INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE (INCLUDING DAMAGES, INJURY OR DEATH ARISING OR INCURRED DURING TRAVEL PLANNED USING THE WEBSITE OR XPLOREU SERVICES), OR OTHERWISE ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE WEBSITE, WHETHER RESULTING IN WHOLE OR IN PART, FROM BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORTIOUS BEHAVIOR, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF XPLOREU HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGES. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN ALL EVENTS, THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF XPLOREU, ITS OWNERS AND AGENTS FOR ANY REASON AND UPON ANY CAUSE OF ACTION, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, SHALL NOT EXCEED $500.

UNAVAILABILITY OF SERVICE OR WEBSITE

You are responsible, at your sole cost and expense, for providing all equipment necessary to access the Internet, the Website and/or the Services. While it is XPloreU’s objective to make the Website accessible 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, the Website may be unavailable from time to time for any reason including, without limitation, routine maintenance. In addition, various portions of the Website may operate slowly from time to time. You understand and acknowledge that due to circumstances both within and outside of the control of XPloreU, access to the Website and/or Services may be interrupted, suspended or terminated from time to time. In particular, and not in limitation of the foregoing, XPloreU shall not be liable in any way for any delay in responding to an inquiry or question forwarded by you or the effects any delay or unavailability may have on you. YOU AGREE THAT XPLOREU SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY SUCH INTERRUPTION, SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION OF THE WEBSITE AND/OR SERVICE AND THAT YOU SHALL PUT IN PLACE CONTINGENCY PLANS TO ACCOUNT FOR SUCH PERIODIC INTERRUPTIONS OR SUSPENSIONS OF THE WEBSITE AND/OR SERVICE.

RELEASE AND INDEMNITY

Release. Without limiting the generality of the disclaimers set forth in this Agreement, you hereby waive and release XPloreU, XPloreU’s licensors, subsidiaries, and affiliates and each of their respective past and present equity owners, directors, managers, members, shareholders, officers, employees, agents, contractors and representatives, successors and assigns (collectively, “XPloreU Releasees” and individually a “XPloreU Releasee”) from any damages and claims of any sort, whether direct or otherwise, that arise out of or result from your use of the Website, the Website content and any Services offered through the Website, including, without limitation, any dealings or transactions between you and third parties (i) from whom or which you obtain any information, goods or services through the Website, or (ii) to whom or which you sell products or materials on account of communications initiated through the Website.
Indemnity. You will indemnify and hold harmless the XPloreU Releasees against any claim or demand made by any third party (including without limitation any vendor) and any damages, costs, liabilities and expenses, including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees, any indemnified party incurs as a result of such a claim or demand arising out of (a) any content you submit or post to or transmit through the Website (including, without limitation, travel stories or narratives and/or reviews), (b) your use of or connection to the Website, the Website content or the Services offered through the Website, (c) your violation of this Agreement or your violation of any rights of another person, (d) any activity carried out by another person using your account or password with your knowledge or (e) any product liability or other liability associated with any product or material you purchase from a vendor. You shall, upon the request of XPloreU or its insurer, take over the defense of any claim against any XPloreU Releasee without cost or expense to any XPloreU Releasee, it being understood, however, that each XPloreU Releasee may retain its own counsel and participate in any such claim for the further protection of its/his/her interests.

THIRD PARTY CONTENT

a. General. The Website and the Website content may contain or provide access to content provided by third parties, including, without limitation, information, dialogue, opinions, stories, advice, statistical data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages, and other materials, whether publicly or privately posted to or e-mailed or otherwise transmitted through the Website (“Third Party Content”) that may include content you find to be offensive, indecent or objectionable. The third party from whom Third Party Content originates is solely responsible for it and XPloreU assumes no responsibility to verify, has no control or influence over, makes no representations regarding, and does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of any Third Party Content. Accordingly, XPloreU has no liability of any kind to you or any other person relating to any Third Party Content, including, without limitation, mistake, misstatement of law, omission, falsehood, defamation, obscenity, pornography, profanity, opinion, representation, and any other content contained in the Third Party Content or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Third Party Content. Statements of opinion and commentary in Third Party Content are those of the third party and, unless XPloreU expressly states in writing to the contrary, XPloreU neither endorses nor adopts as its belief any such statements. XPloreU provides information in articles XPloreU posts or links to through the Website only for educational and general informational purposes and not as professional advice. XPloreU has made no attempt to verify any information contained in such articles.

b. Advertisers. The Website may include advertisements or offers for access to information, goods and services provided by third parties. Your correspondence or business dealings with or participation in promotions of advertisers on or through the Website, including, without limitation, payment for and delivery of goods or services and any other terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and the advertiser. XPloreU makes no representations about and disclaims any and all liability to any person for any such information, goods and services. XPloreU does not (i) endorse any advertiser, (ii) provide advice on which advertiser to select, (iii) guarantee any advertiser’s information, goods or services, or (iv) act as your general contractor, agent or adviser.

c. Links. As a convenience to you, the Website may contain links to websites that are owned and operated by third parties that are not affiliated with XPloreU. When you use these links, you will leave the Website and XPloreU will have no ability to protect your interests. You visit linked websites at your own risk and it is your responsibility to take any protective measures to guard yourself and your computer against viruses and other destructive elements. XPloreU is not responsible for and, unless it expressly states otherwise in writing, makes no warranty or representation regarding and does not endorse any linked website or any service, product or information provided on or through the linked website. Inclusion of hyperlinks to linked websites on the Website does not imply (i) that XPloreU sponsors, endorses, or is affiliated or associated with the linked website, (ii) that XPloreU is legally authorized to use any trademark, trade name, logo, service mark, copyright symbol, legal or official seal, or other proprietary designation or symbol displayed in or accessible through the links, or (iii) that the operator of any linked website is authorized to use any trademark, trade name, logo, copyright symbol, or other proprietary designation in which XPloreU or any of its affiliates has any ownership or licensee interest.

ERRORS AND DELAYS

Neither XPloreU, any supplier or licensor or any owner or agent of any such person or entity is responsible for any errors or delays in responding to an inquiry, question or submission, including, without limitation, those caused by (i) an incorrect e-mail address or telephone number provided by you, (ii) the failure of any individual to timely respond to a question or submission, or (iii) technical problems.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Any claim or controversy arising out of or relating to the use of the Website, to the goods, programs or services provided by XPloreU, or to any acts or omissions for which you may contend XPloreU is liable, including but not limited to any claim or controversy as to arbitrability ("Dispute"), shall be finally, and exclusively, settled by arbitration. The arbitration shall be held before one arbitrator under the commercial arbitration rules of JAMS in force at that time. The arbitration shall be venued in Cook County, Illinois. The arbitrator shall be selected pursuant to the JAMS rules. Should no JAMS rule regarding the selection of an arbitrator be in effect, you shall select an arbitrator from a panel of arbitrators acceptable to XPloreU. The costs of arbitration shall be paid by the non-prevailing party.

Any judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrators may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction in Cook County, Illinois. The arbitrator shall not have the power to award damages in connection with any Dispute in excess of actual compensatory damages, as limited, however, by the Disclaimers and Limitations Section of this Agreement, and shall not multiply actual damages or award consequential, punitive or exemplary damages, and each party irrevocably waives any claim thereto. The agreement to arbitrate shall not be construed as an agreement to the joinder or consolidation of an arbitration under this Agreement with an arbitration of disputes or claims of any non-party, regardless of the nature of the issues or disputes involved.

THIS AGREEMENT PROVIDES THAT ALL DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND XPLOREU WILL BE RESOLVED BY BINDING ARBITRATION. YOU THUS GIVE UP YOUR RIGHT TO GO TO COURT TO ASSERT OR DEFEND YOUR RIGHTS. YOU ALSO GIVE UP YOUR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN OR BRING CLASS ACTIONS. YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE DETERMINED BY NEUTRAL ARBITRATORS AND NOT A JUDGE OR JURY. You are entitled to a fair hearing, but the arbitration procedures are simpler and more limited than rules applicable in court. Arbitrator decisions are enforceable and are subject to very limited review by a court. By using the Services or accessing the Website, you consent to these restrictions.

Should a Dispute arise and should the arbitration provisions herein become inapplicable or unenforceable, or in any instance of any lawsuit between you and XPloreU, the parties agree that jurisdiction over and venue of any suit shall be exclusively in the state and federal courts sitting in Cook County, Illinois. If either party employs attorneys to enforce any right in connection with any Dispute or lawsuit the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorneys' fees from the non-prevailing party.

MISCELLANEOUS

This Agreement, together with any other policies or agreements posted at the Website from time to time, constitutes the entire agreement between you and XPloreU and it supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications, promises and proposals, whether oral, written or electronic, between you and XPloreU with respect to the Website and information, software, products, programs and Services associated with it. XPloreU and you are intended to be independent contractors, and nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to establish any relationship of partnership, joint venture, employment, franchise or agency between XPloreU and you. This Agreement shall be subject to and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois, excluding its conflict of laws principles. If any part of this Agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and liability limitations set forth above, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision, and the remainder of the Agreement shall continue in effect. A printed version of this Agreement and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to this Agreement to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form. All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved.

XPloreU’s contact information, should you need to contact XPloreU for any reason, is:

XPloreU
737 w Washington, 3701
Chicago, IL 60661

Email: comments@xploreu.com