💸 Pricing & Refunds

Transparent Pricing for Every Experience

MyTrailPals provides a platform that enables independent Outdoor enthusiasts, guides, community leaders to create, manage, and offer outdoor experiences and allows attendees to discover, book, and participate in those experiences.

For Paid experiences we keep pricing simple, transparent, and consistent so both hosts and attendees always know what to expect.

💰 Platform Fee

MyTrailPals charges a 12% platform fee on all paid bookings. This is a single, all-inclusive fee — it covers MyTrailPals' payment processing costs along with platform operations, trust and safety, and support, and is shown to attendees as one line item at checkout, not broken into separate charges.

To keep prices simple, the final amount charged to attendees is rounded up to the nearest $0.50. Because of this rounding, the amount actually charged is sometimes modestly higher than an exact 12% calculation — this effect is proportionally larger on lower-priced experiences. The exact total is always shown before an attendee confirms a booking, so there is never a difference between what's displayed and what's charged.

This fee is paid by the attendee at checkout and supports:

• •Platform operations
• •Secure payment processing
• •Trust and safety systems
• •Customer support
• •Product development and improvements

No hidden fees. The exact total — including any rounding — is always shown before you pay.

💡 Who Pays What

• •Hosts set the price they receive for their experience
• •For Ticketed Experiences, the price attendees see on the listing already includes the 12% platform fee. What's shown is what's charged at checkout — no added fee appears afterward.
• •For Support Your Host contributions, because the amount is chosen (and can be changed) by the attendee, the 12% platform fee is calculated on top of whatever amount the attendee enters, and shown before they confirm payment — see Experience Types, Section 2, for detail.
• •Hosts receive 100% of the price they set for completed bookings — the platform fee is added on top for the attendee, not deducted from the Host's amount

📊 Example

The platform fee is calculated at 12% and the total is rounded up to the nearest $0.50. For example:

• •Host sets $25.00 → Host receives $25.00 → Attendee pays $28.00
• •Host sets $10.00 → Host receives $10.00 → Attendee pays $11.50 (Rounded-up to nearest $0.50)

The listing price shown to attendees already reflects the rounded, fee-inclusive total — what's shown is what's charged at checkout, with no further additions.

Support Your Host — the same 12% fee and rounding applies, calculated after the attendee enters their contribution amount:

• •Attendee enters $30.00 → Host receives $30.00 → Attendee pays $34.00 after the fee is added

In both cases, any applicable sales tax is calculated and shown in addition to the amounts above, before booking confirmation.

🎟️ Experience Types

1. Ticketed Experiences

Fixed-price experiences set by Hosts.

Best for:

• •Guided outdoor experiences
• •Outdoors workshops and skill-based experiences
• •Retreats and structured events

2. Support Your Host

Attendees may optionally support Hosts through voluntary contributions. Hosts set a minimum contribution amount; attendees must pay at least that amount, and may choose to contribute more.

Best for:

• •Community-led experiences
• •Passion-driven gatherings
• •Donation-based outdoor events

Support Your Host contributions are non-refundable if the attendee cancels or does not attend, consistent with their nature as a voluntary donation rather than a ticket purchase. If the Host cancels the experience, the attendee receives a full refund of their contribution, including any platform fee, under the same Host Cancellation rule that applies to Ticketed Experiences (see Refunds & Cancellation Policy, Section 1).

This is a paid contribution to the Host in exchange for participating in the experience — it is not a charitable gift and is not tax-deductible.

Because attendees can adjust their contribution amount, the 12% platform fee is calculated after the attendee enters or changes that amount, and the final total (contribution + platform fee) is shown before they confirm payment. This differs from Ticketed Experiences, where the listing price already includes the fee.

3. Free Experiences

RSVP-only experiences with no cost to attend.

Best for:

• •Casual hikes, walks, and runs
• •Community meetups
• •Volunteer-led activities

💰 Host Payouts

To receive payouts for Ticketed Experiences and Support Your Host contributions, Hosts must complete Stripe Connect onboarding through MyTrailPals. This is a one-time setup that verifies your identity and links a bank account so you can be paid directly.

You can complete onboarding from:

• •Profile → Settings → Host Earnings, or
• •The “Host an Experience” screen, before publishing a paid listing

A paid listing (Ticketed or Support Your Host) cannot be published, and payouts cannot be issued, until Stripe onboarding is complete. Free, RSVP-only experiences do not require onboarding, since no payment changes hands.

Payouts are typically initiated after the experience is completed and are subject to:

• •Payment processing timelines
• •Fraud prevention and risk reviews
• •Chargeback and dispute checks
• •Safety and policy compliance reviews

Processing timelines may vary depending on Stripe account setup and banking institutions.

⚠️ Additional Experience Costs

Some experiences may involve third-party costs not included in the booking price, such as:

• •Park entrance fees
• •Campsite or permit fees
• •Parking fees
• •Transportation
• •Equipment rentals
• •Meals or supplies

Hosts are responsible for clearly disclosing any additional costs in the experience listing before booking.

These third-party costs are paid directly to the relevant third party (such as a campground or permitting agency) and are not processed by MyTrailPals. Refunds for such costs, where a booking is cancelled, are governed by that third party's own policies, not by this Pricing & Refunds page.

🔄 Refunds & Cancellation Policy

1. Host Cancellation

If a Host cancels an experience, attendees receive a full refund of the total amount paid, including the platform fee. Attendees are never responsible for absorbing a cost caused by a Host's cancellation.

MyTrailPals' own underlying payment-processing cost on that transaction (which is not itemized to the attendee) is not recoverable from Stripe once refunded. MyTrailPals may recover an amount equivalent to that cost from the Host's current or future payouts, since the cancellation was within the Host's control. This does not apply to cancellations covered by Section 5 (Weather & Safety Cancellations) below, which are treated as no-fault to both the attendee and the Host.

Refunds are issued to the original payment method.

2. Guest Cancellation (Standard Policy)

This policy applies to Ticketed Experiences. (Support Your Host contributions are non-refundable on attendee cancellation — see Experience Types, Section 2, above.)

Unless otherwise stated in the experience listing, attendees may cancel a Ticketed Experience up to 48 hours before the experience start time and receive a refund of the experience price.

• •Full refund of the experience price, including platform fee
• •No additional cancellation penalty

The platform fee is clearly shown as part of the total before an attendee completes a booking, along with a note that it is non-refundable upon cancellation.

3. Late Cancellations

Cancellations made less than 48 hours before the experience start time are generally not eligible for a refund.

At this stage, Hosts may have already committed time, planning, coordination, and preparation costs.

4. No-Shows

If an attendee does not attend an experience and does not cancel in advance, the booking is non-refundable.

5. Weather & Safety Cancellations

Outdoor experiences may be affected by changing conditions.

A Host and/or MyTrailPals may cancel or reschedule an experience due to:

• •Severe weather
• •Wildfires or hazardous air quality
• •Trail closures
• •Government restrictions
• •Other safety-related concerns

If an experience is canceled due to safety reasons, attendees will receive:

• •A full refund, including the platform fee (this is treated as a no-fault cancellation, consistent with Section 1 above), or
• •The option to reschedule the experience (if available)

6. Experience-Specific Circumstances

Some experiences may involve permits, campsite bookings, transportation arrangements, or other costs that are non-refundable to the Host once committed. Hosts may describe this in their listing so attendees understand the context, but this description does not automatically change the refund an attendee receives through MyTrailPals — bookings are refunded according to the standard policy above unless MyTrailPals' team manually reviews and adjusts a specific booking.

If a Host believes a specific booking should be handled differently because of circumstances like these, the Host or attendee can contact info@mytrailpals.com, and MyTrailPals will review the request at its discretion.

7. Other Concerns

For any other concern about how an experience was conducted — including an experience that didn't match its listing, or one that ended early — contact us at info@mytrailpals.com and we'll review it at our discretion.

8. Refund Processing

Approved refunds are typically processed within 5–10 business days, depending on the payment provider and financial institution.

9. Disputes, Chargebacks & Platform Protection

To protect Hosts, attendees, and platform integrity, MyTrailPals may:

• •Delay payouts
• •Withhold payouts
• •Reverse payouts
• •Investigate transactions

This may occur in cases involving:

• •Disputes or chargebacks
• •Suspected fraud or abuse
• •Safety concerns
• •Policy violations
• •Legal or regulatory requirements

10. Policy Updates & Platform Changes

MyTrailPals may update pricing, fees, or refund policies from time to time to reflect:

• •Product improvements
• •Operational changes
• •Legal or regulatory requirements
• •Marketplace evolution

When changes are material, we will provide reasonable notice through the Service or other appropriate communication channels.

Continued use of the platform after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.