At SafariBookings, our mission is to help travelers make informed, confident decisions when booking a safari, while also connecting them with reputable tour operators across Africa. To do this responsibly, we operate both as a marketplace and as an independent review platform.
We connect travelers with safari tour operators, helping operators reach a global audience and generate direct booking inquiries. Additionally, we act as an independent review platform, hosting verified traveler reviews to provide honest, experience-based insights into safari operators.
This dual role is central to why certain operator data may remain visible even after an operator stops working with us.
What the partnership agreement says
Our approach is clearly outlined in the Partnership Agreement accepted by all operators when joining the platform.
Upon lawful termination by the tour operator or termination by SafariBookings, SafariBookings may delete the operator’s account or revoke access to it. However:
The company profile may remain online
Traveler reviews are not removed following termination
If there are material client complaints, SafariBookings reserves the right to post a warning on the operator’s profile
This ensures clarity from the outset. Ending a commercial relationship does not automatically erase an operator’s public history on the platform.
Why retaining this data is important
Keeping certain information visible after an operator leaves the platform is essential for several reasons.
Record keeping and transparency
Safari trips are significant investments, and often involve traveling to remote destinations. Travelers deserve access to historical information that helps them evaluate an operator’s track record over time.
Removing past reviews simply because an operator is no longer active on SafariBookings would undermine transparency and distort the public record.
Protecting future travelers
In cases involving serious or repeated complaints, especially fraud or non-delivery of services, it is crucial that this information remains visible.
Maintaining the operator profile in such cases serves as a public warning, helping prevent travelers from unknowingly booking with an operator who has demonstrated problematic behavior.
Preserving the integrity of reviews
Reviews belong to the travelers who took the time to share their experiences. Removing them retroactively would devalue their contribution and weaken trust in the review system as a whole.
By keeping reviews online, SafariBookings ensures that feedback remains meaningful, comparable, and fair, both to travelers and to operators who maintain high standards over time.
A note on warning messages
Sometimes, SafariBookings may deem it necessary to warn current and future clients of the tour operator about an ongoing issue with a tour operator. We do this because transparency is at the forefront of our mission. Warning messages are never shown because of SafariBookings' opinion. Rather, when there is an ongoing fraud case between a tour operator and a client, or there are issues with the authorities, we will issue a warning that is displayed on the company profile of the tour operator. The tour operator does not need to actively do business with SafariBookings at the time of posting the warning.
Warnings are always removed when ongoing issues are resolved with the relevant parties.