Terms & Conditions
1 SCOPE OF APPLICATION
1.1 These Terms and Conditions shall apply to contracts for the rental of hotel rooms for accommodation purposes as well as all other services and deliveries provided by the hotel to the customer in this context (hotel accommodation contract). The term “hotel accommodation contract” includes and replaces the following terms: Accommodation Agreement, Guest Accommodation Agreement, Hotel Accommodation Agreement, Hotel Room Agreement.
1.2 The subletting or reletting of the rooms provided as well as their use for purposes other than accommodation shall require the prior consent of the hotel in text form, whereby Section 540 (1) sentence 2 of the German Civil Code (BGB) is waived insofar as the customer is not a consumer.
1.3 The customer’s general terms and conditions shall only apply if this has been expressly agreed in advance.
2 CONCLUSION OF THE CONTRACT, CONTRACTING PARTIES, LIMITATION PERIOD
2.1 Contracting parties are the hotel and the customer. The contract is concluded by the hotel’s acceptance of the customer’s application. The hotel is free to confirm the room booking in text form.
2.2 All claims against the hotel are generally subject to a limitation period of one year from the start of the statutory limitation period. This does not apply to claims for damages and other claims, provided that the latter are based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by the hotel.
3 SERVICES, PRICES, PAYMENT, SET-OFF
3.1 The hotel is obligated to keep the rooms booked by the customer available and to provide the agreed services.
3.2 The customer is obligated to pay the agreed or applicable prices of the hotel for the provision of the room and the other services used by the customer. This also applies to services ordered by the customer directly or through the hotel, which are provided by third parties and paid for by the hotel.
3.3 The agreed prices include the taxes and local charges applicable at the time of the conclusion of the contract. Not included are local taxes that are owed by the guest according to the respective local law, such as visitor’s tax. In the event of a change in the statutory value added tax or the introduction, amendment or abolition of local levies on the subject of performance after conclusion of the contract, the prices shall be adjusted accordingly. In the case of contracts with consumers, this shall only apply if the period between conclusion and performance of the contract exceeds four months.
3.4 The hotel may make its consent to a subsequent reduction requested by the customer in the number of rooms booked, the hotel’s service or the customer’s length of stay conditional upon an increase in the price for the rooms and/or for the hotel’s other services.
3.5 Invoices of the hotel without a due date are payable without deduction within ten days of receipt of the invoice. The hotel may demand immediate payment of due receivables from the customer at any time. In the event of default of payment by the customer, the statutory provisions shall apply. The hotel reserves the right to prove higher damages.
3.6 The hotel is entitled to demand a reasonable advance payment or security deposit from the customer upon conclusion of the contract, for example in the form of a credit card guarantee. The amount of the advance payment and the payment dates can be agreed in text form in the contract. In the case of advance payments or security deposits for package tours, the statutory provisions shall remain unaffected. In the event of default of payment by the customer, the statutory provisions shall apply.
3.7 In justified cases, for example payment arrears on the part of the customer or expansion of the scope of the contract, the hotel is entitled, even after conclusion of the contract until the beginning of the stay, to demand an advance payment or security deposit within the meaning of Item 3.6 above or an increase in the advance payment or security deposit agreed in the contract up to the full agreed remuneration.
3.8 The hotel is also entitled to demand from the customer an appropriate advance payment or security deposit within the meaning of Item 3.6 above for existing and future claims arising from the contract at the beginning of and during the stay, insofar as such a payment has not already been made in accordance with Item 3.6 above and/or Item 3.7 above.
3.9 The customer may only set off or offset an undisputed or legally binding claim against a claim of the hotel.
4 WITHDRAWAL OF THE CUSTOMER (CANCELLATION) / NON-UTILIZATION OF THE SERVICES OF THE HOTEL (NO SHOW)
4.1 The customer may only withdraw from the contract concluded with the hotel if a right of withdrawal has been expressly agreed in the contract, if another statutory right of withdrawal exists or if the hotel expressly consents to the cancellation of the contract. The agreement of a right of withdrawal as well as the possible consent to a cancellation of the contract shall be made in text form in each case.
4.2 If the hotel and the customer have agreed on a date for a cost-free withdrawal from the contract, the customer may withdraw from the contract until that date without triggering payment or damage compensation claims by the hotel. The customer’s right of withdrawal shall expire if he does not exercise his right of withdrawal vis-à-vis the hotel by the agreed date.
4.3 If a right of withdrawal has not been agreed or has already expired, if there is also no statutory right of withdrawal or termination and if the hotel does not agree to a cancellation of the contract, the hotel shall retain the claim to the agreed remuneration despite the non-utilization of the service. The hotel shall credit the income from renting the rooms to other parties as well as the saved expenses. If the rooms are not rented to other parties, the hotel may make a lump-sum deduction for saved expenses. In this case, the customer is obligated to pay at least 90% of the contractually agreed price for overnight stays with or without breakfast as well as for package arrangements with third-party services, 70% for half-board and 60% for full-board arrangements. The customer is free to prove that the aforementioned claim did not arise or did not arise in the required amount.
5 CANCELLATION OF THE HOTEL
5.1 If it has been agreed that the customer may withdraw from the contract free of charge within a certain period of time, the hotel shall be entitled for its part to withdraw from the contract during this period if there are inquiries from other customers regarding the contractually reserved rooms and the customer does not waive its right to withdraw upon inquiry by the hotel with a reasonable deadline.
5.2 If an advance payment or security deposit agreed or requested pursuant to Section 3.6 and/or Section 3.7 is not made even after expiration of a reasonable grace period set by the hotel, the hotel shall also be entitled to withdraw from the contract.
5.3 Furthermore, the hotel shall be entitled to withdraw from the contract extraordinarily for factually justified reasons, in particular if
– Force majeure or other circumstances for which the hotel is not responsible make it impossible to fulfill the contract;
– rooms or rooms are culpably booked with misleading or false information or concealment of material facts; material facts may be the identity of the customer, the ability to pay or the purpose of the stay;
– the hotel has reasonable grounds to believe that the use of the service may jeopardize the smooth operation of the business, the security or the reputation of the hotel in public, without this being attributable to the hotel’s sphere of control or organization;
– the purpose or the reason for the stay is unlawful;
– there is a violation of clause 1.2 above.
5.4 The justified withdrawal of the hotel does not justify any claim of the customer for damages.
6 ROOM PROVISION, HANDOVER AND RETURN
6.1 The customer does not acquire any claim to the provision of specific rooms, unless this has been expressly agreed.
6.2 Booked rooms shall be available to the customer from 3:00 p.m. on the agreed day of arrival. The customer has no right to earlier provision.
6.3 On the agreed departure day, the rooms must be vacated and made available to the hotel no later than 12:00 noon. After this time, the hotel may charge 50% of the full accommodation price (list price) for use of the room in excess of the contract until 6:00 p.m., and 90% after 6:00 p.m., due to the late vacating of the room. Contractual claims of the customer are not justified by this. The customer is free to prove that the hotel has no or a significantly lower claim to a usage fee.
7 LIABILITY OF THE HOTEL
7.1 The hotel shall be liable for damages for which it is responsible arising from injury to life, limb or health. Furthermore, it shall be liable for other damages based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by the hotel or on an intentional or negligent breach of duties typical for the contract by the hotel. A breach of duty by the hotel is equivalent to a breach of duty by a legal representative or vicarious agent. Further claims for damages are excluded, unless otherwise provided for in this clause 7. In the event of disruptions or deficiencies in the hotel’s services, the hotel will endeavor to remedy such upon knowledge thereof or upon immediate complaint by the customer. The customer is obligated to contribute what is reasonable to him in order to remedy the disruption and keep any possible damage to a minimum.
7.2 The hotel shall be liable to the customer for items brought into the hotel in accordance with the statutory provisions. The hotel recommends the use of the hotel or room safe. If the guest wishes to bring in money, securities and valuables with a value of more than 800 euros or other items with a value of more than 3,500 euros, this requires a separate storage agreement with the hotel.
7.3 Insofar as a parking space is made available to the customer in the hotel garage or in the hotel parking lot, even for a fee, this shall not constitute a safekeeping agreement. In the event of loss of or damage to motor vehicles parked or maneuvered on the hotel property and their contents, the hotel shall be liable only in accordance with the above Section 7.1, sentences 1 to 4.
7.4 Wake-up calls shall be executed by the hotel with the utmost care. Messages, mail and consignments of goods for the guests shall be handled with care. The hotel shall be responsible for the delivery, safekeeping and – upon request – forwarding of the same against payment. The hotel shall only be liable in this respect in accordance with the above Section 7.1, sentences 1 to 4.
8 FINAL TERMS
8.1 Amendments and supplements to the contract, the acceptance of the application or these General Terms and Conditions shall be made in text form. Unilateral amendments or supplements by the customer shall be invalid.
8.2 The place of performance and payment as well as the exclusive place of jurisdiction – also for disputes regarding checks and bills of exchange – is Schallstadt-Mengen in commercial transactions. If a contractual partner fulfills the prerequisite of § 38 paragraph 2 ZPO (German Code of Civil Procedure) and does not have a general place of jurisdiction in Germany, Schallstadt-Mengen shall be the place of jurisdiction.
8.3 German law shall apply. The application of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the conflict of laws is excluded.
8.4 Should individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions be or become invalid or void, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. In all other respects, the statutory provisions shall apply.
Source
© Hotelverband Deutschland (IHA) e.V. – Status: November 2014