General Terms and Conditions for Hotel Accommodation Contracts
(Version: September 2014)
I. Scope of Applicability
1. These terms and conditions govern contracts for the rental use of hotel rooms for lodging purposes, as well as all other goods and services rendered by the Hotel to the customer in this context (Hotel Accommodation Contract). The expression “Hotel Accommodation Contract” contains and replaces the following terms: lodging contract, accommodation contract, hotel contract, hotel room contract.
2. In order to sublet or subcontract the rooms that have been rented, to use the hotel rooms for other purposes than for accommodation, the customer must obtain the prior written consent of the Hotel. § 540 section 1, sentence 2 of the German Civil Code (BGB) is waived insofar as the customer is not a consumer.
3. The customer’s general terms and conditions only apply if this is previously expressly agreed in text form.
II. Conclusion of Contract, Parties, Statute of Limitations
1. The contract shall come into force upon the Hotel's acceptance of the customer’s application. At its discretion, the Hotel may confirm the room reservation in text form.
2. The contracting parties are the Hotel and the customer. If a third party has placed a reservation on behalf of the customer, the customer and the third party shall be jointly responsible to the Hotel for all obligations arising from the Hotel contract, provided that the customer shall provide the Hotel with an appropriate statement to this effect.
3. Any claims made by the customer against the Hotel shall lapse 1 year after their declaration which initiates the normal limitation period. Claims for compensation against the Hotel lapse at the latest after a term of 5 years, irrespective of the time of cognizance. These limitations do not apply in the event of claims involving loss of life, bodily injury or damage to health or freedom that is attributable to the Hotel. These claims for compensation lapse after ten years, independent of knowledge thereof. These limitations do not apply in the event of claims involving wanton or grossly negligent dereliction of duty on the part of the Hotel.
III. Services, tariffs, payment, offsetting
1. The Hotel is obliged to make the rooms available that the customer has reserved and to provide the services that have been agreed.
2. The customer is obliged to pay the current or agreed Hotel prices to hire the room and any other services he has made use of. This also applies to services and expenses that he requests the Hotel to make over against third parties. The agreed prices shall include turnover tax at the appropriate rate according to law.
3. Prices for the rooms and / or services of the Hotel may be further adjusted if the customer subsequently wishes to alter the number of rooms reserved, the services required or the length of stay of the guests, and the Hotel agrees to this.
4. Hotel invoices without a payment date are payable in full within 10 calendar days of receipt. The Hotel is entitled to demand payments outstanding at any time, and to require immediate payment. In the event of delay in payment, the Hotel is entitled to demand the appropriate legal late payment interest of 8% above the current basic interest rate or 5% above the basic interest rate in the case of legal transactions involving the customer. The Hotel reserves the right to provide evidence of entitlement to a higher claim to damages.
5. The Hotel is entitled to require a reasonable advance payment or a security, such as a credit card guarantee, from the customer upon conclusion of the contract. The amount of the advance payment and payment dates may be agreed in text form in the contract. The statutory provisions shall remain unaffected with advance payments or a security for package tours.
6. In justified cases, e.g. the customer’s default in payment or expansion of the scope of the contract, the Hotel shall be entitled, also after the conclusion of the contract up to the commencement of the stay, to demand an advance payment or a security within the meaning of the above-mentioned No. 5 or an increase of the advance payment or a security agreed in the contract up to the total agreed remuneration.
7. Furthermore, the Hotel shall be entitled, at the commencement and during the customer’s stay, to demand a reasonable advance payment or security deposit within the meaning of the above-mentioned No. 5, insofar as such has not already been paid pursuant to the above-mentioned No. 5 and/or No. 6.
8. The customer can only offset or reduce the Hotel’s payment demands by means of an unchallenged legal claim. 8. Der Kunde kann nur mit einer unstreitigen oder rechtskräftigen Forderung gegenüber einer Forderung des Hotels aufrechnen oder verrechnen.
IV. Withdrawal of the Customer (Cancellation, Annulment)/Failure to Use Hotel Services (No Show)
1. The customer can only withdraw from the contract concluded with the Hotel, if the Hotel gives its explicit consent to the withdrawal in text form. If there is no consent, then the agreed payment of the contract has to be paid, even if the customer does not make use of the contractual agreed services.
2. To the extent that a date for a cost-free withdrawal from the contract has been agreed upon, the customer may withdraw from the contract up to that date without incurring payment or damage compensation claims by the Hotel. The customer’s right of withdrawal shall expire if he does not exercise it in text form vis-à-vis the Hotel by the agreed date.
3. The Hotel must credit the income from renting the rooms to other parties as well as for saved expenses. If the rooms are not rented otherwise, the Hotel can demand the contractually agreed rate and assess a lump sum for the saved expenses. In this case, the customer is obligated to pay at least 90 percent of the contractually agreed rate for lodging with or without breakfast, 70 percent for half-board and 60 percent for full-board arrangements. The customer is at liberty to show, that the above-mentioned claim has not arisen at all or has not amounted to the demanded sum.
V. Withdrawal by the Hotel
1. Provided that the customer’s right to withdraw without penalty within a particular time period has been agreed in writing, the Hotel is also for its part entitled to withdraw without penalty within this time period if applications from other customers for rooms reserved under contract are to hand, and the customer does not waive his right to withdraw when contacted by the Hotel.
2. The Hotel is also entitled to withdraw from the contract if an advance payment as agreed or as demanded in accordance with III. Paragraph No. 5 and / or 6. is not made, even after an appropriate period of grace set by the Hotel has elapsed.
3. Furthermore, the Hotel is entitled to withdraw from the contract in exceptional circumstance, if so justified for well-founded reasons, especially in the event that:
Force majeure or other circumstances beyond the Hotel's control render the fulfilment of the contract impossible;
Rooms are booked giving a misleading or a false description of essential facts (e.g. in respect of the customer or the purpose);
The Hotel has good grounds for supposing that the use of the Hotel services might jeopardise the smooth running of the Hotel’s operations, or the safety or the reputation of the Hotel in the public eye in a way that is beyond the control or scope of the Hotel’s organisation;
The purpose or the cause of the stay is illegal;
There is any breach of I. Paragraph 2.
4. If the Hotel justifiably withdraws, the customer shall make no claim for compensation.
VI. Room Availability, Delivery and Return
1. The customer does not acquire the right to be provided specific rooms insofar as this is not expressly agreed in text form.
2. Reserved rooms are available to the customer starting at 2:00 p.m. on the agreed arrival date. The customer does not have the right to earlier availability.
3. Rooms must be vacated and made available to the Hotel no later than 12:00 noon on the agreed departure date. After that time, on the grounds of the delayed vacating of the room for use exceeding the contractual time, the Hotel may charge 50 percent of the full accommodation rate (list price) for the additional use of the room until 6:00 p.m, after 6:00 p.m.: 100 percent. Any contractual claims made by the customer cannot be justified on these grounds. The customer is at liberty to prove that the Hotel has no or a much lower claim for charges for use of the room.
VII. Liability of the Hotel
1. The Hotel shall be responsible for its obligations arising from the contract, exercising the care expected of a reasonable trader. Any customer claims for compensation will not be countenanced. Exclusions to this apply to compensation arising from death, bodily injury or damage to health, if the Hotel has to answer for dereliction of duty, or other damages that involve a premeditation or negligent breach of duty on the part of the Hotel, or involve any premeditated or negligent breach of its contractual duties. A breach of duty by a legal representative or agent is equivalent to that of the Hotel itself. Should there be any faults or shortcomings in the services provided by the Hotel, the Hotel will make every effort to correct this if the customer has brought these to its attention or made his objections promptly known. The customer is obliged to make reasonable effort to rectify any fault or minimise any possible loss or damage.
2. The Hotel is liable to the customer for property brought into the hotel in accordance with the statutory provisions. The liability is limited to the hundredfold price of the room, but not more than € 3,500 and in the case of money, securities or valuables not more than € 800. Money, securities or valuables up to a total value of € 10.000 may be kept in the Hotel or room safe. The Hotel recommends the use of this possibility.
3. Though the customer may be offered a parking space in the Hotel garage or car park, this shall not form a contract for its safekeeping, even if a parking fee is paid. The Hotel shall not assume liability for loss or damage to any vehicle parked on the Hotel’s property, or its contents, except in the event of wantonness or gross negligence. The terms of 1. sentences 2-4 above apply for the exclusion of any claims to compensation by the customer.
4. Wake-up calls are carried out by the Hotel with the greatest possible diligence. Messages, mail, and merchandise deliveries for guests are handled with care. The Hotel will deliver, keep, and for a fee forward such items (on request). The terms of 1. sentences 2-4 above apply for the exclusion of any claims to compensation by the customer.
VIII. Final Provisions
1. Amendments and supplements to the contract or these general terms and conditions should be made in text form. Unilateral amendments and supplements by the customer are not valid.
2. For commercial transactions the place of performance and payment is the location of the Hotel.
3. The court of jurisdiction for commercial transactions, including cheque and currency disputes, shall be the Hotel’s registered office. Provided that a contracting party fulfils the requirements of Article 38 paragraph 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure and has no general place of jurisdiction within Germany, the Hotel’s registered office shall act as the place of legal jurisdiction.
4. The contract is governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany. The application of the UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods and the conflict of laws are precluded.
5. Should individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions for Hotel Accommodation Contracts be or become invalid or void, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected thereby. The statutory provisions shall also be applicable.