General terms and conditions for hotel accomodation contracts

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR HOTEL ACCOMMODATION CONTRACTS (AGBH 8.1)

1 AREA OF APPLICATION

1.1 These Terms and Conditions shall apply to contracts for the rental of hotel rooms for lodging purposes as well as all other services and deliveries provided by the hotel to the customer in this context (hotel accommodation contract). They do not apply to package tours within the meaning of §651a BGB. The term "hotel accommodation contract" includes and replaces the following terms: Accommodation contract, guest reception contract, hotel contract, hotel room contract.

 

1.2 The subletting or re-letting of the rooms provided, as well as their use for purposes other than accommodation, require the prior consent of the hotel in text form, whereby § 540 paragraph 1 sentence 2 BGB is waived insofar as the customer is not a consumer within the meaning of § 13 BGB.

 

1.3 The customer's general terms and conditions of business shall only apply if this has been expressly agreed in text form in advance.

2 CONCLUDING THE CONTRACT, CONTRACT PARTIES, STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

2.1 The contracting parties are the hotel and the customer. The contract shall be concluded by the hotel's acceptance of the customer's application. The hotel shall be free to confirm the room booking in text form. In the event of a booking via the hotel's own homepage, the contract shall be concluded by clicking the button "binding booking".

2.2 All claims against the hotel are subject to a limitation period of one year from the start of the statutory limitation period. This shall 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, OFF-SET

3.1 The hotel is obliged to keep the rooms booked by the customer available and to provide the agreed services.

3.2 The customer is obliged 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 via 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 conclusion of the contract. Not included are local taxes which 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 services or the customer's length of stay conditional upon a reasonable increase in the price for the rooms and/or for the hotel's other services.

3.5 Invoices of the hotel are due for payment immediately upon receipt without deduction. If payment on account has been agreed, payment shall be made without deduction within ten days of receipt of the invoice, unless otherwise agreed.

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 may be agreed in text form in the contract. The statutory provisions shall remain unaffected in the case of advance payments or security deposits for package tours. In the event of default of payment by the customer, the statutory provisions shall apply.

3.7 In justified cases, e.g. payment arrears on the part of the customer or extension of the scope of the contract, the hotel shall be entitled, even after conclusion of the contract and up to the beginning of the stay, to demand an advance payment or security deposit as defined in clause 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 Furthermore, the hotel is entitled to demand from the customer at the beginning of and during the stay an appropriate advance payment or security deposit within the meaning of clause 3.6 above for existing and future claims arising from the contract, insofar as such a payment has not already been made in accordance with clause 3.6 and/or clause 3.7 above.

3.9 The customer may only set off or offset an undisputed or legally enforceable claim against a claim of the hotel.

3.10 The customer agrees that the invoice may be sent to him electronically.

 

4 REVOCATION BY THE CUSTOMER (COUNTERMAND, CANCELLATION)/

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 a statutory right of withdrawal exists or if the hotel expressly agrees to the cancellation of the contract.

4.2 If a date for withdrawal from the contract free of charge has been agreed between the hotel and the customer, the customer may withdraw from the contract up to that date without triggering any payment or damage claims by the hotel. The customer's right to withdraw from the contract shall expire if he does not exercise this right in text form 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-utilisation of the service. The hotel shall take into account the income from renting the rooms to other parties as well as any expenses saved. If the rooms are not rented to other parties, the hotel may make a flat-rate deduction for saved expenses. In this case, the customer is obliged to pay 90% of the contractually agreed price for overnight accommodation 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 has not arisen or has not arisen in the amount demanded.

5 REVOCATION BY 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 within this period of time if there are enquiries from other customers for the contractually booked rooms and the customer does not waive his right to withdraw upon inquiry by the hotel with a reasonable deadline. This shall apply mutatis mutandis to the granting of an option if other enquiries exist and the customer is not prepared to make a firm booking upon inquiry by the hotel with a reasonable period of notice.

5.2 If an advance payment or security deposit agreed or demanded pursuant to Clause 3.6 and/or Clause 3.7 is not made even after expiry 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 objectively justified reasons, in particular if

- force majeure or other circumstances for which the hotel is not responsible make it impossible to fulfil 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 assume that the use of the service may jeopardise 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 organisation;

- the purpose or reason for the stay is unlawful;

- there is a breach of clause 1.2 above.

5.4 The justified withdrawal of the hotel does not give rise to a claim for damages on the part of the customer. Should the hotel have a claim for damages against the customer in the event of a withdrawal pursuant to Clause 5.2 or 5.3 above, the hotel may make a lump-sum payment for such damages. In this case, clause 4.3 shall apply accordingly.

6 MAKING THE ROOM AVAILABLE, HANDOVER AND RETURN

6.1 The customer shall not acquire any claim to the provision of specific rooms unless this has been expressly agreed in text form.

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 availability. A claim to earlier occupancy of the booked hotel room on the day of arrival shall only arise if the customer has booked this with the hotel for a fee. Written confirmation from the hotel is required in order for the earlier provision of the room to become part of the contract. 

6.3 On the agreed day of departure, the rooms must be vacated and made available to the hotel by 12:00 noon at the latest. Thereafter, the hotel may charge 50% of the full accommodation price (price according to price list) for the late vacating of the room for its use in excess of the contract until 6:00 p.m., and 90% from 6:00 p.m. onwards. Contractual claims of the customer are not justified by this. The customer is at liberty to prove that the hotel has not incurred any or a significantly lower claim to a usage fee. The customer shall only have a claim to a later clearing of the room on the day of arrival if the customer has booked this with the hotel for a corresponding fee. Written confirmation from the hotel is required in order for a later check-out to become part of the contract.

 

7 LIABILITY OF THE HOTEL

7.1 The hotel shall be liable for damages for which it is responsible arising from injury to life, body 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 of the contract by the hotel. Typical contractual obligations are those obligations that make the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on the performance of which the customer relies and may rely. 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 defects in the hotel's services, the hotel shall endeavour 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 minimise any possible damage.

7.2 The hotel shall be liable to the customer for items brought in in accordance with the statutory provisions. The hotel recommends the use of the hotel or room safe. If the customer 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 car park, even for a fee, this shall not constitute a safekeeping agreement. In the event of loss of or damage to motor vehicles parked or manoeuvred on the hotel premises and their contents, the hotel shall be liable only in accordance with the above Clause 7.1, Sentences 1 to 4.

7.4 Wake-up calls shall be carried out by the hotel with the utmost care.

Messages for customers shall be handled with care. Upon prior agreement with the customer, the hotel may accept, store and - upon request - forward mail and merchandise shipments for a fee. The hotel shall be liable in this respect only in accordance with the provisions of Clause 7.1, Sentences 1 to 4 above.

8 FINAL PROVISIONS

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 shall be invalid.

8.2 If the customer is a merchant or a legal entity under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction shall be Böblingen. However, the hotel may also sue the customer at the customer's place of business. The same shall apply to customers who do not fall under sentence 1 if they do not have their registered office or place of residence in a member state of the EU.

8.3 German law shall apply. The application of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is excluded.

8.4 If the General Terms and Conditions of Business have not become part of the contract in whole or in part or are ineffective, the remainder of the contract shall remain effective. Insofar as the provisions have not become an integral part of the contract or are invalid, the content of the contract shall be governed by the statutory provisions. Section 306 sentences 1 and 2 BGB shall apply accordingly.

8.4 In accordance with the statutory obligation, the hotel points out that the European Union has set up an online platform for the out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes ("ODR platform"): ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/main/index.cfm.

However, the Hotel does not participate in dispute resolution proceedings before consumer arbitration boards.

8.4 In compliance with its statutory obligation the hotel points out that the Europe-an Union has set up an online platform for the extrajudicial resolution of con-sumer disputes (“ODR platform”): ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/main/index.cfm

The hotel undertakes not to participate. Additional information is available on the ODR platform, cf. Art. 14 (2) ODR Regulation.