GTC

Wissenswertes

General Terms and Conditions for the Hotel Accommodation Contract

 

1. Scope of application

    1. These Terms and Conditions apply to contracts regarding the provision of hotel rooms for accommodation purposes, as well as to all other services and supplies provided by the hotel to the customer in this context (hotel accommodation contract). The term "hotel accommodation contract" encompasses and replaces the following terms: accommodation contract, guest accommodation contract, hotel contract, and hotel room contract.

    2. Subletting or re-letting the provided rooms, as well as using them for purposes other than accommodation, requires the hotel's prior written consent (in text form); Section 540, Paragraph 1, Sentence 2 of the German Civil Code (BGB) is hereby excluded, unless the customer is a consumer within the meaning of Section 13 BGB.

    3. General terms and conditions of the customer shall apply only if expressly agreed upon in advance in text form.


2. Conclusion of contract, contracting party, statute of limitations

    1. The contracting parties are the hotel and the customer. The contract is concluded upon the hotel’s acceptance of the customer’s request. The hotel is free to confirm the room booking in text form.

    2. In principle, all claims against the hotel become time-barred one year after the statutory commencement of the limitation period. This does not apply to claims for damages or to other claims, provided the latter are based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by the hotel.

 

3. Services, Prices, Payment, Set-off

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

    2. The customer is obliged to pay the hotel’s agreed or applicable prices for the provision of the room and for any additional services utilized. This also applies to services commissioned by the customer—either directly or through the hotel—that are provided by third parties and paid for in advance by the hotel.

    3. The agreed prices include the taxes and local levies applicable at the time the contract is concluded. Not included are local levies payable by the guest personally under applicable local law, such as visitor's tax. In the event of a change in statutory VAT or the introduction, modification, or abolition of local levies affecting the services provided after the contract is concluded, the prices will be adjusted accordingly. For contracts with consumers, this applies only if the period between the conclusion of the contract and the performance of the contract exceeds four months.

    4. The hotel may make its consent to any subsequent reduction requested by the customer in the number of booked rooms, the hotel services, or the duration of the customer's stay conditional upon a reasonable increase in the price of the rooms and/or other hotel services.

    5. Hotel invoices are due for payment immediately upon receipt, without deduction. If payment on invoice has been agreed upon, payment must be made within ten days of receipt of the invoice, without deduction, unless otherwise agreed.

    6. The hotel is entitled to demand an appropriate advance payment or security, for example in the form of a credit card guarantee, from the customer upon conclusion of the contract. 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 legal provisions remain unaffected. If the customer defaults on payment, the statutory regulations apply.

    7. In justified cases—such as the customer being in arrears with payment or an expansion of the scope of the contract—the hotel is entitled, even after the contract has been concluded and up until the start of the stay, to demand an advance payment or security deposit as defined in the aforementioned Clause 3.6, or an increase in the advance payment or security deposit agreed upon in the contract up to the full amount of the agreed remuneration.

    8. The hotel is further entitled to demand from the customer, at the beginning of and during the stay, a reasonable prepayment or security deposit—within the meaning of the aforementioned Clause 3.6—for existing and future claims arising from the contract, provided that such payment or deposit has not already been made in accordance with the aforementioned Clause 6 and/or 7.

    9. The customer may only offset a claim against a claim of the hotel if the customer's claim is undisputed or has been established by a final, non-appealable judgment.

    10. The customer agrees that the invoice may be transmitted electronically.

4. Customer Withdrawal (Cancellation) / Non-use of Hotel Services (No-Show)

    1. The customer may only withdraw from the contract concluded with the hotel if a right of withdrawal has been expressly agreed upon in the contract, if a statutory right of withdrawal exists, or if the hotel expressly consents to the cancellation of the contract.

    2. If a deadline for free withdrawal from the contract has been agreed upon between the hotel and the customer, the customer may withdraw from the contract by that time without triggering any claims for payment or damages on the part of the hotel.

    3. If no right of withdrawal has been agreed upon or such a right has already expired, and there is no statutory right of withdrawal or termination, and the hotel does not agree to a cancellation of the contract, the hotel retains its claim to the agreed remuneration despite the service not being utilized.

5. Cancellation by the hotel

    1. If it has been agreed that the customer may withdraw from the contract free of charge within a certain period, the hotel is likewise entitled to withdraw from the contract during this period if there are inquiries from other customers regarding the contractually booked rooms and the customer, upon the hotel’s inquiry and the setting of a reasonable deadline, fails to waive their right of withdrawal. The same applies accordingly to the granting of an option if other inquiries exist and the customer, upon the hotel’s inquiry and the setting of a reasonable deadline, is not prepared to make a firm booking.

    2. If an advance payment or security deposit agreed upon or requested in accordance with Clause 3.6 and/or Clause 3.7 is not made even after the expiry of a reasonable grace period set by the hotel, the hotel is likewise entitled to withdraw from the contract.

    3. Furthermore, the hotel is entitled to withdraw from the contract for good cause, particularly if
      - force majeure or other circumstances beyond the hotel’s control make performance of the contract impossible
      - rooms or premises are booked culpably based on misleading or false information or by concealing material facts; material facts may include the customer’s identity, solvency, or the purpose of the stay
      - the hotel has reasonable grounds to believe that the use of the services could jeopardize the smooth operation, safety, or public reputation of the hotel, without this being attributable to the hotel’s sphere of control or organization
      - the purpose or occasion of the stay is unlawful
      - there is a violation of the aforementioned Clause 1.2.

    4. The hotel's justified withdrawal does not give rise to any claim for damages on the part of the customer.

6. Room availability, handover, and return

    1. The customer does not acquire a right to the provision of specific rooms unless this has been expressly agreed upon in text form.

    2. Booked rooms are available to the customer from 3:00 p.m. on the agreed day of arrival. The customer has no right to earlier availability.

    3. On the agreed day of departure, the rooms must be vacated and made available to the hotel no later than 12:00 noon. Thereafter, due to the delayed vacating of the room, the hotel may charge 50% of the full accommodation rate (as per the price list) for use beyond the contractual period up to 6:00 p.m., and 90% from 6:00 p.m. onwards. This does not give rise to any contractual claims on the part of the customer. The customer is free to prove that the hotel is entitled to no usage fee or a significantly lower one.

7. Hotel Liability

    1. The hotel is liable for damages resulting from injury to life, body, or health for which it is responsible. Furthermore, it is 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 obligations typical of the contract on the part of the hotel. Obligations typical of the contract are those obligations that enable the proper performance of the contract in the first place and on the fulfillment of which the customer relies and is entitled to rely. A breach of duty by the hotel is deemed equivalent to a breach of duty by a legal representative or vicarious agent. Any further claims for damages are excluded, unless otherwise stipulated in this Section 7. Should disruptions or defects in the hotel’s services occur, the hotel shall endeavor to provide a remedy upon becoming aware of them or upon receiving an immediate complaint from the customer. The customer is obliged to contribute whatever is reasonable to rectify the disruption and to minimize any potential damage.

    2. The hotel is liable to the guest for items brought onto the premises in accordance with statutory provisions. The hotel recommends using the hotel safe or the in-room safe. If the guest wishes to bring in cash, securities, or valuables worth more than 800 euros, or other items worth more than 3,500 euros, a separate safekeeping agreement with the hotel is required.

    3. The provision of a parking space in the hotel garage or on the hotel parking lot to the customer—even for a fee—does not constitute a contract of safe custody. The hotel shall be liable for the loss of or damage to motor vehicles (and their contents) parked or maneuvered on the hotel premises only in accordance with the provisions of Section 7.1, sentences 1 to 4, above.

    4. The hotel carries out wake-up calls with the utmost care. Messages for guests are handled with care. Subject to prior agreement with the guest, the hotel may undertake the receipt, storage, and—upon request and for a fee—the forwarding of mail and shipments of goods. In this regard, the hotel’s liability is limited to the provisions of Section 7.1 above, sentences 1 to 4.

 

5. Final Provisions

    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 are ineffective.

    2. In commercial transactions, the place of performance and payment as well as the exclusive place of jurisdiction—including for disputes involving cheques and bills of exchange—shall be the location of the hotel. If the customer meets the requirements of Section 38 (2) of the Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) and does not have a general place of jurisdiction within the country, the location of the hotel shall be deemed the place of jurisdiction.
    3. German law applies. The application of the UN Sales Convention is excluded.

    4. In accordance with statutory obligations, the hotel points out that the European Union has established an online platform for the out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes (the “ODR platform”): http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/ However, the hotel does not participate in dispute resolution proceedings before consumer arbitration bodies.