General Terms and Conditions of Business
Field of Application
(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 in this context for the Customer by the Operating Company with which the Hotel Accommodation Contract is concluded (hereinafter: “the Hotel”). The term “Hotel Accommodation Agreement” includes and replaces the following terms: Accommodation Agreement, Guest Accommodation Agreement, Hotel Accommodation Agreement, Hotel Room Agreement.
(2) The subletting or re-letting 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, Paragraph 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 shall not apply unless they are expressly accepted by the hotel in writing.
II. Conclusion of Contract and Partner
(1) The contract is concluded by offer and acceptance. The hotel’s declaration of intent must be in text form.
(2) The contracting parties are the hotel and the customer.
(3) 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.
III. Services, Prices, Payment, Accountability
(1) The hotel is obligated to keep the rooms booked by the customer available and to provide the agreed services.
(2) The customer is obligated to pay the hotel’s applicable or agreed prices in the hotel’s local currency for the provision of the rooms 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. Additional costs incurred by the hotel due to the fact that the customer fulfills his payment obligation in a currency other than the hotel’s national currency shall be passed on to the customer by the hotel and shall be carried by the customer.
(3) The prices agreed for the provision of rooms shall be due at the latest at the time of check-in, the compensation for other services used shall be due at the latest at the end of the stay at the hotel. Any advance payments made pursuant to paragraphs 6 to 8 shall be credited against the total amount of the remuneration.
(4) The agreed prices include the taxes and local charges applicable at the time of the conclusion of the contract. Not included are local levies which are owed by the customer 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 matter of the service 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 the conclusion and fulfillment of the contract exceeds four months.
(5) 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.
(6) 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 may charge a reminder fee of EUR 2.50 for each reminder sent after the occurrence of default, unless the customer provides evidence that the hotel has actually incurred no or lower damages. The hotel reserves the right to prove a higher damage and to assert corresponding claims for damages by offsetting the forfeited flat reminder fee.
(7) The hotel is entitled to demand a reasonable advance payment or security deposit, for example in the form of a credit card guarantee, 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 statutory provisions shall remain unaffected. In the event of default of payment by the customer, the statutory provisions shall apply.
(8) In justified cases, e.g. 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 as defined in Section III, Paragraph 6 above or an increase in the advance payment or security deposit agreed in the contract up to the full agreed remuneration.
(9) The hotel is also entitled to demand an appropriate advance payment or security deposit from the customer at the beginning of the stay and during the stay for existing and future claims arising from the contract, insofar as such a payment has not already been made.
(10) The customer may only set off an undisputed or legally established claim against a claim of the hotel.
IV. Cancellation by the guest
(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 in text form. The agreement of a right of withdrawal as well as the possible consent to a cancellation of the contract must be made in text form in each case.
(2) If a date for withdrawal from the contract has been agreed between the hotel and the customer, the customer may withdraw from the contract by then by declaration in text form without triggering payment or damage claims of the hotel. The customer’s right to withdraw from the contract expires if the customer does not execute his right to withdraw from the contract with the hotel by the agreed date. The date of receipt of the declaration by the hotel is decisive.
(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 room is not rented to another party, the hotel may make a flat-rate 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 has not arisen or has not arisen in the required amount.
V. Cancellation by the hotel
(1) If it has been agreed that the customer may withdraw from the contract within a certain period of time, the hotel shall be entitled for its part to withdraw from the contract during this period of time if there are inquiries from other guests regarding the contractually reserved rooms and the customer does not waive its right to withdraw in text form upon inquiry by the hotel with a reasonable deadline.
(2) If an advance payment or security deposit agreed or demanded in accordance with Section III, Paragraph 6 and/or Section III, Paragraph 7 is not made even after a reasonable grace period set by the hotel has expired, the hotel is also entitled to withdraw from the contract.
(3) Furthermore, the hotel is 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 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 endanger the smooth operation of the business, the security or the reputation of the hotel in public, without this being attributable to the control or organizational sphere of the hotel;
• the purpose or occasion of the stay is unlawful;
• rooms are used for purposes other than purely accommodation purposes without the prior consent of the hotel, which must be given in text form, in particular for commercial purposes, for example in the form of the production (and subsequent publication) of photographs or film footage;
• there is a violation of the aforementioned Section I. Paragraph 2.
(4) The justified withdrawal of the hotel does not justify any claim of the customer for damages.
VI. Room provision, handover and return
(1) The customer does not acquire a claim to the provision of certain rooms, unless this has been expressly agreed. A claim to rooms of the agreed room category remains unaffected.
(2) Booked rooms are available to the customer from 3 p.m. on the agreed arrival day. The customer has no right to earlier provision.
(3) The hotel only offers non-smoking rooms, thus a general smoking ban applies in all hotel rooms and public areas of the hotel. In the event of a violation of the smoking ban by the guest, the hotel is entitled to claim a lump-sum compensation from the customer in the amount of EUR 250.00 as compensation for cleaning measures, unless the customer provides evidence that the hotel has actually incurred no or lower damages. The hotel is at liberty to prove higher damages and to assert a corresponding claim for damages.
(4) On the agreed departure day, the rooms must be vacated and made available to the hotel by 11 a.m. at the latest. Thereafter, the hotel may charge 50% of the daily room rate for the use of the room in excess of the contract until 6:00 p.m. due to the late vacating of the room, and 90% of the daily room rate after 6:00 p.m. The relevant daily room rate corresponds to the price for a room of the corresponding category stated on the hotel’s homepage for the day in question. Contractual claims of the customer are not justified by this. The customer is at liberty to prove to the hotel that the latter has not incurred any or a significantly lower claim to a usage fee. The hotel is at liberty to prove a higher loss and to assert a corresponding claim for damages.
VII. Liability of the Hotel
(1) The hotel is liable for damages resulting from injury to life, body or health for which it is responsible. 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 Section VII. In the event of disruptions or deficiencies in the hotel’s services, the hotel shall 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 to keep any possible damage to a minimum.
(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. The liability expires if the customer does not report the damage to the hotel immediately after becoming aware of it. 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 EUR 3,500, this requires a separate storage agreement with the hotel.
(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 hotel property and their contents, the hotel shall be liable only in accordance with the foregoing Section VII, Paragraph 1, Sentences 1 through 4.
(4) Wake-up calls shall be handled with care by the hotel. Messages, mail and merchandise shipments for the guests will be handled with care. The hotel shall assume responsibility for delivery, safekeeping and – upon request – forwarding of the same against payment. The hotel shall be liable for violations of this Section VII, Paragraph 4 only in accordance with the above Section VII, Paragraph 1, Sentences 1 through 4.
(5) The Hotel shall be entitled to hand over any items brought in to the local lost and found office one month after the end of the Customer’s stay if the Customer has not collected the items brought in despite being requested to do so within a reasonable period of time and if it is also not possible to forward the items. Any costs arising from the transfer to the lost and found office or the forwarding shall be borne by the customer.
VIII. Final Clauses
(1) Amendments or supplements to the contract or these terms and conditions must be made in text form. Unilateral amendments or supplements by the customer shall be invalid.
(2) The place of performance and payment as well as the exclusive place of jurisdiction – also for disputes concerning checks and bills of exchange – is Hamburg (Germany) for commercial transactions. If a contractual partner fulfills the requirements of § 38 para. 2 ZPO (German Code of Civil Procedure) and has no general place of jurisdiction in Germany, the place of jurisdiction shall be Hamburg.
(3) The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the conflict of laws.
(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.
Status: 03.11.2022