1 AREA OF APPLICATION
1.1 These General Business Terms and Conditions apply to contracts on the provision
for rental use of hotel rooms for lodging and to all other services and supplies provided
to the customer by the hotel in this connection (Hotel Accommodation Contract).
The term “Hotel Accommodation Contract” encompasses and replaces the
following terms: lodging, guest accommodation, hotel and hotel room contract.
1.2 The sub-letting and re-letting of the rooms provided for use and the use thereof for
any purposes other than those of lodging is subject to the prior consent of the hotel
in text form, whereby section 540 (1) sentence 2 German Civil Code (BGB) is excluded
insofar as the customer is not a consumer as defined in section 13 BGB.
1.3 General business terms and conditions of the customer shall only be applicable if
this is explicitly agreed in text form in advance.
2 CONCLUDING THE CONTRACT, CONTRACT PARTIES, STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
2.1 The hotel and the customer are the parties to the contract. The contract is concluded
by acceptance by the hotel of the application made by the customer. The hotel
can confirm the room reservation in text form at its discretion.
2.2 All claims against the hotel shall become statute-bound in principle one year after
commencement of the statutory limitation period. This does not apply to claims for
damages or other claims if the latter are based on an intentional or grossly negligent
breach of duty of the hotel.
3 SERVICES, PRICES, PAYMENT, OFF-SET
3.1 The hotel is obliged to keep the rooms reserved by the customer available and to
render the services agreed.
3.2 The customer is obliged to pay the hotel’s prices that are agreed for or applicable to
the provision of the room for use and to other services used by the customer. This
also applies to services ordered by the customer either directly or through the hotel
which are performed by third parties and paid for in advance by the hotel.
3.3 The prices agreed are inclusive of the taxes and local taxes applicable at the time
when the contract is concluded. They do not include local taxes such as local visitor’s
tax [Kurtaxe] which the guest owes himself or herself under local community
law.
The prices shall be adjusted accordingly in the event of changes to the statutory
value added tax or of the introduction, change or elimination of local taxes on the
subject matter of the contract after the contract has been entered into. In the case of
contracts with consumers, this only applies if the period of time elapsing between
the date of conclusion of the contract and the date of performance of the contract is
longer than four months.
3.4 The hotel may make its consent to a request made retrospectively by the customer
to reduce the number of rooms reserved, the services provided by the hotel or the
duration of the customer’s stay dependent upon reasonably increasing the price of
the rooms and/or of the other services of the hotel.
3.5 The hotel invoices are due and payable immediately upon receipt without any
deductions being made. If payment by invoice [Zahlung auf Rechnung] is agreed,
payment shall be made within ten days of receipt of the invoice without any deductions
being made unless otherwise agreed.
3.6 When the contract is entered into, the hotel has the right to request a reasonable
advance payment or security from the customer, for example in the form of a credit
card guarantee. The amount of the advance payment and the payment dates can
be agreed in the contract in text form. In the event of advance payments or security
for package travel, the provisions of statute shall remain unaffected. The provisions
of statute shall apply in the event of late payment by the customer.
3.7 In justified cases, for example if the customer is in arrears in payment or if the scope
of the contract is extended, the hotel has the right to demand, even after the contract
has been concluded up until the time when the residence commences, advance
payment or security as set out in subsection 3.6 above or an increase in the
amount of the advance payment or security agreed in the contract up to the full
amount of the remuneration agreed.
3.8 Further, the hotel has the right to request, at the beginning and during the course of
the customer’s stay, a reasonable advance payment or security within the meaning
of subsection 3.6 above for existing and future claims under the contract, insofar as
no such payment or security has already been made or provided pursuant to subsection
3.6 and/or 3.7 above.
3.9 The customer may only offset or net out an undisputed claim or a claim established
by final and absolute court decision against a claim of the hotel.
3.10 The customer is in agreement with the invoice being sent to the customer by electronic
transmission.
4 REVOCATION BY THE CUSTOMER (COUNTERMAND, CANCELLATION)/NO SHOW
4.1 It is only possible for the customer to revoke the contract concluded with the hotel if
a revocation right has been explicitly agreed in the contract, if there is a statutory
revocation right or if the hotel explicitly consents to the cancelation of the contract.
4.2 If the hotel and the customer have agreed upon a deadline for revocation of the
contract free of charge, the customer may revoke the contract up until that date
without triggering any claims for payment or damages by the hotel.
4.3 If no revocation right has been agreed or if it has already expired, and if there is no
statutory right of revocation or termination and if the hotel does not agree to the
cancellation of the contract, then the hotel retains its entitlement to the remuneration
agreed although the service was not used. The hotel shall offset income from otherwise
letting the rooms and saved expenditures. If the rooms are not otherwise let,
the hotel can apply a flat rate for the saved expenditures. In this case the customer
is obliged to pay 80% of the contractually-agreed price for overnight accommodation
with or without breakfast and for package deals with third party services, 80% for
half board and 80% for full board. The customer is at liberty to demonstrate that the
above claim did not arise or not in the amount claimed.
5 REVOCATION BY THE HOTEL
5.1 If it has been agreed that the customer may revoke the contract free of charge
within a certain period, then the hotel has, for its part, the right to revoke the contract
within this period if inquiries are made by other customers relating to the contractually
reserved rooms and if the customer does not waive its revocation right after
an inquiry is made and a reasonable period of time set by the hotel. This shall apply accordingly if the customer has been granted an option and other inquiries are
made and the customer is not prepared to make a firm booking after the hotel
makes an inquiry and sets an appropriate time period.
5.2 The hotel also has the right to revoke the contract if an advance payment or security
agreed or required in accordance with subsection 3.6 and/or subsection 3.7 has not
been paid after an appropriate period of grace set by the hotel has expired.
5.3 Further, the hotel has the right, for an objectively legitimate reason, to revoke the
contract for extraordinary grounds, in particular in the event of
– force majeure or other circumstances for which the hotel is not responsible, which
render performance of the contract impossible;
– rooms being reserved by culpably providing material facts that are wrong or misleading
or by failing to provide material facts; in this context the term material can
mean the identity of the customer, the customer’s ability to pay or the purpose of
the residence;
– the hotel having reasonable grounds to assume that the use of the service can
jeopardize the smooth running of the business, the safety or public reputation of
the hotel without this being attributable to the area of responsibility or organization
of the hotel;
– the purpose of or the reason for the stay being in violation of the law;
– a breach of subsection 1.2.
5.4 Revocation by the hotel that is justified does not give the customer the right to claim
damages.
6 MAKING THE ROOM AVAILABLE, HANDOVER AND RETURN
6.1 The customer does not acquire a right to the provision of specific rooms unless this
has been explicitly agreed in text form.
6.2 The reserved rooms shall be available for use by the customer with effect from
14:00 hours on the agreed date of arrival. The customer has no right to earlier
availability.
6.3 The rooms shall be vacated and available for use by the hotel by 11:00 noon at the
latest on the agreed departure date. After this time, as the room was vacated late,
the hotel has the right to charge for the room use exceeding that which was contractually
agreed in an amount of 50% of the full accommodation price up until 18:00
hours and in an amount of 100% after 18:00 hours (price as per price list). This
does not give rise to contractual rights of the customer. The customer is at liberty to
demonstrate that the hotel did not acquire a claim for compensation for use or acquired
a significantly lower claim.
7 LIABILITY OF THE HOTEL
7.1 The hotel is liable for damage which it is accountable for resulting from injury to life,
body or health. It is further liable for other damage which is based on an intentional
or grossly-negligent breach of duty of the hotel or on an intentional or negligent
breach of duties of the hotel typical of the type of contract [vertragstypischen
Pflichten]. Duties typical of the type of contract are those duties which enable the
proper execution of the contract altogether and which the customer relies on being
performed and is able to rely on being performed. A breach of duty of a statutory
representative or person engaged in performance of an obligation of the hotel [Erfüllungsgehilfe]
is equivalent to a breach of duty of the hotel. More far-reaching claims
for damages are excluded unless otherwise provided for in this Section 7. If there
should be any disruptions or deficiencies in the services of the hotel, the hotel shall
endeavor to remedy this when it has knowledge thereof or upon a complaint being
made without undue delay by the customer. The customer is obliged to contribute
what it can be reasonably expected to contribute in order to remedy the disruption
and minimize possible damage.
7.2 The hotel is liable to the customer in accordance with the provisions of statute for
items brought with the customer. The hotel recommends the use of the hotel or
room safe. If the customer wishes to bring with him or her money, securities or valuables
valued at over Euro 800 or other property items valued at over Euro 3,500, a
separate safekeeping agreement must be entered into with the hotel.
7.3 If the customer is provided with a parking space in the hotel garage or in the hotel
parking lot, even if this is for payment, a custody contract is not concluded as a result.
If cars parked or driven on the hotel premises or the contents thereof are lost or
damaged, the hotel is only liable in accordance with sentences 1 to 4 of subsection
7.1 above.
7.4 Wake-up calls are made with great care by the hotel.
Messages for customers are treated with care. After prior agreement with the customer,
the hotel can accept, store and – if desired – dispatch for a charge mail and
consignments of goods. In this connection the hotel is only liable in accordance with
sentences 1 to 4 of subsection 7.1 above.
8 FINAL PROVISIONS
8.1 Alterations and supplements to the contract, to acceptance of the application and to
these General Business Terms and Conditions shall be made in text form. Unilateral
changes or supplements are ineffective.
8.2 The place of performance and payment shall be the location of the hotel and the
courts of the location of the hotel shall have exclusive jurisdiction over commercial
transactions – also over disputes relating to cheques and bills of exchange. If the
customer meets the condition of section 38 (2) German Code of Civil Procedure
(ZPO) and does not have a general place of jurisdiction in Germany, the courts of
the location of the hotel shall have jurisdiction and venue.
8.3 German law shall apply. The application of the UN Convention on Contracts for the
International Sale of Goods and the conflicts of law is excluded.
8.4 In compliance with its statutory obligation the hotel points out that the European
Union has set up an online platform for the extrajudicial resolution of consumer disputes
(“ODR platform”): http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/
The hotel does not, however, participate in dispute resolution proceedings held before
consumer dispute resolution bodies.
© Hotelverband Deutschland (IHA) e.V.