General terms and conditions of Hotel Alster-Hof Liselotte Bleyer GmbH for the hotel accommodation contract
I. Scope of Application
1. These terms and conditions apply to contracts for the renting of hotel room accommodation, as well as for all further services provided to customers by the Hotel Alster-Hof Liselotte Bleyer GmbH, Esplanade 12, 20354 Hamburg, (hereinafter referred to as “Hotel”).
2. The subletting or letting of the rented rooms, as well as their use for purposes other than accommodation, public invitations or other promotional measures for interviews, sales and similar events and the use of the hotel´s facilities outside of the rented rooms for the above mentioned events, require the prior written consent of the hotel and can be subject to the payment of an additional charge. § 540, Paragraph 1 Sentence 2 of the German Civil Code shall not apply, provided the customer is not a consumer.
3. The customer´s business terms & conditions only apply if they were explicitly approved beforehand.
II. Conclusion of the Contract, Contractual Parties, Statute of Limitations
1. The contract comes into effect when the hotel accepts the customer’s application. The hotel may optionally confirm the room reservation in writing.
2. The contractual parties are the hotel and the customer. If a third party placed the order on behalf of the customer, he is liable towards the hotel, together with the customer, as joint and several debtor, for all obligations arising from the hotel accommodation contract, provided the hotel holds a relevant statement issued by the third party.
3. It is the customer´s duty to notify the hotel accordingly and spontaneously, at the latest, at the time of conclusion of the contract, should the use of the hotel services entail any risk to the smooth running of business operations, the security, or the hotel´s reputation in the public domain.
4. All claims against the hotel shall expire, in principle, one year after the commencement of the limitation period of the § 199 para. 1 BGB (German civil code), provided that the customer is informed about these terms. Claims for damages expire after five years, without the customer needing to be made aware thereof. Reductions of limitation shall not apply to claims based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of obligation on behalf of the hotel.
III. Services, Prices, Payment, Invoicing
1. The hotel is obliged to maintain the room booked by the customer available and to provide the agreed services.
2. The customer is obliged to pay for the provided room and the additional services used by the customer, at the applicable or agreed prices of the hotel. This also applies to services provided to third parties and the subsequent expenses incurred by the hotel.
3. The agreed prices include the respective applicable VAT. If more than four months have passed between contract conclusion and contract performance and the legal sales tax was subject to alterations with this period, the rates will be adjusted accordingly.
4. If the time period between contract conclusion and contract performance exceeds 5 months, and an increase in the rates generally charged by the hotel for these types of service occurs, the contractually agreed rate can be increased appropriately, however, by a maximum of 10%. For every additional year of the period between contract conclusion and contract performance in excess of the four months, the maximum limit increases by an additional 5%. However, rate changes pursuant to paragraph 2 remain unaffected.
5. Invoices issued by the hotel must be settled without any reduction, within 10 days following delivery of the invoice, insofar as nothing else is agreed. The hotel is entitled to claim payment of accumulated bills at any time and to demand immediate payment. If payment is delayed, the hotel is entitled to demand the respectively applicable statutory default interest, to the current amount of 8%, for legal transactions in which a consumer is involved, to an amount of 5% above the base interest rate. The hotel reserves the right to prove and claim higher damages.
6. For each reminder sent after occurrence of default, the customer shall pay collection expenses to the amount of Euro 5,- to the hotel. The customer has the right to supply evidence that none, or lower costs occurred.
7. Upon contract conclusion or at a later time, the hotel is entitled to require an adequate down-payment or security deposit, taking into account the legal provisions for package holidays. The amount of the advance payment and the payment deadlines can be agreed in writing in the contract.
8 The customer can only offset or reduce against a claim on behalf of the hotel on the basis of an undisputed or legally enforceable claim.
IV. Withdrawal of the customer/order cancellation, non-use of the hotel’s services (no-show)
1. The withdrawal of a customer from the contract concluded with the hotel, requires the written approval of the hotel. If this is not obtained, the agreed price in the contract is to be paid, even if the customer does not make use of the contractual services. This does not apply to a breach of the obligation on behalf of the hotel to take into account the rights, legal interests and other interests of the customer, if the customer cannot be reasonably expected to uphold the contract, or if he is entitled to any other statutory or contractual right of withdrawal.
2. If a date was agreed in writing in the contract between the hotel and the customer for withdrawal from the contract free-of-charge, the customer may withdraw from the contract up to this date, without the hotel initiating claims for payment or compensation for damages. The customer’s right to withdraw expires if he/she does not file their right to withdrawal to the hotel in writing by the agreed date, insofar as the case does not constitute withdrawal of the customer according to paragraph 1, section 3.
3. The rate charged for the room not used by the customer, will be calculated by the hotel according to the revenue that would have been received if the room had been rented to another person, deducting any expenses not incurred as a result.
4. The hotel has the option to demand the contractually agreed compensation and to perform a flat-rate deduction for expenses not incurred as a result. In such a case, the customer is obliged to pay at least 90% of the contractually agreed price for the planned stay, with or without breakfast. The customer is free to prove that the above-mentioned claim was not incurred, or not incurred to the amount claimed.
V. Withdrawal of the hotel
1. If the right to a free-of-charge right of withdrawal by the customer within the specified time period was agreed in writing, the hotel is entitled to withdraw from the contract within this time period if they receive booking enquiries from other customers for the contractually reserved room, and if the customer does not waive his/her right to withdrawal on request by the hotel. This applies accordingly if an option is granted and there are other booking requests and the customer is not willing to place a firm booking on the hotel´s request
2. If a prepayment, which was agreed or claimed pursuant to III. paragraph 7, is not paid, even after expiry of a reasonable time limit set by the hotel, then the hotel is likewise entitled to withdraw from the contract.
3. Furthermore, the hotel is entitled to withdraw extraordinarily from the contract for a relevant and legal reason, for example, if – force majeure or any other circumstance beyond the hotel´s control prevent the performance of the contract:
– Hotel services booked on the basis of misleading or false information regarding significant circumstances, e.g., regarding the customer´s identity or the customer´s intentions or his/her visit purposes,
– The hotel has good reason to believe that the use of the hotel’s services might jeopardise the smooth operation of its business, safety or public reputation, being beyond the control of the management or the hotel´s administrative domain:
– In the case of a violation of I, paragraph 2.
4. In the case of a legal withdrawal on behalf of the hotel, the customer shall not be entitled to any compensation claims.
VI. Provision of rooms, handover and return of rooms
1. The customer is not entitled to claim the provision of specific rooms.
2. The booked room is available to the customer as from 2 pm on the agreed day of arrival. The customer is not entitled to claim earlier provision of accommodation. Insofar as no later arrival time was explicitly agreed or the respective room was prepaid, after 6 pm, the hotel is entitled to allocate booked rooms to other customers,without the customer being entitled to raise a claim against the hotel to this effect. Any claims on behalf of the hotel and pursuant to IV remain unaffected from this rule. There is no obligation of allocation to another customer.
3. On the agreed day of departure, the hotel’s rooms are to be vacated no later than 12 pm and placed at the hotel´s disposal. After this time, the hotel can charge 50% of the full accommodation rate (list price) for the delayed vacating of the room and its non-contractual use until 6 pm and 100%, after 6 pm. Contractual claims on behalf of the customer are hereby not substantiated. He/she is free to prove that no claim, or a significantly lower claim for compensation arose for the hotel.
VII. The Hotel´s Liability
1. The hotel is liable for its obligations under the contract with the diligence of a prudent businessman. Claims for compensation on the customer´s behalf are excluded. This excludes damages due to injury to life, limb or health if the hotel is responsible for the breach of duty, as well as other damages based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of obligation on behalf of the hotel and damages due to an intentional or negligent violation of the typical contractual obligations of the hotel. A breach of obligation by a legal representative or agent is equal to that of the hotel itself. If the hotel’s services are disrupted or flawed, the hotel will endeavour to remedy the situation upon being made aware by the customer or upon receipt of a prompt complaint. The customer is obliged to contribute with any reasonable possible action in order to remedy the disruption and minimise possible damages.
2. The hotel assumes liability towards the customer for property brought into the hotel to the extent defined by the legal provisions. Cash, securities and valuables up to a maximum value of Euro 800,- can be stored in the hotel safe. The hotel recommends to make use of this possibility. The claims for liability expire unless the customer notifies the hotel immediately after becoming aware of the loss, destruction or damage (§ 703 BGB). For a more extensive liability of the hotel, the above-mentioned paragraph 1, lines 2 to 4, apply accordingly.
3. Wake-up calls are performed by the hotel with the utmost care. The customer´s messages, postal and product packages are handled with care. The hotel will deliver, hold, and upon request, dispatch them for a fee. The above mentioned Paragraph 1, lines 2 to 4, apply accordingly.
VIII. Final Provisions
1. Changes or amendments to the contract, application acceptance for hotel accommodation, or these terms and conditions, must occur in writing. Unilateral changes or amendments by the customer shall not be valid.
2. The place of performance and payment is the location of the hotel.
3. The exclusive place of jurisdiction for commercial transactions – also for cheque and exchange disputes – is the location of the hotel. Insofar as contractual partner fulfils the requirements of § 38 Paragraph 2 ZPO and has no general place of jurisdiction in Germany, the place of jurisdiction is the location of the hotel.
4. German law applies. The application of the UN sales law and conflict of laws are excluded.
5. If any provisions of these terms and conditions become invalid or void for hotel accommodation, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. In this case, the parties shall agee on a new arrangement, which corresponds as close as possible to the meaning of the invalid or void rules.
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