General terms and conditions for the hotel accommodation contract

Last changed on January 15, 2025

I. Scope

1.1 These terms and conditions apply to contracts for the rental of hotel rooms for accommodation as well as all other services and deliveries provided by the hotel for the customer in this context (hotel accommodation contract). They do not apply to package tours within the meaning of Section 651a of the German Civil Code (BGB). The term “ hotel accommodation contract ” includes and replaces the following terms: accommodation, guest accommodation, hotel, hotel room contract.

1.2 The subletting or further rental 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 the right to termination in accordance with Section 540 Paragraph 1 Sentence 2 of the German Civil Code is waived.

1.3 The customer’s general terms and conditions only apply if this has been expressly agreed in text form.

II. Conclusion of contract and contractual partners
The contractual partners are the hotel and the customer. The contract is concluded when the hotel accepts the customer’s application. In the case of booking via the hotel’s own homepage, the contract is concluded when the “ Yes, book and pay ” button is clicked. If a third party has made the booking for the customer, they are jointly and severally liable to the hotel for all obligations arising from the hotel accommodation contract, provided that the hotel has received a corresponding declaration from the third party.

III. Services, prices, payment and offsetting
3.1 The hotel is obliged to keep the rooms booked by the customer ready and to provide the agreed services.
3.2 The customer is obliged to pay the hotel’s agreed or applicable prices for the provision of the room and the other services used by him. 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.
3.3 The agreed prices include the taxes and local charges applicable at the time the contract is concluded. Not included are local charges that the guest himself is liable to pay under the respective local law, such as tourist tax. If the statutory sales tax changes or local charges on the service object are introduced, changed or abolished after the contract has been concluded, the prices will be adjusted accordingly. For contracts with consumers, this only applies if the period between conclusion of the contract and fulfillment of the contract exceeds four months.
3.4 If payment by invoice has been agreed, payment must be made without deduction within ten days of receipt of the invoice, unless otherwise agreed.
3.5 The hotel is entitled to demand an appropriate 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 can be agreed in writing in the contract. If the customer defaults on payment, the statutory regulations apply.
3.6 In justified cases, for example if the customer is in arrears with payment or if the scope of the contract is expanded, the hotel is entitled to demand an advance payment or security deposit within the meaning of section 3.5 above or an increase in the advance payment or security deposit agreed in the contract up to the full agreed remuneration, even after conclusion of the contract and up to the start of the stay.
3.7 The hotel is also entitled to demand an appropriate advance payment or security deposit from the customer at the beginning and during the stay in accordance with the above clause 3.5 for existing and future claims arising from the contract, provided that such a deposit has not already been made in accordance with the above clause 3.5 and/or clause 3.6.
3.8 The customer can only offset or set off a claim against a claim of the hotel if it is undisputed or legally binding.
3.9 The customer agrees that the invoice can be sent to him electronically.

IV. Withdrawal/termination (“cancellation”) by the customer or failure to use the hotel’s services (“no show”)
4.1 A unilateral termination of the contract concluded with the hotel by the customer is only possible if a right of withdrawal was expressly agreed in the contract or if a statutory right of withdrawal or termination exists.
4.2 If a date for free withdrawal from the contract has been agreed between the hotel and the customer, the customer can withdraw from the contract up to that date without triggering any payment or compensation claims from the hotel. The customer’s right of withdrawal expires if he does not exercise this right in writing to the hotel by the agreed date.
4.3 If a right of withdrawal has not been agreed or has already expired and there is no statutory right of withdrawal or termination, the hotel retains the right to the agreed remuneration despite non-use of the service. The hotel must take into account the income from renting the rooms to other parties and the expenses saved. If the rooms are not rented to other parties, the hotel can make a flat-rate deduction for expenses saved. In this case, the customer is obliged to pay 90% of the contractually agreed price for overnight accommodation with or without breakfast and for package arrangements with third-party services, 70% for half board and 60% for full board arrangements. The customer is free to provide evidence that the aforementioned claim did not arise or did not arise to the required amount.

V. Withdrawal by the hotel

5.1 If it has been agreed that the customer can withdraw from the contract free of charge within a certain period of time, the hotel is entitled to withdraw from the contract during this period if there are requests from other customers for the contractually booked rooms and the customer does not waive his right to withdraw when asked by the hotel within a reasonable period of time. This applies accordingly when an option is granted if there are other requests and the customer is not prepared to make a firm booking when asked by the hotel within a reasonable period of time.

5.2 If an advance payment or security agreed or required in accordance with section 3.5 and/or section 3.6 is not made even after the expiry of a reasonable grace period set by the hotel, the hotel is also entitled to withdraw from the contract.

5.3 Furthermore, the hotel is entitled to withdraw from the contract for good cause, in particular if:

1. force majeure or other circumstances beyond the hotel’s control make fulfillment of the contract impossible;

2. Rooms or spaces are booked negligently using misleading or false information or by concealing important facts; the identity of the customer, their ability to pay or the purpose of the stay can be important in this case;
3. the hotel has reasonable grounds to believe that the use of the service could endanger the smooth running of the business, the security or the public reputation of the hotel, without this being attributable to the hotel’s sphere of control or organization;
4. the purpose or reason for the stay is illegal;
5. there is a violation of the above-mentioned section 1.2.
5.4 The justified withdrawal of the hotel does not give rise to any claim for damages by the customer. If the hotel has a claim for damages against the customer in the event of a withdrawal in accordance with the above section 5.2 or 5.3, the hotel can make a lump sum claim for this. Section 4.3 applies accordingly in this case.

VI. Room provision, handover or return
6.1 The customer does not acquire any right to the provision of specific rooms unless this has been expressly agreed in writing.

6.2 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 provision.

6.3 On the agreed day of departure, the rooms must be vacated and made available to the hotel by 11:00 a.m. at the latest. After that, due to the late vacating of the room, the hotel can charge 50% of the full accommodation price (price according to the price list) for the use of the room beyond the contract until 6:00 p.m., and 90% from 6:00 p.m. This does not give rise to any contractual claims by the customer. The customer is free to prove that the hotel has no or a significantly lower claim to usage fees.

VII. Hotel liability
7.1 The hotel is liable for damages for which it is responsible resulting from injury to life, body or health. It is also liable for other damages that are based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by the hotel or on an intentional or negligent breach of typical contractual obligations by the hotel. Typical contractual obligations are those obligations that make the proper execution of the contract possible in the first place and on whose fulfillment the customer relies and may rely. A breach of duty by the hotel is equivalent to that of a legal representative or vicarious agent. Further claims for damages are excluded unless otherwise regulated in this section 7. If disruptions or defects in the hotel’s services occur, the hotel will endeavor to remedy the situation upon knowledge of the problem or upon immediate complaint by the customer. The customer is obliged to do what is reasonable to remedy the problem and to minimize any possible damage.
7.2 The hotel is liable to the customer for items brought in in accordance with the statutory provisions. The hotel recommends using 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 If the customer is provided with a parking space in the hotel garage or on the hotel car park, even for a fee, this does not constitute a storage contract. In the event of loss or damage to vehicles parked or maneuvered on the hotel property and their contents, the hotel is only liable in accordance with the above section 7.1, sentences 1 to 4.
7.4 Wake-up calls are carried out by the hotel with the utmost care. Messages for customers are handled with care. After prior agreement with the customer, the hotel can accept, store and – if requested – forward mail and goods for a fee. The hotel is only liable in accordance with the above section 7.1, sentences 1 to 4.

VIII. User agreement on the use of an internet connection
8.1. The hotel operates an internet connection. It allows its hotel guests, visitors to seminars in the hotel premises and visitors to the hotel’s own restaurant (all together referred to as “ guest ” and “ guests ”) to share the internet connection for the duration of their stay in the hotel premises. For this purpose, the guest is provided with access to use the internet connections in the hotel premises. Shared use is a service provided by the hotel and can be revoked at any time. By starting to use the internet connection, the guest agrees to the terms of use under VIII.
8.2. The guest does not have the right to allow third parties to use the internet connection. The guest remains responsible for the data transmitted.
8.3. The hotel does not guarantee the actual availability, suitability or reliability of the Internet access for any purpose. It is entitled at any time to stop the operation of the Internet access in whole, in part or temporarily, to allow additional co-users and to restrict or exclude guests’ access in whole, in part or temporarily.
8.4. The guest as a co-user is solely responsible for creating all technical and organizational requirements for using the Internet access.
8.5. The guest is advised that logging into the Internet only enables access to the Internet. Neither virus protection nor a firewall is provided by the hotel. The data traffic generated using the Internet is unencrypted. The data may therefore be viewed by third parties. The hotel expressly points out that there is a risk that malware (e.g. viruses, Trojans, etc.) can reach the end device when using the Internet access. The use of the Internet access is at the guest’s own risk. The hotel assumes no liability for damage to the guest’s computer resulting from the use of the Internet access, unless the damage was caused intentionally or through gross negligence.
8.6. The guest is responsible for the data transmitted via the internet access, the services used and the legal transactions carried out. If the guest visits websites that are subject to a fee or enters into liabilities, the resulting costs must be borne by him. He must indemnify the hotel against any claims for costs. He is obliged to comply with applicable German law when using the internet access.

He will in particular:

• not use the internet access to access or distribute immoral, unlawful or illegal content;

• not illegally copy, distribute or make available any copyrighted goods;

• observe the applicable youth protection regulations;

• not send or distribute any harassing, defamatory or threatening content;

• not use the internet access to send mass messages (spam) and/or other forms of unlawful advertising.

8.7. The guest indemnifies the hotel against all damages and claims from third parties that are based on the guest’s unlawful use of the Internet and/or a violation of this agreement. This also extends to costs and expenses associated with the use or defense against such claims. If the guest recognizes or should recognize that such a violation of law and/or such a violation exists or is imminent, he or she should inform the hotel of this fact.

IV. Final provisions
9.1 Changes and additions to the contract, the acceptance of the application or these general terms and conditions should be made in writing. Unilateral changes or additions are invalid.

9.2 If the customer is a merchant or a legal entity under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for disputes arising from this contract is Potsdam, Brandenburg. The hotel can also choose to sue the customer at the customer’s registered office. The same applies to customers who do not fall under sentence 1 if they are not based or domiciled in an EU member state.

9.3 German law applies. The application of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is excluded.