Terms and conditions for guided tours

1. Position of REGIO and the tour guide; applicable legal regulations

1.1. The tour guide renders the advertised contractual services as direct contractual partner of the guest or the contracting agency as independent service provider. REGIO acts exclusively as service agent of the contract between the guest or the contracting agency of the guided tour and the guide performing the tour.

1.2. Therefore, REGIO is not liable for services, defects of the service, personal or material damages in conjunction with the guided tour. This does not apply, if the guided tour is a contractually arranged service of a package tour or another offer where REGIO is the direct contractual partner of the guest or the contracting agency. A potential liability of REGIO arising from the agency service remains unaffected by this.

1.3. Primarily, the agreements with the tour guide or REGIO as its representative, additionally the terms and conditions, alternatively the legal regulations on the service contract sections 611 et seq. of the German Civil Code apply to the legal relationship between the tour guide and the guest, or the contracting agency of the guided tour. Primarily, the agreements with REGIO, the provisions on the agency of REGIO in the present conditions and alternatively the legal regulations of section 675 of the German Civil Code on agency business against payment apply to the agency relation with REGIO.

1.4. Unless otherwise specified in favour of the guest or the contracting agency in compulsory international and European legal regulations applicable to the contractual relationship with the tour guide or the agency of REGIO, German law is exclusively applicable to the whole legal and contractual relation with the tour guide and REGIO.

2. Conclusion of contract, position of a group contracting agency

2.1 The following applies to all the following booking types:

a) Bookings are only accepted following the provisions on the maximum number of participants in one group (see sec. 3.3 of these terms).

b) If the booking takes place through a third party mentioned as “contracting agency” in these terms, i.e. an institution or a company (private group, adult education centre, school class, association, tour operator, incentive or event agency, travel agency) it is, as the sole contracting agency, the contractual partner of REGIO within the agency contract or of the tour guide within the service contract if he does not explicitly appear as transactional representative of the actual participants according to the concluded agreements. In this case, the contracting agency is responsible for the full payment liability in regard to the agreed payment or other contractual payment claims.

c) REGIO would like to point out that according to the legal regulations (section 312g paragraph 2 sentence 1 no. 9 of the German Civil Code) that there is no right of revocation for contracts on guided tours as service contracts in connection with leisure activities which were made by distance selling (letters, catalogues, phone calls, faxes, e-mails, messages via mobile phone (SMS) as well as broadcasting programmes and telemedia). Instead, only the legal regulations on the non-utilisation of services (section 611 et seq., 615 German Civil Code) apply (see also sec. 6. and 7. of these terms). However, there is a right of revocation if the contract was not made by distance selling but outside of the business premises, unless the oral proceedings which the conclusion of the contract is based on were carried out due to previous order of the customer. If the latter case applies, there also is no right of revocation.

2.2. For bookings made in written form, via fax or e-mail:

a) With their booking, the guest or the contracting agency bindingly offers the respective tour guide, represented by REGIO as transactional representative, the conclusion of a service contract based on the performance specification for the respective tour and these terms and gives REGIO the order to act as service agent.

b) The service contract on the guided tour is effected by the booking confirmation which is made by REGIO as representative of the tour guide. No specific form is needed. Usually, REGIO, except in the case of very short-term bookings, will send the guest or the contracting agency a written copy of the booking confirmation. In the case of binding bookings via telephone, the agreement is validated independent of the admission of the written copy of the booking confirmation and a possible agreed advance payment.

2.3. For bookings without individual communication via online-booking (contract via electronic business transactions), the following is valid for the conclusion of the contract:

a) By pushing the button “book and pay”, the guest bindingly offers the tour guide the conclusion of the service contract on the guided tour and gives REGIO the order to act as service agent. The guest immediately receives an electronic confirmation of the receipt of their booking.

b) The submission of the contractual offer by pushing the button “book and pay” does not support a claim of the guest or the contracting agency that the service contract with the tour guide must be effected according to their booking information. The tour guide or REGIO as their representative is free to decide whether they want to accept the contractual offer or not.

c) With the acceptance of the request to act as service agent, REGIO assumes no warrantyand no risk of procurement concerning the fact that an actual contract in accordance with the booking of the guest or the contracting agency can be effected with the tour guide.

d) The contract is effective when the booking confirmation arrives at the guest or the contracting agency, which is carried out by REGIO as a service agent and representative of the tour guide. No specific form is needed for the booking confirmation.

e) The booking confirmation is either sent out immediately after the booking of the guest or the contracting agency by pushing the button “book and pay” by a corresponding statement on the screen (booking in real time) or – after a corresponding electronic conformation of receipt of the booking of the guest or the contracting agency – after the submission of the booking in the indicated or agreed written form, via e-mail or fax.

f) In the case of an immediate booking confirmation in real time on the screen, the contracting agency has the option to save and print the booking confirmation. However, the liability of the service contract with the tour guide or the of the agency contract with REGIO is independent from the fact that the guest or the contracting agency uses the option to save or print.

g) As a general rule, REGIO sends the guest or the contracting agency a copy of the booking confirmation via e-mail, e-mail attachment, mail or fax in addition to the booking confirmation shown on the screen. Again, the access of such an additional copy of the booking confirmation is not a condition for the legal validity of the service contract with the tour guide.

3. Services, replacement reservation; deviating agreement; alteration of fundamental services; duration of the guided tours; weather conditions

3.1. The service owed consists of the guided tour according to the service specifications and the additional agreements.

3.2. The maximum amount of participants is 35 people if not indicated otherwise in the specifications on the guided tour. Bookings for larger groups with more than 35 people can only be made if several additional tour guides are booked.

3.3. Unless otherwise expressly agreed, the guided tour does not have to be given by one specific tour guide. The choice of the tour guide according to the necessary qualification is incumbent upon REGIO.

3.4. Even in the case of a designation or an express agreement on a specific tour guide, the right is reserved to substitute them due to compelling reasons (in particular owing to illness) with another suitable and qualified tour guide.

3.5. The scope of the services owed is stated in the service specifications and the additional agreements. Information and warranties by third parties or agreements with them (in particular travel agencies, accommodation providers, transportation companies, restaurants, museums or other sites) concerning the scope of the contractual services which are not in agreement with the service specification or with the agreements with REGIO and/or the tour guide are not binding for REGIO and the tour guide.

3.6. Information concerning the duration of the guided tours is only approximate.

3.7. The following applies to the weather conditions and their effect on arranged guided tours:

a) As far as it has not been explicitly agreed on otherwise, the arranged guided tours take place under any weather condition.

b) Weather conditions do not give the guest or the contracting agency the right to withdraw without payment or to terminate the contract with the tour guide. This does only not apply if the body, health or property of the guest or the participants of the contracting agency at the guided tour are affected so substantially by the weather conditions that the guided tour is objectively intolerable for the guest or the contracting agency and their participants.

c) If such conditions are the case before the beginning of the tour or if they can be objectively expected before the beginning of the tour for the agreed time of the tour, the guest or the contracting agency as well as the tour guide or REGIO reserve the right to terminate the contract for the guided tour ordinarily as well as extraordinarily.

d) In case of such a termination by the tour guide or REGIO as their representative, the guest or the contracting agency has no claim to refund of payments, in particular travel costs and payments for accommodation, unless such contractual or legal claims of the guest or the contracting agency to compensation or reimbursement of expenses are justified.

4. Prices and payment

4.1. The agreed prices include the guided tour and additional issued or agreed services.

4.2. Entrance fees, costs of meals as well as transportation costs with public and private means of transportation, city maps, brochures, museum guides, costs of guided tours of the sites visited within the context of the guided tour are only included in the agreed price if they have been expressly or additionally listed in the services of the guided tour.

4.3. Unless otherwise agreed, in particular in regard to a down payment, the agreed fee is due in cash at the beginning of the guided tour. Checks or credit cards will not be accepted. Payment by vouchers is only possible if they have been issued by REGIO and if they are valid for the particular tour. Vouchers issued by third parties are only valid with an express agreement to that effect with REGIO.

4.4. As an authorised collection agent for the tour guide, REGIO can declare a down payment of 20 % of the total amount and a residual payment due after the conclusion of the contract or – relinquishing a down payment – the total payment four weeks before the beginning of the guided tour if this is explicitly mentioned in the booking confirmation sent to the guest or the contracting agency.

4.5. As far as the tour guide is prepared to provide the contractual services and in a position to do this and if there is no legal or contractual offset right or right of retention on the part of the guest or the contracting agency towards the tour guide or REGIO, the tour guide or REGIO as their representative have the right, if agreed down payments are not paid within the agreed period despite an appropriate deadline or if the payment is not made entirely before the beginning of the guided tour, to withdraw from the service contract on the guided tour or the agency contract and to charge the cancellation fees according to sec. 7 of these terms from the guest or the contracting agency.

5. Rebooking; changes of the invoice address

5.1. After the conclusion of the contract, the guest or the contracting agency has no claim to change the date of the guided tour, the time, the starting or end point (rebooking). If a rebooking is nevertheless done on the request of the guest or the contracting agency, REGIO can charge a rebooking fee up to six working days before the beginning of the tour. If not otherwise agreed in the individual case before the assurance of the rebooking, the fee amounts to EUR 15 per rebooking. The guest or the contracting agency has the right to prove to REGIO that the costs of the rebooking were significantly lower than the agreed fee. In this case, the guest or the contracting agency only has to pay the lower fee.

5.2. Rebooking requests of the contracting agency which are presented later than six days before the beginning of the guided tour can only be fulfilled, if they can be fulfilled at all, if a withdrawal from the service contract with the tour guide according to sec. 7 of these terms and a new booking are made at the same time.

6. Nonuse of services

6.1. If the guest or the contracting agency do not use the agreed services completely or partially, in particular by no-show or non-appearance for the guided tour without termination of the contract, although the tour guide is prepared and able render the service, and if this cannot be supported by the tour guide or REGIO, there is no claim to refunds of advance payments.

6.2. For the agreed fee, the following legal regulation is valid (sequence 615 sentence 1 and 2 of the German Civil Code):

a) The agreed fee has to be paid without claim to the service on a different date.

b) However, the tour guide must be credit saved expenses to the fee as well as a fee which they obtain by use elsewhere of the agreed services or fails to obtain with malice.

7. Termination and cancellation by the guest or the contracting agency

7.1. The guest or the contracting agency can give notice of cancellation of the contract with the tour guide after the conclusion of the contract up to six days before the beginning of the service without paying a fee. No particular form is needed for the termination. However, a written termination is strongly advised.

7.2. If the contract is terminated by the guest or the contracting agency from the fifth to the third working day before the beginning of the guided tour, REGIO charges a processing fee of 20 % of the agreed total fee of the guided tour which compensates corresponding claims of the tour guide concerning the termination of the service contract. The guest or the contracting agency has the right to prove to REGIO that the actual costs or the loss were significantly lower. In this case, the guest or the contracting agency only has to pay the lower costs or expenses.

7.3. In case the contract is terminated less than three working days before the beginning of the guided tour and on the day of the guided tour, the total sum has to be paid. However, the tour guide must credit saved expenses as well as a fee that he obtains by use elsewhere of the agreed services or fails to obtain with malice. Saved expenses concerning additional services to the tour, in particular for bus transport, food, drink, entrance fees etc. only have to be reimbursed insofar by the tour guide or REGIO to the guest or the contracting agency as there is a legal or contractual claim to refunds or reimbursement against the respective service providers and as it can be actually obtained by them.

7.4. For the time limits mentioned above, the time of receipt of the termination declaration of the guest or the contracting agency by REGIO during its public and/or indicated opening hours is decisive. Termination declarations are only to be sent to REGIO as representative of the tour guide.

7.5. The termination agreements mentioned above do not affect legal or contractual termination rights of the guest or the contracting agency in case of defects of the services provided by the tour guide or the agency services of REGIO as well as other legal warranty claims.

8. Liability or the tour guide and REGIO; insurances

8.1. Refer to 1.2 of these contractual terms for the liability of REGIO.

8.2. A liability of the tour guide for damage that is not personal injury is excluded, as long as the damage was not caused deliberately or through gross negligence by the tour guide.

8.3. The tour guide is not liable for services, measures or omissions by food establishments, facilities, sightseeing agencies or other offers visited in the context of a guided tour, unless culpable breach of duty by the tour guide was responsible or concurrently responsible for causing the damage.

8.4. The agreed contractual services contain insurance for the benefit of the guests or the contracting agency only if this is expressly agreed. It is expressly recommended that the guest or contracting agency take out travel cancellation insurance.

9. Tour times, obligations of the guest or the contracting agency

9.1. When booking, or in good time before the agreed date of the tour, the guest or the contracting agency must provide a mobile phone number, under which contact can be made with you in the case of extraordinary circumstances. Normally REGIO will also provide the guest or a designated person with the corresponding mobile phone number of the tour guide giving the tour.

9.2. Agreed tour times must be punctually adhered to. If the guest is late, they are obliged to inform the tour guide of this at the latest by the time of the agreed start of the tour and to specify the estimated time of late arrival. The tour guide can refuse a later start to the tour, if the delay is objectively impossible or unreasonable, in particular if subsequent tours or other compelling business or private appointments of the tour guide cannot be adhered to. Delays of more than 30 minutes entitle the tour guide generally to refuse the tour. In this case, the regulation under sec. 6. of these terms applies to the claim to remuneration of the tour guide.

9.3. If the guest, the group or the contracting agency indicate a late arrival with a delay of more than 30 minutes at the agreed or indicated place or the start of the tour, the tour guide can, as long as he does not exercise his right to cancel the tour, demand a payment of EUR 20 for the waiting time over 30 minutes for each commenced half hour.

9.4. The guest or the representative of the group contracting agency is obliged to immediately notify the tour guide of possible defects in the tour and agreed services and to request relief. Possible claims arising from defective or incomplete services by the tour guide are only cancelled if this notification of defects is culpably omitted.

9.5. The guest or the contracting agency are only entitled to discontinuance or cancellation of the tour after the tour has started, if the performance of the guided tour is considerably defective and, despite a notification of defects to that effect, corrective action for these defects is not taken. In case of an unjustified discontinuance or cancellation, the claim to a fee still continues to exist. This does not affect the warranty claims of the guest or the contracting agency in case of a defective performance of the guided tour.

10. Place of jurisdiction

10.1. As long as full payment on the spot to the tour guide or REGIO is agreed, the place of performance and jurisdiction is the place where the tour is given.

10.2. The guest or the contracting agency may only file a complaint against the tour guide or REGIO at their place of general jurisdiction.

10.3. For complaints filed by the tour guide or REGIO against the guest or the contracting agency, the place of general jurisdiction of the guest or the contracting agency is decisive. If the contracting agency is a businessman or a legal entity under public or private law or if the guest or the contracting agency has no place of general jurisdiction in Germany, then the exclusive place of jurisdiction for complaints by the tour guide or REGIO is their place of residence or head office.

© Copyright protected; Attorney Rainer Noll Stuttgart, 2016