Terms and Conditions of guest admission and mediation

1. Function of REGIO; scope of these Terms and Conditions

1.1 REGIO operates and/or publishes the websites of the respective host directories. Insofar as REGIO mediates accommodations, they additionally assume the function of a travel agent. REGIO does, however, under no circumstances assume the function of a contractual partner for the guest admission contract concluded in case of a booking. Accordingly, they are not liable for any information provided by the host with regard to prices and services, for the provision of services and for defects in performance.

1.2 Any liability assumed by REGIO in connection with the mediation contract and due to statutory provisions, particularly pursuant to mandatory regulations for teleservices and e-commerce transactions, remains unaffected thereof.

1.3 These Terms and Conditions apply for legally effective guest admission contracts concluded on the basis of the host directories, catalogues or accommodation offers published on websites by REGIO.

1.4 The hosts reserve the right to agree on guest admission terms other than the terms indicated herein, as well as the right to agree on terms which apply in addition or in lieu of these Terms and Conditions of Guest Admission.

2. Conclusion of contracts

2.1 The following applies for all booking types:

a) The accommodation description and the supplementary information detailed in the booking basis (e.g. explanations of classification) are the basis of the offer of the host and of the booking of the guest, provided they were available to the guest during booking.

b) It is required by law that the guest be informed that there is no right of revocation pursuant to the statutory provisions (Section 312 Paragraph 2 Sentence 1 Clause 9 of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB) [German Civil Code] for guest admission contracts concluded remotely (letters, catalogues, phone calls, faxes, emails, messages transferred via mobile services (SMS) and broadcasting and telemedia), and that only the statutory regulations regarding the non-utilisation of rental services (Section 537 BGB) apply. A right of revocation does, however, apply provided the guest admission contract was concluded outside of business premise, unless the oral negotiations the conclusion of the contract is based on were conducted by you as a consumer after submitting an order; in the aforementioned case, no right of revocation exists either.

2.2 The following applies for bookings which were submitted orally, by phone, in writing, via email or fax:

a) By submitting the booking, the guest furnishes the host with a binding offer to conclude the guest admission contract.

b) The contract is concluded upon the guest receiving the declaration of acceptance (booking confirmation) from the host. It does not require a specific form, which is why confirmations given orally or over the phone are also binding for the guest and host. The host will usually provide the guest with a written copy of the booking confirmation in case a booking confirmation was given orally or over the phone. Bookings submitted by the guest orally or over the phone also cause the binding conclusion of a contract, if the guest does not receive an additional written copy of the booking confirmation after receiving a binding confirmation orally or over the phone.

c) In case the host provides the guest with a special offer at the request of the guest, this constitutes a binding offer by the host to the guest for concluding a contract irrespective of the foregoing regulations, provided this is not considered non-binding information on available accommodations and prices. In this case, the contract is concluded without requiring a corresponding reconfirmation of the host, provided the host accepts this offer within a period indicated in the offer, if any, which is not subject to any restrictions, changes or amendments by means of a clear statement, down-payment, final payment or utilisation of the accommodations.

2.3 The following applies for the conclusion of a contract for bookings submitted over the internet or via mobile apps:

a) By clicking the button “Confirm booking”, the guest furnishes the host with a binding offer for concluding a contract. The submission of an offer for concluding a contract does not constitute a guarantee for the guest for the conclusion of a guest admission contract in accordance with the information supplied in the booking offer. The host is rather entitled to choose if they wish to accept the guest’s offer or not.

b) The contract is concluded upon the guest receiving the booking confirmation from the host in the form of a corresponding display on the screen (real-time booking) or on the screen of the mobile device. The guest has the option to save and – for online bookings – to print the booking confirmation. The host or REGIO will usually provide the guest with a copy of the booking confirmation via email, email attachment, mail or fax in addition. The receipt of such an additional booking confirmation is equally not required for the guest admission contract to be legally binding, however.

3. Prices and services

3.1 The prices indicated in the booking basis (host directory, offer of the host, internet) are final prices and are inclusive of the statutory VAT and all ancillary costs, unless the ancillary costs are otherwise provided for. Resort/Visitor taxes as well as fees for consumption-based services (e.g. electricity, gas, water, firewood) and for selective and supplementary services, which are only booked or utilised on location, may occur or be accounted for separately.

3.2 The services owed by the host exclusively arise from the contents of the booking confirmation, the information on the accommodation and services of the host in the booking basis, and e.g. from agreements entered into with you explicitly.

4. Payment

4.1. The maturity of down-payments and final payments is based on the agreement made between the guest and the host which is indicated in the booking confirmation. If no specific agreement was made, the full price for the accommodation including all fees for ancillary costs and supplementary services will be payable to the host at the end of the stay.

4.2 The host may demand a down-payment of up to 20% of the full price for the accommodation services and booked supplementary services, unless another agreement was reached with regard to the amount of the down-payment in individual cases.

4.3 The host may invoice and demand payment for previous days of stay and for supplementary services (e.g. boarding services and items taken from the minibar, which are not included in the accommodation price) for stays of more than 1 week after their expiry.

4.4 Payment in foreign currencies is not available. Credit card payments are only possible if agreed on or generally offered by the host through notices. Payment by money transfer is not available at the end of the stay.

4.5 In case the guest neglects to make the full agreed-on down-payment despite a payment reminder from the host, which is subject to a reasonable deadline, the host is entitled to withdraw from the contract with the guest and to demand payment of withdrawal costs pursuant to Clause 5 of these Terms and Conditions, provided the host is able and ready to render the contractually agreed-on services and provided the guest has no statutory or contractual right of retention.

5. Withdrawal and no-show

5.1. In case the guest withdraws from the contract or is a no-show, the host’s claim for payment of the agreed-on accommodation price including board and the fees for supplementary services persists. This does not apply in case the host granted the guest a gratuitous right of withdrawal in individual cases, provided the guest notified the host of exercising the gratuitous right of withdrawal in time; the notice does not require a specific form.

5.2 The host shall endeavour to make other use of the accommodation within the framework of ordinary business without applying extra efforts and taking into account the specific nature of the booked accommodation (e.g. non-smoking room, family room).

5.3 If the host is able to make other use of the accommodation for the time booked by the guest, they will be credited saved expenses from such other use with regard to their claims pursuant to Clause 5.1.

5.4 Pursuant to the percentages for measuring saved expenses which are recognised by case-law, the guest shall undertake to pay to the host the following amounts, taking into account any eligible amounts pursuant to Clause 5.3, in each case with regard to the full price of the accommodation services (including all ancillary costs), yet exclusive of visitor taxes:

For holiday apartments/accommodations without board: 90%                               
For overnight stays/breakfast: 80%
For half board: 70%
For full board: 60%

5.5 The guest explicitly reserves the right to prove to the host that the saved expenses are materially higher than the aforementioned deductions that were taken into account, and/or that there was another utilisation of the accommodation services or other services. If such proof is provided, the guest shall only pay the respective lower amount.

5.6 We highly recommend that the guest take out travel cancellation insurance.

5.7 The withdrawal declaration shall be directed to the host directly for all bookings and should be made in writing in the interest of the guest.

6. Arrival and departure

6.1. The following provisions apply, unless otherwise agreed on between the guest and the host in individual cases.6.2. The guest is required to arrive at the agreed-on time, and no later than at 06:00 p.m. in case no specific agreement was made.

6.3. The following applies for late arrivals:

a) The guest shall notify the host no later than at the agreed-on time of arrival in case of a late arrival or if the guest wishes to move into the accommodation on a subsequent day in case of multi-day stays.

b) Should the guest not inform the host in time, the host is entitled to assign the accommodation otherwise. The provisions of Clause 5 respectively apply for the time in which the accommodation is unoccupied.

c) Should the guest inform the host of a late arrival, the guest shall pay the agreed-on price minus saved expenses pursuant to Clauses 5.4 and 5.5 even for the unclaimed occupancy time, unless the host is required to pay for the delayed occupancy for contractual or legal reasons.

6.4 The guest shall clear the accommodation at the agreed-on time, and no later than at 11:00 a.m. on the day of departure in case no specific agreement was made. The host is entitled to charge an extra fee in case the accommodation is not cleared on time. The host reserves the right to assert any further damage.

7. Obligations of the guest; termination by the guest or by the host

7.1 The guest shall treat the accommodation and its facilities as well as all facilities of the host only as intended, and in accordance with the usage regulations (e.g. for pools and sauna), if any, and to be diligent in their use.

7.2 The guest shall comply with any house or court rules made available to them, and which could reasonably be expected to be known to the guest due to relevant notices.

7.3 The guest shall examine the accommodation and its facilities upon moving in and notify the host of any obvious defects or damage at once.

7.4 The guest shall notify the host of the occurrence of any defects and disruptions and demand their rectification. Should the guest culpably neglect to notify the host of any defects, any claims of the guest towards the host may fully or partially lapse.

7.5 The guest may only terminate the contract in case of material defects or disruptions. The guest shall first set the host an appropriate deadline for rectifying the defects in connection with the notification of defects, unless a rectification is impossible, in case the host refuses such rectification, or in case the immediate termination is objectively justified due to a specific interest of the guest which the host is aware of, or in case the guest cannot be reasonably expected to continue the stay for such reasons.

8. Disclaimer

8.1 The liability of the host, which arises from the guest admission contract pursuant to Section 536a BGB for any damage not resulting from injury to live, limb or health, is excluded, unless it is based on an intentional or grossly negligent violation of an obligation by the host or by a legal representative or agent of the host.

8.2 Any innkeeper’s liability on part of the host for brought-in items pursuant to Sections 701 et seqq. BGB remains unaffected by this provision.

8.3 The host does not assume any liability for any defaults related to services which were only mediated, if it was clear to the guest that the services were third-party services (e.g. excursions, entrance tickets, tickets for transportation services, sports events, theatre visits, exhibitions etc.). The same also applies for third-party services, which were already mediated with the booking of the accommodation, provided the services in question were explicitly identified as third-party services.

9. Alternative dispute resolution; governing law and place of jurisdiction

9.1. In view of the law on consumer dispute resolution, the host hereby points out that material provisions of this law were not yet in effect when these Terms and Conditions of Guest Admission were printed. The host does currently not participate in a voluntary consumer dispute resolution. In case the participation in a facility for consumer dispute resolution became mandatory after these Terms and Conditions of Guest Admission were printed, the guest will be notified thereof accordingly. Please refer to the European Online Dispute Resolution Platform under http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/ for all guest admission contracts concluded in the course of electronic legal transactions.

9.2 The contractual relationship between the host and the guest is exclusively governed by German law. The same applies for other legal relationships accordingly.

9.3 The guest may only sue the host at the host’s place of business.

9.4 The place of residence of the guest is decisive for any legal actions of the host against the guest. The place of business of the host is agreed on as place of jurisdiction for any legal actions against guests who are merchants, legal entities under public or private law, or individuals with their place of residence/business or habitual residence abroad, or with an unknown place of residence/business or habitual residence at the time legal proceedings were initiated.

9.5 The foregoing provisions do not apply, provided applicable, non-negotiable provisions of the European Union or other international provisions apply to the contract.

© Copyrighted; RA [Attorney at Law] Noll, Stuttgart, 2004-2016