General terms and conditions

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR HOTEL ACCOMMODATION CONTRACTS

1. These terms and conditions apply to the provision for rental use by S.I.R. Betriebsgesellschaft mbH of hotel rooms for lodging, and to all hotel and restaurant services provided and goods supplied to the customer.
2. Subletting or re-letting of the rooms provided for use or their use for purposes other than lodging requires the prior written consent of the hotel.
3. The customer’s own terms and conditions will only apply if expressly agreed in writing beforehand.
4. EU Regulation No 524/2013 on online dispute resolution (ODR) for consumer disputes came into force on January 9, 2016. The purpose of the Regulation is to attain a high level of consumer protection by establishing a European ODR platform. The ODR platform acts as a clearing house to enable rapid, independent, out-of-court online resolution of disputes between consumers and traders.
   The European Commission online dispute resolution platform can be accessed via the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/

Concluding the contract, parties to the contract

1. The contract is concluded by the acceptance by the hotel of the customer’s application. At its discretion, the hotel may confirm the room booking in writing. 2. The parties to the contract are the hotel and the customer.

Services, prices, payments, vouchers

1. The hotel is obliged to make the rooms booked by the customer available and provide the agreed services.
2. The customer is obliged to pay the hotel’s applicable or agreed prices for the use of the room and for any other services used by the customer. This applies also to third party services ordered by the customer and paid for in advance by the hotel. Agreed prices include VAT at 7% for overnight accommodation and 19% for services.
3. Where no due date is shown, hotel invoices are payable with no deductions within 14 days of receipt of the invoice. The hotel is entitled to declare that all outstanding debt is payable at any time and to demand immediate payment.
4. To the extent permitted by legal regulations governing package holidays, the hotel is entitled, at the time the contract is concluded or subsequently, to request an appropriate advance payment or deposit. The amount of the advance payment and the payment date may be agreed in writing in the contract.
5. Discount vouchers cannot be combined and only one voucher may be used per stay.
6. Discount vouchers are not valid for use at social events and conferences.
7. Discount vouchers are only valid during a stay.

Notice: Please note that payment on account is only permitted where the invoiced amount is €150 or greater. If you wish to pay on account for sums of less than €150, we charge a processing fee of €10.

Cancellation by the customer/failure to make use of the hotel services (no show)

1. Cancellation of the contract concluded with the hotel by the customer requires the hotel’s written agreement.
2. If the hotel and customer have agreed a date before which the customer is entitled to withdraw from the contract, the customer may withdraw from the contract up to this date without the hotel acquiring any right to payment or to seek compensation.
3. If the customer fails to make use of rooms provided, the hotel must deduct from the amount owed any income from otherwise renting the rooms and any saved expenditure.
4. The hotel is entitled at its own discretion to demand fulfillment of the contractual agreement and to calculate the amount deducted for saved expenditure on a flat-rate basis. In this case, the customer is obliged to pay at least 80% of the agreed price for overnight accommodation and breakfast.
   
   In addition, please note the following:
   
5. In the event of a no-show or cancellation after 6 p.m., we reserve the right to charge 80% of the agreed price, or to charge to the supplied credit card 80% of the agreed price for the first night.
6. In the event that you reduce the length of your booking while at the hotel or in writing/by telephone on the day of arrival, we will charge you 80% of the agreed price for the following night.
7. Cancellations must be made in writing.

Cancellation by the hotel

1. Where it has been agreed in writing that the customer has the right to withdraw from the contract free of charge before a set date, the hotel also has the right to withdraw from the contract before that date in the event that the hotel receives inquiries about the contractually reserved rooms from other customers and, in response to an inquiry by the hotel, the customer declines to waive its right to withdraw from the contract.
2. The hotel is also entitled to withdraw from the contract should the customer fail to make an agreed payment in advance.
3. The hotel has the right to withdraw from the contract on extraordinary grounds for an objectively justifiable reason, for example in the event of
   – force majeure or other circumstances out of the hotel’s control which render performance of the contract impossible;
   – the hotel having reasonable grounds to believe that use of the hotel services could jeopardize the smooth running of the hotel’s operations, safety, or the hotel’s reputation for reasons which are outside of the hotel’s control or organizational capacity.
4. Should the hotel cancel the contract for justified reasons, the customer is not entitled to any damages.

Room provision, check-in and check-out, bicycle hire

1. The customer does not acquire any entitlement to be provided with specific rooms.
2. Booked rooms are available from 2 p.m. on the agreed date of arrival. The customer has no entitlement to an earlier check-in. An earlier check-in time may be possible by agreement only.
3. Rooms must be vacated by 11 a.m. on the agreed departure date. A later departure time may be possible by agreement only.
4. Before using hotel bicycles, the customer must check for him or herself that the bicycle is in a proper condition. We are not able to accept any defects discovered subsequently and any such defects will not reduce the fee for bicycle hire.

Liability of the hotel

1. The hotel is liable for its obligations under the contract with the diligence of a prudent businessperson. Any claims for damages by the customer are excluded, with the exception of losses arising from injury to life, limb or health where the hotel is responsible for the breach of its obligations, and of other losses arising from breaches of its obligations by the hotel as a result of intent or gross negligence. Any breach of an obligation by a legal representative or person engaged in the performance of an obligation of the hotel will be considered equivalent to a breach of an obligation by the hotel. In the event that services provided by the hotel are disrupted or defective, the hotel will endeavor to remedy these disruptions or defects as soon as it becomes aware of them or as soon as a complaint is made by the customer, as long as this does not occur with undue delay. The customer is obliged to take reasonable measures to assist in resolving the disruption and to minimize any potential losses.
2. The hotel is liable to the customer for items brought into the hotel to the extent set out in statutory regulations (up to one hundred times the room price to a maximum of €3600, and up to €800 for money, securities and valuables). Money, securities and valuables up to a maximum value of €5000 can be stored in the hotel or room safe. Any liability lapses if the customer fails to notify the hotel without delay on becoming aware of any loss, destruction, or damage (Section 703 of the German Civil Code).

Concluding provisions

1. Amendments or additions to the contract, acceptance of the application, or these terms and conditions for hotel accommodation must be made in writing. Unilateral amendments or additions by the customer are ineffective.
2. The place of fulfillment and place of jurisdiction are the hotel’s registered place of business.
3. This contract is governed by German law.
4. Should individual provisions of these terms and conditions for hotel accommodation be or become invalid or void, the validity of the remaining provisions will not be affected. In addition, statutory provisions apply.

Additional agreement for meetings and overnight accommodation

1. The contract is concluded as soon as the room(s) are ordered and confirmed or, if confirmation is not possible due to lack of time, as soon as they are made available for use. Verbal agreements are only effective once they have been confirmed by the hotel in writing.
2. If you are registering multiple people, in particular groups, in order to further our shared interest in ensuring a successful event, a list of delegates should be provided to the hotel at least 5 days before the arrival date.
3. If the information on the booking confirmation does not match the information on the registration, the information provided on the booking confirmation will be deemed to be authoritative for both guest and hotelier if the guest does not avail him or herself of the option to cancel within 7 days.
4. Booked meeting rooms are only available to delegates at the time agreed in writing. Use of the rooms beyond the agreed times requires the hotel’s prior written consent. Booked hotel rooms are available to guests from 2 p.m. on the arrival date until 11 a.m. on the departure date.
5. No refund will be given for services which are ordered but not used.
6. Prices quoted are inclusive prices which include VAT at the currently applicable rate.
   In the event that the applicable rate of VAT changes after the conclusion of the contract, the agreed price changes accordingly.
7. In the event of amendments to or cancellation of booked rooms, meeting rooms or event packages, the following cancellation fees will be charged:

• – Up to 8 weeks before the start of the event, bookings can be canceled free of charge.
• – For cancellations up to 5 weeks before the start of the event, we will charge you 50% of the agreed fee.
• – For cancellations within 4 weeks of the start of the event, we will charge you 80% of the agreed fee.

8. You must notify us of any change in delegate numbers no later than 5 days before the start of the event, otherwise you will be charged for the contractually agreed services for at least the number of delegates originally specified.
9. If, after receiving a quotation, the organizer/purchaser does not respond by 3 days after expiry of the stated option period, the rooms forming the subject of the inquiry will be made available for hire by others without further inquiry.
10. The organizer/purchaser is liable for payment of any additional food or drinks ordered by people attending the event.
11. Wherever possible, problems with the technical and other equipment provided will be resolved immediately. The customer may only refuse to make payment or reduce the amount of payments if the service fails entirely.
12. Our invoices are payable with no deductions within 7 days of the invoice date.
13. We reserve the right to correct any mistakes, printing errors or miscalculations.
14. Should any of the individual provisions of the contract or these conditions be invalid, this does not affect the validity of the remainder of the agreement.
15. To the extent permitted by law, it is agreed that Osnabrück District Court (Amtsgericht Osnabrück) has jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contract and its performance.

Additional agreement for banquets and special events

1. When placing an order, the parties to the contract must inform S.I.R. Betriebsgesellschaft mbH of the number of people expected to attend the event. To enable the event to be properly prepared, S.I.R. Betriebsgesellschaft mbH must be notified in writing of the final number of people attending no less than 14 days before the date of the event. Any change in excess of 3% in the number of attendees requires the consent of S.I.R. Betriebsgesellschaft mbH.
2. In the event that the number of people attending the event exceeds the contractually agreed number of attendees, S.I.R. Betriebsgesellschaft mbH will bill for services provided on the basis of the number of attendees (e.g. per person conference fees, hotel rooms, food and drink) based on the actual number of people attending the event. A reduction of up to 3% in the number of attendees of which we are notified by the customer at least 14 days before the start of the event will be taken into account by S.I.R. Betriebsgesellschaft mbH when billing for the event. Where a change in the number of attendees exceeds this amount, the services booked will be billed at a rate of up to 80% unless the rooms are otherwise rented.
3. If the number of attendees is reduced by more than 10%, S.I.R. Betriebsgesellschaft mbH is entitled to increase the agreed prices appropriately and to swap confirmed meeting rooms, unless this would be unreasonable for the party to the contract. S.I.R. Betriebsgesellschaft mbH may also amend its prices if the party to the contract, with the agreement of S.I.R. Betriebsgesellschaft mbH, subsequently wishes to amend the number of people attending, the services provided by S.I.R. Betriebsgesellschaft mbH, or the duration of the event. If a separable component of a booked event is not used, S.I.R. Betriebsgesellschaft mbH may demand reasonable compensation for the unused component in accordance with statutory regulations.
4. The party to the contract is at liberty to demonstrate that S.I.R. Betriebsgesellschaft mbH has a larger amount of saved expenditure.
5. If the event starts or ends later than agreed without the prior written consent of S.I.R. Betriebsgesellschaft mbH, S.I.R. Betriebsgesellschaft mbH may bill any additional costs for the retention of personnel and equipment, unless S.I.R. Betriebsgesellschaft mbH is itself responsible for the delay.