General Terms and Conditions for the Hotel Accommodation Agreement
1. Scope
1.1. These Terms and Conditions apply to contracts for the rental of hotel rooms for lodging, as well as to all other services and supplies provided by the hotel to the guest in this context (Hotel Accommodation Contract). The term “Hotel Accommodation Agreement” encompasses and replaces the following terms: lodging agreement, guest accommodation agreement, hotel agreement, hotel room agreement, seminar agreement, conference agreement, and conference package.
1.2. The subletting or re-letting of the rooms provided, as well as their use for purposes other than lodging, require the prior written consent of the hotel; in this regard, Section 540(1), sentence 2 of the German Civil Code (BGB) is excluded, provided that the customer is not a consumer.
1.3. The Customer’s general terms and conditions shall apply only if this has been expressly agreed to in writing in advance.
2. Conclusion of the Contract, Contracting Parties, Limitation Period
2.1. The contract is concluded upon the hotel’s acceptance of the customer’s request. The hotel is free to confirm the room reservation in writing.
2.2. The contracting parties are the hotel and the customer. If a third party has made the reservation on behalf of the customer, that third party is jointly and severally liable with the customer to the hotel for all obligations arising from the hotel accommodation contract, provided the hotel has received a corresponding declaration from the third party.
2.3. All claims against the hotel generally become time-barred one year after the statutory commencement of the limitation period. Claims for damages become time-barred after five years, regardless of whether the hotel has knowledge of the claim. The shortened limitation periods do not apply to claims.
3. Services, Prices, Payment, Set-off
3.1. The hotel is obligated to reserve the rooms booked by the customer and to provide the agreed-upon services.
3.2. The customer is obligated to pay the hotel’s agreed-upon or applicable rates for room occupancy and any additional services the customer has utilized. This also applies to services and expenses incurred by the hotel on behalf of third parties at the customer’s request. The agreed-upon rates include the applicable statutory value-added tax.
3.3. The hotel may make its consent to a subsequent reduction requested by the customer in the number of booked rooms, the hotel’s services, or the length of the customer’s stay contingent upon an increase in the price for the rooms and/or for the hotel’s other services.
3.4. Hotel invoices without a due date are payable in full within 7 days of receipt of the invoice. The hotel may at any time require the customer to pay any due amounts immediately. In the event of late payment, the hotel is entitled to charge the applicable statutory default interest, which is currently 8% or, in the case of legal transactions involving a consumer, 5% above the base interest rate. The hotel reserves the right to prove that it has suffered greater damages.
3.5. Upon conclusion of the contract, the hotel is entitled to require the customer to make a reasonable advance payment or provide security in the form of a credit card guarantee, a down payment, or similar. The amount of the advance payment and the payment dates may be agreed upon in writing in the contract. In the case of advance payments or security deposits for package tours, the statutory provisions remain unaffected.
3.6. In justified cases, e.g., the customer’s failure to pay, the hotel is entitled, even after the contract has been concluded and up until the start of the stay, to demand an advance payment or security deposit as defined in Section 5 above, or to increase the advance payment or security deposit agreed upon in the contract up to the full agreed-upon compensation.
3.7. The hotel is also entitled, at the beginning of and during the guest’s stay, to require the guest to make a reasonable advance payment or provide security, as defined in paragraph 5 above, for existing and future claims arising from the contract, provided that such payment has not already been made in accordance with sections 5 and/or 6 above.
3.8. The guest may only set off or reduce a claim against a claim by the hotel with an undisputed or legally enforceable claim, or exercise a right of retention.
4. Withdrawal by the Customer (Cancellation) / Failure to Use the Hotel’s Services (No-Show)
4.1. The customer’s withdrawal from the contract concluded with the hotel requires the hotel’s written consent. If such consent is not granted, the agreed-upon price under the contract must be paid even if the customer does not make use of the contractual services. This does not apply in the event of a breach by the hotel of its obligation to respect the customer’s rights, legal interests, and interests, if the customer can no longer reasonably be expected to remain bound by the contract as a result, or if the customer is entitled to any other statutory or contractual right of withdrawal.
4.2. If a deadline for free cancellation of the contract has been agreed upon in writing between the hotel and the customer, the customer may cancel the contract by that date without triggering any claims for payment or damages by the hotel. The customer’s right to cancel expires if the customer does not exercise this right in writing to the hotel by the agreed deadline, unless a case of cancellation by the customer pursuant to Section IV, No. 1, Sentence 3 applies.
5. Withdrawal by the Hotel
5.1. If it has been agreed in writing that the customer may withdraw from the contract free of charge within a specified period, the hotel is, for its part, entitled to withdraw from the contract during this period if there are inquiries from other customers regarding the rooms booked under the contract and the customer does not waive their right to withdraw upon the hotel’s request.
5.2. If an agreed advance payment or security deposit—or one required pursuant to Section III, paragraphs 5 and/or 6 above—is not made even after the expiration of a reasonable grace period set by the hotel, the hotel is likewise entitled to withdraw from the contract.
5.3. Furthermore, the hotel is entitled to terminate the contract for cause for objectively justified reasons, for example, if
- Force majeure or other circumstances beyond the hotel’s control that make it impossible to fulfill the contract
- Rooms are booked based on misleading or false statements regarding material facts, such as the guest’s identity or the purpose of their stay
- the hotel has reasonable grounds to believe that the use of the hotel’s services may jeopardize the smooth operation of the business, the safety, or the hotel’s public reputation, provided that this is not attributable to the hotel’s sphere of control or organizational responsibility
- there is a violation of Section I, No. 2 above.
5.4. In the event of a justified cancellation by the hotel, the guest shall have no claim for damages.
6. Room Allocation, Check-In, and Check-Out
6.1. The customer has no right to demand specific rooms.
6.2. Booked rooms are available to the customer starting at 3:00 p.m. on the agreed-upon arrival date. The customer has no right to earlier check-in.
7. Liability of the Hotel
7.1. The hotel shall be liable for its obligations under the contract with the diligence of a prudent businessman. Claims by the guest for damages are excluded. This does not apply to damages resulting from injury to life, limb, or health if the hotel is responsible for the breach of duty, other damages resulting from an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by the hotel, and damages resulting from an intentional or negligent breach of the hotel’s obligations typical to the contract. A breach of duty by a legal representative or vicarious agent of the hotel shall be deemed equivalent to a breach by the hotel itself. Should disruptions or defects in the hotel’s services occur, the hotel shall endeavor to remedy the situation upon becoming aware of them or upon receiving an immediate complaint from the customer. The guest is obligated to do everything reasonably expected of them to resolve the disruption and minimize any potential damage.
7.2. If a parking space is made available to the guest in the hotel garage or in a hotel parking lot—even for a fee—this does not constitute a contract of safekeeping. The hotel shall not be liable for the loss of or damage to motor vehicles parked or maneuvered on the hotel premises or to their contents, except in cases of willful misconduct or gross negligence. The second through fourth sentences of Section 1 above shall apply accordingly.
8. Final Provisions
8.1. Any amendments or additions to the contract, the acceptance of the reservation, or these General Terms and Conditions for Hotel Accommodation must be made in writing. Unilateral amendments or additions by the guest are invalid.
8.2. The provisions of the Package Travel Act of July 1, 2018, also apply
8.3. Please also note the separate privacy policy.
8.4. The place of performance and payment is the hotel’s registered office.
8.5. The exclusive venue—including for disputes involving checks and bills of exchange—in commercial transactions is the hotel’s registered office under corporate law. If a contracting party meets the requirements of Section 38(2) of the German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) and has no general place of jurisdiction within Germany, the place of jurisdiction shall be the hotel’s registered office under corporate law.
8.6. German law applies. The application of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and conflict-of-laws provisions is excluded.
8.7. Should any individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions for the Hotel Accommodation Agreement be or become invalid or void, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. In all other respects, the statutory provisions shall apply.
© Hotelverband Deutschland (IHA) e.V. | As of: September 2023
