General terms and conditions of accommodation booking service

Guest accommodation conditions
The following terms and conditions, if validly agreed upon, form part of the guest accommodation/accommodation contract concluded between the guest and the host in the event of a booking. Please read these terms and conditions carefully.

1 Position of the Tourismusverband Landkreis Stade / Elbe e.V. and the affiliated tourist offices
1.1 The Tourismusverband Landkreis Stade / Elbe e.V. is exclusively the publisher of the host directory and operator of the internet platform on which the accommodation is offered. It does not act as an intermediary.
1.2 STADE Marketing und Tourismus GmbH, the town information centre of the town of Buxtehude and the Altes Land e.V. tourism association also arrange accommodation via the internet addresses (www.stade-tourismus.de, www.buxtehude.de, www.mein-altes-land.de) in accordance with the available offers. The aforementioned tourist information centres are merely intermediaries of a guest accommodation contract between the host and the guest. They are not contractual partners of the guest in the event of a booking.
1.3 The Tourismusverband Landkreis Stade / Elbe e.V. and the tourist offices referred to in Clause 1.2 are therefore not liable for the information on prices and services provided by the hosts, nor for deficiencies in performance, cancellation of services or personal injury or damage to property in connection with the accommodation and the implementation of the guest accommodation contract. Any liability of the tourist offices listed in Section 1.2 arising from the agency contract shall remain unaffected by this.
1.4 In individual cases, the hosts reserve the right to agree with the guest on terms and conditions other than these Terms and Conditions of Accommodation Booking Service or to make individual agreements that deviate from these Terms and Conditions of Accommodation Booking Service.

2 Conclusion of contract
2.1 By completing the booking, the guest makes a binding offer to the host to conclude the accommodation contract, if applicable after the host has previously provided non-binding information about their accommodation and its current availability. This offer is based on the description of the accommodation and the supplementary information provided in the booking information (e.g. location description, classification explanations), insofar as these are available to the guest at the time of booking. Unless otherwise agreed upon, the guest is bound to his booking (his contractual offer) for 5 working days.
2.2 The guest’s booking may be submitted through any of the booking channels offered by the host, i.e. verbally, in writing, via telephone, fax or electronically (e-mail, internet). In the case of electronic bookings, receipt of the booking shall be confirmed to the Guest immediately by electronic means.
2.3 The contract is concluded upon receiving the host’s declaration of acceptance (booking confirmation). The declaration of acceptance does not require any particular form, meaning that verbal and telephone confirmations are also legally binding for the guest and the host.
2.4 Information in hotel guides and similar directories that are not published by the Stade / Elbe District Tourist Board or the host are not binding for the host and their service obligation, unless they have been made part of the host’s service obligation by express agreement with the guest.
2.5 In the case of bookings made by clubs, associations, companies, authorities and institutions, the client, contractual partner of the guest accommodation contract and the party liable to pay are exclusively these parties, not the individual participant, unless otherwise expressly agreed with the host.

3 Payment
3.1 The due date of the down payment and final payment shall be determined by the arrangement made with the guest or the client and noted in the booking confirmation. If no special agreement has been made, the entire accommodation price, including the charges for ancillary costs and additional services, is due for payment at the end of the stay and must be paid to the host.
3.2 The host may demand a deposit after conclusion of the contract. Unless otherwise agreed in individual cases, this shall amount to 15% of the total price of the accommodation service and any additional services booked.
3.3 Payments in foreign currencies and by crossed cheque are not possible. Credit card payments are only possible if this has been agreed upon or is generally offered by the host in a disclaimer. Payments at the end of the stay cannot be made by bank transfer.
3.4 If the guest does not make an agreed down payment or does not pay it in full despite a reminder from the host specifying a deadline, the host shall be entitled to withdraw from the contract with the guest and charge the guest cancellation fees in accordance with Section 6 of these terms and conditions, provided that the host is willing and able to provide the contractual services and provided that the guest has no statutory or contractual right of retention.

4 Cancellation and no-show
4.1 In the event of cancellation, the host’s claim to payment of the agreed price of the stay, including the catering portion and the charges for additional services, shall remain in force.
4.2 The host shall endeavour to find another use for the accommodation in the ordinary course of business, without obligation to make any special efforts and taking into account the special nature of the booked accommodation (e.g. non-smoking room, family room).
4.3 The host must allow other occupancy and, if this is not possible, saved expenses to be taken into account.
4.4 According to the percentages recognised by case law for the assessment of saved expenses, the guest or the client must pay the following amounts to the host, in each case in relation to the total price of the accommodation services (including all ancillary costs).
-For holiday apartments/accommodation
without catering 90%
-for bed and breakfast 80%
-For half board 70%
-60% for full board
4.5 The guest/client expressly reserves the right to prove to the host that the expenses saved are significantly higher than the deductions taken into account above, or that the accommodation services or other services have been used for other purposes. In the event of such proof, the guest or the client shall only be obliged to pay the correspondingly lower amount.
4.6 The conclusion of travel cancellation insurance is strongly recommended.
4.7 In the case of bookings made via the tourism agencies named in Section 1.2, the cancellation notice must be addressed exclusively to these agencies (not to the host) and should be made in writing for the benefit of the guest.

5 Obligations of the customer, bringing animals, cancellation by the host
5.1 The guest is obliged to notify the host immediately of any defects and faults and to demand remedy. A notification of defects that is only made to the tourism association or the tourist offices specified in Section 1.2 is not sufficient. If the guest culpably fails to give notice of defects, the guest’s claims may be cancelled in whole or in part.
5.2 The guest may only cancel the contract in the event of significant defects or disruptions. He must first set the host a reasonable period of time to remedy the defect as part of the notification of defects, unless the remedy is impossible, is refused by the host or the immediate cancellation is objectively justified by a special interest of the guest that is recognisable to the host or the continuation of the stay is objectively unreasonable for the guest for such reasons.
5.3 The following applies to pets:
(a) Pets may only be taken along and kept in the accommodation in the event of an express agreement to this effect, if the Host provides for this possibility in the description of the accommodation.
b) Within the framework of such agreements, the guest is obliged to provide truthful information about the type and size of the pet.
c) Violations of this may entitle the host to extraordinary cancellation of the accommodation contract.
d) The unannounced presence of pets or incorrect information on type and size shall entitle the host to refuse the guest the accommodation, to terminate the accommodation contract and to charge cancellation costs in accordance with Section 4 of these terms and conditions.

6 Limitation of liability
The host is not liable for service disruptions in connection with services that are recognisably provided to the guest/client during the stay as external services (e.g. sporting events, theatre visits, exhibitions, etc.). The same applies to third-party services that are already arranged together with the booking of the accommodation, insofar as these are expressly labelled as third-party services in the advertisement or booking confirmation.

7 Limitation period
7.1 Contractual claims of the guest/client against the host arising from injury to life, body or health, including contractual claims for compensation for pain and suffering, which are based on their negligent breach of duty or an intentional or negligent breach of duty by their legal representatives or vicarious agents, shall become statute-barred after three years. This also applies to claims for compensation for other damages that are based on a grossly negligent breach of duty by the host or on a wilful or grossly negligent breach of duty by the host’s legal representatives or vicarious agents.
7.2 All other contractual claims are subject to a limitation period of one year.
7.3 The limitation period in accordance with the above provisions shall commence at the end of the year in which the claim arose and the guest/client becomes aware of the circumstances giving rise to the claim and the host as the debtor or should have become aware of them but for gross negligence.
7.4 If negotiations are pending between the guest and the host regarding asserted claims or the circumstances giving rise to the claim, the limitation period shall be suspended until the guest or the host refuses to continue the negotiations. The aforementioned limitation period of one year shall commence at the earliest 3 months after the end of the suspension.

8 Choice of law and place of jurisdiction
8.1 The contractual relationship between the guest or the client and the host shall be governed exclusively by German law. The same applies to other legal relationships.
8.2 The guest or the client may only sue the host at the host’s registered office.
8.3 The customer’s place of residence shall be decisive for actions brought by the host against the guest or the client. For legal actions against guests or clients who are merchants, legal entities under public or private law or persons who have their place of residence/business or habitual abode abroad, or whose place of residence/business or habitual abode is not known at the time the action is filed, the place of jurisdiction shall be the registered office of the host.
8.4 The above provisions shall not apply if and insofar as applicable, non-mandatory provisions of the European Union or other international provisions are applicable to the contract.

Translated from German by DeepL