General terms and conditions

• These Terms and Conditions apply to contracts for the letting of hotel rooms for accommodation and to all other customer-related activities and services provided by the respective The Alex Hotel GmbH (hereinafter referred to as “the Hotel”). The term “General Terms and Conditions” shall include and replace the following terms: lodging contract, guest admission contract, hotel contract, hotel room contract.
• Sub-contracting or sub-letting of rooms, together with their use for any purposes other than accommodation, require the prior written approval of the Hotel, whereby Article 540 paragraph 1 clause 2 of the German Civil Code (BGB) will be waived.
• The customer’s own Terms and Conditions shall only apply if they have previously been expressly agreed in writing.
• For the purpose of these Terms and Conditions, a customer shall be understood as a consumer or an entrepreneur in terms of Articles 13 and 14 of the German Civil Code.

• The contract becomes valid when the Hotel accepts the customer’s application. If the Hotel makes the customer a firm offer, then the contract takes effect with the customer’s acceptance of the Hotel’s offer. Room bookings should be confirmed in writing.
• Once a hotel room is reserved and confirmed, an obligating contract comes into effect. The transaction does not have to be in writing, a verbal agreement is sufficient to oblige both partners to meet the conditions. A reservation in writing is a binding offer to close a contract of accommodation with the Hotel.
• The contracting parties are the Hotel and the customer. If a third party has placed a reservation on behalf of the customer, the customer and the third party shall be jointly liable to the Hotel for all obligations arising from the Hotel.
• As a matter of principle, all claims made by the customer and/or the third party against the Hotel shall lapse 1 year after their declaration which initiates the normal limitation period in accordance with Article 199 paragraph 1 of the German Civil Code.
• Claims for compensation against the Hotel lapse at the latest after a term of 3 years from the dereliction of duty, dependent on the time of cognizance, and after a term of 10 years from the dereliction of duty, irrespective of the time of cognizance. These limitations do not apply:
  • in the event of claims arising from intent or gross negligence on the part of the Hotel and/or its vicarious agents.
  • in the event of damages caused by negligence and arising from damage to life, limb or health.
  • In the event of material and financial damages caused by negligence, these limitation restrictions shall not apply in cases where a fundamental contractual duty has been breached. Fundamental contractual duties are duties, the fulfilment of which is substantial to the contract, and on which the customer may depend.

• The Hotel is obliged to make available the rooms that the customer has reserved and to provide the services that have been agreed.
• The customer is obliged to pay the current or agreed Hotel prices to hire the room and any other services he has made use of. This also applies to services and expenses that he requests the Hotel to make over against third parties. The agreed prices shall be understood to include taxes and local duties at the rates applicable at the time the contract was agreed. This does not include local duties, such as visitors’ tax, which, in accordance with the respective local legislation, the guest is liable to pay personally. In the event of an increase, subsequent to the contract agreement, in the statutory rate of turnover tax or the new introduction, alteration or repeal of local taxes or duties relating to the subject of the agreement, then the contractually agreed price may also be increased proportionately.
• The reservation is a binding offer to close a contract of accommodation with the Hotel. Everycustomer/guest who is part of the booker’s reservation is included in the contract. A contract isaccomplished upon receipt of the confirmation of the reservation. This contract is binding to both parties. Acredit card is required for arrivals after 6 p.m.
• Hotel invoices without a payment date are payable in full within 10 calendar days of receipt. The Hotel is entitled to demand payments outstanding at any time, and to require immediate payment. In the event of delay in payment, the Hotel is entitled to demand the appropriate legal late payment interest of 9% above the current basic interest rate, or 5% above the basic interest rate in the case of legal transactions involving the customer. Furthermore, the Hotel can charge a fee for every reminder on payment arrears that it sends. The Hotel reserves the right to provide evidence of entitlement to a higher claim to damages.
• When the contract is agreed, or subsequently in accordance with the legal regulations governing package holidays, the Hotel is entitled to request an appropriate advance or security deposit. The amount of advance payment and the payment deadlines may be agreed in writing in the contract.
• In individual substantiated cases, e.g. customer payment arrears or extension of the scope of the contract, the Hotel is entitled, even after the contract has been agreed, to demand an advance payment or a security deposit in terms of paragraph 5 above, or to increase the contractually agreed advance payment and/or security deposit up to the full payment amount due.
• Group reservations: 50% of the total costs are due 6 weeks prior to arrival. Differing conditions must be agreed upon in writing.
• The customer can only offset or reduce the Hotel’s payment demands by means of an unchallenged legal claim.

(counter-order or cancellation) / failure to make use of the Hotel’s services (no show)

• For individual guests (less than 5 rooms) the following cancellation policy applies: Up to 2 rooms/units can be cancelled free of charge until 6 p.m. on the day of arrival.
• Cancellations must be in writing. If a customer withdraws from his binding booking, or does not use a reserved service, the provider of the service is legally entitled to full payment, deductive of the amount saved by services not rendered. According to generally and legally approved procedure, the following calculation is customary: 90 % of the booking fee, unless the cancelled room can be resold. A different policy applies for “Early Bird” Bookings: the provided credit card will be charged with the full amount right after the booking is made. The entire stay is not refundable. Changes cannot be made free of charge.
• Different conditions apply for bookings of more than 5 rooms. All cancellations and changes must be executed in writing without exception. A cost free cancellation of the entire group booking can be performed up to 6 weeks before the arrival date (4 weeks can be agreed upon in exceptional circumstances). A partial cancellation, up to 30 % of the entire reservation (referring to the amount of rooms) is possible at no cost up to 4 weeks prior to the arrival date. A partial cancellation, a maximum of 2 rooms, can be performed at no cost up 24 hours before Check-in. Differing conditions must be agreed upon in writing.
• Provided that a date for withdrawal from the signed contract without penalty has been agreed between the customer and the Hotel, the customer may withdraw from the contract without penalty up to this date, without the Hotel making any claim for payment or compensation. The customer’s right to withdrawal is extinguished if he does not exercise his right to withdraw vis-à-vis the Hotel in writing by the agreed date.
• The compensation regulations referred to above shall apply accordingly if the customer does not claim the room or services he has reserved without informing the Hotel of this in good time (no show).

• Offers by the hotel are valid 24 hours after the offer has been placed. After 24 hours the hotel has the right to modify the offer according to changes in availability.
•  Provided that the customer’s right to withdraw without penalty within a particular time period has been agreed in writing, the Hotel is also for its part entitled to withdraw without penalty within this time period if applications from other customers for rooms reserved under contract are to hand, and the customer does not waive his right to withdraw within 2 weeks of having been contacted to this end by the Hotel. In the event of the customer failing to respond within this deadline, the Hotel is entitled to withdraw.
•  The Hotel is also entitled to withdraw from the contract if an advance payment as agreed or as demanded in accordance with III. paragraph 5 is not made, even after an appropriate period of grace set by the Hotel has elapsed.
•  Furthermore, the Hotel is entitled to withdraw from the contract in exceptional circumstance, if so justified for well-founded reasons, especially in the event that:
  •  an act of God or other circumstances beyond the control of the Hotel make the fulfilment of the contract impossible
  •  rooms are booked giving a misleading or a false description of essential facts (e.g. in respect of the customer, financial solvency or the purpose of the accommodation)
  •  the Hotel has good grounds for supposing that the use of the Hotel services might jeopardize the smooth running of the Hotel’s operations, or the safety or the reputation of the Hotel in the public eye in a way that is beyond the control or scope of the Hotel’s organization
  •  there is any breach of I. paragraph 2.
  • If the Hotel justifiably withdraws, the customer shall have no right to claim for compensation.

• Unless otherwise expressly agreed, the customer has no right to demand the provision of specific rooms.
• The reserved rooms shall be available to the customer by 3:00 p.m. at the earliest on the agreed date of arrival. Reserved country houses / apartments shall be available to the customer by 5:00 p.m. at the earliest on the agreed date of arrival. The customer has no right to demand that rooms should be provided earlier.
• On the agreed date of departure, rooms must be vacated and at the Hotel’s disposal by 12:00 noon at the latest. If there is delay in vacating the room, the Hotel may invoice for its use beyond the contract period up to 4:00 p.m. at 50% of the current daily letting price, and at 100% from 4:00 p.m. onwards. Any contractual claims made by the customer cannot be justified on these grounds. The customer is at liberty to provide evidence that the Hotel had no claim or a significantly lower claim on payment for its use. Moreover, the Hotel reserves the right to establish proof of and charge for a higher rate of compensation.

• The Hotel and its vicarious agents shall, in accordance with statutory provisions, be liable for damages arising from willful or grossly negligent behavior. The same shall apply to damages to life, limb or health resulting from negligence. In cases of property and financial damages caused by negligence, The Alex Hotel GmbH and its vicarious agents shall only be liable if and when a fundamental contractual obligation been breached, however such liability shall be limited to foreseeable and contractually typical damages when the contract was entered into; fundamental contractual duties being such, the fulfilment of which is substantial to the contract, and on which the customer may depend. Should any faults or shortcomings arise in the services provided by the Hotel, the Hotel will make every effort to correct this if the customer has brought these to its attention or made his objections promptly known. The customer is obliged to make reasonable effort to rectify any fault or minimize any possible loss or damage, and to bring any faults or damage immediately to the Hotel’s attention.
• Though the customer may be offered a parking space in the Hotel garage or car park, this shall not form a contract for its safe keeping, even if a parking fee is paid. The Hotel shall only assume liability in terms of VII. paragraph 1 for loss or damage to any vehicle parked or manoeuvred on the Hotel’s property, or to its contents.
• Instructions for wake-up calls shall be carried out with the utmost care by the Hotel. Messages, post and the sending of trade samples for the customers shall also be treated with the utmost care. The Hotel will undertake to deliver or keep such items (at the Hotel), or to send them on if desired, for a fee. Paragraph 1 above shall apply accordingly.
• Smoking is not permitted in any area of the hotel. Customers are liable for any damages and costs caused by smoking, especially for necessary deep cleaning of the room and fire run costs. Customers smoking in the room will be charged a cleaning fee of EUR 250,00 (two hundred fifty) in any case.
• Dogs are not permitted in the rooms and the breakfast room.

• Any amendments or additions to this contract, the acceptance proposal or these General Terms and Conditions for Hotel Accommodation Contracts must be made in writing. Any unilateral alterations or additions by the customer shall be void.
• Place of fulfilment and place of payment shall be the same as the registered office of the respective Hotel.
• The sole court of jurisdiction for commercial transactions, including cheque and currency disputes, shall be Cologne. Insofar as a contracting party fulfils the requirements of Article 38 paragraph 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) and has no general place of jurisdiction within Germany, the Hotel’s registered office shall act as the place of legal jurisdiction.
• German law alone shall apply. The UN Sales Convention and conflict of law legislation are hereby precluded from applying.
• In the event of individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions for Hotel Accommodation Contracts being or becoming ineffective or void, the validity of the remaining provisions hereof shall in no way be affected. Otherwise, statutory provisions shall apply.

May 2017