General Terms and Conditions for Hotel Accommodation Contracts

General Terms and Conditions for Hotel Accomodation Contracts in German

Dorint Hotels & Resorts, Essential by Dorint and HOMMAGE LUXURY HOTELS COLLECTION Hotels

I. Scope

1. These Terms and Conditions apply to contracts for the letting of hotel rooms for accommoda- tion and to all other customer-related activities and services provided by the respective Hotel, where under Hotel it is understood all “Dorint”, “Essential by Dorint” and “Hommage” hotels located in the Federal Republic of Germany regardless of the person of the operator of the hotel (hereinafter referred to as “the Hotel”). Operator can be the Dorint GmbH (AG  Köln, HRB 59251), Essential by Dorint GmbH (AG Köln, HRB 98777) or 5HALLS HOMMAGE HOTELS GmbH (AG Köln, HRB 98776), a entity which is affiliated with these entities pursuant to § 15   of the German Stock Corporate Act (Aktiengesetz), a licensee of the aforementioned entities or a third party, whose hotel is managed by one of all aforementioned entities for the account of others. The term “Hotel Accommodation Contract” shall include and replace the following terms: lodging contract, guest admission contract, hotel contract, hotel room contract.

2. 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 para- graph 1 clause 2 of the German Civil Code (BGB) will be waived.

3. The customer’s own Terms and Conditions shall only apply if they have previously been ex- pressly agreed in writing.

4. 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.

II. Contract agreement, contracting parties and limitations

1. 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.

2. 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 Accommodation Contract, insofar as the third party shall provide the Hotel with an appropriate statement to this effect.

3. 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 cognisance, and after a term of 10 years from the dereliction of duty, irrespective of the time of cognisance. 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 restric- tions shall not apply in cases where a fundamental contractual duty has been breached. Fun- damental contractual duties are duties, the fulfilment of which is substantial to the contract, and on which the customer may depend.

III. Services, tariffs, payment, offsetting

1. The Hotel is obliged to make available the rooms that the customer has reserved and to provi- de the services that have been agreed.

2. 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. In cases of contracts with consumers, this shall only apply should the period between the agreement of the contract and its fulfilment exceed 4 months.

3. The Hotel is entitled to take into account increased prices for rooms or other Hotel services when determining whether or to what extent to concur with subsequent customer wishes for a reduction in the number of rooms or Hotel services and/or the length of period booked by the customer.

4. 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 of € 5 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.

5. When the contract is agreed, or subsequently in accordance with the legal regulations gover- ning package holidays, the Hotel is entitled to request an appropriate advance or security de- posit. The amount of advance payment and the payment deadlines may be agreed in writing in the contract.

6. 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 advan- ce payment or a security deposit in terms of paragraph 5 above, or to increase the contractu- ally agreed advance payment and/or security deposit up to the full payment amount due.

7. The customer can only offset or reduce the Hotel’s payment demands by means of an unchal- lenged legal claim.

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

1. The customer’s withdrawal from a contract agreed with the Hotel is only possible if such right of withdrawal is expressly agreed in the contract or in the General Terms and Conditions for Hotel Accommodation Contracts, if some other statutory right of withdrawal applies, or if the Hotel expressly agrees to the cancellation of the contract. The agreement of a right to withdra- wal and any such agreement to the cancellation of the contract should each be submitted in writing.

2. Provided that a date (optional) for withdrawal from the contract or in the General Terms and Conditions for Hotel Accomodation Contracts 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.

3. If a right of withdrawal has not been agreed or has already expired, then no statutory right     of withdrawal or cancellation shall be deemed to apply, and should the Hotel not agree to cancellation of the agreement, then the Hotel retains the right to claim the agreed payment even if the services have not been utilised. The Hotel is obliged to balance against its claim income from other rental made of the rooms and from expenses saved. If the rooms are not otherwise let, the Hotel is entitled to apply a flat rate reduction for expenditure saved. In such cases the customer is obligated to pay 90 % of the contractually agreed price for overnight stays, with or without breakfast, and for package arrangements involving outside services,     70 % for overnight stays with half board, and 60 % for full board arrangements. The customer is entitled to provide evidence that such claims have not arisen or are unjustifiably high.

4. Insofar as the Hotel calculates its actual losses, the maximum amount of compensation shall equal the contractually agreed price of the services to be supplied by the Hotel less the value of the expenditure saved by the Hotel together with the amount that the Hotel acquires through the alternative use of the Hotel’s services.

5. 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).

6. The Hotel is entitled to invoice the guest for the agreed payment less the flat-reat expenses saved and to withhold it from the deposit, provided this has been paid.

V. Withdrawal by the Hotel

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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 jeopardise 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 organisation;

–  there is any breach of I. paragraph 2.

4. If the Hotel justifiably withdraws, the customer shall have no right to claim for compensation.

VI. a) Special provision to clauses IV & V No. 3 for Hotel Accommodation Contracts until 31.12.2021 (date of arrival is decisive) due to coronavirus, pandemic situations and force majeure

1. If the Hotel cannot operate in whole or in part due to regulations, general rulings or adminis- trative acts to combat or prevent the spread of coronavirus or due to similar serious reasons  of force majeure (external circumstances for which the Hotel is not responsible) and the guest cannot make use of corresponding services, this shall not constitute a breach of duty for which the Hotel is responsible. This applies irrespective of the date of adoption of the regulation, general ruling or administrative act. The Hotel undertakes to inform the guest of the start and the expected duration of such an administrative act. Regulations and general rulings applicable to the Hotel are announced and published by the legislator. In the event that the Hotel is prevented from fulfilling its contractual obligations for the aforementioned reasons, the Hotel is entitled, without compensation, to adjust its hotel offer in accordance with the applicable legal framework, which may only be rejected for just cause. If this is not possible or reasonable for the Hotel or is unreasonable for the guest, both parties are entitled to cancel the stay free of charge. If Hotel operations are prohibited in their entirety, the Hotel is entitled to offer the guest an alternative travel date. If the parties cannot agree on an alternative date, both parties shall be entitled to withdraw from the contract concerned free of charge by declaration in writing.

2. Should the guest be unable to travel on the booked travel date due to official travel/entry bans due to coronavirus or similar global pandemics according to the definition of the WHO or qua-

rantine orders due to a pandemic (including upon return from the booked destination coun- try), the guest may cancel their room free of charge irrespective of the sliding scale in clause  IV No. 3 (4), provided that it has been proven by the guest that it is objectively impossible for the guest to travel/enter the country for the aforementioned reasons. Concerns on the part of the guest or official recommendations to refrain from tourist travel do not constitute a right of withdrawal without penalty.

3. In all other cases independent of coronavirus and similar global pandemics, the provisions of clauses IV and V remain applicable.

VI. b) Special provision to clauses IV No. 3 S. 4 until 31.12.2021 (date of arrival is decisive) for block booking contracts without simultaneous event booking

1. For block booking contracts (10 rooms or more), the following shall apply regardless of the reason for cancellation: as defined under clause IV No. 3 S. 4, flat-rate expenses are defined as follows: The respective portions of the total amount that can be freely cancelled correspond to the flat-reat expenses saved, so that the remaining amount that can no longer be freely cancelled is invoiced to the customer.

Free cancellation options for the customer* (portion of the agreed total amount)

* The sliding scale can only be applied once, with the exception of the possibility of reducing the agreed num- ber of participants one day in advance according to the last scale.

The customer is entitled to provide evidence that such claims have not arisen or are unjustifi- ably high. The Hotel is entitled to provide evidence that a higher claim has arisen.

2. Furthermore, deviating from clause VI b) No. 1, the following shall apply due to coronavirus, pandemic situations and force majeure until 31.12.2021 (date of arrival is decisive):

a)  In case of block booking contracts (10 rooms or more), the above provisions under clause  VI a) shall apply accordingly.

b) If a block is booked for a specific event at the location of the Hotel, this event must be speci- fied in the block booking contract. If the event for which the room block is booked (e.g. name of the festival specified in the contract) is cancelled due to official regulations as a result of coronavirus or similar global pandemics according to the definition of the WHO, the customer shall be entitled to cancel some or all of the booked rooms without incurring any costs. The proof must be provided by the guest. Concerns on the part of the respective guest or official recommendations to refrain from tourist travel or major events are not sufficient reasons for cancellation free of charge. In the event of an officially announced postponement of the event, the Hotel is entitled to offer an alternative travel period, which may only be rejected for just cause. If this is not possible or reasonable for the Hotel or if the customer rejects for just cause, the customer shall retain the right to cancel free of charge.

c)  In all other cases, irrespective of coronavirus and similar global pandemics, the provisions  of clauses VI b) No. 1 remain applicable. After 31.12.2021, the regulation of clause IV will also apply to block booking contracts without event bookings.

VII. Provision, handing over and returning the room

1. Unless otherwise expressly agreed, the customer has no right to demand the provision of spe- cific rooms.

2. 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.

3. On the agreed date of departure, rooms must be vacated and at the Hotel’s disposal by 12:00 noon at the latest. Country houses/apartments must be placed at the Hotel’s disposal by 10:00

a.m. at the latest on the agreed departure date. If there is delay in vacating the room/country house or apartment, the Hotel may invoice for its use beyond the contract period up to 6:00

p.m. at 50 % of the current daily letting price, and at 100 % from 6:00 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.

VIII.  The Hotel’s liability

1. The Hotel and its vicarious agents shall, in accordance with statutory provisions, be liable for damages arising from wilful or grossly negligent behaviour. 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 Hotel 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; fundamen- tal 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 pro- vided 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 minimise any possible loss or damage, and to bring any faults or damage immediately to the Hotel’s attention.

2. In accordance with the legal provisions of §§ 701 ff. of the German Civil Code, the Hotel is liable to the customer up to a maximum sum of € 3,500 for items brought into the Hotel. In the case of cash, securities and valuables, the sum of € 3,500 is replaced by the sum of € 800. Insofar as a guest shall bring monies, securities and valuables with a value of more than € 800 or other objects with a value of more than € 3,500 into the Hotel, this shall require a special safe kee- ping agreement with the Hotel. Safe keeping in the Hotel or room safe is recommend-ed at all times. For all further liability on the part of the Hotel, the terms of VIII. paragraph 1 above shall apply.

3. 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 VIII. paragraph 1 for loss or damage to any vehicle parked or mano- euvred on the Hotel’s property, or to its contents.

4. 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.

IX.  Final provisions

1. 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 unila- teral alterations or additions by the customer shall be void.

2. Place of fulfilment and place of payment shall be the same as the registered office of the res- pective Hotel.

3. The sole court of jurisdiction for commercial transactions, including cheque and currency dis- putes, 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.

4. German law alone shall apply. The UN Sales Convention and conflict of law legislation are hereby precluded from applying.

5. In the event of individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions for Hotel Accom- modation Contracts being or becoming ineffective or void, the validity of the remaining provi- sions hereof shall in no way be affected. Otherwise, statutory provisions shall apply.

Last revision: November 2020

General Terms and Conditions for Hotel Accommodation as Download:

General Terms and Conditions for Hotel Accommodation Contracts in German hotels within the Dorint hotel group

General Terms and Conditions for Hotel Accommodation Contracts for Dorint Hotels in Switzerland

General Terms and Conditions for Holding Events as Download:

General Terms and Conditions for Holding Events in German hotels within the Dorint hotel group

General Terms and Conditions for Holding Events at Dorint Hotels & Resorts in Switzerland