General Terms and Conditions of Business
ApartHotel RESIDENZ AM DEUTSCHEN THEATER Betreuungs- & Service GmbH
I. General regulations
11. The present general terms and conditions of business shall apply for all the contracts that are concluded with ApartHotel RESIDENZ AM DEUTSCHEN THEATER, Betreuungs- & Service GmbH (hereinafter referred to as the: hotel). Other general terms and conditions of business than those of the hotel are not the subject-matter of the contract, even if the hotel does not explicitly object to them.
2. Rates may be modified after the conclusion of the contract, if the period of time between the conclusion of the contract and the provision of the service amounts to more than four months. In this event, an appropriate increase in price shall be permitted, if the statutory VAT is increased or if cost increases have occurred in the restaurant and hotel sector. Should this increase in price amount to more than 5% of the agreed rate, the contracting party shall be entitled to withdraw from the contract.
3. Bookings shall be binding for both of the contracting parties. Fundamentally, the contract may not be terminated unilaterally. A withdrawal from the contract may only essentially occur in agreement with the hotel and taking into account the regulations in Section I.10 of these general terms and conditions of business. Booked rooms shall be available to the contracting party from 13.00 hours of the day of arrival. If a later time of arrival has not been explicitly agreed, the hotel shall retain the right to allocate the booked room elsewhere after 18.00 hours. On the day of departure, rooms should be vacated by 11.00 hours, if not explicitly agreed to the contrary. The hotel shall be at liberty to confirm the room booking in writing.
4. A non-binding option, which has been explicitly designated as such, should be bindingly exercised or replaced up to 42 calendar days prior to the day of arrival at the latest. Options exercised are treated like binding bookings. Without a timely exercising of the option, the hotel shall be entitled to allocate the reserved service elsewhere.
5. The hotel shall be entitled to request an appropriate advance payment or a security bond on conclusion of the contract or thereafter. The amount of the advance payment and the dates of payment may be agreed in the contract in writing.
6. The contracting party acquires no entitlement to the provision of specific rooms or premises. Should agreed premises not be available, the hotel will endeavour to provide an equivalent replacement in other buildings.
7. The subletting or subleasing of rooms provided as well as their use for purposes other than accommodation shall require the written consent of the hotel.
8. If the customer is not the organiser at the same time or if he books on behalf of another, both parties shall be joint and several debtors.
9. Basically, invoices shall be payable immediately after receipt and without deduction of a discount. In the event of delayed payment, the hotel shall be entitled to charge default interest amounting to 5% above the base lending rate applicable on the due date, provided that no damage caused by delay for a different amount is substantiated. The contracting party may offset counterclaims against the hotel only insofar as his claims are identified as beyond dispute or legally binding. The delayed payment of merely one invoice shall entitle the hotel to halt all additional or future services for the client or to make them subject to an advance payment amounting to 100%. The hotel shall decide on this without prior notice. In the event of an overall booking of more than ten overnight stays, the hotel shall retain the right to require an advance payment amounting to 50% of the services booked and an advance payment of 100% of the services booked if the client’s domicile or company registered office is abroad. The due date is established on an individual basis.
10. If the client does not take up the contractual services that he booked or reserved in advance, he shall remain obliged to pay the agreed rate for the following amount:
• In the event of cancellation in the period of time from the 35th to the 14th calendar day prior to the agreed period of time for the services, 50% of the services booked
• In the event of cancellation in the period of time from the 13th to the 2nd calendar day prior to the agreed period of time for the services, 80% of the services booked
• In the event of cancellation in the period of time from the 1st calendar day to the agreed period of time for the services, 100% of the services booked in relation to the agreed rate for the service booked shall be payable. Cancellation fees are reduced by the amount of lodgings that can be achieved through the subletting of the cancelled rooms to the date booked. Should the booked service be divisible and only part of it not taken up, cancellation costs shall be payable in compliance with the gradation of the preceeding section on the basis of the amount of the service of the booked service apportioned to that part of the service. Proof of a higher amount of expenses saved by the contracting party shall remain unaffected by the preceeding regulations. Guaranteed bookings for specific fair periods shall be binding from the 60th day prior to arrival. Individual overnight stays outside event and fair periods may be cancelled free of charge up to 48 hours prior to the day of arrival.
11. Objects or materials that are left in the generally accessible premises of the hotel, in the technical facilities, in the conference rooms of the hotel and in the apartments shall be deemed to be not brought along with you, if they are not explicitly looked after by a person entitled to do so. Any liability on the part of the hotel is excluded.
12. The consumption of food and drinks brought along with you is prohibited in the publicly accessible area of the hotel.
13. If the business activities or the security of the hotel or of its guests is put at risk by a contracting party, the hotel may terminate the contract. This shall apply also in the event of force majeure and other unpredictable, unusual circumstances and those the hotel cannot be blamed for, if the service of the hotel is impossible, unacceptable or without any interest for the contracting party as a result.
14. The contractual liability of the hotel is excluded for deficiencies existing on conclusion of the contract and which have not come into existence as a result of a circumstance for which the hotel is responsible.
15. The hotel shall only be obliged to compensate losses – for whatever legal reason – insofar as
• The loss is based on the gross negligence or wilful intent of the hotel or the lack of warranted characteristics; or
• The hotel culpably infringes a material obligation in a way that jeopardizes the purpose of the contract; or
• The loss is attributable to a case of delay or impossibility, for which the hotel is responsible; or
• The loss can be covered by an insurance policy that the hotel has concluded or would have reasonably concluded; or
• a typical risk to life and health is realised through the loss.
The hotel shall be liable for the infringement of material obligations, delay or impossibility, provided that no wilful intent and no gross negligence may be imputed to it, but only for foreseeable and direct losses, insofar as claims for compensation in accordance with the preceeding sections exist from an unlawful act as well as claims against employees and vicarious agents of the hotel. Liability for objects brought along with you shall remain unaffected by the preceeding regulations. The full particulars in this regard are regulated by Section I. 11 of these terms and conditions of business.
16. If a parking space in the hotel’s car park is provided to the guest, even against consideration, no contract for safekeeping shall come about as a result. The hotel shall not be liable in the event of loss of or damage to cars parked or marshalled on the hotel’s land and their contents, provided that the hotel is not responsible due to wilful intent or gross negligence. This shall apply also for vicarious agents of the hotel.
17. The contracting party shall be obliged to notify possible deficiencies to the hotel immediately, but at the latest at the time of departure. The contracting party’s claims must be asserted against the hotel in writing within one month after the contractually designated completion of the provision of services. The contracting party’s claims shall become statute-barred after six months. The statutory limitation shall commence on the calendar day on which the provision of the service was to be completed in accordance with the contract.
18. Berlin shall be the legal venue for all disputes arising between the parties from the contractual relationship. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply.
19. Verbal or written collateral agreements have not been made. Amendments or completions shall require the written form for their legal effectiveness. The same shall apply for waiver of the requirement for the written form.
20. Should individual provisions of these general terms and conditions of business be or become invalid or null and void, this shall not affect the legal validity of the remaining content of the contract. The two contracting parties shall undertake to replace the invalid provision by legally effective ones that come closest to the economic purpose and to the similar content of the invalid provision. In addition, the legal provisions shall apply.
II. Additional terms and conditions of business for events (seminars, conferences and banquets)
1. Bookings for events are only binding for the hotel if the organiser signs the booking confirmation sent to him by the hotel and if this reaches the hotel and if the required advance payment of at least 30% has been effected within the set time limit. Booked function rooms are only at the disposal of the contracting party at the time agreed in writing. Utilisation of the function rooms beyond the agreed period of time shall require the prior agreement of the events department. Exceptions to this rule shall require the written consent of the hotel. Section I.10 of these general terms and conditions of business shall apply accordingly for cancellations. In the event of cancellation, the advance payment is set off against the cancellation fees.
2. In the event of cancellation of function rooms with consumption, supply costs must be paid as an estimated lost profit, provided that the contracting body does not prove that a lost profit did not arise to the estimated extent. The calculation level shall be the expected turnover, but the order confirmation is essentially applicable. Section I. 10 of these general terms and conditions of business shall apply here similarly.
3. The size of the seminar room is geared to the number of participants agreed in the order confirmation. Overruns in the number of participants upwards compared with the guaranteed number are accepted by the hotel up to a maximum of 5%, which ensures a smooth course of events in this regard subject to additional costs. A higher overrun in the number of participants shall require prior agreement with the hotel. In the event of an overrun, the actual number of participants shall be the basis for invoicing. In the event of overrun in the number of participants, the organiser must separately recompense the hotel for the additional expenses thus arising.
4. Should the number of participants be reduced by more than 10% from the originally booked number, 90% of all the booked services for the number of participants originally booked shall be invoiced. This regulation shall apply as soon as the hotel has received the signed order confirmation.
5. The hotel shall retain the right to room changes, provided that this is acceptable for the organiser taking into account the interests of the hotel.
6. The organiser fundamentally may not bring along food and drinks for events, if they are not the subject-matter of the event and are used for demonstration purposes. In special cases (national specialities, kosher food etc.), a deviating agreement may be made in writing. In such cases, corkage or a service fee to be determined in the agreement is charged in accordance with the amount.
7. A request for modification on the day of the event regarding the furnishings, equipment and arrangement of chairs may only be complied with, if an agreement was made regarding the operating costs.
8. The affixing of decorative material or other objects is prohibited without the prior written agreement of the hotel. The organiser shall be liable for damage to the furnishings or fixtures, which was caused by event participants or visitors, employees, other third parties from the organiser’s sphere or by himself during the erection and dismantling as well as in the course of the event and for which the hotel is not responsible. The same shall apply for the loss of the hotel’s property. We recommend that the organiser concludes an insurance policy for damage, for which the hotel is not responsible.
9. A possible insurance that may be necessary for exhibition objects or decorative items that have been brought along shall be incumbent on the contracting body. The hotel shall be liable for such objects as per the principles of gratuitous custody in accordance with Section 690 of the German Civil Code (BGB). According to this, the hotel should only be responsible for the care that it uses concerning its own affairs.
10. In the event that disorders or defects should arise regarding technical equipment or other facilities provided by the hotel, the hotel will immediately take remedial action. A withholding or reduction of the payment cannot be derived from this. If the hotel procures technical or other equipment from third parties, it shall act on behalf and on account of the organiser. The organiser shall be liable for careful handling and for due return of these objects and shall indemnify the hotel for all claims of third parties from the handing over of these objects.
11. Should music be used in the scope of this event, the organiser must declare the event to the GEMA (German performing rights society), if necessary. The hotel is indemnified by the organiser regarding all claims arising from the unauthorised use of the rights of GEMA or of third parties.
12. If the starting or ending time of the event is deferred without the prior written consent of the hotel, the hotel may invoice the additional expenses of the willingness to work, unless the hotel is responsible for this circumstance.
13. The publication of the name of the hotel, in which the event takes place, shall only be permitted insofar as a representative of the hotel agrees to this in writing. Excluded herefrom shall be the publication of the name of the hotel for the purpose of indicating the venue and a possible description of the route, provided that it does not involve publication in media that are accessible to an unlimited number of people and insofar as the hotel’s name is not especially emphasised compared with the rest of the text.
14. If, in the context of the event, the organiser is a political, religious or ideological group, the effectiveness of the contract shall additionally require the consent of the hotel management, until the granting of which the contract shall remain pending. If authorisation is not granted retrospectively, the contract shall be ineffective and the hotel shall be entitled to refuse performance. In this event, the organiser shall be obliged to recompense all the expenditure that the hotel effected on the strength of the effectiveness of the contract.
15. The designated emergency exits should be neither blocked nor restricted.
III. Additional terms and conditions of business for groups
1. Groups within the meaning of these general terms and conditions of business shall be travel groups with a minimum number of 15 people who have booked. The group of travellers shall carry out the journey to the hotel and the departure together. Only one overall invoice is prepared, which is handed over to the tour guide, if applicable. For a group of less than 15 people, the rates for individual travellers shall apply. There is no right to be granted group rates; due to individual agreements, group rates may be granted subject to availability and demand.
2. Bookings are to be confirmed in writing:
• Series of groups are confirmed with signature of the contract.
• Sporadic groups are confirmed 42 calendar days prior to arrival of the respective group. The definitive list of names of the group members must be communicated to the hotel up to 14 calendar days prior to arrival.
3. The hotel shall send a booking confirmation to the organiser with the essential features of the booking made and details regarding checking in and also the terms of payment.
4. Number and cancellations a) Series of groups: The advance payment shall amount to the sum that corresponds to the costs for an average overnight stay. This amount shall be payable 14 calendar days prior to the arrival of the first group and is settled on the last stay of the series. b)Sporadic groups Bookings shall only be binding for the hotel after advance payment of 50% and 42 calendar days prior to the arrival of the group, but after advance payment of 100% and 42 calendar days prior to the arrival of the group if the organiser’s domicile and company registered office is abroad. This advance payment is retained by the hotel in the event of cancellation, if the cancellation occurs within 42 calendar days prior to the arrival of the group. Otherwise, point I.8. of these general terms and conditions of business shall apply accordingly in the event of cancellations for groups.
5. Invoicing for sporadic groups Invoices are to be paid in Euro by bank transfer or by covered bank cheque four calendar days prior to the arrival of the group or in cash upon arrival of the group, if there is no other agreement to the contrary. 6. In addition to the customary contractual services all the costs arising, such as telephone, bar etc. should be paid on departure by each participant himself, if not regulated otherwise in the contract. In the event of non-payment by the individual participants, the organiser shall be liable.
Berlin, March 2009
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