General Terms and Conditions of Business

1 Scope

1.1 These terms and conditions apply to all contracts regarding the rental of hotel rooms for accommodation and all other services and deliveries provided by the hotel for its guests (Hotel Accommodation agreement). The term "agreement" encompasses and replaces the following terms: accommodation agreement, lodging agreement, hotel agreement, hotel room agreement.

1.2 The sub-letting or re-letting of the rooms provided and their use for purposes other than that of accommodation shall require the prior written consent of the hotel, whereby article 540, paragraph 1, sentence 2 of the German Civil Code [Bundesgesetzbuch] shall be waived insofar as the customer is not a consumer.

1.3 The customer’s general terms and conditions shall only be valid if this has expressly been agreed in advance.

2 Conclusion of agreement, contracting partners, limitation period

2.1 The contractual partners are the hotel and the customer. The agreement shall come into effect as soon as the customer's application is accepted by the hotel. The hotel is free to confirm the room reservation in written form.

2.2 As a matter of principle, all claims held against the hotel shall lapse within one year from the statutory start of the limitation period. Claims for compensation shall lapse after five years of the relevant party becoming aware of the claim, insofar as they are not based on injury to life, body, health or freedom. These claims to compensation shall lapse in ten years, irrespective of when they come to the notice of the relevant party. The reductions in limitation periods shall not be applicable to claims that are based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of obligation on the part of the hotel.

3 Services, prices, payment, offsetting

3.1The hotel undertakes to have the rooms booked by the customer ready and to provide the agreed services.

3.2 The customer undertakes to pay the agreed and/or applicable prices of the hotel for the rooms provided and the other services that he/she uses. This also applies to third party services commissioned directly by the customer or through the hotel and paid for upfront by the hotel.

3.3 The agreed prices shall be understood to include the taxes and local levies applicable when the agreement is concluded. Local levies that are owed by the guest him/herself pursuant to the relevant local law, such as visitors' tax, are not included.

In the event of a change in the statutory sales tax or the introduction, modification or scrapping or local levies on the object of performance following conclusion of the agreement, the prices shall be adjusted accordingly. In the case of agreements with consumers, this shall only apply if the period between conclusion of the agreement and performance of the agreement exceeds four months.

3.4 The hotel may make its agreement to a request from the customer for a subsequent reduction in the number of booked rooms, the service of the hotel or the duration of the customer's stay contingent on increasing the price for the rooms and/or for the other services of the hotel.

3.5 Invoices issued by the hotel without a due date shall be payable without deduction within ten days of receipt of the invoice. The hotel may request immediate payment of all accounts payable owed by the customer at any time. In the event of a delay in payment, the hotel shall be entitled to request the applicable statutory default interest that currently equates to 8% or, for legal transactions involving a consumer, 5% above the basic interest rate. The hotel reserves the right to provide evidence that it has incurred a greater loss.

3.6 The hotel shall be entitled to request an appropriate down payment or security from the customer upon conclusion of the Agreement, for example in the form of a credit card guarantee. The amount of the down payment and the payment deadlines may be agreed in writing in the Agreement. In the case of down payments or securities for all-inclusive trips, this shall not affect the statutory provisions.

3.7 In justified cases, such as delayed payment on the part of the customer or extension of the scope of the agreement, the hotel is entitled to request a down payment or security deposit within the meaning of item 3.6 above, or an increase in the down payment or security deposit agreed in the agreement up to the full agreed remuneration, even after conclusion of the agreement and up to the start of the stay.

3.8 Furthermore, at the start of the customer's stay and during said stay, the hotel is entitled to request an appropriate down payment or security deposit within the meaning of item 3.6 above for existing and future claims from the agreement, insofar as such a payment has not already been made in line with item 3.6 and/or item 3.7 above.

3.9 The customer may only offset an undisputed or legally-determined claim against a claim held by the hotel.

4 Withdrawal by the customer (countermand, cancellation) / failure to make use of the hotel's services (no-show)

4.1 It is only possible for the customer to withdraw from the agreement concluded with the hotel if a right of withdrawal has expressly been agreed in the agreement, another statutory right of withdrawal exists or the hotel expressly consents to cancellation of the agreement. The agreement of a right of withdrawal and any consent to cancellation of the agreement must always be set out in writing.

4.2 Insofar as a deadline for withdrawal from the agreement free of charge has been agreed between the hotel and the customer, the customer may withdraw from the agreement up until this date without giving rise to payment or compensation claims on the part of the hotel. Generally, bookings can be cancelled or changed without any fees up to 28 days prior to arrival. The customer's right of withdrawal shall lapse if he/she does not exercise his/her right to withdraw with regard to the hotel by the agreed deadline.

4.3 If no right of withdrawal has been agreed or if said right has already lapsed, where there is also no statutory right of withdrawal or termination and the hotel does not consent to cancellation of the agreement, the hotel holds a claim to the agreed remuneration in spite of failure to make use of the service. The hotel must consider the income received from renting the rooms to other guests and the expenses it has saved. If the rooms are not rented to other guests, the hotel may take account of the deduction for expenses spared as a flat rate. In this case, the customer shall be obliged to pay at least 80% of the contractually-agreed price for overnight accommodation with or without breakfast and for all-inclusive arrangements with third-party services, 70% for half-board and 60% for full-board arrangements. The customer shall be free to provide evidence that the aforementioned claim did not arise, or did not amount to the sum requested.

5 Withdrawal by the hotel

5.1 Insofar as it has been agreed that the customer may withdraw from the agreement free of charge within a specified time period, the hotel, for its part, shall be entitled to withdraw from the agreement within this time period if there are enquiries from other customers regarding the contractually-reserved rooms and the customer does not waive his/her right of withdrawal when asked to do so by the hotel and given an appropriate deadline.

5.2 If a down payment or security deposit agreed or requested in accordance with item 3.6 and/or item 3.7 is not paid even after an appropriate extension period set by the hotel has passed, the hotel shall also be entitled to withdraw from the agreement.

5.3 Furthermore, the hotel shall have the right to extraordinary withdrawal from the agreement on objectively justified grounds, in particular if:
force majeure or other circumstances for which the hotel is not responsible make it impossible to fulfil the agreement;
rooms or premises are booked by culpably giving misleading or incorrect information or by omitting significant facts; here significant may refer to the identity of the customer, the ability to pay or the purpose of the stay;
the hotel has justified reason to assume that use of the service may endanger the smooth business operations, safety and security or public reputation of the hotel, without this being attributable to the hotel's management and/or organisational team;
the purpose and/or reason for the stay is illegal;
there is a breach of item 1.2 above.

5.4 Justified withdrawal by the hotel shall not give rise to any claim for compensation on the part of the customer.

6 Provision of rooms, handover and return of rooms

6.1 The customer does not purchase any right to the provision of specific rooms unless this has been expressly agreed.

6.2 Reserved rooms will be available to the customer from 3 pm on the agreed arrival day. The customer has no right to earlier provision of the rooms.

6.3 On the agreed departure day, the rooms must be cleared and made available to the hotel by 11.00 at the latest. After this, due to delayed clearance of the room, the hotel may invoice 50% of the full accommodation price (list price) up to 6 pm for use of the room exceeding the terms of the agreement, and 90% of said price from 6 pm onwards. This shall not give rise to any contractual claims on the part of the customer. The customer is free to provide evidence that the hotel had no reason for any claim to a usage fee, or a significantly lower claim.

6.4 All rooms are non-smoking rooms. Smoking is only allowed on open balconies, but not on glazed loggias and French balconies. In case of noncompliance, the hotel is allowed to charge at least 150 Euros for additional cleaning as well as a possible loss of revenues.

6.5 In case that the agreement includes a pet, it is the responsibility of the guest that textile areas, such as sofas and beds, are not used by the pet. The hotel provides a comfortable blanket instead. In case of any damage or disproportionate cleaning measures, the hotel may apply additional charges.

7 Liability on the part of the hotel

7.1 The hotel shall be liable for losses for which it is responsible, arising from injury to life, body or health. Furthermore, it shall be liable for other loss or damage that is based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of obligation by the hotel and/or on an intentional or negligent breach of typical contractual obligations by the hotel. Breach of an obligation by the hotel shall equate to that of a statutory representative or vicarious agent. Other claims for compensation shall be excluded unless regulated elsewhere in item 7. In the event that disruptions to or defects in the hotel's services occur, the hotel shall strive to remedy the situation as soon as it becomes aware of the problem, or in response to an immediate reproach from the customer. The customer undertakes to do what may be reasonably expected of him/her to rectify the problem and keep any loss or damage to a minimum.

7.2 For items brought into the hotel, the hotel shall be liable to the customer in accordance with the statutory provisions. The hotel recommends that customers use the hotel safe or room safe. Where the guest wishes to bring into the hotel money, securities or valuables worth more than 800 Euros, or other items worth more than 3,500 Euros, this shall require the conclusion of a separate safekeeping agreement with the hotel.

7.3 Where the customer is provided with a parking space in the hotel's car park, including for a fee, no safekeeping agreement shall come into being as a result. In the event of the disappearance of vehicles left or parked on hotel property and of their contents, or of damage to such vehicles and contents, the hotel shall only be liable in accordance with item 7.1 above, sentences 1 to 4 above.

7.4 The hotel shall carry out wake-up services with the greatest care.
News, postal items and goods shipments for the guests shall be handled with care. The hotel shall deliver and store these and – on request – shall forward them for a fee. Here the hotel shall only be liable in accordance with item 7.1 above, sentences 1 to 4.

8 Vouchers

8.1 These terms apply to all vouchers issued by Badhotel Sternhagen „Das Haus am Strand“ GmbH & Co. KG., following „Sternhagen“.

8.2 All personal data will be used purposefully for the processing of contracts. Any further use of personal data will only be conducted with consent of the guest or in case of a legal exception.

8.3 German law shall apply. Application of the United Nations Convention on contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the conflict of law’s provisions shall be excluded.

8.4 Complaints must be claimed within 14 days after the purchase.

8.5 All sold vouchers are valid after complete payment. Only in case there is no expiry date stated on the voucher itself, all issued vouchers are valid for 3 years, starting at the end of the year of issuance.

8.6 Vouchers issued by Sternhagen can be used in all areas within the hotel, unless stated otherwise. Partial redemption is possible; however, the rest value cannot be refunded but can be used another time. In case of loss of the original voucher it is not possible to offer compensation.

8.7 The hotel is not obliged to prove the validity further than regarding the expiry date and the code. The owner of the voucher must make sure that the voucher cannot be used by a third party. If the owner knows that a third party has access to the voucher, the hotel must be informed immediately. § 793. Abs. 1. S. 2 BGB applies for a voucher redeemed by an unauthorized person.

8.8 Place of execution is the hotel. If a voucher that is not issued electronically but in embodied form is sent to the redeemer, the risk of accidental loss and the risk of loss of the sent voucher passes over to the buyer or redeemer in accordance with section 447 of the German Civil Code (BGB).

8.9 Any improper or multiple redemption of a Sternhagen voucher will be prosecuted. This expressly also includes attempts to redeem fraudulently or multiple times.

8.10 Corporate customers are not permitted to resell purchased Sternhagen vouchers, neither to private customers nor to commercial users.

9 Final provisions

9.1 Amendments and additions to the agreement, the application acceptance or these general terms and conditions of business must be set out in writing. Unilateral amendments or additions by the customer are not valid.

9.2 In commercial transactions, Cuxhaven shall be the place of performance and place of payment, as well as the exclusive place of jurisdiction – including for disputes pertaining to cheques and bills of exchange.  Insofar as a contracting partner satisfies the prerequisite set out in article 38, paragraph 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure [Zivilprozessordnung] and has no general place of jurisdiction within Germany, Cuxhaven shall also be deemed to be the place of jurisdiction.

9.3 German law shall apply. Application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the conflict of law’s provisions shall be excluded.

9.4 In the event that individual provisions of these general terms and conditions of business are or become invalid or void, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. For the rest, the statutory regulations shall apply.