Terms & Conditions

General Terms and Conditions of Travel Agency Services

Booking service Saxon Switzerland – Terms and conditions

General terms and conditions for travel agency services provided by the BOOKING SERVICE SAXON SWITZERLAND

Dear Guest,

Thank you for your interest in booking accommodation with a host in Saxon Switzerland. In the event of a guest accommodation contract being concluded, the host, the Tourismus Marketing Gesellschaft Sächsische Schweiz mbH and the respective booking offices – hereinafter referred to as ‘Buchungsservice Sächsische Schweiz’ – will use all their strength and experience to make your stay as pleasant as possible. Clear legal agreements about your rights and obligations as a guest and the rights and obligations of your host also contribute to this. These guest admission conditions, insofar as they have been effectively agreed, shall become part of the guest admission contract between you and your host in the event of a booking.

Please read these guest admission conditions carefully before booking.

1. Position of the Sächsische Schweiz booking service; scope of these contractual conditions

1.1 The Sächsische Schweiz booking service is the operator of the respective websites and the publisher of corresponding host directories, catalogues, flyers or other print media and online presences, insofar as it is expressly designated as the publisher/operator there.

1.2 Insofar as the Saxon Switzerland Booking Service arranges further services from the hosts, which do not account for a significant proportion of the total value of the host's services and which neither represent an essential feature of the host's or the booking service's own range of services nor are advertised as such, the Saxon Switzerland Booking Service merely acts as an agent for accommodation services.

1.3 As an agent, the booking service Sächsische Schweiz has the position of a provider of associated travel services, insofar as the legal requirements of § 651w BGB (German Civil Code) for an offer of associated travel services of the booking service Sächsische Schweiz are met.

1.4 Without prejudice to the obligations of the Saxon Switzerland Booking Service as a provider of related travel services (in particular, the handover of the legally required form and the implementation of customer money protection in the event of the Saxon Switzerland Booking Service collecting on debts) and the legal consequences of failing to fulfil these legal obligations, the Sächsische Schweiz Booking Service is, in the event of the conditions set out in sections 1.2. and 1.3. being met, neither the tour operator nor the contractual partner of the guest accommodation contract that comes into being when a booking is made. The Sächsische Schweiz Booking Service is therefore not liable for the information provided by the host regarding prices and services, for the provision of the service itself or for any deficiencies in the service.

1.5 Any liability of the Sächsische Schweiz Booking Service and arising from the agency contract and from statutory provisions, in particular according to mandatory regulations on teleservices and electronic business transactions, remains unaffected.

1.6 The present terms and conditions apply, as far as effectively agreed, to guest accommodation contracts, where the booking bases are the host directories, catalogues or accommodation offers published by the Sächsische Schweiz booking service on websites.

1.7 The hosts reserve the right to agree with the guest on guest admission conditions other than those presented here or to make additional or deviating agreements to the guest admission conditions presented here.

2. Conclusion of contract

2.1 The following applies to all types of bookings:

a) The basis of the host's offer and the guest's booking are the description of the accommodation and the additional information in the basis of the booking (e.g. classification explanations), insofar as these are available to the guest at the time of booking.

b) In accordance with the statutory obligations, the guest is advised that according to the statutory provisions (§ 312g para. 2 sentence 1 no. 9 BGB) for guest accommodation contracts that are concluded at a distance (letters, catalogues, telephone calls, faxes, e-mails, messages sent via mobile phone service (SMS) as well as radio and telemedia) , there is no right of cancellation but only the statutory provisions regarding the non-use of rental services (Section 537 of the German Civil Code) apply (see also Section 6 of these guest accommodation conditions). However, a right of cancellation exists if the guest accommodation contract has been concluded outside of business premises, unless the oral negotiations on which the conclusion of the contract is based have been conducted at your previous request as a consumer; in the latter case, there is also no right of cancellation.

2.2 The following applies to bookings made verbally, by telephone, in writing, by email or by fax:

a) By making a booking, the guest makes a binding offer to the host to conclude a guest accommodation contract.

b) The contract is concluded when the guest receives the host's declaration of acceptance (booking confirmation). It does not require any form, so that oral and telephone confirmations are also legally binding for the guest and the host. As a rule, the Sächsische Schweiz booking service will also send the guest a copy of the booking confirmation in text form in the case of oral or telephone confirmations. However, bookings made orally or by telephone by the guest also lead to a binding contract if the host provides a corresponding binding oral or telephone confirmation, even if the guest does not receive the corresponding additional copy of the booking confirmation in text form.

c) If the host makes the guest a special offer at the guest's request, this shall, in deviation from the above provisions, constitute a binding contractual offer from the host to the guest, provided that it is not non-binding information about available accommodation and prices. In these cases, the contract shall be deemed concluded without the need for a corresponding confirmation by the host if the guest accepts this offer within a period of time specified in the offer, if applicable, without restrictions, amendments or supplements, by means of an express declaration, down payment, payment of the balance due or use of the accommodation.

2.3 For bookings made on the internet, the following applies to the conclusion of the contract:

a) By clicking the ‘Book now’ button, the guest makes a binding offer to the host to conclude the guest accommodation contract. The guest will receive an electronic confirmation of receipt of his booking without delay.

b) The transmission of the contractual offer by pressing the button ‘book with obligation to pay’ does not establish any claim on the part of the guest to the conclusion of a guest accommodation contract in accordance with his booking details. Rather, the host is free to decide whether or not to accept the guest's contractual offer.

c) The contract comes into effect when the guest receives the booking confirmation.

d) If the booking confirmation is issued immediately after the guest has made the booking by clicking on the ‘Book now’ button and the corresponding booking confirmation is displayed on the screen (real-time booking), the guest accommodation contract is concluded when the guest receives and is shown this booking confirmation. In this case, the guest is given the option of saving and printing the booking confirmation. However, the binding nature of the guest accommodation contract does not depend on the guest using these options for storage or printing. As a rule, the guest also receives a copy of the booking confirmation by email, email attachment, post or fax. However, receipt of such an additionally transmitted booking confirmation is not a prerequisite for the legal validity of the guest accommodation contract.

3. Prices and services

3.1 The prices stated in the basis of the booking (host directory, host's offer, internet) are final prices and include VAT and all additional costs, unless otherwise stated with regard to the additional costs. Visitor's tax and fees for consumption-based services (e.g. electricity, gas, water, firewood) and for optional and additional services that are only booked or used on site may be charged and shown separately.

3.2 The services owed by the host arise exclusively from the content of the booking confirmation, the information on the accommodation and the services of the host in the booking basis, as well as from any additional agreements expressly made with you.

4. Payment

4.1 The due date of the deposit and final payment is based on the agreement between the guest and the host and noted in the booking confirmation. If no special agreement has been made, the total accommodation price, including the fees for additional costs and additional services, is due for payment to the host at the end of the stay.

4.2 After the contract has been concluded, the host can demand a deposit of up to 20% of the total price of the accommodation services and any additional services booked, unless otherwise agreed in individual cases regarding the amount of the deposit.

4.3 For stays of more than one week, the host may, after the end of the stay, bill the guest for the remuneration for past days of the stay as well as for additional services (e.g. catering services not included in the accommodation price, withdrawals from the minibar) and make them due for payment.

4.4 Payments in foreign currencies are not possible. Credit card payments are only possible if this has been agreed or is generally offered by the host by means of a notice. Payments at the end of the stay are not possible by bank transfer.

4.5 If the guest does not make an agreed down payment and/or the final payment or does not make it in full within the specified period, despite a reminder from the host with a reasonable deadline, even though the host is willing and able to properly provide the contractual services, no statutory or contractual right of set-off or retention exists on the part of the guest and the guest is responsible for the delay in payment, the host is entitled, after issuing a warning with a deadline and after the deadline has passed, to withdraw from the contract with the guest and to demand cancellation fees from him in accordance with Section 6 of these conditions.

5. Arrival and departure

5.1 The guest must arrive at the agreed time, and without special agreement by 6:00 p.m. at the latest.

5.2 The following applies to later arrivals:

a) The guest is obliged to notify the host by 6:00 p.m. at the latest or at the agreed time of arrival if they will arrive late or, in the case of stays of several days, will not move into the booked accommodation until the following day.

b) If the host is not notified by the deadline, they are entitled to allocate the accommodation to someone else. The provisions regarding the guest's cancellation or no-show in these guest admission conditions apply accordingly for the period of non-occupancy.

c) For periods of occupancy in which the guest does not use the accommodation due to delayed arrival, the provisions regarding the guest's cancellation or no-show apply accordingly in these guest admission conditions. The guest is not required to make any payments to the host for such occupancy periods if the host is contractually or legally responsible for the reasons for the delayed arrival or non-occupancy.

5.3 The guest's accommodation must be vacated by the agreed time, and without a special agreement by 10:00 a.m. at the latest on the day of departure. If the accommodation is not vacated in due time, the host may demand a corresponding additional fee. The host reserves the right to claim further damages. A claim for use of the host's facilities after 10:00 a.m. on the day of departure shall only exist if the host has provided general notice to this effect or if an agreement has been made with the host in the individual case.

6. Cancellation and no-show

6.1 In the event of cancellation or no-show by the guest, the host remains entitled to payment of the agreed price for the stay, including the catering portion and the fees for additional services. This does not apply if the host has granted the guest a free right of withdrawal in individual cases and the host receives the guest's declaration of the exercise of this free right of withdrawal, which does not require any specific form, in due time.

6.2 The host shall endeavour to find an alternative use for the accommodation in the ordinary course of his business, without any obligation to make special efforts and taking into account the special character of the booked accommodation (e.g. non-smoking room, family room).

6.3 If the host is able to make alternative use of the accommodation for the period booked by the guest, the host shall, in accordance with his claim under Section 6.1, offset the income from such alternative use against any expenses saved if such alternative use is not possible.

6.4 According to the percentages recognised by case law for the assessment of saved expenses, the guest is obliged to pay the host the following amounts, in each case based on the total price of the accommodation services (including all additional costs), but without taking into account visitor's taxes:

• for holiday apartments/accommodation without meals 90%

• for bed and breakfast 80%

• for half board 70%

• for full board 60%

6.5 The guest 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 is only obliged to pay the correspondingly lower amount.

6.6 The guest is strongly advised to take out travel cancellation insurance.

6.7 The declaration of withdrawal for all bookings is to be addressed to the respective booking office of the Saxon Switzerland booking service and should be made in writing in the interest of the guest.

7. Obligations of the Guest; Termination by the Guest; Bringing Animals

7.1 The Guest is obliged to observe any house rules or host rules of which they have been notified or of which they could reasonably have been aware through appropriate notification.

7.2 The guest is obliged to notify the host immediately of any defects or disruptions that occur and to demand a remedy. If the guest culpably fails to report the defect, the guest's claims against the host may be partially or wholly forfeited.

7.3 The guest may only terminate the contract in the event of significant defects or disruptions. The guest must first set the host a reasonable deadline for remedying the situation as part of the notification of defects, unless the remedy is impossible, is refused by the host or the immediate termination is objectively justified by a special interest of the guest that is recognisable to the host or the guest cannot reasonably be expected to continue the stay for such reasons.

7.4 Taking and accommodating pets in the accommodation is only permitted if there is an express agreement to this effect and if the host provides for this possibility in the description. The guest is obliged to provide truthful information about the type and size of the pet within the scope of such agreements. Any violation of this may entitle the host to extraordinary termination of the guest accommodation contract.

8. Limitation of liability

8.1 The host has unlimited liability, - insofar as the damage results from the breach of an essential obligation, the fulfilment of which is essential for the proper execution of the contract or the breach of which endangers the achievement of the purpose of the contract - insofar as the damage results from injury to life, limb or health.

Otherwise, the host's liability is limited to damages caused by the host or his agents intentionally or through gross negligence.

8.2 The host's possible innkeeper's liability for items brought in according to §§ 701 ff. BGB (German Civil Code) remains unaffected by this regulation.

8.3 The host is not liable for disruptions to services that are recognisable to the guest during their stay as third-party services that are merely arranged (e.g. excursions, admission tickets, tickets for transport services, sporting events, theatre visits, exhibitions, etc.). The same applies to third-party services that are already arranged by the host when the accommodation is booked, provided that these are expressly identified as third-party services in the description or the booking confirmation.

9. Special provisions in connection with pandemics (in particular the coronavirus)

9.1 The parties agree that the agreed services will always be provided by the respective host in compliance with and in accordance with the official requirements and conditions in force at the respective time of travel.

9.2 The guest agrees to observe reasonable rules or restrictions of use of the Saxon Switzerland Booking Service and the hosts when using services and to notify the host immediately in the event of the appearance of typical symptoms of the disease.

10. Alternative dispute resolution; choice of law and jurisdiction

10.1 The Sächsische Schweiz Booking Service and the host point out with regard to the law on consumer dispute resolution that neither the Sächsische Schweiz Booking Service nor the host currently participate in a voluntary consumer dispute resolution. If participation in a consumer dispute resolution scheme becomes mandatory for the Sächsische Schweiz Booking Service or the host after these guest accommodation conditions have been printed, the guest will be informed of this in an appropriate manner. For all guest accommodation contracts concluded in electronic legal transactions, reference is made to the European online dispute resolution platform https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/.

10.2 The contractual relationship between the host and the guest is subject exclusively to German law. The same applies to the other legal relationship.

10.3 The guest can only sue the host at the host's place of business.

10.4 For complaints by the host against the guest, the guest's place of residence is decisive. For complaints against guests who are merchants, legal entities under public or private law or persons who have their place of residence/business or usual place of abode abroad, or whose place of residence/business or usual place of abode is not known at the time the complaint is filed, the host's place of business is agreed as the place of jurisdiction.

10.5 The above provisions shall not apply if and to the extent that mandatory provisions of the European Union or other international provisions applicable to the contract are applicable.

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