I. Scope
1. These Terms and Conditions apply to the temporary hire of the hotel’s conference, banquet and function rooms for the purpose of holding events such as conferences, banquets, seminars, meetings and other functions, as well as to all related services and supplies provided by the hotel, in particular room bookings.
2. Any deviating provisions, even if contained in the contracting party’s general terms and conditions, shall not apply, even if we do not expressly object to them.
II. Conclusion of the Contract
1. The event contract (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Contract’) is concluded upon the Client’s acceptance of the offer made by the Hotel. The parties to this Contract are the respective operating company of the Hotel and the Client. If the customer concludes the Contract on behalf of a third party, it is not the customer but the third party who becomes the Hotel’s contractual partner. The customer must specifically inform the Hotel of this in good time before the Contract is concluded and provide the Hotel with the name and address of the actual contractual partner.
2. If the Customer enters into the Contract recognisably on behalf of a third party, or if a third party has commissioned a commercial intermediary or organiser to handle the contractual arrangements, the Customer, the intermediary or organiser shall be jointly and severally liable with the third party, who becomes the contracting party, for all obligations arising from the contract, provided that the hotel has received corresponding declarations from the customer, the intermediary or the organiser. Irrespective of this, the customer is obliged to pass on all information relevant to the booking, in particular these General Terms and Conditions, to the third party.
3. The subletting or re-letting of the rooms, areas or display cases, as well as the hosting of job interviews, sales events or similar functions, shall require the hotel’s prior written consent, whereby Section 540(1), second sentence, of the German Civil Code (BGB) is excluded insofar as the customer is not a consumer. In this case, the Hotel’s refusal to grant permission for subletting shall not entitle the guest to terminate the contract.
III. Services, Prices, Payment, Set-off
1. The hotel is obliged to provide the services ordered and confirmed in accordance with these General Terms and Conditions.
2. The contracting party is obliged to pay the hotel’s agreed or applicable prices for these services. This also applies to services and expenses incurred by the hotel in relation to third parties in connection with the event and arranged by the contracting party, in particular claims from copyright collecting societies. The agreed prices include the applicable statutory value-added tax. If the period between the conclusion of the contract and its performance exceeds four months and the statutory value-added tax or, where applicable, any local taxes and duties are increased, or if new local taxes and duties are introduced, the hotel reserves the right to increase the agreed rates by the amount by which the applicable VAT or local taxes and levies have increased, or by the amount of the newly introduced local taxes and levies. Payment must be made by non-cash means using one of the payment methods offered. Cash payments on site are not permitted.
3. Furthermore, the contracting party shall be liable for the payment of all food and drink ordered by the event participants, as well as any other costs incurred by the event participants.
4. Invoices issued by the hotel are due for payment immediately upon receipt, without any deduction. The hotel may at any time demand immediate payment of due amounts from the contracting party. The contracting party shall be in default at the latest if it fails to make payment within 30 days of the due date and receipt of an invoice; this applies to a contracting party who is a consumer only if these consequences have been specifically stated on the invoice. The hotel may charge a reminder fee of €5.00 for each reminder issued after the debtor has fallen into arrears. Where the debtor is not a consumer, the provisions of Section 288(5) of the German Civil Code (BGB) shall apply (a flat-rate late payment charge of €40.00).
5. Upon conclusion of the contract, the hotel is entitled to require the contracting party to make a reasonable advance payment or provide security in the form of a credit card guarantee, a deposit or similar. The amount of the advance payment and the payment dates may be agreed in writing in the contract. In justified cases, e.g. payment arrears on the part of the customer or an extension of the scope of the contract, the hotel is entitled, even after the contract has been concluded and up until the start of the event, to demand an advance payment or security deposit as defined in paragraph 4 above, or to increase the advance payment or security deposit agreed in the contract up to the full agreed remuneration.
6. The contracting party may only set off a claim against a claim by the hotel if that claim is undisputed or has been established by a final and binding court judgement.
IV. Withdrawal by the contracting party, cancellation
1. The hotel grants the contracting party the right to withdraw from the contract at any time. The following conditions apply in this regard:
a) In the event of the contracting party’s withdrawal from the booking, the hotel is entitled to reasonable compensation.
b) The hotel may, at its discretion, claim damages from the contracting party in the form of a lump-sum compensation payment instead of a specifically calculated compensation. The lump-sum compensation is calculated as follows:
| Hotels with up to 59 rooms | |
| up to 15 rooms / participants | Cancellation option |
| up to 28 days before arrival | 100 per cent of the agreed total volume may be cancelled free of charge |
| Up to 14 days before arrival | 40% of the agreed total amount can be cancelled free of charge |
| Up to 7 days before arrival | 10 per cent of the agreed total volume can be cancelled free of charge |
| Last-minute: up to 1 day before arrival | A maximum of 2 rooms or 2 participants can be cancelled free of charge |
| 16–30 rooms / participants | Cancellation options |
| Up to 56 days before arrival | 100 per cent of the agreed total volume can be cancelled free of charge |
| Up to 28 days before arrival | 40 per cent of the agreed total can be cancelled free of charge |
| Up to 14 days before arrival | 10 per cent of the agreed total volume can be cancelled free of charge |
| Last-minute: up to 1 day before arrival | A maximum of 2 rooms or 2 participants can be cancelled free of charge |
| 31 or more rooms / participants | Cancellation options |
| Up to 90 days before arrival | 100 per cent of the agreed total volume can be cancelled free of charge |
| Up to 42 days before arrival | 40 per cent of the agreed total can be cancelled free of charge |
| Up to 14 days before arrival | 10% of the agreed total volume can be cancelled free of charge |
| Last-minute: up to 1 day before arrival | A maximum of 2 rooms or 2 participants can be cancelled free of charge |
| Hotels with 60 rooms or more | |
| Up to 15 rooms / participants | Cancellation policy |
| Up to 21 days before arrival | 100 per cent of the agreed total booking can be cancelled free of charge |
| up to 14 days before arrival | 50 per cent of the agreed total amount can be cancelled free of charge |
| Up to 7 days before arrival | 25 per cent of the agreed total volume can be cancelled free of charge |
| Last-minute: up to 1 day before arrival | A maximum of 2 rooms or 2 participants can be cancelled free of charge |
| 16–30 rooms / participants | Cancellation options |
| Up to 28 days before arrival | 100 per cent of the agreed total volume can be cancelled free of charge |
| Up to 21 days before arrival | 50 per cent of the agreed total amount can be cancelled free of charge |
| Up to 14 days before arrival | 25 per cent of the agreed total volume can be cancelled free of charge |
| up to 7 days before arrival | 10 per cent of the agreed total volume may be cancelled free of charge |
| Last-minute: up to 1 day before arrival | A maximum of 2 rooms or 2 participants can be cancelled free of charge |
| 31–50 rooms / participants | Cancellation options |
| Up to 42 days before arrival | 100 per cent of the agreed total volume can be cancelled free of charge |
| Up to 28 days before arrival | 50 per cent of the agreed total can be cancelled free of charge |
| Up to 21 days before arrival | 25 per cent of the agreed total volume can be cancelled free of charge |
| up to 14 days before arrival | 10 per cent of the agreed total volume may be cancelled free of charge |
| Last-minute: up to 1 day before arrival | A maximum of 2 rooms or 2 participants can be cancelled free of charge |
| 51–100 rooms / participants | Cancellation options |
| Up to 90 days before arrival | 100 per cent of the agreed total volume can be cancelled free of charge |
| Up to 42 days before arrival | 50 per cent of the agreed total volume can be cancelled free of charge |
| Up to 28 days before arrival | 25 per cent of the agreed total volume can be cancelled free of charge |
| up to 14 days before arrival | 10 per cent of the agreed total volume may be cancelled free of charge |
| Last-minute: up to 1 day before arrival | A maximum of 3 rooms or 3 participants can be cancelled free of charge |
| Over 100 rooms / participants | Cancellation options |
| Up to 120 days before arrival | 100 per cent of the agreed total booking can be cancelled free of charge |
| Up to 90 days before arrival | 50 per cent of the agreed total can be cancelled free of charge |
| Up to 42 days before arrival | 25 per cent of the agreed total volume can be cancelled free of charge |
| up to 21 days before arrival | 10 per cent of the agreed total volume may be cancelled free of charge |
| up to 7 days before arrival | 5 per cent of the agreed total amount may be cancelled free of charge |
| Last-minute: up to 1 day before arrival | A maximum of 3 rooms or 3 participants may be cancelled free of charge |
c) Where the hotel calculates the compensation specifically, the amount of compensation shall not exceed the contractually agreed price for the service to be provided by the hotel, less the value of the expenses saved by the hotel and any income the hotel derives from the alternative use of the hotel services.
2. The above provisions regarding compensation shall apply mutatis mutandis if the contracting party fails to make use of the booked services without notifying the hotel in good time.
3. If the hotel has granted the contracting party the option to withdraw from the contract within a specified period without further legal consequences, the hotel shall have no claim to compensation. The timely nature of the notice of withdrawal shall be determined by the date of its receipt by the hotel. The contracting party must give notice of withdrawal in writing.
V. Withdrawal by the hotel
1. Where the contracting party has been granted a right of withdrawal free of charge in accordance with Clause IV(3), the hotel is also entitled to withdraw from the contract within the agreed period if there are enquiries from other guests and customers regarding the booked rooms and function rooms and the contracting party, upon enquiry by the hotel, does not waive its right to withdraw free of charge in accordance with Clause IV(3).
2. If an agreed advance payment or security deposit, or one required in accordance with Clause III(5) above, is not made even after the expiry of a reasonable grace period set by the hotel, the hotel shall also be entitled to withdraw from the contract.
3. Furthermore, the hotel is entitled to withdraw from the contract for good cause, in particular if
- force majeure or other circumstances beyond the hotel’s control render the performance of the contract impossible;
- events are booked on the basis of misleading or false information regarding essential facts, e.g. the organiser or the purpose;
- the hotel has reasonable grounds to believe that the event may jeopardise the smooth running of the business, the safety or the public reputation of the hotel, without this being attributable to the hotel’s sphere of control or organisation;
- it should transpire that the guest is a political or religious extremist, in particular a right-wing extremist, racist, a member of the far left and/or anti-Semitic, or disseminates content that glorifies violence, or belongs to a group or organisation, or has made the booking on behalf of a group or organisation that is politically or religiously extremist, in particular far-right, racist, extreme left-wing and/or anti-Semitic, or which disseminates content glorifying violence, and has failed to disclose this;
- there has been unauthorised subletting or re-letting within the meaning of Clause II(3);
- a case covered by Clause VI(3) arises;
- the hotel becomes aware of circumstances indicating that the contractual partner’s financial circumstances have deteriorated significantly since the conclusion of the contract, in particular where the guest fails to settle the hotel’s due claims or does not provide adequate security, and the hotel’s claims for payment therefore appear to be at risk;
- the contracting party has filed an application for the opening of insolvency proceedings in respect of its assets, provided a statement of assets in accordance with Section 802c of the Code of Civil Procedure, initiated an out-of-court debt settlement procedure, or suspended payments;
- insolvency proceedings have been opened in respect of the contracting party’s assets, or the opening of such proceedings has been refused on the grounds of lack of assets.
4. The hotel must notify the contracting party in writing without delay of the exercise of the right of withdrawal.
5. In the aforementioned cases of withdrawal, the contracting party shall have no claim for damages.
VI. Arrival and Departure
1. The contracting party shall have no entitlement to the provision of specific rooms, unless the hotel has confirmed the provision of specific rooms in writing.
2. Booked rooms shall be available to the contracting party from 3.00 pm on the agreed day of arrival. The contracting party shall have no entitlement to earlier provision unless this has been agreed with the hotel in writing.
3. Booked rooms must be taken up by the contracting party or the relevant event participants by 6.00 pm at the latest on the agreed day of arrival. Unless a later arrival time has been expressly agreed, the hotel is entitled to reallocate booked rooms after 6.00 pm without the contracting party being entitled to claim compensation as a result. In this respect, the hotel is entitled to cancel the booking, unless the booking has already been paid for in full in advance.
4. On the agreed day of departure, the rooms must be vacated and made available to the hotel by 11.00 am at the latest. Thereafter, in addition to any claim for compensation arising therefrom, the hotel may charge the daily room rate for the additional use of the room until 6.00 pm, and 100 per cent of the full applicable accommodation rate from 6.00 pm onwards. The contracting party is free to prove to the hotel that the hotel has incurred no loss or a significantly lower loss.
VII. Changes to the number of participants and the event time
1. The contracting party is obliged to specify the estimated number of participants to the hotel at the time of booking. The final number of participants must be communicated to the hotel in writing no later than four working days before the event date to ensure thorough preparation. Any change in the number of participants by more than 5 per cent requires the hotel’s consent.
2. When calculating charges for services provided by the hotel based on the number of registered guests (such as hotel rooms, food and drink), the actual number of guests shall be used if the registered and contractually agreed number of participants increases. In the event of a reduction in the contractually agreed number of participants by more than 5 per cent, the hotel is entitled to invoice the contractually agreed number of participants minus 5 per cent.
3. If the number of participants is reduced by more than 10 per cent, the hotel is entitled to increase the agreed prices appropriately and to reallocate the confirmed rooms, unless this would be unreasonable for the contracting party. The hotel may also amend the prices if the contracting party subsequently requests changes to the number of participants, the hotel’s services or the duration of the event, and the hotel agrees to such changes. If a distinct part of a booked event is not utilised, the hotel may demand reasonable compensation for the unused part in accordance with the provisions of Section IV, paragraph 1(a) to (c).
4. The contracting party is free to prove that the hotel has saved a higher proportion of the costs.
5. If the agreed start or end times of the event are changed without the hotel’s prior written consent, the hotel may charge additional costs for the provision of staff and equipment, unless the hotel is responsible for the change.
6. For events extending beyond 23:00, the hotel may, unless otherwise agreed, charge for the costs of staff deployment from that time onwards, based on individual supporting documents. Furthermore, the hotel may pass on staff travel costs, based on itemised receipts, if staff have to make their way home after public transport services have ceased operating.
VIII. Bringing in Food and Drink
1. The contracting party may only bring food and drink to events by prior agreement with the hotel, which must be in writing. In such cases, the hotel may charge a service fee to cover overheads.
IX. Organisation of the event
1. Insofar as the hotel procures technical and other equipment from third parties on behalf of the contracting party at the latter’s request, it shall act in the name, under the authority and for the account of the contracting party. The contracting party shall be liable for the careful handling and proper return of such equipment. It shall indemnify the hotel against all claims by third parties arising from the provision of this equipment.
2. The use of the client’s or organiser’s own electrical systems and equipment whilst utilising the hotel’s electricity supply requires the hotel’s prior consent in writing. Any malfunctions or damage to the hotel’s technical installations arising from the use of such equipment and installations shall be borne by the contracting party, insofar as the hotel is not responsible for them. The hotel may record and charge a flat rate for the electricity costs incurred as a result of such use.
3. With the hotel’s consent, the contracting party is entitled to use its own telephone, fax and data transmission equipment. The hotel may charge connection and line rental fees for this. If the connection of the contracting party’s own equipment results in corresponding hotel facilities remaining unused, a reasonable compensation for loss of use may be charged.
4. The hotel shall endeavour to rectify any faults in technical or other facilities provided by the hotel immediately upon receiving a complaint from the contracting party. Payments may not be withheld or reduced unless the hotel is responsible for such faults.
5. The contracting party shall obtain, at its own expense, any official permits required for the staging of the event. It is the contracting party’s responsibility to comply with these permits and all other public law regulations relating to the event. Where the contracting party entrusts the provision of services in connection with the event (such as set-up work, etc.) to third parties, the contracting party must ensure compliance with all relevant health and safety regulations.
6. The contracting party shall, on its own responsibility, handle the formalities and settlements required in connection with any music performances and sound systems arranged by the contracting party itself with the relevant organisations (e.g. GEMA) and provide evidence of this to the hotel.
7. The contracting party may only use the hotel’s name and trademarks in the promotion of its event after prior consultation with the hotel.
X. Personal Belongings
1. Any exhibition items or other objects, including personal belongings, brought onto the premises are held in the event rooms or within the hotel at the contracting party’s own risk. The hotel accepts no liability for loss, destruction or damage, except in cases of gross negligence or wilful misconduct on the part of the hotel. This exclusion does not apply to damage resulting from injury to life, limb or health. Furthermore, all cases in which safekeeping constitutes a duty typical of the contract due to the circumstances of the individual case are excluded from this exclusion of liability.
2. Any decorative materials brought onto the premises must comply with fire safety regulations. The hotel is entitled to request official proof of this. If such proof is not provided, the hotel is entitled to remove any materials already brought in at the customer’s expense. To prevent possible damage, the placement and fixing of objects must be agreed with the hotel in advance.
3. Any exhibition items or other objects brought onto the premises must be removed immediately after the event has ended. The hotel may have any items left behind removed and stored at the contracting party’s expense. If removal involves disproportionately high costs, the hotel may leave the items in the event room and charge the applicable room hire fee for the duration of their storage there. The contracting party reserves the right to prove that the damage was lower, whilst the hotel reserves the right to prove that the damage was higher.
4. Packaging materials (cardboard boxes, crates, plastic, etc.) arising in connection with the delivery of goods for the event by the contracting party or third parties must be disposed of by the contracting party. Should the organiser leave packaging material behind in the hotel, the hotel is entitled to dispose of it at the contracting party’s expense.
XI. Liability of the contracting party
1. The contracting party shall be liable for all damage to the building or its contents caused by event participants or visitors, employees, other third parties within its sphere of influence, or by the contracting party itself, its legal representatives or its vicarious agents.
2. The hotel may require the contracting party to provide appropriate security (e.g. insurance, deposits, guarantees) to safeguard against any claims for damages.
XII. Liability of the Hotel, Limitation Period
1. Should any disruptions or defects occur in the Hotel’s services, the Hotel shall endeavour to remedy the situation upon immediate notification by the Contracting Party. If the contracting party culpably fails to notify the hotel of a defect, no claim for a reduction in the contractually agreed fee shall arise.
2. The hotel shall be liable in accordance with statutory provisions for all damages resulting from injury to life, limb or health, as well as in the event that the hotel has given a guarantee and in the case of defects fraudulently concealed.
3. For all other damage not covered by Clause XII(2) and caused by slight negligence on the part of the hotel, its legal representatives or its vicarious agents, the hotel shall only be liable if such damage is attributable to a breach of a duty typical of the contract. In such cases, liability shall be limited to the foreseeable damage typical of the contract.
4. The above limitations of liability apply to all claims for damages, irrespective of their legal basis, including claims arising from tort. The above limitations and exclusions of liability shall also apply in the event of any claims for damages brought by a contracting party against employees or vicarious agents of the hotel.
5. The hotel is liable to the contracting party for items brought onto the premises in accordance with statutory provisions, i.e. up to one hundred times the accommodation price, but not exceeding €3,500.00. Liability for valuables (cash, jewellery, etc.) is limited to €800.00.
6. Where a parking space is made available to the contracting party in the hotel garage or in a hotel car park, whether for a fee or not, this does not constitute a contract of safekeeping. The hotel is under no obligation to monitor the vehicle. The hotel shall not be liable for the loss of or damage to motor vehicles parked or manoeuvred on the hotel premises and their contents, unless the hotel is at fault due to wilful misconduct or gross negligence. This also applies to the hotel’s vicarious agents. Claims for damage must be made to the hotel no later than upon leaving the hotel premises.
7. Messages, post and parcels intended for the contracting party and participants in the event shall be handled with care. The hotel shall undertake the delivery, safekeeping and – upon request – the forwarding of such items for a fee, as well as the handling of lost property upon request. Claims for damages, except in cases of gross negligence or wilful misconduct, are excluded. The hotel is entitled, after a storage period of one month at the latest, to hand over the aforementioned items to the local lost property office, subject to a reasonable fee.
8. Claims for damages by the contracting party shall become time-barred at the latest two years from the date on which the contracting party becomes aware of the damage or, irrespective of such awareness, at the latest three years from the date of the damaging event. This does not apply to liability for damage resulting from injury to life, limb or health, or to other damage arising from an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by the hotel, a legal representative or a vicarious agent of the hotel.
XIII. Final Provisions
1. Any amendments or additions to the contract, the acceptance of the booking or these General Terms and Conditions for Events must be made in writing. Unilateral amendments or additions by the contracting party shall be invalid.
2. The place of performance and payment is the hotel’s registered office.
3. The place of jurisdiction – where the hotel’s contracting party is a trader or a legal entity under public law – shall be the hotel’s registered office or, at the hotel’s discretion, Rostock. Where the hotel’s contracting party has no general place of jurisdiction within Germany, the place of jurisdiction shall be Rostock. However, the hotel is entitled to bring legal proceedings and other court cases before the contracting party’s general place of jurisdiction as well. The hotel is neither willing nor obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.
4. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply, to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.
5. Should any individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions for Events be or become invalid or void, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. In all other respects, the statutory provisions shall apply.
Date: January 2023
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Further terms and conditions:
- GeneralTerms and Conditions for Hotel Accommodation Contracts
- General Terms and Conditions for the Purchase of Vouchers
- General Terms and Conditions for In-House Events