I. Area of application

1.   These General Terms and Conditions (GTC) apply to all contracts for the purchase of cash vouchers or service-linked vouchers (hereinafter collectively referred to as: "Vouchers") from the hotel (for contact details, please see the header or footer).

2.   Separate terms and conditions apply to the conclusion of hotel accommodation contracts and the rental of event rooms.

3.   Deviating or supplementary terms and conditions of the customer shall only apply if and to the extent that they have been expressly confirmed in writing by the hotel.
 

II. Definition of terms

1. "Consumer" in the following means all natural persons who conclude legal transactions for purposes that can predominantly be attributed neither to their commercial nor to their independent professional activity.

2. "Contractor", in contrast, is a natural or legal person or a partnership with legal capacity who, when concluding a legal transaction, acts in the exercise of their commercial or independent professional activity.

3. "Service-linked vouchers" are vouchers that can be exchanged for the service(s) already mentioned in the voucher or for specific or at least determinable service(s).

4. "Cash vouchers" are vouchers evidencing the cash value paid by the acquirer and specified in the voucher and which can be used to pay for a service not yet determined at the time of acquisition of the cash voucher.

I.   Contractual partner

1.   Contractual partners are the customer and the hotel. The hotel reserves the right to confirm a telephone enquiry in text form (e.g. by e-mail).

2.   If it is not the customer itself but a third party who has placed the order for the voucher, the third party is obliged to forward all relevant information from the hotel in good time, in particular the GTC, the withdrawal policy and the sample withdrawal form to the customer immediately upon receipt.

3.   If the voucher is sent to the customer as a file attachment to an e-mail in PDF format, the customer needs a reader to open and print the voucher. The customer can download a free PDF reader from the internet, e.g. at get.adobe.com/uk/reader.

II. Right of withdrawal for consumers

1.   Consumers have a right of withdrawal by law when concluding remote contracts against payment with contractors if this right is not excluded or has already expired.

2.   When the customer is a "consumer" is specified in Section II Paragraph 1. The hotel is a contractor in the sense of Section II Paragraph 2.

3. "Remote contracts" are contracts where both parties use exclusively means of remote communication for the negotiation and conclusion of the contract, unless the conclusion of the contract does not take place within the framework of a distribution or service system organised for remote sales.

"Means of remote communication" are all means of communication that can be used to initiate or conclude a contract without the parties to the contract being physically present at the same time, such as letters, catalogues, telephone calls, telecopies, e-mails, messages sent via mobile phone service (SMS) as well as broadcasting and telemedia.

4.   Unless the customer and the hotel have agreed otherwise in individual cases, the right of withdrawal shall not apply in particular for i

·  Contracts for the supply of goods which are not prefabricated and for the manufacture of which an individual selection or determination by the consumer is decisive or which are clearly tailored to the personal needs of the consumer.

·  Contracts for the provision of non-residential accommodation services, carriage of goods, motor vehicle hire, supply of food and drink and other services relating to leisure activities, where the contract provides for a specific date or period for the provision, provided, however, that the right of withdrawal shall not be excluded in the case of contracts for travel services under Section 651a concluded away from business premises, unless the verbal negotiations on which the conclusion of the contract is based were conducted at the consumer's prior request.

5.   Unless the customer and the hotel have agreed otherwise in individual cases, the consumer's right of withdrawal shall expire prematurely in the case of contracts for the supply of digital content not on a tangible data carrier if the contractor has commenced performance of the contract after the consumer has expressly consented to the contractor commencing performance of the contract before the expiry of the withdrawal period and has confirmed their knowledge that by giving their consent they lose their right of withdrawal on commencement of performance of the contract.

 

III. Voucher conditions

1.   Cash vouchers can be redeemed at all hotels of the H-Hotels group of companies (e.g. HYPERION, H4 Hotels, H2 Hotels, H+ Hotels, H.omes and H.ostels) in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Cash vouchers can be redeemed directly at participating hotels or as part of the online booking of hotel services via the H-Hotels AG website.

2.   The service voucher can be redeemed throughout the year, subject to availability, with the exception of existing trade fair periods at the locations of the participating hotels and public holidays applicable to the participating hotel on site (such as Christmas holidays, New Year's Day). The customer is requested to obtain information directly from the participating hotel of their choice in good time before making a reservation regarding the capacities for hotel accommodation in the period notified by them.Once the voucher has been redeemed, the date can only be rescheduled in consultation with the hotel.For changes regarding a hotel booked online, please contact H-Hotels AG [contact form on h-hotels.com, phone: +49 (0)800 87 333 737, e-mail: [email protected]).

3.   The customer is requested to contact the hotel in good time before redeeming a service-linked voucher in order to enquire about capacities and to make any necessary appointments (e.g. table reservations, appointments for treatments).

4.   Vouchers are excluded from exchange; this does not affect the assertion of statutory mandatory provisions such as the warranty and revocation (Section V). Cash payment or offsetting of service-linked vouchers against other benefits is not possible. Cash vouchers and remaining credit balances are not paid out to the customer in cash.

IIV. Services, prices, terms of payment

1.   The prices are total prices, they include the taxes and other price components applicable at the time of the conclusion of the contract, if any.

2.   The prices do not include shipping costs, unless delivery free of shipping costs is expressly promised in the order process or in the other (written or electronic) communication with the customer.

3.   Unless there is a deviating regulation for the individual payment options, the payment claims from the concluded contract are due for payment immediately.

4.   If the voucher is delivered cash on delivery, the parcel service shall charge an additional transmission fee directly from the customer, the amount of which shall be shown in the order process on the website, including any applicable taxes (such as VAT). This transmission fee cannot be charged by the contracting party. 

V. Terms of delivery, transfer of risk

1.   Unless otherwise agreed in individual cases, the voucher shall be delivered by post 3-5 days after receipt of the order confirmation by the customer, in the case of payment in advance 2-3 days after the customer's payment instruction has been made.

2.   If the customer orders a voucher as a consumer (Section II, Paragraph 1), which is delivered by the hotel to the address specified by the customer, the risk of accidental loss or accidental deterioration of the voucher in transit shall pass to the customer or to a person appointed by the customer to receive the voucher, irrespective of whether the shipment is "insured" or "uninsured". This also applies if the customer is in default of accepting the voucher. The foregoing with regard to the transfer of risk shall not apply if the customer has independently commissioned a transport company not named by the hotel or a person not named by the hotel to carry out the delivery. If the customer orders as a contractor (Section II, Paragraph 2), the delivery of the voucher shall be at the customer's risk.

VI. Customer information on the creation and design of the voucher

1.   Insofar as information from the customer is required for the individual design of the voucher, the customer shall provide the hotel with the appropriate information in good time.

2.   The hotel does not check the data, texts, images and other content or information transmitted by the customer for accuracy and completeness. The customer is therefore required to check the transmitted content or information itself for correctness and completeness before sending it.

3.   The customer shall not transmit to the contractual partner any content that infringes the rights of third parties, such as name rights, copyrights and trademark rights, or violates existing laws. In the event of a violation, the customer hereby indemnifies the hotel against any claims asserted by third parties in this context. This includes the assumption of the costs of legal defence (including court costs and lawyers' fees in the statutory amount).

VII. Warranty, validity, transferability, liability

1.   The statutory warranty provisions shall apply. The hotel's liability shall be governed by the statutory provisions.

2.   For the redemption of vouchers, the statutory limitation periods of the German Civil Code (BGB) shall generally apply (regularly three years, starting from the end of the calendar year in which the voucher was purchased), unless a different limitation period has been effectively agreed with the customer in individual cases (at least in text form).

3.   The vouchers are not personal and can be redeemed by anyone. If the customer or owner of the voucher (e.g. the recipient) is unable to redeem the voucher for reasons for which the hotel is not responsible, it is the responsibility of the customer or owner to use the voucher in another way (e.g. by passing it on to another person) in good time before the limitation period begins. The customer is not entitled to withdraw from the contract without the existence of a legal reason for withdrawal (e.g. revocation in accordance with Section V).

4.   The commercial resale of the vouchers is generally prohibited for the customer, unless a different agreement has been made in writing in individual cases.

VIII. Choice of law, place of jurisdiction, supplements, reference to consumer dispute resolution

1.   The legal relationship between the customer and the contracting party shall be governed exclusively by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. In relation to a consumer (Section II Paragraph 1), the first sentence shall apply only to the extent that the choice of law does not undermine the protection of mandatory legal provisions of the state in which the consumer has his habitual residence.

2.   If the customer is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contract – including disputes relating to cheques and bills of exchange – shall be, at the hotel's discretion, the hotel's place of business or Bad Arolsen. The same shall apply if the customer does not have a general place of jurisdiction in the FRG or their place of residence or habitual abode is unknown at the time the action is brought. Mandatory statutory provisions on the place of jurisdiction shall remain unaffected.

3.   Amendments and supplements to the contract, the acceptance of the application or these GTC must be made in text form (e.g. e-mail is sufficient). Unilateral changes or additions by the customer are invalid.