General terms and conditions
- Scope
1.a.) These Terms and Conditions apply to contracts governing the rental use of hotel rooms for lodging purposes, as well as to all goods supplied/services rendered to customers by the hotel.
1.b.) The subletting or re-letting of the rooms and their usage for purposes other than accommodation require the prior written consent of the hotel, whereby § 540, para. 1 sentence 2 of the German Civil Code (BGB) will be waived insofar as the customer is not a consumer.
1.c.) Terms and conditions of the customer shall only apply if this was previously expressly agreed in writing.
- Conclusion of contract, contractual parties; limitation
2.a.) The contract is concluded by the hotel’s acceptance of the customer’s application. The hotel is at liberty to confirm the room reservation in writing.
2.b.) The contractual parties are the hotel and the customer. If a third party makes the booking for the customer, s/he is liable to the hotel, together with the customer, as joint debtors for all obligations arising from the hotel accommodation contract, insofar as the hotel has a corresponding statement from the third party.
2.c.) All claims against the hotel shall lapse one year after the commencement of the general statute of limitations as set out in § 199 para. 1 of the BGB, provided that the customer is informed about these terms. Claims for damages shall lapse after five years, regardless of whether the customer is informed. The statute of limitations shall not apply for claims which are based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of obligation by the hotel.
- Services, prices, payment, room offsets, meeting room
3.a.) The hotel is obliged to make available the room(s) / meeting room booked by the customer and to render the agreed services.
3.b.) The customer is obliged to pay the prices agreed with the hotel for the room(s) / meeting room provided and for any other services used. This also applies to hotel services and expenditure arranged by the customer for third parties.
3.c.) The agreed prices include the applicable VAT. If the period between conclusion of the contract and the fulfilment of the contract exceeds four months and if the rate generally charged by the hotel for such services increases, this can be reflected by an increase in the contractually agreed price, to a maximum of 5%.
3.d.) Prices may be adjusted by the hotel if the customer later wishes to make changes to the number of reserved rooms, the hotel services required or the duration of the stay and the hotel agrees to these changes.
3.e.) The hotel is entitled to demand a reasonable advance payment or security deposit, either at the conclusion of the contract or after observing the legal provisions for package tours. The amount of the advance payment and payment dates may be agreed in writing in the contract.
3.f.) The customer can only offset or reduce a claim by the hotel against an undisputed or legally binding claim.
- Withdrawal by the customer (e.g. cancellation) / Non-utilisation of hotel services
4.a) Cancellation by the customer of the contract concluded with the hotel requires the written consent of the hotel. If no such consent is provided, then the price agreed in the contract must be paid even if the customer does not make use of the services contracted. This does not apply when the hotel fails in its obligation to observe the rights, legally protected interests and other interests of the customer, if the customer cannot thereby be reasonably expected to hold to the contract, or if another statutory or contractual cancellation right exists.
4.b.) Insofar as a date for the cost-free cancellation of the contract was agreed in writing by the hotel and the customer, the customer may withdraw from the contract without incurring payment or damage compensation claims by the hotel. The customer’s right of withdrawal expires if s/he does not exercise his cancellation right to the hotel in writing by the agreed date, insofar as the customer has no right of withdrawal in accordance with paragraph 1, sentence 3.
4.c.) For rooms booked by the customer but not utilised, the hotel must credit the customer with any income received through renting the rooms and also from saved expenses.
4.d.) Our cancellation policy:
For individual travellers:
Up to 7 days prior to arrival, no cancellation costs apply to non-utilised rooms. After this point, we reserve the right to charge you 80% of the room price for the 1st night of the reserved stay in the event that we are not able to re-allocate the room.
For groups:
Up to 6 weeks prior to arrival, no cancellation costs apply to non-utilised rooms. After this point, we reserve the right to charge you 25% of the room price without breakfast for the 1st night of the reserved stay.
From 3 weeks prior to arrival, this increases to 50%, and within one week of your arrival we reserve the right to charge you 80% of the room price without breakfast for the 1st night of the reserved stay, in the event that we are not able to re-allocate the room.
- Withdrawal by the hotel
5.a.) If the right of free withdrawal by the customer within a certain period of time was agreed upon in writing, the hotel on its part shall be entitled within this period of time to withdraw from the contract, if enquiries by other customers exist for the contractually booked rooms and the customer, upon inquiry by the hotel, does not waive their right for withdrawal.
5.b.) If an agreed advance payment or an advance payment demanded pursuant to clause III, para. 6 as mentioned above is not made even after a reasonable grace period set by the hotel has expired, then the hotel is likewise entitled to cancel the contract.
5.c.) In addition, the hotel is entitled to effect extraordinary cancellation of the contract for justifiable cause, e.g. in the case of:
force majeure or other circumstances beyond the hotel’s control which make the fulfilment of the contract impossible;
rooms which are reserved with misleading or false information regarding material facts, e.g. the identity of the customer or the purpose of use;
the hotel having justified cause to believe that the utilisation of the hotel’s services might jeopardise the smooth operation, security or public reputation of the hotel without this being attributable to the management or organisation of the hotel;
a breach exists of clause 1 para. 2 as mentioned above.
The customer is not entitled to damages in the event of a justified cancellation by the hotel.
- Room availability, handover and return
6.a.) The customer does not obtain any entitlement to the provision of particular rooms. Courtyard rooms can only be guaranteed against a fee of € 10.
Booked rooms shall be available for the customer on the agreed day of arrival from 15:00. The customer has no right to earlier availability of the room.
6.b.) The rooms must be vacated and made available to the hotel not later than 11:00 on the agreed departure day. After that time, until 18:00 the hotel may charge 50% of the full list price for use of the rooms exceeding the contractual time, after 18:00, 100%.
Contractual claims of the customer shall not be established hereby. The customer is at liberty to prove that the hotel incurred no claim or a much lesser claim to usage damages.
- Liability of the hotel
7.a.) The hotel shall be liable for its obligations under this contract with the diligence of a prudent businessman. Customer claims for compensation are excluded. This does not apply to damages arising out of injury to life, limb or health, provided the hotel is liable for such breach of duty, other damages based on a deliberate or gross negligent breach of duty by the hotel, and damages based on a deliberate or negligent violation by the hotel of duties typical for this type of contract. A breach of duty by the hotel is equal to that of a statutory representative or a vicarious agent. In the case of disruptions or deficiencies in the services provided by the hotel, the hotel shall attempt to take remedial action as soon as it becomes aware of the issue or is informed of the issue by the customer. The customer shall be obliged to contribute what can reasonably be expected of him/her in order to remedy the disruption and to keep potential damages to a minimum.
7.b.) The hotel is liable for personal items brought by the customer in accordance with statutory regulations i.e. not more the 100 times the room rate, not more than € 3,500, and not more than € 800 for cash, securities and valuables.
Liability claims expire unless the customer notifies the hotel immediately after having obtained knowledge of the loss, destruction or partial damage (§ 703 BGB). For any liability assumed by the hotel above and beyond this, the provisions set out under number 1 sentences 2 to 4 above apply accordingly.
7.c.) Wake-up services shall be performed by the hotel with the greatest care. Messages, mail, and merchandise deliveries for guests shall be handled with care. The hotel shall ensure their delivery, safekeeping and, upon request, forwarding against a surcharge. The provisions set out under number 1 sentences 2 to 4 above apply accordingly.
- Accommodation tax
8.a.) Since 01.01.2014, the city of Berlin has applied an accommodation tax of 5% of the net room price for private trips. Overnight business stays are not affected by the so-called Citi Tax, however, you must provide proof of the nature of your trip. The Gold Hotel will add this tax to your bill and transfer the corresponding amount to the city of Berlin. The purpose of the trip must be established and documented by hotel staff. If you do not wish to provide us with this information, we are obliged to classify your trip as “private”.
- Parking vignettes
9.a) From the first of March 2019, we can’t offer parking tickets for the public parking anymore.
As an alternative, we can currently recommend the car park – Plaza Frankfurter Allee in the Voigtstr. 2 in 10247 Berlin.
The footpath amounts to a 10-minute walk from there to the hotel.
Please also note that in most of Berlin, you need the green “environmental badge” on your vehicle
- Final provisions
10.a.) Amendments or supplements to the contract, and the acceptance of the application or these Terms and Conditions for hotel accommodation should be made in writing. Any unilateral amendments or supplements by the customer shall be of no effect.
10.b.) The place of performance and place of payment shall be the hotel’s location.
The exclusive place of jurisdiction – also for disputes over cheques and promissory notes – shall be the registered office of the hotel. Should one contracting partner fulfil the preconditions of § 38, para. 2 ZPO (German Code of Civil Procedure) and not have a general place of jurisdiction in Germany, the place of jurisdiction shall be the place of the registered office of the hotel.
10.c.) German law shall apply. The application of the UN Sales Convention and the law of conflicts shall be excluded.
10.d. Should individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions become ineffective or be or become void, the effectiveness of the other provisions shall not be affected. Otherwise, the statutory provisions apply.