General terms and conditions for the hotel accommodation agreement

I. Scope

1. These terms apply to contracts for the rental of hotel rooms and holiday apartments for accommodation and to all other services and deliveries provided to the customer by Naturresort Gerbehof, comprising the organic country hotel, guesthouse and holiday apartments, hereinafter referred to as the “Hotel” (hotel accommodation agreement).

2. Subletting or re-letting rooms or holiday apartments, or using them for purposes other than accommodation, requires the Hotel’s prior written consent in text form.

3. The customer’s general terms and conditions apply only if expressly agreed beforehand in text form.

II. Conclusion of contract, parties and limitation periods

1. The contract is concluded when the Hotel accepts the customer’s application by issuing a booking confirmation. The Hotel may confirm the booking in text form. If payment or authorisation of the payment method fails for a booking through the Hotel’s website (www.gerbehof.de), no booking is made and no contract is concluded.

2. The contracting parties are the Hotel and the customer. If a third party books on behalf of the customer, that third party and the customer are jointly and severally liable to the Hotel for all obligations under the contract. Independently of this, the third party must pass all booking-related information, particularly these general terms and conditions, to the customer.

3. Claims against the Hotel generally become time-barred one year after the statutory limitation period begins. Claims for damages become time-barred after five years regardless of knowledge. These shortened periods do not apply to other claims based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by the Hotel.

III. Services, prices, payment and set-off

1. The Hotel must keep the booked rooms available and provide the agreed services.

2. Where there is an important reason, particularly where accommodation in the reserved hotel is impossible, the Hotel may accommodate customers at the booked price in another hotel with comparable facilities and services, without giving rise to a right of recourse against the Hotel.

3. The customer must pay the applicable or agreed Hotel prices for accommodation and other services used. This also applies to services and expenses commissioned directly by the customer or through the Hotel, provided by third parties and paid in advance by the Hotel.

4. Agreed prices include taxes and local charges applicable when the contract is concluded. They exclude local charges owed personally by the customer under municipal law, such as visitor’s tax. If statutory VAT changes, or local charges on the service are introduced, changed or abolished after conclusion, prices will be adjusted accordingly. For consumer contracts, this applies only if more than four months lie between conclusion and performance.

5. The Hotel may make consent to a subsequent reduction requested by the customer in the number of booked rooms, Hotel services or length of stay conditional on an increase in the price of rooms and/or other Hotel services.

6. Accommodation invoices must be paid on arrival; other services must be paid by departure at the latest. Hotel invoices without a due date are payable without deduction within 7 days of receipt. The Hotel may declare accrued amounts due at any time and request immediate payment. In the event of late payment, the Hotel may charge a flat fee of €25 for late payment and administration, as well as the applicable statutory default interest, currently 8 percentage points above the base rate, or 5 percentage points for transactions involving a consumer. The Hotel reserves the right to prove greater loss.

7. On or after conclusion of the contract, the Hotel may request a reasonable advance payment or security, such as a credit card guarantee. The amount and payment dates may be agreed in the contract in text form. Statutory provisions for advance payments or security for package travel remain unaffected. Statutory rules apply if the customer defaults on payment.

8. In justified cases, such as payment arrears, the Hotel may refuse further services.

9. The customer may set off or settle against a claim of the Hotel only an undisputed claim or one established by a final judgment.

IV. Customer withdrawal (cancellation) / non-use of Hotel services, no-show, late arrival and early departure

1. The exercise of the customer’s right of withdrawal requires text form and the Hotel’s written consent. Without that consent, the agreed contractual price remains payable even if the customer does not use the contracted services.

2. If the Hotel and customer have agreed in writing on a deadline for free withdrawal, the customer may withdraw before that deadline without triggering payment or compensation claims by the Hotel. However, an administration fee of €25 is generally charged.

3. The customer’s right of withdrawal expires if not exercised in writing to the Hotel by the agreed deadline. If no right of withdrawal has been agreed or it has expired, there is no statutory right of withdrawal or termination, and the Hotel does not agree to cancellation, the Hotel retains its claim to the agreed remuneration despite non-use. For unused rooms, the Hotel must credit income from re-letting and expenses saved. If rooms are not re-let, the Hotel may invoice 100% of the contractually agreed remuneration.

Note: Under Article 16 of Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament, the 14-day right of withdrawal does not apply to hotel bookings. The Hotel’s cancellation conditions apply.

V. Withdrawal by the Hotel

1. If it has been agreed in text form that the customer may withdraw free of charge within a certain period, the Hotel may also withdraw during that period.

2. The Hotel may also withdraw if an agreed, requested advance payment or security is not provided even after a reasonable additional period set by the Hotel expires.

3. The Hotel may additionally withdraw exceptionally for an objectively justified reason, for example where:

• Force majeure or other circumstances beyond the Hotel’s responsibility make performance impossible.
• Contractually agreed advance payments or security requirements are not met.
• Rooms or premises are culpably booked using misleading or false information or concealing material facts, for example concerning the customer or purpose. Material facts may include the customer’s identity, insolvency or purpose of stay.
• The Hotel has reasonable grounds to believe that use of its services may jeopardise smooth operations, safety or public reputation, without this being attributable to the Hotel’s sphere of control or organisation.
• There is a breach of clause I.2 above.

4. Justified withdrawal by the Hotel does not entitle the customer to damages.

VI. Room availability, handover and return (arrival and departure), and other conditions of stay

1. The customer has no entitlement to particular rooms.

2. Booked rooms are available from 4 pm on the agreed arrival date. There is no entitlement to earlier availability. Rooms must be occupied by 8 pm on the agreed arrival date unless a later arrival has been arranged in advance.

3. On the agreed departure date, rooms must be vacated and available to the Hotel by 10:30 am at the latest. For late departure, the Hotel may charge 50% of the full accommodation price for use beyond the contract until 2 pm and 100% thereafter.

VII. Hotel liability

1. The Hotel is liable for its contractual obligations. Customer claims for damages are excluded, except for injury to life, body or health where the Hotel is responsible for the breach, and other damage based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of the Hotel’s typical contractual duties. If disruptions or defects in Hotel services occur, the Hotel will endeavour to remedy them upon becoming aware or receiving an immediate complaint. The customer must make reasonable efforts to help remedy the disruption and minimise possible damage.

2. The Hotel is liable for items brought in under statutory provisions, up to one hundred times the room price, with a maximum of €3,500, and up to €800 for money, securities and valuables. Claims expire unless the customer informs the Hotel immediately after becoming aware of loss, destruction or damage.

3. Providing a parking space in the Hotel car park or grounds, even for a fee, does not create a safekeeping agreement. The Hotel is not liable for loss of or damage to motor vehicles, trailers, motorcycles or trailers and their contents parked or moved on Hotel grounds, except in cases of intent or gross negligence.

4. Wake-up calls are carried out with the greatest care. Messages, post and goods for guests are handled carefully. By prior agreement, the Hotel may accept and store post and goods and, on request, forward them for a fee. Liability is limited to the conditions in the preceding clause VII.1, sentences 2 to 4.

5. Smoking is strictly prohibited in all enclosed areas and on Hotel balconies, in stables and near hay, straw and woodchip storage areas. A fee of €250 is charged for violations.

The same applies to tampering with smoke alarms or opening emergency doors without authorisation. The Hotel reserves the right to claim greater loss, for example where it is charged for a fire brigade call-out or a fire caused by prohibited smoking damages Hotel property. This also applies to improper use of hotplates or placing objects on hobs in holiday apartments and hotel rooms.

6. Damage caused by the customer to Hotel furnishings, rooms or other Hotel property must be reported by the customer to their liability insurer and paid to the Hotel in full.

VIII. Final provisions

1. These provisions apply to the entire Naturresort Gerbehof, including hotel, guesthouse and holiday apartments, even where not expressly mentioned. The collective term “Hotel” is used throughout the contract.

2. Changes or additions to the contract, acceptance of the application or these accommodation terms should be made in text form. Unilateral changes or additions by the customer are ineffective.

3. The place of performance and payment is the Hotel’s registered location.

4. The exclusive place of jurisdiction for commercial transactions, including disputes concerning cheques and bills of exchange, is the Hotel’s registered location. If a contracting party meets the requirements of section 38(2) of the German Code of Civil Procedure and has no general place of jurisdiction in Germany, the Hotel’s registered location is the place of jurisdiction.

5. German law applies. The UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and conflict-of-laws rules are excluded.

6. If any provision of these general terms and conditions is or becomes invalid or void, the remaining provisions remain effective. Statutory provisions otherwise apply.

Naturresort Gerbehof – version November 2026

Source: Deutscher Hotel- und Gaststättenverband (DeHoGa)

ALPENBLICKDREI Werbeagentur GmbH, Tettnang, www.alpenblickdrei.com

Image credits

Günter Standl
Jürgen Schmücking
Emma Bentele
Klaus Faaber
Nico Wolf, Alva Studios
Gerbehof, Fam. Wagner