General Travel Terms and Conditions of the Tour Operator holidays.ch GmbH
holidays.ch GmbH (Kohlfirststrasse 19, D-78266 Büsingen am Hochrhein, Germany) is a tour operator and supplier of package holidays.
The following travel terms and conditions are an integral part of the package holiday contract agreed between us and you as of 1 July 2018 (day of booking).
1. Conclusion of a package holiday contract
1.1 Advertisements, descriptions, price lists or schedules, and other promoted or advertised travel services for our part – including those relating to a specific period and/or a specific price and/or other services – do not constitute an offer in the legal sense. These are, rather, merely an invitation to potential customers to accept our offer of a holiday contract with the respective content.
1.2 The contract comes into effect when accepted by the tour operator. Acceptance does not require any specific form. At the time of, or immediately after, conclusion of the contract, the tour operator will provide the customer with a booking confirmation.
1.3 If the content of the holiday confirmation differs from the content of the registration, then this shall constitute a new offer from the tour operator to which he is bound for a period of 10 days. The contract comes into effect on the basis of this new offer if the traveller informs the tour operator of his/her acceptance within the commitment period.
2. Limitation of liability, charges, external services
a. The contractual liability of the operator for damages that do not involve bodily harm and have not been incurred culpably is restricted to threefold the price of the holiday.
b. If a travel service to be rendered by a supplier is subject to international conventions or legal provisions based on such conventions, according to which, under certain conditions or limitations, a claim for compensation arises or may be asserted, or under certain circumstances is excluded or limited, the operator may also draw the traveller’s attention to such.
c. If the traveller is entitled to assert claims against the tour operator for compensation or price reduction, he must deduct from this the amount he has received as compensation or as a refund for the same issue as defined by international agreements, statutory provisions based on such agreements, or in accordance with Union rules on passenger rights.
d. The operator shall not be liable for service disruptions, personal injury or material damages related to services mediated purely as third-party services or for services booked by the customer locally at the destination with the travel representative or with the service providers of the respondents (e.g. excursions, rental cars, exhibitions etc.) for which, however, the service provider in question, a third party, or another named company, is clearly the responsible provider of the service(s). Sections 651b, 651c, 651w and 651y of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB) thereby remain unaffected. The operator shall be liable, however, if and insofar as any damages suffered by the customer have arisen from a breach of the duty to notify, inform or organise on the part of the operator.
3. Assertion of claims
You, or the travellers, respectively, are obliged to inform us immediately of any complaints concerning the booked holiday. Please contact our designated office regarding such matters. The contact details are provided in your booking confirmation. If, contrary to the provisions in this section, you purposely omit to notify us immediately of any deficiency and we thus have not had the opportunity to deal with your complaint, you will not be entitled to claim for a price reduction or compensation.
4. Payment
If the tour operator has sold a package offered by holidays.ch GmbH, holidays.ch GmbH shall collect the order, package price and/or cancellation payment. The following thereby applies: In addition to the extrajudicial assertion of a claim, the remit also covers any necessary judicial assertion of a claim.
- If booking a package holiday with departure within 28 days the total package price is payable. If booking a package holiday with more than 28 days of departure: To provide you with the most attractive holiday offers, we regularly take advantage of special fares offered by our flight operators which we must pay immediately once booked irrespective of the date of the flight. For this reason, we charge a deposit of 40% that is payable immediately after booking. The difference between the amount paid as a deposit and the agreed price (balance) is due for payment 28 days prior to the start of the holiday.
- If a rental car, travel insurance and other additional services are not included in a package holiday, the total amount for these travel services shall be due for payment in full immediately after receipt of the booking confirmation.
- If due payments are not paid or not settled in full, the respective travel service provider is entitled to withdraw from the contract and demand remuneration of the costs from the booking and cancellation according to the respective general terms and conditions.
- If payment by direct debit or credit card is accepted at the time of booking, disclosure of the bank account or credit card details implies consent to collection of the agreed amounts. Foreign bank accounts or foreign credit cards are accepted only after prior written consent or, in exceptional cases, consent given verbally (over the telephone) by the respective account or card holder.
- If an attempt to collect the agreed payment fails due to insufficient funds on the part of the bank or credit card holder, the additional costs thereby incurred shall also be charged. These costs include, in particular, the fees charged by the bank or credit card company plus an additional €10 per return debit to compensate holidays.ch GmbH for the administrative effort involved in each case. An administrative fee will also be charged if any agreed payment by money transfer is not made when due and further action must be taken.
- Payments with debt-discharging effect are to be transferred to the operator, or to holidays.ch GmbH appointed by the operator to collect payment.
5. Withdrawal and other changes after booking
A. Withdrawal
Withdrawal may ensue by submitting an express declaration or through conclusive behaviour (e.g. defaulting on agreed payments). The amount of compensation for withdrawal depends on the booked travel services, time of receipt of the cancellation notice and the general terms and conditions of the respective provider of the travel services. To ensure that receipt of any cancellation notice is duly documented, we urge that written notification of the cancellation be sent by email to exclusive@holidays.ch. Holidays.ch GmbH can gladly answer any queries in this regard.
Cancellation fees for package holidays:
The general travel terms and conditions of the tour operator are as follows:
1. For cancellations within 30 days before departure: 40% of the package price
2. Between 29 and 15 days before departure: 70% of the package price
3. Less than 14 days before departure: 90% of the package price
4. On the day of departure: 95% of the package price
5. The customer is entitled to submit evidence that the incurred loss is lower. In individual cases the operator is entitled to demand, by providing evidence, compensation in excess of the fixed-rate cancellation fee.
Cancellation fees for rental cars and other individual/additional travel services:
1. These fees are governed by the general terms and conditions of the respective provider of the travel services. In addition to the cancellation fees of the respective travel service provider, holidays.ch GmbH shall charge an administrative fee of €35 per travel service and per traveller concerned to cover for its own additional expenses.
2. The premium for any travel insurance that has been taken out along with any debited payment transaction fee shall not be refunded after cancellation.
B. Trip interruption
1. If travel is interrupted, you are not entitled to a refund.
2. The traveller alone must cover the costs for return travel.
3. If an overnight stay is necessary on the return journey, the costs shall also be borne by the traveller.
4. Trip interruption insurance covers the costs and will refund some of the price of the trip.
C. Other changes after booking
If the tour operator does not object to transferring a booking to a replacement traveller or making other changes after completion of a booking, holidays.ch GmbH shall arrange the requested change and charge an administrative fee of €35 per change per traveller concerned to cover for its own additional expenses. In the event that additional third-party costs are incurred, these shall be passed on to the traveller.
6. Identity of the operating air carrier
The identity of the operating air carrier(s) will be disclosed at the time of booking, as required by EU Regulation 2111/05.
Should there be a change in the operating air carrier after booking, the travellers affected by this change will be informed as soon as such information comes to light. The list of air carriers subject to an operating ban in the EU can be found at https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/air/safety/air-ban/search_en.
7. Unavoidable exceptional circumstances
The tour operator may withdraw from the travel contract prior to departure in the event of unavoidable exceptional circumstances that prevent fulfilment of the contract. The traveller has the same right if exceptional circumstances arise at the destination which considerably disrupt the package holiday or the carriage of individuals at the destination. If such circumstances arise only after departure, the traveller may terminate the contract if continuation of the holiday is thereby substantially disrupted.
8. Passport, visa and health requirements
You will be informed about the general passport and visa requirements of the destination country, along with the approximate periods for obtaining a visa and the health formalities. Unless agreed otherwise, the travellers themselves are responsible for complying with the given passport and visa requirements as well as the health formalities and any other legal regulations applicable with respect to the holiday in question. We are not liable for any violation of such rules or the resulting consequences.
9. Vaccination and entry requirements
In principle, the traveller is personally responsible for complying with all travel formalities, including obtaining the necessary entry documents. If booking over the telephone, you will be informed by our staff of the vaccination and entry requirements.
10. Travel insurance
We highly recommend taking out the proposed trip cancellation insurance and a travel medical insurance policy to cover, in particular, any repatriation costs in the event of an accident or illness.
11. Dispute resolution
a. The European Commission provides a platform at
https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/main/index.cfm?event=main.home2.show&lng=EN
for resolving consumer disputes online. Holidays.ch GmbH does not currently participate in this voluntary procedure for alternative dispute resolution. The European online dispute resolution platform therefore cannot be used by our customers.
b. Competent consumer dispute arbitration board for customers
in Germany: Allgemeine Verbraucherschlichtungsstelle des Zentrums für Schlichtung e.V., Straßburger Str. 8 – 77694 Kehl, telephone: 07851/7957940, fax: 07851/7957941, www.verbraucher-schlichter.de / email: mail@verbraucher-schlichter.de;
in Austria: Verbraucherschlichtung Austria, Mariahilfer Str. 103/1/18, 1060 Vienna, telephone: 01890/631122, fax: 01890/631199, www.verbraucherschlichtung.at, email: office@verbraucherschlichtung.at
holidays.ch GmbH does not currently participate in dispute resolution proceedings before arbitration boards.
12. Use of data and data protection
Holidays.ch GmbH collects and uses your data in accordance with the data protection regulations for the purpose of advertising, selling and organising holidays and the associated services within the scope of the legal provisions only. Data will be collected and used for the purposes of marketing and market research only after first obtaining the express consent of our clientele. Consent to use may be revoked at any time. Further details on data protection can be found under “Privacy Policy” at https://www.exclusiveholidays.de/de-de.
13. Closing provisions
Should any of the provisions above be invalid or become invalid, the remaining conditions shall nevertheless retain their validity. The validity of the travel contract as such remains unaffected.
Date: 01/07/2018
General travel advice holidays.ch GmbH
1. Air travel advice
a. Tour operators and travel agents generally have no influence on the decisions taken by airlines on operating flights. Last-minute changes to departure/arrival times, routes, and the employed aircraft, in particular, cannot be ruled out. Sometimes, an alternative airline may also be appointed to operate a flight. The following thereby applies: Holidays.ch GmbH shall disclose the identity of the operating air carrier(s) at the time of booking, as required by EU Regulation 2111/05. Should there be a change in the operating air carrier after booking, the travellers affected by this change will be informed as soon as such information comes to light. The list of air carriers subject to an operating ban in the EU can be found at https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/air/safety/air-ban/search_en.
b. The personal information in your flight documents and booking confirmation must agree with the details in your passport/ID card.
A travel entitlement exists only for the confirmed flights. A flight can only be changed by cancelling the booked trip and subsequently booking the desired alternative flight; in such a case, cancellation fees shall be payable for the original flight and an additional fare charged for the alternative flight.
c. Check-in times vary – for specific times, please call the service number or check the website of the respective airline. Check-in usually commences approximately 120 minutes prior to departure, and the passenger should report to the check-in desk no later than 90 minutes before departure. For destinations outside of Europe in particular, check-in sometimes commences much earlier and the desks often even close 120 minutes before departure. Please note: Arriving late is regarded as a “no show”. If an outbound flight is not taken, this will invariably result in cancellation of the return flight. The same applies in case of failure to confirm the return flight as required by some airlines. Airlines often retain the full fare in the event that flights are not taken. Upon request, holidays.ch GmbH can gladly arrange a refund of the taxes and airport fees against an administrative fee of EUR 35/SFR 50.
d. Rail traffic cancellations and delays cannot be ruled out; if travelling to the airport by train we therefore advise taking a connection that according to the rail timetable will get you to the check-in desk of the departure airport at least three hours prior to departure, and will guarantee timely arrival (see above), moreover, if having to rely on an alternative rail service.
e. Baggage allowances vary depending on the airline, route and fare.
Further details concerning hold and hand luggage, special and excess baggage, registration requirements and other information related to baggage can be found on the website or be obtained from the service hotline of the airline carrier.
Generally, the following applies: Medication, keys, important documents and valuables belong in your hand luggage. Violations of this policy can, in the event of loss or damage, result in the exclusion of liability on the part of the airline and tour operator.
f. Damage to or loss of luggage must be reported immediately to the airline itself or the airline’s handling agent at the destination airport and proof obtained in the form of a property irregularity report (PIR). In the event of damaged/lost luggage, all claims are excluded if the entitled party does not immediately notify the carrier in writing after discovering the damage/loss, or no later than seven days after receipt of the luggage in the event of international travel. The same applies to the delayed delivery of luggage unless notification ensues immediately or no later than 21 days after delivery of the luggage. The notification must be made in writing and must be sent within the specified deadlines.
g. Age limits, and the point at which an individual is deemed an infant or child, vary from airline to airline. Please therefore check with the airline directly or with your booking office concerning the applicable rules. Generally, the following applies: Infants are carried as of six weeks of age at the earliest and must travel on the lap of a parent or guardian. They are not entitled to either a seat of their own or a free baggage allowance unless they are booked on a separate, non-discounted fare.
As of the age of two years, children occupy their own seat. Children under 14 years of age may travel only when accompanied by an escort aged at least 16 years who can take responsibility for them. Children and adolescents under 16 years of age may only travel, moreover, if consent is available from the parent or legal guardian. In Spain and France, children and adolescents under 18 years of age must present a completed authorisation form from their parent or legal guardian to confirm that they may leave their home country. It is the responsibility of the passenger to carry all the necessary documents.
h. The conditions of carriage for pregnant women vary from airline to airline. Please therefore check with the respective carrier directly. Air carriage is usually refused after week 28 of pregnancy.
2. Advice on holiday offers including hotel accommodation
a. The booked hotel room will be available on the day of arrival only after the official check-in time of the respective hotel (usually 2:00 PM local time). On the day of departure, the official check-out time of the respective hotel (usually 10:00 AM local time) must be heeded; for scheduled return flights after midnight and before 3:00 AM, the official check-out time of the hotel is the day prior to departure. Early check-in or late check-out may vary due to availability and can be booked subject to an additional charge through our booking offices.
b. We urge that valuables such as money and jewellery, in addition to passports, travel documents and electronic devices, be kept in a room or hotel safe.
Date: 01/07/2018