The contractual basis of group travel and conference reservations

General Terms & Conditions

1. Scope

The following General Terms & Conditions apply to group travel and conference bookings made by phone, e-mail or fax. Separate conditions apply to individual bookings.

2. Booking

a) All reservations are relayed to the relevant hotel by HRS acting as communicating messenger.

b) This relaying by HRS is free of charge to the user. For this reason, rooms booked through HRS may not be resold. Furthermore, rooms may not be passed on to third parties at prices higher than those specified on HRS. HRS reserves the right to ban users who act in breach of its regulations.

3. Hotel contract and payment

a) Hotel contracts are concluded directly between the user and his chosen hotel through the reservation process. The form of payment is agreed between the user and the hotel. All rights and obligations arising from hotel contracts exist directly and exclusively between the person booking the room and his chosen hotel. Hotel contracts are subject to the General Terms & Conditions of the booked hotel, which may be supplied by HRS on request at any time.

b) Rooms are reserved on the basis of offers relayed by HRS and must be confirmed in writing by the user. HRS subsequently sends the user a final booking confirmation which summarises the hotel contract that has been concluded.

4. Types of reservation

In general, group travel and conference bookings can be made only as guaranteed reservations, which are subject to special cancellation regulations. Guaranteed reservations are held open by the hotel for the entire night. The hotel may charge for overnight accommodation and/or conference fees if a booking is not cancelled in good time or the customer fails to turn up.

5. Changes and cancellations

All changes and cancellations must be made exclusively in writing (including by e-mail or fax) and must be confirmed in writing by the relevant HRS hotel quoting the cancellation number. Changes and cancellations will only be recognised as timely if received by the HRS group travel and conference department during normal opening hours (Mon.-Thu. 8am-8pm, Fri. 8am-7pm, Sat. 9am-2pm). Tel.: +49 (0)221 2077 300; fax: +49 (0)221 2077 661; e-mail: meetings@hrs.de & groups@hrs.de). Cancellations not made under the appropriate navigation point are invalid.

6. Hotel categories and hotel information

The internationally-recognised system of star ratings for hotels gives a non-binding impression of the quality of each hotel. The ratings of hotels on this site are based on self-assessments by the hotels and, where available, the experiences of HRS staff and/or users. All additional information about or descriptions of hotels are based on statements by the hotels themselves.

7. Room prices and conference fees

Group and conference rates are negotiated individually with the relevant hotels. Room prices shown on the Internet apply to individual travellers and single bookings only. All prices are quoted per room and night, sometimes including, sometimes not including breakfast. This may also differ at weekends. Prices at hotels in Germany include a service charge and the legally-applicable rate of value-added (sales) tax. Some countries charge value-added (sales) tax, additional taxes or service charges depending on national or regional legislation. The amount of tax levied is therefore subject to change and can only be quoted in a non-binding manner.

8. Data protection

Data entered by the user is processed electronically by HRS. Only data required for booking is passed on. Data is not passed on for any other purpose. In addition, data is processed in accordance with the legal data protection regulations.

9. Miscellaneous

Although the utmost care has been taken in collating the available information, HRS cannot accept any liability for errors that may arise during data entry or data transfer. Data may only be copied onto other data storage media - even in part - or used for purposes other than those intended here with express permission from HOTEL RESERVATION SERVICE Robert Ragge GmbH, Cologne/Germany.

All contractual relations are bound by German national law. The place of performance is Cologne. The court of jurisdiction will be that in Cologne for businessmen or those who do not have a German court of jurisdiction. In all other cases, the legally-stipulated court of jurisdiction will apply.