Thank you for your booking with Besser Urlauben, a company of Bindewald GmbH. [The following travel conditions apply to package travel contracts to which the provisions of Sections 651a ff.](https://besserurlauben.de/agb) BGB (German Civil Code) directly apply. The provisions will, as far as validly agreed, become part of the package travel contract concluded between the traveler and the tour operator. They complement the statutory provisions of Sections 651a to y BGB and Articles 250 and 252 EGBGB (Introductory Act to the German Civil Code) and elaborate on them.
With the travel registration (booking), which can be made orally, in writing, by fax, or by email, the traveler makes a binding offer to the tour operator to conclude a travel contract based on these travel conditions, the travel advertisement, and all supplementary information in the booking basis, provided these are available to the traveler.
The travel contract is concluded with the receipt of the travel confirmation by the tour operator. At or immediately after the conclusion of the contract, the tour operator will send the traveler a travel confirmation that complies with the legal requirements on a durable data carrier, unless the traveler is entitled to a travel confirmation in paper form according to Article 250, Section 6, Paragraph 1, Sentence 2 EGBGB, because the contract was concluded in the simultaneous physical presence of both parties or outside of business premises.
The customer is liable for all contractual obligations of travelers for whom he/she makes the booking, as for his/her own obligations, provided he/she has assumed this obligation by express and separate declaration.
If the content of the travel confirmation deviates from the booking content, a new contractual offer is present, to which the tour operator is bound for a period of 10 days. The contract is concluded based on this new offer if the tour operator has pointed out the change and fulfilled his pre-contractual information obligations regarding the new offer, and the traveler confirms this within the binding period by express acceptance or declares the deposit.
For bookings in electronic commerce, the following applies to the conclusion of the contract:
Please note that for all the above-mentioned booking types, due to the statutory provision of Section 312g, Paragraph 2, Sentence 1, No. 9 BGB, there is no right of withdrawal for package travel contracts concluded in distance selling after the conclusion of the contract. However, a withdrawal and termination of the contract is possible, taking into account the regulations in Section 4.
Payments on the travel price before the end of the trip may only be demanded and accepted if a valid customer money protection contract exists and the traveler has been provided with the security certificate with the name and contact details of the customer money protector in a clear, understandable, and prominent manner. After the conclusion of the contract, a deposit of 20% is due against the issuance of the security certificate. The remaining payment is due, provided the security certificate has been issued and the right of withdrawal of the tour operator according to Section 5.2 no longer applies, if expressly agreed, 30 days before the start of the trip.
If the traveler does not make the deposit and the payment of the remaining amount of the travel price in accordance with the agreed payment deadlines, although the tour operator is ready and able to provide the contractual services in a proper manner, has fulfilled his statutory information obligations, and no statutory or contractual right of retention of the traveler exists, the tour operator is entitled, after reminder with a deadline, to withdraw from the travel contract and charge the traveler with cancellation costs.
Deviations in essential characteristics of travel services from the agreed content of the travel contract, which become necessary after the conclusion of the contract and which were not brought about by the tour operator in bad faith, are only permitted before the start of the trip if the deviations are not significant and do not impair the overall design of the booked trip.
The tour operator is obliged to inform the traveler about changes in services and service deviations immediately after becoming aware of the reason for the change in a clear, understandable, and prominent manner on a durable data carrier.
In the event of a significant change in an essential characteristic of a travel service or deviation from special requirements, the traveler is entitled to accept the change within a reasonable period or to withdraw from the travel contract free of charge or to demand participation in a replacement trip if the tour operator has offered such a trip. The traveler has the choice to respond to the notification or not. If the traveler does not respond to the tour operator within the statutory period, the notified change is deemed accepted. The traveler must be informed of this in connection with the notification of the change in a clear, understandable, and prominent manner.
Any warranty claims remain unaffected, as far as the changed services are defective. If the tour operator has incurred lower costs for the execution of the changed trip or replacement trip with equivalent quality, the traveler is entitled to a refund of the difference amount according to Section 651m, Paragraph 2 BGB.
The tour operator reserves the right to change the price agreed in the travel contract in the event of an increase in the costs specified in law, such as fuel prices, currency costs, and taxes or fees for certain services, such as port or airport fees, as follows:
A claim by the traveler for changes regarding the travel date, travel destination, place of departure, accommodation, or means of transport does not exist after the conclusion of the contract. This does not apply if the rebooking is necessary because the tour operator has not provided sufficient or incorrect pre-contractual information according to Article 250, Section 3 EGBGB; in this case, rebooking is possible free of charge.
The traveler has the option to withdraw from the travel contract at any time before the start of the trip. The withdrawal must be declared to the tour operator. The traveler is advised to declare the withdrawal on a durable data carrier.
In the event of withdrawal before the start of the trip by the traveler or if he/she does not commence the trip, the tour operator is entitled to reasonable compensation for the arrangements made for the trip and the expenses incurred, provided the withdrawal is not attributable to the tour operator or extraordinary circumstances occur at the destination or in its immediate vicinity that significantly impair the execution of the trip or the transport of persons to the destination. According to Section 651h, Paragraph 3, Sentence 2 BGB, circumstances are unavoidable and extraordinary if they are not under the control of the tour operator and their consequences could not have been avoided even if all reasonable precautions had been taken. The amount of compensation is calculated based on the travel price minus the value of the savings made by the tour operator and minus what the tour operator has earned through other use of the travel service. The compensation is calculated according to the time of receipt of the withdrawal declaration in a percentage ratio to the travel price as follows:
The traveler retains the right to prove that the reasonable compensation due to the tour operator is significantly lower than the cancellation fee claimed.
The tour operator reserves the right to demand a higher, individually calculated compensation instead of the above-mentioned flat rates, provided the tour operator proves that he has incurred significantly higher expenses than the applicable flat rate. In this case, the tour operator is obliged to specify and justify the requested compensation, taking into account the saved expenses and what he has earned through other use of the travel service.
The tour operator is obliged to refund the travel price immediately, but in any case within 14 days after receipt of the withdrawal declaration.
Within a reasonable period, the traveler can declare on a durable data carrier that a third party is entering into the rights and obligations from the travel contract instead of him/her. The declaration is timely if it reaches the tour operator no later than 7 days before the start of the trip. The tour operator may object to the entry of the third party if this person does not meet the contractual travel requirements. If a third party enters the contract, he/she and the traveler are jointly liable to the tour operator for the travel price and the resulting additional costs. The tour operator may only demand reimbursement of additional costs if and to the extent that these are reasonable and have actually been incurred by him. The tour operator must provide the traveler with proof of the amount of additional costs incurred due to the entry of the third party. In this case, the above-mentioned cancellation fees apply.
The tour operator recommends taking out travel cancellation insurance.
The tour operator can terminate the travel contract without notice if the guest, despite a warning from the tour operator, continues to disturb the peace or behaves in such a way that the immediate termination of the contract is justified. This does not apply if the contractual misconduct is caused by a violation of the tour operator’s information obligations.
The tour operator can withdraw from the travel contract due to non-reach of the minimum number of participants only according to the following provisions: The minimum number of participants is specified in the travel advertisement, and the time by which the traveler must receive the declaration at the latest before the contractually agreed start of the trip is indicated. The minimum number of participants and the latest withdrawal deadline are specified in the booking confirmation. The tour operator is obliged to declare the cancellation of the trip to the traveler or the group organizer as their representative immediately when it is clear that the trip cannot be carried out due to non-reach of the minimum number of participants. If it becomes evident at an earlier time that the minimum number of participants cannot be reached, the tour operator must exercise his right of withdrawal immediately. If the trip is not carried out for this reason, the tour operator must refund payments made by the customer for the travel price immediately, but in any case within 14 days after receipt of the withdrawal declaration.
If the traveler does not utilize individual travel services for reasons attributable to him/her, for which the tour operator was ready and able to provide the contractual services, he/she has no claim to a partial refund of the travel price, unless such reasons would have entitled him/her to a free withdrawal or termination of the travel contract according to the statutory provisions. The tour operator will endeavor to obtain reimbursement of the saved expenses from the service providers. This obligation ceases if it concerns completely insignificant expenses.
If the trip is not provided free of travel defects, the traveler can demand remedy. If the traveler fails to notify the tour operator of the defects due to a culpable omission, he/she can generally not assert claims for reduction according to Section 651m BGB or claims for damages according to Section 651n BGB.
If the stay is significantly impaired due to a defect of the type specified in Section 651i, Paragraph 2 BGB, the traveler can terminate the contract according to Section 651l BGB. Termination is only permissible if the tour operator has not remedied the situation within a reasonable period set by the traveler. A deadline is not required if remedy is impossible or is refused by the tour operator or if the termination of the contract is justified by a special interest of the traveler.
The tour operator refers to the assistance obligation according to Section 651q BGB, according to which the traveler must be provided with assistance in a reasonable manner in the event of difficulties according to Section 651k, Paragraph 4 BGB or for other reasons, especially by providing suitable information about health services, authorities on site, and consular support, assistance in establishing remote communication connections, and assistance in finding other travel options. Section 651k, Paragraph 3 BGB remains unaffected.
The traveler is advised that luggage loss, damage, and delay in connection with air travel must be reported immediately on site using a damage report (P.I.R.) to the responsible airline. Airlines and tour operators may refuse reimbursement based on international agreements if the damage report has not been completed. The damage report must be submitted for luggage damage within 7 days, and for delays within 21 days, after delivery.
Additionally, the loss, damage, or misdirection of travel luggage must be reported immediately to the tour operator, his representative, or his contact point or the travel agent. This does not exempt the traveler from submitting the damage report to the airline within the aforementioned deadlines.
The contractual liability of the tour operator for damages that are not bodily injuries and were not caused intentionally is limited to three times the travel price. Any claims that may exceed this based on international agreements or legal provisions based on them remain unaffected by this limitation.
The tour operator is not liable for service disruptions, personal, and property damages in connection with services that are merely mediated as third-party services if these services are explicitly marked as third-party services in the travel advertisement and the travel confirmation, indicating the identity and address of the mediated contracting party, so that they are clearly recognizable to the traveler as not being part of the package trip from the tour operator and were selected separately.
However, the tour operator is liable if and to the extent that a damage of the traveler was caused by the violation of information, clarification, or organizational obligations of the tour operator.
Contractual claims according to Sections 651i, Paragraph 3, Nos. 2 to 7 BGB must be asserted by the traveler against the tour operator. It is recommended to assert claims on a durable data carrier.
Contractual claims expire according to Section 651j BGB after two years. The limitation period begins on the day on which the trip should end according to the contract.
The tour operator points out regarding the Consumer Dispute Resolution Act that the tour operator does not participate in voluntary consumer dispute resolution. If consumer dispute resolution becomes mandatory for the tour operator after the publication of these travel conditions, the tour operator will inform the traveler about this in an appropriate manner. The tour operator refers to the European Online Dispute Resolution Platform for all travel contracts concluded in electronic legal transactions: ODR Platform.
If the travel contract includes transport by airplane, the traveler will be informed at the time of booking about the identity and name of the executing airline for all flight services to be provided within the booked trip. If the identity of the airline is not yet known at the time of booking, the traveler will be informed of the airline or airlines that are likely to operate the flight(s) and will be informed immediately as soon as this is definitively established. If the airline communicated to the traveler changes, the tour operator must inform the traveler immediately about the change. The operator must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the traveler is informed as quickly as possible about the change.
The list of airlines with EU operating bans can be accessed at the following page: Air Ban List.
The tour operator is responsible for informing the traveler about general provisions regarding passport, visa, and health regulations of the destination country, including deadlines for obtaining any necessary visas before the conclusion of the contract, as well as any changes before the start of the trip. The tour operator is not liable for the timely issuance and receipt of necessary visas by the respective diplomatic representation if he has been commissioned with the procurement, unless the tour operator is responsible for the delay. The traveler is responsible for obtaining and carrying the necessary travel documents and for complying with all regulations important for the execution of the trip. All disadvantages, especially the payment of cancellation costs resulting from non-compliance with these regulations, are at his/her expense, unless they are due to a culpable false or non-information by the tour operator.
If any provision of this contract is or becomes invalid, this shall not affect the validity of all other regulations. The parties will make a new valid regulation that comes closest to the will and meaning of the original regulation. A cancellation fee agreed in the travel contract may not be higher than the actual ordinary damage. In the event of a dispute regarding the cancellation fees, the tour operator must prove how he calculated the cancellation fees and the relevant percentages. [The Federal Court of Justice has decided in its rulings of December 9, 2014 (Az. X ZR 85/12; X ZR 147/13 and X ZR 13/14) that cancellation rates must be adapted to the specific individual circumstances of the respective tour operator and his types of travel.](https://besserurlauben.de/agb) It must be ensured that the traveler does not have to pay significantly higher flat cancellation costs than would result from a concrete calculation.
