Hotels

You can book a hotel room in different ways: by phone, by e-mail, at the local travel agency, or through the internet — either directly on a hotel’s website or via booking portals. The moment you agree on the type of accommodation, price, and length of stay, the contract is concluded — regardless of whether you sign a contract, send an e-mail, make a deposit, or make a verbal commitment. The hotel must provide the room you selected at the time of booking for the booked period, and you — the guest — should pay the agreed price. Contrary to what many consumers believe, no deposit is required for the booking to be valid.

There is no right of withdrawal for accommodation bookings and other leisure contracts if the service has to be provided at a certain time or within a certain period of time. If you cancel, you may have to pay a cancellation fee.

In principle, cancellation obliges the consumer to indemnify the hotel owner for the damage suffered — to an extent which should be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The amount of this compensation is often set in advance in the booking conditions as a cancellation fee in the form of a percentage, which the consumer accepts when concluding the contract. As with package holidays, a percentage of the total price is sometimes used as the basis for assessment. This percentage increases as the departure date approaches, and it can go up to 100% if the booking is cancelled at short notice.

The general terms and conditions may allow you to cancel your booking free of charge — i.e. without paying a cancellation fee — within a certain period of time. It is only possible to cancel it at no cost if your booking’s terms and conditions allow you to do so.

Some hotels and booking portals offer the possibility to book rooms at a higher price and cancel your stay free of charge up to 24 hours before arrival. So, before you make a booking, check if there is such an option and consider if the extra charge is worth it should something unexpected get in the way of your holiday plans.

If you cancel and have to pay the entire price, the costs for ancillary services such as breakfast or other meals should be deducted. In practice, however, hotels often refuse to give a partial refund if consumers have opted for a lower ‘non-refundable’ rate because they explicitly accepted to pay the full amount in case of cancellation.

The hotel is not entitled to payment of the full price if it is able to assign the room to someone else for the booked period. However, it is very difficult to prove the hotelkeeper was able to re-let the room.

You should consider buying a travel insurance that covers cancellation fees — especially if you make the hotel booking a long time in advance and/or cancellation fees are high.

This type of insurance covers cancellation fees in certain events specified in the conditions, such as the death, accidents, or illness of the insured person and family members, dismissal, a change of job, or damage to property of the insured person.

If you want to make a claim, you should contact the insurance company as soon as possible in writing — within the foreseen (short) deadlines which are stipulated in your insurance policy.

If you want to file a successful complaint, it is usually not enough to merely describe deficiencies. As a holidaymaker, you should collect evidence, preferably by shooting useful photos and videos that show the defects in their context (for example, photos of the entire bathroom — not just a single dirt spot that has been greatly enlarged).

Do you believe silence is golden? That is definitely not true when it comes to travel defects! You should report defects and inconveniences immediately and request remedy. Sometimes, the problem can be solved quickly — by recleaning the room, supplying missing amenities (such as toilet paper, towels, or a hair dryer), or providing alternative accommodation. In such cases, you can still enjoy the holiday you have booked as expected.

If the hotel does not respond to your complaint, you may be able to find a solution yourself by looking for an alternative in a similar price segment. If, for example, the quality of the hotel’s food is far below par, you may want to dine elsewhere and claim back the money you paid for it from the hotel. Of course, you should pay attention to proportionality: if you have booked full board and the hotel food does not taste good, you can’t fill your stomach at a five-star restaurant that charges astronomical prices. You should make do with the local restaurant.

If you have made a complaint on the spot and the matter has not been resolved, you should try once more to find an out-of-court solution: after you have left the hotel, make a complaint in writing and demand a price reduction or compensation.

Be sure to report the theft to the hotelkeeper immediately and without delay. We also recommend that you file a report with the local police department.

If the Convention applies, the hotelkeeper’s liability for property brought into the accommodation establishment is usually limited to the value of what has been damaged, destroyed, or stolen — up to the equivalent of one hundred times the price of the accommodation for one night. If, for example, you have paid 50 euros for one night, the maximum amount of compensation = 50 euros x 100 = 5,000 euros. In some cases , however, the hotelkeeper is liable without limitation. For example when a property has been deposited with him.