1. General terms and conditions of sale
These general terms and conditions of sale form an integral part of the hotel contract. However, the reservation conditions take precedence over these general terms and conditions of sale insofar as they conflict with them.
Any deviation must be made in writing.
They apply to the exclusion of all general terms and conditions appearing on documents issued by the customer insofar as they conflict with these general terms and conditions of sale.
2. Definitions contractor – customer
For the purpose of these general terms and conditions of sale, the following terms shall mean:
“Contractor”: the natural or legal person who concludes a hotel reservation contract and/or who is obliged to make a payment (as consideration);
“Customer”: the natural person(s) who intend(s) to stay overnight at the hotel.
A person who stays overnight in a hotel is not necessarily a contractor: a hotel contract may be concluded in his or her name by a third party.
3. Place of the services
The services shall be performed at the place of business of the hotelier, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
4. Complaints procedure
Complaints concerning the services provided will only be accepted if they are sent by registered mail to the hotelier within seven calendar days after the service has been completed.
5. Hotel contract
In accordance with the hotel contract, the hotelier is obliged towards the customer to provide accommodation and the usual services.
Usual services refer to the ordinary services of the hotel according to its category, including the rooms and the various common facilities which are generally made available to the customer.
The contractor is obliged to pay the agreed price.
6. Form of the hotel contract
No specific form is required for the contract.
The contract is concluded as soon as the customer expressly accepts the offer.
In the case of a written contract, the hotelier must mention the arrival and departure dates of the customer together with the agreed price, the description of the agreed services and any advance payment arrangement.
7. Duration of the reserved stay
If a customer reserves a specific number of overnight stays, the start and end dates must be stated in the hotel contract. The reservation shall then end on the day stated in the hotel contract, at the latest at 11 a.m. If the customer has not vacated the room by 11 a.m. on the scheduled day of departure, an additional night will be charged at the rates applicable at that time.
If a customer does not reserve a specific number of overnight stays, the hotel contract shall be considered to have been concluded for several consecutive days. In that case, notice ending the following day no later than 11 a.m. must be given by one of the parties in order to terminate the reservation. Notice given by the hotelier to the customer shall be considered as addressed to the contractor. The notice shall be confirmed in writing to the contractor.
The contract shall be considered terminated on the day the customer leaves the room before 11 a.m. and all amounts due have been paid.
8. Distance contract
If the contract was concluded at a distance, no right of withdrawal applies. With regard to consumers (within the meaning of Article I.1, 2° of the Belgian Code of Economic Law), the provision of Article VI.53, 12° of the Belgian Code of Economic Law applies, meaning that they also do not have a right of withdrawal.
9. Non-performance of the contract
Full or partial cancellation of a booking is possible by both parties up to 1 day before the day of arrival, without compensation.
In case of full or partial cancellation of a booking less than 1 day before the day of arrival, the cancelling party shall owe compensation to the other party in the amount of 1 overnight stay.
If the customer does not show up on the scheduled arrival date, a fixed compensation equal to 1 overnight stay shall be due.
If the hotelier is unable to perform the contract on the scheduled arrival date, he shall be obliged to offer the customer other accommodation of equivalent or higher quality or category. Any price difference resulting from this shall be borne by the hotelier.
10. Price
The price shall be the one stated in the contract, unless the hotelier is obliged to adjust the price due to the evolution of his fixed and/or variable costs.
In that case, the price revision shall be carried out on the basis of the following price revision formula, drawn up in accordance with the applicable legal provisions and case law:
P = p {a + b (S/s) + c (I/i)}
Where:
P = the new price
p = the original price stated in the offer
a = the percentage of the price not eligible for revision (a ≥ 0.20)
b = the percentage of labour costs in the total price
S = the new wage index (the month preceding the payment of the invoice)
s = the original wage index (the month preceding the date of the offer)
c = the percentage of material costs in the total price
I = the new material index (the month preceding the payment of the invoice)
i = the original material index (the month preceding the date of the offer)
a + b + c = 1
The hotelier who is obliged to apply a price revision shall notify the contractor and the customer (if they are not the same person) in writing at least one month in advance, or if this is not possible, as soon as possible.
The stated prices are global prices including VAT at the rate applicable at the time of reservation. In the event of an increase in the applicable VAT rate or other taxes, levies or charges imposed by public authorities that apply to the agreed services, the price shall automatically be adjusted to the higher rate, even if the reservation was made earlier.
The increase in price resulting from a fiscal adjustment does not give the right to cancel free of charge.
Any reduction in the VAT rate or other fiscal charges does not automatically give the right to a price reduction or refund.
11. Payment terms
The hotelier has the possibility to request full or partial prepayment (deposit). See Article 23.
If the hotelier receives an amount of money in advance from the contractor, this shall be considered as the payment of a deposit on the contractual price unless otherwise contractually agreed.
Hotel invoices are payable in cash upon presentation.
In case of partial dispute of the hotel invoice, the undisputed part must also be paid in cash.
Unless otherwise stipulated, the hotelier is in no way obliged to accept cheques, dividends, credit cards or other deferred payment instruments and payment must be made in the currency of the country where the hotel is located.
The contractor is responsible for the payment of all services provided to the customer, including services agreed upon at the conclusion of the contract, unless otherwise agreed in writing whereby these costs are charged to the customer.
Amounts not paid on their due date shall automatically be increased with late payment interest. For consumers, this interest shall be calculated in accordance with the statutory interest rate and shall start once a period of 14 calendar days has passed after a first (free) notice of default without payment being made. For companies, late payment interest shall be due without notice of default. This interest shall be calculated in accordance with the Law of 2 August 2002 on combating late payment in commercial transactions. In addition, a fixed compensation of 10% of the outstanding amount shall be due, without prejudice to possible court and enforcement costs.
12. Termination of the hotel contract
Any serious or repeated breach of the contractual obligations by one of the contracting parties entitles the other party to immediately terminate the contract without prior notice and without any compensation being due to the party in breach.
13. Responsibility of the hotelier for damage and hotel safekeeping
The hotelier is not responsible for damage when the damage results from an event which, despite the necessary precautions, considering the circumstances and the consequences, made it impossible for him to avoid it (force majeure).
Likewise, the hotelier is not responsible for damage resulting from the fault, even partial, of the customer.
Hotel safekeeping is legally regulated by Articles 1952 and following of the (former) Civil Code, which are cited below.
Article 1952
“The hotelier, as a depositary, is liable for damage to, destruction of, or theft of items which a guest who takes accommodation in the hotel and stays there brings into the hotel; the deposit of such items shall be considered as a deposit of necessity.
The following items shall be regarded as items brought into the hotel:
a) Items which are in the hotel during the time the guest has accommodation available there;
b) Items which the hotelier or a person providing services to him takes under his supervision outside the hotel during the time the guest has accommodation available there;
c) Items which the hotelier or a person providing services to him takes under his supervision inside or outside the hotel for a reasonable period before or after the time the guest has accommodation available there;
The liability referred to in this article is limited per incident to 100 times the daily lodging price of the accommodation. The King may, where appropriate, determine the elements used to establish that price.”
The Royal Decree of 24 June 1973 (Official Gazette 14 August 1973) stipulates that the daily room rental price (to which Article 1952, paragraph 3 (former) Civil Code refers) includes the amount of the overnight price as published by the hotelier, increased by a percentage (where applicable) for the services offered.
Article 1953
“The liability of the hotelier is unlimited:
a) When the items have been given into the care of the hotelier or of persons providing services to him;
b) When he has refused to take into safekeeping items which he is obliged to accept;
c) When the damage, destruction or theft of the items referred to in Article 1952 results from the fault of the hotelier himself or of persons providing services to him.
The hotelier is obliged to accept securities, money or valuable items for safekeeping;
he may only refuse such safekeeping if the items are dangerous or if, considering the size of the hotel and the circumstances, they have an excessive commercial value or cause inconvenience.
He may require that the item entrusted to him be placed in a closed or sealed package.”
Article 1954
“The hotelier is not liable insofar as the damage, destruction or theft is due to:
a) the guest or a person accompanying him, employed by him or visiting him;
b) force majeure;
c) theft committed with armed force;
d) the nature or defect of the item.”
Article 1954bis
“The rights of the guest lapse if he does not immediately notify the damage once it has been discovered, except when the damage has been caused by the fault of the hotelier or of persons providing services to him.”
Article 1954ter
“Any declaration or clause excluding or limiting the liability of the hotelier for the damaging event shall be null and void.”
Article 1954quater
“Articles 1952, 1953 and 1954bis do not apply to vehicles, nor to items forming part of their load and left on the premises, nor to living animals.”
14. Responsibility of the customer/contractor
The customer and the contractor are jointly and severally liable towards the hotelier for any damage caused to persons, the building, the furniture or the equipment of the hotel and the areas accessible to the public.
The hotelier may therefore hold either the customer or the contractor liable for compensation of the damage suffered.
15. Behaviour of the customer
The customer must behave in accordance with the customs and the regulations of the hotel where he stays and these regulations are available for consultation by the customer.
Any serious or repeated breach of these regulations entitles the hotelier to immediately terminate the contract without prior notice and without compensation.
16. Pets
If a customer wishes to bring a pet to the hotel, he is obliged to verify whether the hotel regulations allow this.
17. Occupation and vacating of rooms: check-in / check-out
Unless otherwise contractually agreed, the rooms reserved for a customer must be available at 4 p.m. and the rooms of customers leaving the hotel must be vacated before 11 a.m.
18. Control of travellers
Upon arrival at the hotel, the customer is required to present his identity card in order to allow his registration on the police form which he must sign.
19. Validity of reservation and late arrival
A reservation accepted by the hotelier is only valid until midnight.
In case of delay, the customer must inform the hotelier and indicate his exact arrival time.
A late arrival, meaning arrival after the agreed time, which has not been communicated by the customer, automatically results in the termination of the hotel contract, with the hotelier being entitled to compensation. The compensation is determined at 1 overnight stay.
20. Force majeure and excessive burden of the obligation
Any case of force majeure automatically releases a party from any obligation without the other party being entitled to compensation.
Force majeure shall mean any event which constitutes an insurmountable obstacle to the fulfilment of an obligation, beyond the will of the party invoking it. Cases of force majeure include those generally recognised as such according to the case law of the Court of Cassation.
In any case, but not limited to, the following situations constitute force majeure for the hotelier:
accidents
material breakage
exceptional weather conditions or natural disasters
fire
strikes
war and terrorism
theft
pandemics
orders by authorities, including orders for mandatory closure, partial closure or operation under strict conditions
The hotelier invoking force majeure shall notify the customer in writing as soon as possible.
In the event of unforeseen circumstances making the execution of the agreement excessively burdensome to such an extent that its execution can no longer reasonably be required, the agreement and/or the price of the agreement may be adjusted. The unforeseen circumstance must not be attributable to the contracting party invoking it.
Initially, the parties must renegotiate the hotel contract themselves taking into account the changed circumstances.
21. Expiry of granted benefits
Any hotel invoice which is subject to a price reduction, refund or commission granted by the hotelier shall lapse in the event of non-payment of the invoice on its due date.
22. Deposit
Deposits representing 30% of the total amount of the contractually agreed services must be paid to the hotelier immediately and no later than one month before the date of arrival.
In the absence of timely payment, the hotelier has the right to cancel the hotel reservation without prior notice and without compensation.
23. Group reservations
If discounts are granted for groups, a group shall mean a minimum of 20 paying persons (customers) who effectively present themselves at the hotel.
The final number of customers must be communicated to the hotelier at least one week before their arrival.
The stated number shall be binding for the settlement of the hotel invoice.
In case of cancellation by a group, the following compensations shall apply:
100% of the amount of the contract, minus the deposit received, if the cancellation occurs on the day the hotel contract begins.
80% of the amount of the contract, minus the deposit received, if the cancellation occurs the day before the hotel contract begins.
50% of the amount of the contract, minus the deposit received, if the cancellation occurs one week before the day the hotel contract begins.
25% of the amount of the contract, minus the deposit received, if the cancellation occurs four weeks before the day the hotel contract begins.
0% of the amount of the contract, minus the deposit received, if the cancellation occurs more than four weeks before the day the hotel contract begins.
24. Processing of personal data
The hotelier shall process the personal data of the customer – natural person in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council (General Data Protection Regulation) and the Belgian Act of 30 July 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data (Official Gazette 5 September 2018).
For any complaints regarding the processing of his personal data, the customer – natural person may contact info@alphahotel.be. If this does not lead to the desired result, the customer – natural person may contact the Data Protection Authority (www.gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit.be).
25. Applicable law and competent court
The hotel contract shall be governed by Belgian law.
All disputes arising from the hotel contract shall be settled before the competent court of the place where the hotelier has his registered office. If the customer is a consumer within the meaning of Article I.1, 2° of the Belgian Code of Economic Law, this provision does not prejudice the application of Article 624, 1°, 2° and 4° of the Belgian Judicial Code.