Terms & Conditions

GENERAL CONDITIONS OF SALE

These conditions form an integral part of this hotel agreement.

Any changes to them shall be made in writing.

If there is any conflict between these general conditions of sale and those stated on documents issued by the guest, the former shall take precedence.

Prices quoted by the hotel owner shall not be binding.

The services shall be provided on the hotel owner's premises unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Complaints concerning the services provided shall not be accepted unless they are submitted to the hotel owner in writing within seven days of the services being provided.

Contracting parties

A person staying in a hotel is not necessarily a contracting party: a hotel contract may be signed in his or her name by a third party.

For the purposes of these general conditions of sale, the term "contracting party" shall refer to the individual or entity who signs the hotel reservation contract and/or is liable for payment for the services.
The term "guest" shall refer to the individual(s) intending to stay in the hotel.

Hotel contract

Under the hotel contract, the hotel owner shall provide the guest with accommodation and other standard services.

These are the normal services provided by the hotel based on its category, including function rooms and the various common areas which are generally made available to guests.

The contracting party shall be liable to pay the agreed price.

Form of contract

The contract need not take any particular form. It shall be deemed to have been entered into when one party has accepted an offer by the other.

If the contract is in writing, the hotel owner shall state the guest's arrival and departure dates, together with the agreed price, details of the services requested, and any prepayment required.

Length of stay

If the guest makes a reservation for a specific number of nights, the arrival and departure dates shall be stated in the hotel contract.

The contract shall be terminated by 10 am on the day after the guest's arrival unless a contract for more than one day has been requested and granted.

If the number of nights reserved is not specified, the hotel contract shall be deemed to have been entered into for a number of successive days.

If this is the case, one of the parties shall give notice of termination of the contract, to end by 10 am on the following day.

If the hotel owner gives notice of termination to the guest, it shall be deemed to have given this notice to the contracting party in accordance with the above provisions.

The notice of termination shall be confirmed to the contracting party in writing.

Fulfilment of contract

The hotel owner and the contracting party shall be liable for compliance with the provisions of the contract.

10.

Non-fulfilment of contract

If either party fails to fulfil all or part of the contract, it shall pay full compensation for the loss or damage suffered by the other. However the other party shall take all steps which may be necessary to limit the loss or damage.

If the hotel owner is unable to fulfil the contract, it shall offer the guest other accommodation of an equal or higher quality or category.

Any resulting difference in price shall be paid by the hotel owner.

11.

Termination of contract

A contract may not be terminated until it has been wholly fulfilled, except by agreement between the parties.

Each hotel owner may specify the notice periods and compensation for breach of contract applying to the parties at the time of entering into the contract.

12.

Payment

The hotel owner may require full or partial prepayment.

If the hotel owner receives a sum of money in advance from the contracting party, this shall be regarded as a prepayment of the contractual price unless otherwise contractually agreed.

Hotel bills shall be payable immediately in cash.

If part of a hotel bill is disputed, the undisputed part shall also be paid in cash.

Unless otherwise specified, the hotel owner shall not be required to accept cheques, dividends, credit cards or other deferred forms of payment, and payment shall be made in the hotel's local currency.

The contracting party shall be liable to pay for all services provided to the guest, including those specified when the contract is entered into, unless otherwise agreed in writing, in which case these costs shall be the guest's responsibility.

13.

Cancellation of contract

If either party commits a serious or repeated breach of its contractual obligations, the other party may terminate the contract immediately and without notice.

14.

Hotel owner's liability; items handed in for safekeeping

The hotel owner shall not be liable for loss or damage resulting from events which, in view of their circumstances and effects, it could not reasonably have been expected to prevent (force majeure).

It shall also not be liable for loss or damage which is wholly or partially the fault of the guest.

The Civil Code (Law of 4 July 1972, published in the Official Gazette of 19 August 1972) covers items handed in for safekeeping. The relevant articles are as follows:

Article 1952: The hotel owner shall be liable as custodian for the damage, destruction or theft of items brought into the hotel by a guest staying there.

These items shall be regarded as being in safekeeping out of necessity.

Items brought into the hotel shall be defined as follows:
a) Those located in the hotel while the guest is booked in;
b) Those located outside the hotel which the hotel owner or its agents accept for safekeeping while the guest is booked in;
c) Those in or outside the hotel which the hotel owner or its agents accept for safekeeping for a reasonable period before or after the guest is booked in.

The liability referred to in this article shall be limited to 100 times the daily room charge for any one loss. If necessary, the requirements for calculating this charge may be laid down by royal decree.

The Royal Decree of 24 June 1973 (Official Gazette of 14 August 1973) states that the daily room charge (as referred to in article 1952, paragraph 3) is the charge for an overnight stay, as published by the hotel owner plus a percentage (if appropriate) for the services provided.

Article 1953: The hotel owner's liability shall be unlimited:
a) If the items have been given to the hotel owner or its agents for safekeeping.
b) If it has refused to accept items for safekeeping despite being required to do so.
c) If the damage, destruction or theft of items referred to in article 1952 are the fault of the hotel owner or its agents.

The hotel owner shall be required to accept securities, money or valuable items for safekeeping.
It may refuse to accept these only if they are dangerous or if, in view of the size of the hotel and the circumstances, they are very valuable or would place too great a burden of responsibility on the hotel.
The hotel owner may require objects entrusted to it for safekeeping to be placed in locked or sealed packaging.

Article 1954: The hotel owner shall not be liable if the damage, destruction or theft are due to:
a) The guest or their companions, employees or visitors.
b) Force majeure.
c) Armed robbery.
d) The nature of the item, or a defect in it.

Article 1954 b): The guest shall not have any rights unless they report the loss or damage as soon as it is discovered, except where it is the fault of the hotel owner or its agents.

Article 1954 c): Any statement or provision excluding or limiting the hotel owner's liability for loss or damage shall be invalid.

Article 1954 d): Articles 1952, 1953 and 1954 b) shall not apply to vehicles or objects left in them, nor to live animals.

15.

Liability of guest/contracting party

The guest and contracting party shall be jointly and severally liable to the hotel owner for personal injury and for damage to the structure, fixtures and fittings of the hotel, and to places which are accessible to the public.

16.

Right to retain items brought into the hotel by the guest

The hotel owner shall be entitled to retain items brought into the hotel by the guest to guarantee payment of amounts owed to it, and may ultimately sell those items and all related items which are of market value.

17.

Guest's behaviour

The guest shall behave in accordance with the practices and rules of the hotel, and these rules shall be available for inspection by the guest.

In the event of a serious or repeated breach of these rules, the hotel owner shall be entitled to terminate the contract immediately without prior notice.

18.

Pets

If a guest wishes to bring a pet into the hotel, they shall ascertain whether this is permitted by the hotel's rules before doing so.

19.

Occupying and vacating rooms

Unless otherwise contractually agreed, a room which has been reserved shall be made available to the guest at 2 pm, and the guest shall vacate the room by 12 midday on the day of departure.

20.

Registration

Guests arriving in the hotel shall show their identity documents. Details of these documents shall be entered on a police registration form, which shall be signed by the guest.

21.

Late arrivals

If a guest arrives after the agreed time without notifying the hotel owner, the hotel contract shall immediately be terminated, and the hotel owner shall be entitled to damages.

22.

Telephone reservations

Telephone reservations accepted by the hotel owner shall be valid until 6 pm.

If the guest is delayed, they shall notify the hotel owner and state their precise time of arrival.

23.

Interest shall automatically be charged on amounts of money paid late. The rate of interest shall be the Belgian Association of Banks cash lending rate, plus 2%.

If the hotel owner fails to provide the contractually agreed accommodation, it shall pay the contracting party fixed compensation of BF 2,500 per night on which accommodation has been promised but not provided, up to a maximum of BF 10,000, plus the statutory interest specified in the first paragraph.

The above provision shall also apply if the hotel owner fails to comply with its contractual obligations to its guests.

24.

Any discount, refund or commission allowed by the hotel owner on a hotel bill shall cease to apply if the bill is not paid on the due date.

25.

Cancellation of reservations during stay

If the guest has a serious and proven reason (sickness, accident, death) for cancelling their reservation during their stay, the hotel owner shall charge only for the current day.

In cases where the hotel owner is not responsible or liable for the cancellation, the guest shall pay half the charge for the remaining period of the reservation pro rata for the price per person of the services requested.

Where meals are provided on a full or half board basis, the hotel owner shall charge for half of the meals not taken, for a maximum of two days.

26.

A prepayment of 30% of the total cost of the contractual services shall be paid immediately to the hotel owner not later than one month before the guest's arrival date.

If this is not paid, the hotel owner may cancel the reservation without prior notice.

27.

If a group discount is allowed, a group shall be defined as a minimum of 20 paying guests who actually register at the hotel.

The final number of guests shall be notified to the hotel owner at least one week before their arrival.
The stated number of guests shall be binding for the purposes of paying the hotel bill.

If a group cancels, the following compensation shall be payable:

100% of the contract amount, less any prepayment received, if the reservation is cancelled on the day itself.
80% of the contract amount, less any prepayment received, if the reservation is cancelled on the previous day.
50% of the contract amount, less any prepayment received, if the reservation is cancelled one week beforehand.
25% of the contract amount, less any prepayment received, if the reservation is cancelled four weeks beforehand.
0% of the contract amount, less any prepayment received, if the reservation is cancelled more than four weeks beforehand.

28.

The hotel reservation contract shall be subject to Belgian law.

All disputes arising from this agreement shall be decided by the appropriate court in the hotel owner's place of domicile.