Biblical Tours - Terms and conditions

Client Obligations    Conclusion of Contracts    Conclusion of Contract    Services & Changes, Assurances    Prices, Price Increases    Payment, Default Interest, Provision of Security    Contractual Obligations    Price IncreasesTermination and Cancellation    Obligations of the Client    Limitation of Liability    Preclusion Period, Limitation of Claims    Jurisdiction   

Terms and conditions of business of Biblische Reisen GmbH / department Biblical Tours for incoming service contracts

The contract language is German. If Biblische Reisen / Biblical Tours has these terms and conditions of business translated, the German text nevertheless remains the authoritative version for legal purposes.

1. Subject Matter of the Contract, Position of the Contracting Parties, Legal Basis, Validity of Terms and Conditions of Business

1.1. The contractual obligation of Biblische Reisen GmbH, Stuttgart, hereinafter abbreviated to BiR, is to provide the contractually agreed travel services (individual travel services or a package of travel services, hereinafter referred to as "travel packages") to the Client, or to the participants of its trips

1.2. BiR is the contractual partner directly obligated to provide services to the Client, unless BiR is merely an intermediary of travel services pursuant to Section 9.6 of these contractual provisions or pursuant to the individual contractual agreements.

1.3. The entire legal and contractual relationship between BiR and the Client shall be governed first and foremost by the agreements made in the individual case, then by these terms of contract and, in the alternative, by the provisions of the law on contracts for work and services, §§ 631 et seq. of the German Civil Code (BGB), and otherwise exclusively by German law.

1.4. BiR does not have the role of a package tour operator. The provisions of §§ 651a-y BGB (German Civil Code), Art. 250 - 253 EGBGB (Introductory Act to the German Civil Code) and other statutory provisions for package tours and package tour operators do not apply either directly or mutatis mutandis to the legal and contractual relationship between BiR and the Client in accordance with § 651a BGB and the explanatory memorandum to the exception of package tour operators in the new travel law (cf. explanatory memorandum in the penultimate paragraph of the government draft to § 651a BGB). The application of such provisions is excluded in the form of an express choice of law. The same applies to European Union provisions on package travel contracts, package tour operators, and associated travel services. Therefore, the Client is not entitled to name BiR as the company instead of the Client in the form for informing the traveler in the case of a package tour pursuant to § 651d BGB, Art. 250 EGBGB.

1.5. These Terms and Conditions shall apply as amended from time to time and supersede all prior agreements for service provision as of July 1, 2018. If no current version is available, the present version shall also apply to all future contracts between BiR and the Client, unless expressly agreed otherwise in individual cases.

1.6. These Terms and Conditions apply exclusively to contracts with commercial customers who market the travel services that are the subject of the contract as tour operators within the framework of package travel contracts or in other forms of activity as the direct contractual partner of their customers. Accordingly, they do not apply to contracts with individual consumers or groups of consumers (consumers as defined by §13 of the German Civil Code (BGB)).

Conclusion of Contract

2.1. The Client may express its interest in booking the travel services offered by BiR by telephone, e-mail, fax, via the Internet, and in writing. This expression of interest is non-binding for the Client and BiR and does not constitute a claim to the conclusion of a contract.

2.2. BiR will first provide information about the availability of the desired travel services on the basis of the Client's expression of interest and submit proposals regarding the possible travel services and the itinerary. Such proposals are non-binding and subject to change for BiR and the Client. They do not constitute a claim to the conclusion of a corresponding contract. This also applies to multiple or repeated submissions of such proposals. Unless otherwise expressly agreed in advance, such proposals and information on availability shall be free of charge for the Client.

2.3. BiR shall submit a binding offer of contract to the Client in writing, by fax, or by e-mail on the basis of the agreements in accordance with Section 2.2 and shall thereby offer the Client the binding conclusion of the contract on the basis of these contractual Terms and Conditions, all information and notes in the offer and, if applicable, any price lists, documents, or supplementary information expressly referred to in the offer as the basis for the offer.

2.4. Unless otherwise expressly stated in the offer, the offer may only be made in writing or by fax, to the exclusion of electronic text form (e-mail, Internet). Acceptance of the offer in the form of a signed copy of the contract as a PDF document in an e-mail attachment is possible and legally binding.

2.5. If the offer expressly specifies a deadline for acceptance of the offer, the offer shall be binding for BiR only until the expiry of this deadline and can only be accepted by the Client within this deadline upon receipt of the declaration of acceptance by BiR during normal business hours. BiR is entitled, but not obliged, to accept declarations of acceptance that are received late. In this case, BiR shall immediately inform the Client of the delayed receipt and whether it accepts the acceptance of the offer despite the delayed receipt.

2.6. The offer can only be accepted by a declaration of acceptance signed by a person authorized to represent the Client.

2.7. The contract shall become legally binding upon BiR's receipt of the Client's declaration of acceptance, without any confirmation of receipt or booking confirmation being required. As a rule, however, BiR will confirm to the Client receipt of its declaration of acceptance in writing or by fax and at the same time or subsequently send the corresponding invoice for agreed advance payments and / or the final payment.

2.8. Insofar as the declaration of acceptance by the Client contains additions, restrictions, or other amendments, the contract shall only come into effect if BiR provides a corresponding reconfirmation that includes these additions, restrictions, or amendments. Otherwise the contract does not come into effect. The same shall apply insofar as the Client imposes conditions in the declaration of acceptance with regard to the travel services or the itinerary that were not part of BiR's offer. This includes, in particular, conditions for very specific flight times, flight connections, hotels, specific tour guides, or routes.

2.9. Insofar as BiR also offers travel services or travel packages for immediate direct booking without a prior written offer, the contract shall be concluded, in deviation from the above provisions, by the Client sending BiR a binding booking declaration in writing or by fax (where provided with a corresponding booking form from BiR) and BiR confirming the booking to the Client in writing or by fax. In this case, the Client shall be bound by its contractual offer in this respect for 5 working days from receipt of its booking by BiR. If, in this case, BiR's booking confirmation differs from the booking made by the Client, this shall constitute a new offer by BiR. On the basis of this new offer, the contract shall come into effect if the Client accepts this amended offer by express declaration or by conclusive conduct, in particular by making the advance payment or final payment.

3. Services and Changes in Services, Third-Party Brochures, Information, and Assurances

3.1. In the case of contracts concluded on the basis of a written offer from BiR, BiR's obligation to perform shall be determined by the information on prices and services contained therein in accordance with all the details and explanations contained in the offer or in additional documents submitted.
In the case of contracts that are concluded on the basis of an advertisement in a brochure or an Internet advertisement by means of direct booking by the Client and corresponding booking confirmation from BiR (see Section 2.9), BiR's obligation to perform shall be determined in accordance with the brochure advertisement or the information on the Internet in conjunction with BiR's booking confirmation referring thereto.

3.2. BiR is expressly not obligated to provide the Client with all information prior to conclusion of the contract that the Client requires from BiR with regard to the contractual services related to the Client's pre-contractual information obligations pursuant to Article 250 § 3 EGBGB (Introductory Act to the German Civil Code) vis-à-vis its travel participants. BiR will forward the information available to BiR to the Client once it has been determined that the trip will be carried out.

3.3. In principle, BiR is permitted to make changes to services if the Client's participants are obliged under the statutory provisions and the relevant case law to accept such changes without entitlement to a significant reduction in the price of the trip or a right to withdraw from the contract.

3.4. For air travel, arrival and departure days are intended for transportation, not for recreation or the itinerary (travel program), unless otherwise expressly agreed. Changes in flight times are to be expected as a matter of principle. The Client is required to align its own travel program components, its own transport services and times, in particular its bus and personnel deployment, with this in mind and to formulate its advertisements accordingly. It shall legally reserve such changes vis-à-vis its participants.

4. Prices, Price Increases

4.1. The prices agreed between BiR and the Client in the individual case shall apply. If such prices have not been agreed, in particular in the case of additional services and individual services, the prices in BiR's advertising and booking bases that were demonstrably available or accessible to the Client at the time the contract was concluded or were otherwise declared applicable or referred to by BiR shall apply. In the alternative, the usual or taxable remuneration in accordance with § 632 BGB (German Civil Code) is to be paid.

4.2. BiR may demand price increases if this has been contractually agreed in the individual case. This applies in particular to price agreements in which the agreed price depends on the number of participants, the type and/or scope of the services actually used, or on the time of finalization and determination of travel services or numbers of participants. The same shall apply in the event of agreed price increases in the context of a reduction or increase in the number of participants, services, or quotas.

4.3. Irrespective of price increases pursuant to the above provision and, if applicable, in addition to price increases permitted thereunder, BiR reserves the right to increase the contractually agreed prices to the extent that
a) an increase in the price of passenger transportation due to higher costs for fuel or other energy sources,
b) an increase in taxes and other charges for agreed travel services, such as tourist taxes, port or airport charges, or
c) a change in the exchange rates applicable to the package tour in question directly affects the contractually agreed prices.

4.4. BiR shall inform the Client of the reasons and in doing so communicate the calculation of the price increase to the Client.

4.5. The price increase is calculated as follows:

4.6. In the event of an increase in the price for the carriage of persons in accordance with 4.3a) BiR may increase the tour price in accordance with the following calculation:
a) In the event of an increase related to seat numbers, BiR can demand the amount of the increase from the Client.
b) Otherwise, the additional transportation costs claimed by the carrier per means of transportation shall be divided by the number of seats of the agreed means of transportation. BiR may demand the resulting increase amount for the single seat from the Client.
c) In the event of an increase in taxes and other levies pursuant to. 4.3b), the travel price may be increased by the corresponding, pro rata amount.
d) In the event of an increase in exchange rates pursuant to 4.3c), the price can be increased to the extent to which the trip has become more expensive for BiR.

4.7. In the event of a subsequent change in price, BiR must inform the customer immediately after becoming aware of the reason for the change. Price increases are only permitted up to the 25th day prior to the start of the trip and must be received by the Client by this date. In case of price increases of more than 10%, the Client is entitled to withdraw from the contract without cancellation costs. The Client must assert the right of withdrawal against BiR immediately after BiR's notification of the price increase if the relevant requirements are met.

4.8. In the event of an increase in value added tax on prices for contractually agreed travel services, BIR is entitled to demand a corresponding price increase from the Client, insofar as BiR proves that it is obliged to pay the increased value added tax accordingly.

4.9. The right to increase prices according to the contractual agreements made in the individual case, according to the above provisions as well as on the basis of statutory provisions, is independent of whether and to what extent the Client is factually and legally able to pass on such price increases to its customers or is obliged to reduce prices.

5. Payment, Default of Payment, Place of Performance for Payments, Reminders, Default Interest, Provision of Security

5.1. BiR may demand advance payments after conclusion of the contract in accordance with the following regulations:
a) Advance payments are generally only due for payment after conclusion of the contract.
b) The amount, timing, and due date of advance payments are independent of whether and to what extent the Client itself can claim corresponding advance payments from its customers.
c) The amount of the advance payment and the date on which the advance payment is due are determined by the contractual agreements made in the individual case.
d) If no express agreements have been made regarding the amount of the advance payment, the advance payment shall be 20% of the total price.
e) If the total price increases due to the expansion of services, quotas, or number of participants, or due to other circumstances or contractual agreements that lead to a price increase, the difference between the original advance payment amount and the advance payment amount calculated from the increased total price will be due for payment immediately at the time of corresponding legally binding agreements, or the occurrence of the conditions for a price increase.

5.2. Further interim payments after the advance payment has been made and before the final payment is due shall become due for payment in accordance with the corresponding contractual agreement.

5.3. The final payment is due as contractually agreed. If a special agreement has not been made, the final payment is due no later than 30 days before the start of the first agreed service for the respective trip.
5.4. Payments must always be made in the expressly agreed method of payment. If no express agreements have been made regarding the method of payment, payments shall be made exclusively by bank transfer.

5.5. The place of performance for any payments shall be the location of the registered office of the bank of the bank account specified by BiR for the payment, with the proviso that the payment obligation shall only be duly fulfilled if the amount due to this bank is credited to the specified bank account in good time.
5.6. Payments, especially from outside Germany, are to be made free of fees and charges. Payments in foreign currencies are generally excluded, unless otherwise expressly agreed in individual cases.

5.7. Default in payment shall occur if the conditions for payment are met after a reminder, which may also be issued verbally and in electronic text form. Without a reminder, default shall occur if the Client does not make payment within 30 days of the due date and receipt of an invoice or equivalent payment schedule. If the date of receipt of the invoice or payment schedule is uncertain, the Client shall be in default no later than 30 days after the due date and receipt of the consideration.
5.8. In the event of default, the Client shall pay interest on due claims at a rate of 9 percentage points above the base interest rate. BiR reserves the right to assert further damage caused by delay.

6. Contractual Obligations of the Client; Travel Advertisement; Pre-Contractual Information

6.1. The Client shall not designate BiR to its participants as a tour operator or co-tour operator in any way or in any documents or, in the case of forms of marketing that do not constitute a package tour, shall not designate BiR as a service provider, organizer, or co-tour operator. In particular, the Client will not mention or designate BiR as the responsible company in the forms. It shall make any references to the contract with BiR and the provision of services by BiR only if and in the form that corresponds to an express prior agreement with BiR.

6.2. BiR may demand that the Client submit its travel advertisement, insofar as this relates to travel services contractually agreed with BiR, for inspection prior to publication, in particular prior to the printing of a corresponding travel catalog, or other printed advertising medium, or a corresponding publication on the Internet. This obligation to submit is limited to the travel advertisement itself; the Client is not obliged to disclose its prices or its cost estimates. BiR may demand corrections to the tour description if BiR proves that it contains obvious errors or omissions, violates mandatory provisions of competition law or travel law, or is otherwise suitable for giving rise to claims against BiR by third parties, in particular the customers of the Client.

6.3. Irrespective of any legal or contractual obligation of its participants to give notice of defects to itself, the Client is obligated to immediately report any defects that occur to the office named by BiR, or to the local agency or the service provider without expressly stating this, and to demand a remedy. If they refuse to remedy the defect or if they cannot be reached, the Client shall immediately send BiR a corresponding notice of defect with a request for remedy.

6.4. If the Client does not fulfil one or more of the above obligations, the Client's warranty claims and claims for damages shall lapse to the extent that BiR would have been willing and able to remedy the situation or any damage occurring would have been excluded or reduced.

7. Cancellation, Withdrawal, Termination, Substitute Participants, Rebooking

7.1. Unless otherwise expressly agreed by contract in individual cases, the Client shall have no right to revoke the contract or individual contractual agreements, to terminate, or to withdraw from the contract. Any rights of withdrawal by virtue of commercial usage are expressly excluded, especially in the case of contractual agreements on accommodation quotas. The right of termination pursuant to § 649 of the German Civil Code (BGB) is also excluded. The following provisions regarding extraordinary termination due to deficiencies in BiR's contractual performance or due to unavoidable, extraordinary circumstances remain unaffected by this.
7.2. "Cancellation" within the meaning of the following provisions shall be both the exercise of a contractually agreed right of rescission and any other declaration by the Client regarding the non-acceptance of individual contractual services or the entire contractual services.

7.3. Contractually agreed cancellation rights must always be exercised in writing or by fax, to the exclusion of electronic text form (e-mail, Internet) unless otherwise expressly agreed in the individual case.

7.4. The timeliness of cancellation notices depends on receipt by BiR during normal business hours, and in the case of cancellation notices by telephone, on receipt of the cancellation notices in writing or by fax. Service providers, sales representatives, or other third parties are not authorized to accept cancellation declarations.

7.5. In the event of cancellation or non-acceptance without a declaration to this effect by the Client, BiR shall be entitled to the contractually agreed lump-sum or specifically quantified compensation.

7.6. If such lump-sum or specific compensation has not been agreed in individual cases, BiR shall be entitled to the following compensation, the calculation of which takes into account the usually saved expenses and the usually possible alternative use of the travel services. The compensation shall be calculated according to the date of receipt of the declaration of withdrawal by the Client as follows:
Up to 42 days prior to departure: 10% of the tour price
From 41 to 22 days prior to departure: 25% of the tour price
From 21 to 15 days prior to departure: 40% of the tour price
From 14 to 1 day prior to departure: 60% of the tour price
On the day of departure and in case of no-show: 80% of the tour price.

7.7. In any case of calculation of the cancellation costs agreed in the individual case or of the lump-sum cancellation costs listed above by BiR, the Client reserves the right to prove to BiR that it has incurred no damage at all or significantly less damage than the lump sum demanded in each case.

7.8. BiR reserves the right to demand higher, specific compensation instead of the above lump sums, insofar as BiR proves that it has incurred significantly higher expenses than the applicable lump sum in each case. In this case, BiR is obligated to specifically quantify and substantiate the compensation demanded, taking into account the expenses saved and any other use of the travel services.

8. Obligations of the Client in the Event of Notification of Defects by Travelers; Termination due to Defects or Unavoidable, Extraordinary Circumstances

8.1. The following shall apply to termination by the Client before or after the start of the contract or the trip or travel services due to defects in the travel services:
a) Termination shall only be permissible if the Client has notified BiR of the defect and has set a reasonable deadline for remedying the defect, unless remedying the defect is objectively impossible.
b) Notification of defects and requests for remedy by the travelers vis-à-vis the Client within the meaning of § 651o BGB (German Civil Code), which concern services provided by BiR, must be sent without delay and using all means of communication reasonably available at the travel location to the office indicated by BiR. If a local service provider or a local agency is specified as the responsible body in this respect and if they cannot be reached or if they refuse to provide a corresponding remedy, the Client shall immediately send a notice of defects and a request for remedy to BiR via the communication data of BiR specified in the travel documents.

8.2. If the provision of the contractual services is significantly impeded, endangered, or impaired as a result of unavoidable, extraordinary circumstances, the following shall apply:
a) In this case, both BiR and the Client may terminate the contract in accordance with the following provisions.
- Termination shall be declared in text form and shall be substantiated by the circumstances which, in the opinion of the terminating party, are intended to justify the termination. If, in the event of a termination by the Client, such an appeal to unavoidable, extraordinary circumstances with appropriate justification is not made, the Client's declaration shall be treated as an ordinary cancellation subject to payment. A subsequent invocation of the right to terminate on account of unavoidable, extraordinary circumstances is not possible.
- Only such circumstances justify a termination due to unavoidable, extraordinary circumstances which directly affect the provision of services by BiR. If the performance of the trip or the provision of the travel services is impeded, endangered, or impaired by circumstances that are within the area of risk of the Client, this does not justify a termination due to unavoidable, extraordinary circumstances. In the case of transport of its participants organized by the Client itself, this applies in particular to roadblocks or airspace closures, the failure of means of transport, or other operational disruptions at the Client.
b) In the event of justified termination due to unavoidable, extraordinary circumstances, BiR may charge the Client costs amounting to half of the amount that would have been incurred in the event of a cancellation subject to payment at the time BiR received the cancellation. BiR reserves the right to claim half of specific costs to be quantified and substantiated. In all cases, the Client reserves the right to prove to BiR that it has incurred no costs or significantly lower costs than those on which the claim is based.
c) If the contractual services of BiR include the transportation of the Client's participants, additional costs for the return transportation of the participants due to unavoidable, extraordinary circumstances during the trip or event shall be borne in full by the Client.
d) Any other additional costs due to unavoidable, extraordinary circumstances during the trip or the event, in particular additional personnel costs of the Client as well as costs of an extended stay of the participants of the Client at the event/travel location beyond the travel/contract period of accommodation services shall be borne by the Client.
8.1. The individual contracts govern the dates on which down payments and payment of balances become due.

9. Limitation of Liability

9.1. BiR shall not be liable for services and parts of services, of whatever nature, which - with or without BiR's knowledge - are offered, organized, performed and/or made available to its customers by the Client in addition to BiR's services. These include in particular:
a) Arrivals and departures organized by the Client to and/or from the place of travel contractually agreed with BiR, as well as transportation during the trip.
b) Events before and after the trip and at the trip location, trips, excursions, meetings, etc. not included in the scope of services provided by BiR.

9.2. In particular, BiR shall not be liable for the consequences and costs incurred, in particular impairments of the contractual services owed by BiR and the course of the trip as a whole, which arise from the course, handling, and in particular any disruptions and cancellations of the travel services, visits events, meetings, or other circumstances organized and carried out by the Client itself.

9.3. BiR shall not be liable for actions and omissions of the Client and/or its responsible persons, tour guides, bus drivers, or a tour guide only arranged by BiR before, during, and after the trip, in particular not for any of the following not agreed with BiR:
a) Changes in contractual services,
b) Instructions to local guides; service providers and agencies
c) Special arrangements with the various service providers,
d) Information and assurances to its customers.

9.4. Insofar as the warranty and liability of BiR vis-à-vis the Client is to be linked to the travel price, the service price agreed between the Client and BiR shall be exclusively definitive, without taking into account the margin or surcharges of any kind that are calculated into the travel price by the Client or levied in addition.

9.5. Insofar as BiR's warranty and liability are not based on claims by the Client's participants against it arising from injury to life, limb or health, or insofar as BiR is not guilty of gross negligence or intent in the case of other claims, liability for consequential damage is excluded as a matter of principle. This also applies in particular to payments made by the Client to its participants for claims for damages due to futilely squandered vacation time as well as with regard to the absence of follow-up bookings by affected participants or groups of participants of the Client.

9.6. BiR is not liable for information on prices and services as well as for personal injury and damage to property in the case of services of any kind that are exclusively arranged according to the corresponding information in the brochure description or the offer or the booking confirmation or other documents. Any liability of BiR arising from a breach of brokerage obligations remains unaffected.

10.Preclusion Period, Limitation of Claims

10.1. The following shall apply to the assertion of claims by the Client against BiR arising from the entire contractual and legal relationship:

10.2. Contractual claims of the Client arising from injury to the life, body, or health of the owner, managing director, employees, or participants of the Client, based on an intentional or negligent breach of duty by BiR or a legal representative or vicarious agent of BiR, shall be subject to a limitation period of 3 years. This also applies to claims for compensation for other damages based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by BiR or a legal representative or vicarious agent of BiR.

10.3. All other contractual claims shall be subject to a limitation period of 2 years.

10.4. The limitation period for claims under the above provisions shall commence at the end of the year in which the claim arose and the Client became aware of the facts giving rise to the claim against BiR and of BiR as the opposing party to the claim or should have become aware of them without gross negligence.

10.5. Provisions on longer or shorter limitation periods in international provisions and agreements as well as in regulations of the European Union which are applicable to the legal or contractual relationship between BiR and the Client shall remain unaffected, with the proviso that longer limitation periods contained therein shall apply in favor of the Client if such longer limitation periods cannot be effectively waived even in contracts between companies or merchants.

10.6. If negotiations between the Client and BiR concerning the claim or the circumstances giving rise to the claim are pending, the limitation period shall be suspended until the Client or BiR refuses to continue the negotiations. The limitation period shall come into effect no less than three months after the suspension ends.

11. Jurisdiction

The exclusive place of jurisdiction for any legal disputes between BiR and the Client shall be the location of BiR's principal place of business. This shall not apply insofar as German statutory provisions, international provisions and agreements, as well as regulations of the European Union applicable to the legal and contractual relationship contain provisions on the place of jurisdiction and the choice of jurisdiction, which cannot be effectively amended or waived in contracts between companies.

© Biblische Reisen GmbH / Noll | Hütten | Dukic Attorneys at Law, Munich | Stuttgart, 2009 – 2021
No part of this terms and conditions may be reproduced, copied, or distributed in any form. All rights reserved