Standard Terms and Conditions of the booking individual organised tours for groups

and special conditions for vouchers

Document - © Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main

The following terms and conditions of Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main ("TCF") govern the booking of city sightseeing bus and walking tours (collectively referred to as "Guided Tours") (A.) and also contain special conditions governing vouchers (B.).

A. Standard Terms and Conditions for the booking of Guided Tours

1. Scope of terms and conditions

These standard terms and conditions of booking govern the business relationship between TCF and its customers. TCF's standard terms and conditions of booking shall apply even if TCF is aware of the customer's terms and conditions at the time of confirming the customer's booking. TCF shall not recognise conflicting, varying or additional terms and conditions of the customer unless it expressly agrees to them in writing.

2. What is covered by the terms and conditions

a) TCF organises Guided Tours. For this purpose TCF arranges independent guides for the Guided Tours (City Walks and City Tours by Bus) and, on request, also provides buses for city sightseeing bus tours.
b) The guides arranged by TCF can be booked for specific Guided Tours set by TCF in advance (e.g. "The imperial hall in the Römer (Kaisersaal)").
c) To provide buses, TCF works in partnership with independent bus companies (some of the bus companies that cooperate with TCF are listed on TCF's homepage). TCF itself does not provide the transport in connection with city sightseeing bus tours, but the bus company engaged in each case independently provides this service. All of the duties incumbent upon operators under the German Carriage of Passengers Act (Personenbeförderungsgesetz, "PBefG") therefore apply only to the acting transport operator.

3. Conclusion of booking contract

a) Specific bookings for Guided Tours with TCF must be made in writing or by e-mail. Bookings are deemed to be a binding declaration of intent on the part of the customer.
b) No contract shall be formed with TCF until TCF has confirmed the booking with the customer in writing or by e-mail ("Booking Confirmation").
c) Similarly, any changes to a binding booking may only be made in writing or by e-mail.
d) Where the customer is required to prepay for the tour (e.g. in the cases referred to in clause 4.b)c)), once the binding booking is made the customer will receive a form authorising TCF to check the customer's credit card details and to charge the relevant amount to the customer's credit card after confirming the booking. The customer must complete and sign this form and return it to TCF. TCF will only confirm the customer's booking and send a Booking Confirmation after receiving the properly completed and signed form and checking the customer's credit card details.
e) A cap on the number of participants per guide applies for certain Guided Tours. TCF will advise the customer of any such limitations in its specific quote. If the desired group size exceeds the cap on participants in any particular case, TCF will offer to book an additional guide for the customer; in such cases the group will be divided between the guides.

4. Price of admission; costs of the arranged guide

a) Where admission fees are charged to enter certain places on a guided tour (e.g. the MAIN TOWER, the Goethe House) and/or costs are incurred for special events (e.g. tasting at the Christmas Market), they must be paid separately by the customer. TCF offers the option of group flat rates for entry to certain places, which customers can book at the time of booking the relevant guided tour. These group flat rates are usually available for different group sizes. Details are available at www.frankfurt-tourismus.de. Group flat rates booked by the customer are set forth in the order confirmation. Customers may cancel or change a booked group flat rate in accordance with the terms and conditions of cancellation and rebooking (clause 9). Apart from that, booked group flat rates are non-refundable, not even in part, if they are not used. This means in particular that the non-attendance of individual participants does not entitle to a reduction of a booked group flat rate. Booked group flat rates are therefore forfeited without recompense to the extent that they are not utilised in full during the relevant guided tour.
b) The amount of booked flat charges for admissions by TCF are non-refundable if participants fail to use it.
c) The admission prices quoted by TCF in its quote are special rates. They apply only if the customer books admission through TCF (in conjunction with a tour). If the customer books a tour excluding the price of admission, the price of admission must be paid directly to the relevant institution at the door. In such cases, the institution's standard admission prices will apply.
d) Due to the possibility of unexpected waiting times or unforeseeable, short-term closures of certain establishments (e.g., MAIN TOWER, Goethe-House etc.), the TCF is unable to guarantee that its tour guides will accompany participants on their tour of the respective establishments if the timeframe predetermined for the tour has already been exceeded. If admission tickets to a particular establishment were reserved through the TCF, the tour guide will hand said tickets over to the tour participants so that they may visit the establishment in question at a time of their own choosing (which must however be within the validity period of the ticket).
e)   Travel and meal costs for the guide may be incurred, particularly in the case of customised Guided Tours or customised day tours. These costs are not included in the guide's rates, and in the following cases will be added to the total and billed to the customer retrospectively:
(1)   Travel costs: where, in exceptional cases only, and only if expressly confirmed by TCF, the meeting and/or end point is outside Frankfurt.
(2)   Meal costs and price of admission: where the guide accompanies the customer during a customised day tour at the customer's express request and the tour group does not pay for the guide's meals at the restaurant and/or the guide's admission at the door.

5. Payment details

a) The quote and the Booking Confirmation contain specific terms and conditions of payment.
b) Where the customer's billing address is within Germany, the total price is payable without undue delay after receipt of the confirmation / invoice.
c) Customers whose billing address is outside Germany are required to prepay for tours upfront by credit card.
d) Where the customer is required to prepay but their credit card is declined (e.g. because the customer provided incorrect credit card details or their credit limit is exceeded), TCF is entitled not only to refuse to provide its services, but also to rescind the contract.
e) If the customer has prepaid by credit card and a refund is owed to the customer after the provision of TCF's services (e.g. if a guide is sick), the relevant amount will be refunded to the customer in the payment manner selected by the customer. If there are amounts still payable by the customer after the provision of TCF's services, the outstanding payments will be billed to the customer retrospectively and charged to the customer's nominated credit card accordingly.

6. Guides arranged by TCF

a) TCF chooses the guide depending on the qualifications required for the Guided Tour. The customer has no right to require a specific guide.
b) Even where a specific guide is named, TCF reserves the right to arrange another appropriate and suitably qualified substitute guide if the original guide is unavoidably incapacitated (for example due to ill health).
c) Guides are not to be contacted before the appointed meeting time. The personal information of the arranged guide is subject to privacy and data protection provisions, and TCF does not disclose such information to third parties.
d) Guides arranged by TCF have no obligation to supervise participants during Guided Tours. Groups of minors (e.g. school groups) must be accompanied by a sufficient number of supervising adults. If it is the guide's opinion after proper appraisal that there are not enough supervising adults, the guide may refuse to commence the Guided Tour or interrupt any Guided Tour that has already commenced. The group will then be deemed to have failed to show up.
e) Guides arranged by TCF do not advance cash to tour groups to cover admission, meals and other incursions. Similarly, the arranged guides do not collect cash at the door to cover admission.

7. Services

All details and the description of the Guided Tours in brochures and on the internet etc. are merely provided as a general indication of the services available. They do not constitute a guarantee of a certain way of running the Guided Tours. TCF is liable only for providing the services expressly stated in the Booking Confirmation.

8. Changes to the service and price changes

a) The agreed booking may be changed or varied as long as the changes or variations are reasonable for the customer having regard to TCF's interests. In particular, changes and variations shall be deemed reasonable if they are immaterial and do not have a significant negative impact on the overall configuration of the booked tour, or if they are the result of external circumstances outside TCF's control, e.g. blocked streets, museum closures, last-minute illness of the guide etc. TCF has an obligation to notify the customer of service changes or variations without undue delay. If applicable, TCF may offer the customer the opportunity to rebook at no extra charge. The customer is entitled to rescind the contract if the changes or variations are not reasonable for the customer having regard to TCF's interests.
b) A tour group has no right to a tour extension or a price reduction if it fails to turn up on time. Any extension of Guided Tours is at the guide's discretion. If the tour is extended, the total work time of the guide to be paid for shall be the time spent by the guide waiting and the actual duration of the tour. The maximum time that a guide will wait is 45 minutes. If the tour group is delayed by more than 45 minutes, it will generally be deemed to have failed to show up (with costs being governed by clause 9.a)).
c) A guide's work time commences and finishes in Frankfurt. If a guide starts or finishes the tour outside Frankfurt, the guide's work time shall be extended accordingly and any travel costs incurred and the additional work time will be charged.

9. Cancellation and rebooking by the customer; failure to show up

a) Customers may cancel their booking free of charge by notifying TCF in writing or by e-mail at least fourteen (14) days prior to the date of the tour. After such time, a cancellation fee of 100% of the costs of the tour applies – in such a case the customer is required to pay the agreed price in full. Relevant for the purposes of determining the date of cancellation is the date on which TCF receives the written or e-mailed (at the e-mail address stated in the Booking Confirmation) notice of cancellation.
b) The agreed price is also payable in full if a customer or a group fails to show up for a booked tour.
c) In all cases, the customer is allowed to prove that TCF did not suffer any damage or suffered substantially less damage as a result of the cancellation or failure to show up. Notwithstanding the fixed amount referred to above, TCF reserves the right to demand higher compensation based on individual calculations.
d) TCF reserves the right to apply more restrictive cancellation conditions during peak booking periods, trade fairs and for tours scheduled on public holidays. The relevant quote and Booking Confirmation contain details of the modified cancellation period and the associated terms and conditions of cancellation.
e) Depending on the work involved, administrative fees of up to EUR 30 may be charged for extensive re-bookings, changes and the cancellation of services that have already been booked and are the subject of a binding agreement (buses/guides). Such matters are otherwise governed by the above terms and conditions of cancellation.

10. Limitation of liability

For damage other than personal injury, we shall only be liable if the damage was caused by our intentional misconduct or gross negligence, or by a breach of material contractual obligations (major obligations). If TCF negligently breaches its major obligations, its liability shall be limited to such loss or damage which is reasonably foreseeable in connection with the contract. TCF's liability shall in any event be limited to three times the value of the offered services. This limitation of liability also applies to TCF's vicarious agents.

B. Special Conditions for Vouchers
1. TCF vouchers

a) Customers have the option of purchasing vouchers from TCF for city sightseeing walking tours. The vouchers always relate to a specific walking tour; TCF does not issue vouchers for a certain value.
b) Vouchers can be issued for individuals (single voucher) as well as for groups (group voucher).
c) TCF issues two types of vouchers: (1) vouchers for public walking tours, which take place at fixed times and do not need to be booked in advance; and (2) vouchers which can only be redeemed when a guide is booked (e.g. group vouchers for walking tours with a specific thematic focus).

2. Voucher purchase

a) Customers have the option of ordering vouchers from TCF. Specific orders must be made in writing or by e-mail. Orders are deemed to be a binding declaration of intent on the part of the customer. No contract shall be formed with TCF until TCF has confirmed the order with the customer in writing or by e-mail. Customers must pay for vouchers upfront. TCF will send the voucher to the customer by post after TCF has received the invoice amount.
b) TCF vouchers can also be purchased directly from the tourist information office at the Römer and the tourist information office at the Hauptbahnhof (main train station).

3. Redeeming vouchers

a) TCF vouchers for public city walking tours must be redeemed directly at the tourist information office at the Römer or the tourist information office at the Hauptbahnhof, where the tickets for the respective tour will be issued to the customer upon availability. Advance booking is recommended. Depending on the tour, however, there may be a cap on the number of people allowed in a guide's group.
b) In the case of vouchers that can only be redeemed if a guide is booked (e.g. group vouchers for walking tours with a specific thematic focus), the voucher holder must provide the voucher number at the time of booking. Booking contracts are concluded in accordance with the standard terms and conditions of booking (see A. above). The voucher must be handed over to the guide at the meeting point.
c) If the voucher is redeemed for the services described in the voucher, the voucher holder will not incur any further costs.
d) Vouchers are transferable, in other words they need not be redeemed by the person named in the voucher. The voucher confers on its bearer a right to the services described in the voucher, subject to presentation of the original voucher. The presentation of a copy does not confer any rights on the bearer.
e) In the case of group vouchers, customers are personally responsible for paying for admission (if applicable) at the door. This means that standard admission prices of the relevant institutions (e.g. the Main Tower, the Goethe House) will apply.

4. Vouchers not redeemable for cash; cancellation fees; validity

a) Vouchers are not redeemable for cash. Similarly, if the voucher holder chooses a walking tour that is cheaper than the walking tour described in the voucher, the difference in value will be forfeited and will not be paid out in cash.
b) Cancellation fees charged in accordance with the standard terms and conditions of booking (see A. above) will be billed to the voucher holder.
c) Vouchers must be redeemed within two years of the end of the year in which the voucher was issued.

C. Choice of law and jurisdiction

These terms and conditions are governed exclusively by German law, subject to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). If the customer is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, or if it has no place of general jurisdiction in the Federal Republic of Germany, the place of exclusive (and international) jurisdiction for any and all disputes arising out of or in connection with TCF's business dealings with the customer shall be Frankfurt am Main.

Last updated: 03/2019