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 to the extent they conflict with them. Deviations from these terms and conditions are only permitted in writing. They apply to the exclusion of all general terms and conditions of sale appearing on documents issued by the customer, insofar as they conflict with these general terms and conditions of sale.

2. Definitions contractor – customer

In these general terms and conditions of sale, the term "Contractor" means: the natural or legal person who concludes a hotel reservation contract and/or who is obliged to make a payment (in return); "Customer" means the natural person(s) who intends to complete a hotel stay. A person staying overnight in a hotel is not necessarily a contracting party: a hotel contract can be concluded on their behalf by a third party.

3. Place of performance of services

The services are provided at the hotel owner's place of business, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

4. Complaints procedure

Complaints regarding the services provided will only be accepted if they are sent to the hotel owner by registered mail within seven calendar days after the service has been completed.

5. Hotel contract

In accordance with the hotel contract, the hotel owner is obligated to provide the guest with accommodation and customary services. Customary services refer to the hotel's standard services, according to its category, including the rooms and various communal facilities generally made available to the guest. 2. The contracting party is obligated to pay the agreed price.

6. Form of the hotel contract

No specific form is required for the contract. It is concluded upon the customer's express acceptance of the offer. In the case of a written contract, the hotelier must specify the customer's arrival and departure dates, the agreed price, a description of the agreed services, and any advance payment terms.

7. Duration of the reserved overnight stay

If a guest reserves a specific number of nights, the start and end dates must be stated in the hotel contract. The reservation will then end on the day specified in the hotel contract, no later than 11:00 AM. If the guest has not vacated their room by 11:00 AM 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 nights, the hotel contract is considered to be concluded for multiple consecutive days. In that case, notice of cancellation, ending the following day, must be given by either party no later than 11:00 AM for the reservation to be terminated. Notice of cancellation from the hotel owner to the customer will be considered addressed to the contracting party. The cancellation will be confirmed in writing to the contracting party.

The contract will be considered terminated on the day the guest leaves the room before 11 a.m. and all amounts due have been paid.

8. Distance contract

If the contract was concluded remotely, there is no right of withdrawal. Regarding consumers (as defined in Article I, 1.2° of the Code of Economic Law), the provision of Article VI.53, 12° of the Code of Economic Law applies in this regard, meaning 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 either party up to 2 days before the day of arrival, without compensation.

In case of full or partial cancellation of a booking less than 2 days before the day of arrival, the cancelling party is liable to pay compensation to the other party equal to the amount of the reservation.

If the customer does not show up on the scheduled arrival date, a fixed compensation amounting to the full amount of the reservation will be due.

If the hotel owner is unable to fulfill the contract on the scheduled arrival date, they are obligated to offer the guest alternative accommodation of equivalent or higher quality or category. Any resulting price difference will be borne by the hotel owner.

10. Price

The price is that stated in the contract, unless the hotel owner is forced to adjust the price in line with changes in its fixed and/or variable costs.

In that case, the price revision is carried out on the basis of the following price revision formula, which has been established in accordance with the applicable legal provisions and case law: P = p {a + b (S/s) + c (I/i)}

The following applies:

– P = the new price
– p = the original price provided in the quotation
– a = the percentage of the price that is not eligible for revision (a >= 0.20)
– b= the percentage of labor 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 quotation)
– c= the percentage of material costs in the total price
– I = the new material index (the month preceding the invoice payment)
– i = the original material index (the month preceding the quotation date)
– a + b + c = 1”

The hotelier who is forced to implement a price revision must notify the contractor and the customer (provided they are not the same person) in writing at least one month in advance, or if this is not possible, as soon as possible.

11. Payment methods

The hotel owner may request a full or partial advance payment (deposit). See Article 23.

If the hotel owner receives a sum of money in advance from the contractor, this will be considered as a deposit on the contractual price, unless otherwise agreed in the contract.

Hotel bills are payable in cash upon presentation.

In the event of a partial dispute regarding the hotel bill, the undisputed portion must also be paid in cash. Unless otherwise agreed, the hotelier is under no obligation to accept checks, dividends, credit cards, or other deferred payment methods, and payment must be made in the currency of the country where the hotel is located.

 The contractor is responsible for payment for all services provided to the client, including those specified at the time the contract was concluded, unless otherwise agreed in writing, in which case these costs will be charged to the client.

Amounts not paid on their due date will automatically be increased by default interest. For consumers, this interest will be calculated according to the statutory interest rate, which will commence when a period of 14 calendar days after a first (free) notice of default has elapsed without payment. For businesses, default interest is due without notice of default. This interest is calculated in accordance with the Act of 2 August 2002 on combating late payment in commercial transactions. In addition, a fixed compensation of 10% is due on the outstanding amount, without prejudice to any legal costs and enforcement costs.

On the other hand, the hotelier who fails to offer the contractually agreed accommodation on the scheduled date of arrival or to offer alternative accommodation of an equivalent or higher quality or category in accordance with Article 9, paragraph 4, shall be liable to the contracting party for a fixed compensation of EUR 175 per agreed overnight stay not provided, with a maximum of EUR 350, which compensation shall automatically be increased by the interest provided for in paragraph 7.

12. Termination of the hotel contract

Any serious or repeated breach of contractual obligations by one of the contracting parties entitles the other party to immediately terminate the contract without notice and without the need to pay any compensation to the breaching party.

13. Hotel owner's responsibility for damage and hotel deposit

 The hotel owner shall not be liable for any damage resulting from an event which, despite taking all necessary precautions, given the circumstances and the consequences, made it impossible for the hotel owner to avoid (force majeure).

Likewise, the hotel owner is not liable for any damage resulting from the fault, even partial, of the customer.

Hotel storage is legally regulated by Articles 1952 et seq. of the (old) Civil Code, which are quoted below.

Article 1952

“The hotel owner is liable as custodian for any damage, destruction, or theft of items brought to the hotel by a guest staying there; the safekeeping of such items must be considered as a safekeeping out of necessity.

The following items are considered to be brought along:
a)Which are present in the hotel during the time the guest has sleeping accommodation available there;
b)Which the hotelier or a person providing his services takes under his supervision outside the hotel during the time when the guest has sleeping accommodation available there;
c) Which the hotel owner or a person providing services to him, within or outside the hotel, undertakes under his supervision for a reasonable period before or after the guest has a place to sleep; The liability referred to in this article is limited per claim to 100 times the daily price of the accommodation. The King may, if necessary, determine the data for determining this price.”

The Royal Decree of 24 June 1973 (BS 14 August 1973) stipulates that the daily rate for room rental (to which Article 1952, paragraph 3 (old) of the Civil Code refers) includes the amount of the overnight price, as published by the hotel owner, plus a percentage (which may have been provided) for the services offered.

Article 1953

“The hotel-keeper's liability shall be unlimited: a) When the goods have been placed in the hands of the hotel-keeper or of persons providing him with his services for safekeeping; b) When he has refused to take into safekeeping goods which he is obliged to keep; c) When the damage, destruction or theft of the goods referred to in Article 1952 is the result of his own fault or the fault of persons providing him with their services.

The hotel owner is obliged to keep securities, money or valuables in safekeeping;
He may only refuse to take them into custody if they are dangerous or if, taking into account the size of the hotel and the circumstances, they have an excessive commercial value or cause a nuisance.

He may require that the object entrusted to him be stored in closed or sealed packaging.”

Article 1954

“The hotel owner shall not be liable if 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)armed theft;
d)the nature or defect of the item;”

Article 1954bis

“The guest's rights are extinguished if he does not report the damage suffered immediately after it is discovered, unless the damage was caused by the fault of the hotel owner or the persons providing his services.”

Article 1954ter

“Any statement or condition which excludes or limits the hotel owner's liability for the harmful event is null and void.”

Article 1954quater

“Articles 1952, 1953 and 1954a do not apply to vehicles, nor to objects forming part of their load and left behind on the premises, nor to live animals.”

14. Customer/contractor responsibility

The client and the contractor are jointly and severally liable to the hotel owner for any damage caused to persons, the building, furniture, or equipment of the hotel, or to public areas. Consequently, the hotel owner may hold either the client or the contractor liable for compensation for any damage suffered.

15. Customer Conduct

The guest must behave according to the customs and regulations of the hotel where they are staying, and these regulations are available for inspection by the guest. Any serious or repeated violation of these regulations entitles the hotel owner to immediately terminate the contract without notice and without compensation.

16. Pets

 If a customer wishes to bring a pet to the hotel, he or she is required to ensure that the hotel regulations permit this.
There are no Pets are allowed at Hotel Shamon. Violations of this are contrary to the hotel regulations and will result in compensation payable to the hotel in accordance with Article 14 and will also lead to the immediate termination of the contract in accordance with Article 15.

17. Occupancy and vacancy of rooms: check in / check out

Unless otherwise agreed in the contract, rooms reserved for a customer must be available at 4 p.m. and rooms of customers leaving the hotel must be vacated by 11 a.m.

18. Checking the passengers

Upon arrival at the hotel, the guest is required to show his identity card in order to register 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 10 PM. In the event of a delay, the guest is obligated to notify the hotelier and provide their exact arrival time. Late arrival, i.e., arrival after the agreed time, not notified by the guest, automatically results in termination of the hotel contract, with the hotelier's right to compensation. The compensation is set at the full reservation amount.

20. Force majeure and excessive aggravation of the obligation

Any case of force majeure automatically releases a party from any obligation, without the other party being able to claim compensation.

Force majeure is defined as any event that constitutes an insurmountable obstacle to the fulfillment of an obligation, beyond the control of the party invoking it. Force majeure is defined as those events that are commonly recognized 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 hotel owner:

– accidents
– material breakage
– exceptional weather conditions or natural disasters
– fire
– strikes
– war and terrorism
– theft
– pandemics
– government order, including the order for compulsory closure, partial closure or operation under strict conditions

The hotel owner who invokes force majeure shall inform the customer of this in writing as soon as possible.

In the event of unforeseen circumstances that make the performance of the agreement excessively onerous, to the extent that its performance can no longer reasonably be required, the agreement and/or its price may be adjusted. The unforeseen circumstance may not be attributable to the contracting party invoking it.

Initially, the parties themselves must renegotiate the hotel contract, taking into account the changed circumstances.

21. Expiration of benefits granted

Any hotel bill which is the subject of a price reduction, refund or commission granted by the hotelier will be cancelled in the event of non-payment of the bill on the due date.

22. Advance payment

Advance payments representing 30% of the total amount for the contractually agreed-upon services must be paid immediately to the hotelier, no later than two months before the arrival date. Failure to pay on time will result in the hotelier cancelling the hotel reservation without notice and without compensation.

23. Group reservations

In the event that discounts are granted to groups, a group is defined as a minimum of 20 paying persons (customers) who actually register at the hotel.

The final number of guests will be communicated to the hotel owner at least one week before their arrival.

The number specified is binding for the settlement of the hotel bill.

In case of cancellation by a group, the following compensations will be applied:

1. 100% of the contract amount, reduced by the deposit received, if the cancellation occurs on the same day the hotel contract begins.
2. 80% of the contract amount, reduced by the deposit received, if the cancellation occurs on the day before the day on which the hotel contract begins.
3. 50% of the contract amount, reduced by the deposit received, if the cancellation occurs one week before the day on which the hotel contract begins.
4. 25% of the contract amount, reduced by the deposit received, if the cancellation occurs four weeks prior to the day on which the hotel contract begins.
5. 0% of the contract amount, reduced by the deposit received, if the cancellation occurs more than four weeks before the day on which the hotel contract begins.

24. Processing of personal data

The hotelier will 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 Law of 30 July 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data (BS 5 September 2018).

For any complaints regarding the processing of his personal data, the customer – natural person can contact info@hotelshamon.be. If this does not lead to the desired result, the customer – natural person can contact the Data Protection Authority (www.dataprotectionauthority.be).

25. Applicable law and competent court

The hotel contract is governed by Belgian law.

All disputes arising from the hotel contract will be settled before the competent court of the hotel owner's place of business. If the customer is a consumer within the meaning of Article I.1, 2° of the Code of Economic Law, this provision shall not affect the application of Article 624, 1°, 2°, and 4° of the Judicial Code.