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Terms and conditions for agents and travel operators

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Terms and conditions for co-operation between Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH (hereafter referred to as "BTM") and agents/travel operators (hereafter referred to as "the agency")

When the agency registers, BTM transfers the mediation of BTM travel offers to the agency. For this purpose, confidential access data which has been individualized by BTM (license number/password) shall be provided, which shall allow the agency online access to the BTM reservation system.

The parties to the contract shall be committed to undertaking all business activities with the same degree of care appropriate to a respectable business partner, to treating all events connected with business activity as confidential when dealing with third parties and to protecting the interests of both sides in every respect.

The agency shall provide information about all BTM offers voluntarily and free of charge, and shall employ customer-advising staff to whose professional qualification corresponds to the requirements of the booking trade.

The agency shall only act as an intermediary for BTM offers at the prices determined by BTM and shall refrain from taking measures which cause unreasonable hindrance to other agencies acting as sales representatives on behalf of BTM.

The agency shall receive a commission for all intermediary activities which lead to a sale being made. The size of the commission shall be determined by BTM as follows:
hotel room booking via the Internet (online):
- 8% of the board and lodging charge
hotel room booking via a reservation from BTM (Service Center):
- 5 % of the board and lodging charge
Group bookings are excluded from this arrangement: the prices offered by BTM are deemed to be net prices.
No commissions shall be paid in case of cancellation.

The collection agency procedure shall be regulated in such a way that the customer pays the entire amount at the agency.
The agency shall then transfer the fee amount (the total amount less the agency commission) to the service provider (hotel/guesthouse). For short-term bookings (up to and including 5 days before arrival), the service provider concerned has to get a confirmation of the payment transfer for the total amount briefly in writing (by fax), including the BTM booking number.

The agency shall conclude all business transactions according to the accounting regulations. Aside from this, the business conditions set by BTM shall apply for the mediation and conclusion of business transactions. BTM shall make the applicable mediation conditions available to be printed out on the known BTM Internet domain. The agency shall be aware of the mediation conditions.

The agency shall ensure that the current BTM mediation conditions become an integral part of the travel contract and shall inform the customer that for room booking, he/she is the contract party with the relevant overnight accommodation provider. For the booking of entrance tickets and other services, the relevant event organizer is the contract party. On concluding the booking transaction, the agency shall provide the customer with a copy of the BTM booking conditions (standard terms).

The agency shall operate independently and shall have no sole agency status.

Co-operation between both sides can be terminated from either party without reason and with immediate effect. This applies in particular when:
a) The owner of the agency is put into receivership or a similar process is begun against them, or the procedure for putting them into receivership is rejected due to a lack of assets or the provision of a guarantee in lieu of an oath;
b) Commission fees are signed over, seized as security or pledged as security by the agency;
c) The company is restructured or its location is changed;
d) Moneys collected in trust on behalf of BTM are misused;
e) Encashment is unrectified;
f) Payment obligations are fulfilled tardily, despite requests for payment.

Changes from a) to c) shall be reported to BTM without delay.
Termination of co-operation shall be given in writing.
The obligations of the agency shall remain unchanged from the time of their termination until such time as the final settlement of business transaction accounts has been made. When transferring the residual clearance to a third party, BTM shall reserve the right to calculate the commission due to the residual receivers, provided that nothing else has been agreed with the agency.

Both co-operation partners are jointly liable or liable as against third parties only for grossly negligent and willfully caused damage. The liability extends only to the immediate damage caused and not to subsequent damage.

As far as is legally permissible, the place of jurisdiction and delivery shall be Berlin.