General Terms and Conditions:

General Terms and Conditions (AGB) for the Accommodation Facility of:
Sunflower Hostel GmbH & Co. KG, as at 23rd of May 2018

Please understand, that the state of court, this contract is based on, is Berlin and therefore our German General Terms and Conditions are the ones legally valid and binding. The following translations were made w/ the highest accuracy possible. Still we consider this as a service for you to avoid misunderstandings and in the end the legally binding version is the German one. In case of questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact us.


§1 Scope of Application
These Terms and Conditions shall apply to all contracts referring to the rental use of rooms or individual beds for the purpose of accommodation as well as any further deliveries and services rendered to the Client by Sunflower Hostel Berlin, Helsingforser Str. 17, 10243 Berlin, operating company: Sunflower Hostel GmbH & Co KG, thereafter referred to as "Provider of Service“.
Subletting of the let rooms as well as their use for other purposes than accommodation require the prior written approval by the Provider of Service, whereas § 540, para. 1, page 2 BGB (German Civil Code) shall be void provided that the Client is not consumer. The terms and conditions of the Client shall only apply after explicit prior written approval.

§ 2 Conclusion of Contract, Contracting Partner, Limitation
The Contract shall come into effect by acceptance of the application of the Client by the Provider of Service. Any binding direct booking via agent and booking portals shall only be possible for up to 10 persons and up to 14 nights. Enquiries for larger bookings may only be made direct. The Provider of Service shall not be bound by a confirmation by an agent (booking portal).
Booking costs incurred by the Client shall not be refundable.
The limitation to 10 persons / 14 nights applies also to the total of interconnected individual bookings.
If the Provider of Service has already rejected an enquiry made by a Client, he reserves the right also not to accept a booking by the same Client via an agent.
The Provider of Service shall be free to confirm the room booking in writing. Provider of Service and Client shall be Contracting Parties. If any third party made the order on behalf of the Client, this third party shall be liable to the Provider of Service with the Client as joint and several debtor for all obligations arising from this Accommodation Contract.
As a matter of principle, any claims against the Provider of Service shall become time-barred within one year starting from the beginning of the knowledge-dependent regular limitation period under § 199, para 1 BGB. Claims for damages become time-barred within 5 years independent of any knowledge. The shortenings of limitation periods do not apply to claims based on a deliberate or negligent violation of duty by the Providers of Service.

§ 3 Services, Rates, Payment, Set-off
The Provider of Service shall be obliged to hold ready the beds or rooms booked by the Client and to render the agreed services. The Client shall be obliged to pay, not later than upon arrival, the applicable and agreed, respectively, rates of the Providers of Service for the letting of rooms and further services used by him. This also applies to services prompted by the Client and expenses by the Providers of Services towards third parties. The agreed rates shall include the applicable statutory value-added tax.
The Provider of Services shall be entitled at any time to fix a due date for accrued claims and to demand immediate payment. In case of delay of payment the Provider of Services shall be entitled to ask for payment of the statutory interest on arrears applicable in each case amounting at present to 8% above the base lending rate and to 5% in the case of legal transactions in which a consumer is involved.
The Provider of Services shall be reserved the proof of a higher damage. The Client shall be obliged to confirm his booking one day prior to his arrival by notifying a binding arrival time.
Without confirmation and upon late arrival, respectively, the booking shall become void. The Provider of Services shall be entitled to ask instead for an appropriate advance payment or security upon conclusion of contract or thereafter e.g. by a valid credit card. The amount of advance payment and the due dates may be agreed upon in the Contract in writing. In excess of this, the Provider of Services shall be entitled to ask for an appropriate security deposit for the duration of the stay.

§ 4 Withdrawal by the Client (Cancellation), Non-use of Services
If not agreed otherwise in individual contracts, in the case of withdrawal by the client the latter shall pay the Provider of Service a lump sum compensation (cancellation fee) graded as follows:

flex rate:

For cancellations up to 2 days prior arrival date we offer a rebooking free of charge (no refund possible); after that we claim 100% of the total booking amount.

non refundable rate:

No option of a free cancellation/rebooking anytime after booking. Cancellation fee = 100% of the total booking amount.

In case the client does not arrive by the announced arrival time, the provider of service claims the right to cancel the booking and require a storno fee worth the pre-payment agreed in advance. The clients entitlement to the booked contingents are considered invalid. The according beds or rooms are available to other requests. The booking contract is considered to be cancelled at this point. For bookings without an announced arrival time these facts of the case become valid by 18:00 h (6 pm) on the day of arrival.

PLEASE NOTE! There are special cancellation conditions for group reservations (> 10 Personen) and bookings during the NEW YEARS EVE period which will be provided individual.

§ 5 Withdrawal by the Provider of Service
If the right of free withdrawal by the Client within a certain period of time was agreed upon in writing, the Provider of Service on his part shall be entitled within this period of time to withdraw from the contract, if enquiries by other Clients exist for the contractually booked rooms and the Client, upon inquiry by the Provider of Service, does not waive his right for withdrawal. If an agreed advance payment or an advance payment demanded in compliance with § 3, para. 6 of these Terms and Conditions is not paid also after the elapse of an appropriate period of grace set by the Provider of Service, the Provider of Service shall also be entitled to withdraw from the contract.
The Provider of Service shall also be entitled to withdraw from the contract for justified by the facts reason, e.g. if force major or other circumstances which are not justifiable by the Provider of Service make the fulfillment of the contract impossible; in case of a violation of § 1, para 2 of these General Terms and Conditions; if rooms are booked by giving misleading or wrong information of important facts, e.g. about the person and age of the Client or the purpose; if the Provider of Service has well-founded reason to expect that the utilization of the services rendered by the Hostel may impair the smooth business operation, the security or the image of the Provider of Service in public, but that this cannot be attributed to the power and organization of the Provider of Service. Among them are, in particular, however not exclusively, bookings by/for:

- Persons without a valid document of identity and persons w/ a resident status in Berlin
- Stag / Hen – nights, if not pre-announced by the Client and accepted by the Provider of Service
- any kind of animals
- representatives of racist, anti-Semitic, right-wing extremist or other violent-prone
      ideologies
- the purpose of using sexual services
- persons addicted to narcotics, alcoholized or obviously unfit to plead for other
      reasons
- groups and long-term bookings (>9 persons or > 14 nights) via booking portals,
      also if they are composed of several individual bookings for less than 9 persons. As a matter of principle, such bookings require direct enquiries.
The justified withdrawal of the Provider of Service does not entitle the Client to compensation or return of effected payments.

§ 6 Provision of Rooms, Handing over and Return
The Client does not obtain any entitlement to the provision of particular rooms. Booked rooms shall be available for the Client on the agreed day of arrival from 4 p.m. In case no arrival time is announced on behalf of the Client, rooms are considered as reserved and kept available until 18:00 h (6 pm) on the day of the arrival.

The Client shall be obliged to report immediately any noticed damages in the provided room, otherwise he will be under the obligation of proofing that he did not cause the damage.
The rooms must be vacated and made available to the Provider of Service not later than 12 noon on the agreed departure day. After that time on the grounds of the delayed vacation of the rooms the Provider of Service may charge 50% of the full list price for their use exceeding the contractual time until 6 p.m., after 6 p.m. 100%.
The Provider of Service shall be entitled to charge compensation for damages to the room, its use contrary to the contract and special cleaning because of unusual or wanton pollution.

§ 7 Liability of Provider of Service
The Provider of Service shall be liable for his obligations under this Contract with the diligence of a prudent businessman. Any damage claims by the Client are excluded under applicable law.
Excluded herefrom shall be damages arising from the injury of life and limb or health, provided the Provider of Service is liable for such breach of duty, other damages based on a deliberate or gross negligent breach of duty by the Provider of Service and damages based on a deliberate or negligent violation of duties typical for this type of contract by the Provider of Service. A breach of duty by the Provider of Service is equal to one of a statutory representative or a vicarious agent.
In the case of disruptions or deficiencies in the services provided by the Provider of Service, the Provider of Service shall aim at taking remedial action in case of knowledge or immediate notification by the Client.
The Client shall be obliged to contribute what can reasonably be expected of him in order to remedy the disruption and to keep a possible damage as low as possible.
The Client is aware that a specialty of the accommodation facility of the Provider of Service is among other things the letting of shared rooms, that the clients of a shared room share one key and that because of that persons other than the client himself have access to the room.
The Provider of Service offers the safekeeping of valuables and has placed sufficient lockers for other objects in each shared room.
If the deposited valuables are kept safe by the Provider of Service and other objects are locked in the locker, liability of the Provider of Services shall depend on the statutory regulations, however, not more the 100 times the room rate, however not more than € 3,500 for valuables and maximum € 800 for cash, otherwise the Provider of Service shall be exempted from liability, except in the case of intent or negligence.
The Provider of Service shall not be liable for loss or theft from the luggage room or the generally accessible lockers.
The liability claims expire unless the Client notifies the Provider of Service immediately after having obtained knowledge of the loss, destruction or partial damage (§ 703 BGB).

§8 Liability of the Client
The house rules displayed in every room and attached here, are included in the contract and must be explicitly recognised and respected by the guest. In case of rules not being followed by the Client, the Provider of Service reserves the right to charge penalties or reduce refunds. In case of offenses, that harm other guests or risk the hostel's reputation, the Provider of Service reserves the right to expel guests from Sunflower Hostel without subsequent remuneration. This refers especially but not exclusively to the following rules:
- From 10:00pm on the guest hast to conduct all activities quietly. This includes the rooms, corridors, staircases, as well as the immediate environment of the hostel.
- Smoking is prohibited on the premises; this includes the entire building.
- It is not permitted to consume alcohol that was purchased elsewhere. The consumption of alcohol in the rooms, bathrooms, staircases and corridors is especially prohibited. The receptionist-in-charge reserves the right to refuse service to individuals or groups that are excessively loud and/or intoxicated.

§ 9 Data Protection, Handling of Personal Data
Within statutory periods we have to keep personal data (e.g. name, address, banking details, phone number) as part of our business correspondence for 6 years and invoices for 10 years, respectively. This also applies to e-mails and data base entries.
They are archived in regular intervals in order to make sure that the storage obligations are fulfilled, but also are unnecessary date deleted in frequent intervalls.
Please view the full Data Protection Declaration at the end of this page or click here.

§ 10 Protection of Privacy
When booking a bed in a shared room you share the room and the key with third persons unknown to you. Should you not agree with this, please book a private room.
During occupancy the staff enters the rooms daily between 11a.m. and 4p.m. in order to remove waste and, if possible, to sweep and wipe the floor. Please let us know in case you do not want this.
The foyer and the floors are under video surveillance in order to prevent theft. The records are deleted after a fortnight.

§ 11 Final Provisions
Amendments or supplements to the Contract, the acceptance of the application or these Terms of Business for hostel accommodation require the written form. Any amendments or supplements by the Client shall be of no effect.
Place of performance and place of payment shall be the registered office of the Provider of Service. The exclusive place of jurisdiction - also for disputes over cheques and promissory notes - shall be the registered office of the Provider of Service for commercial transactions. Should one contracting partner fulfill the preconditions of § 38, para. 2 ZPO (German Code of Civil Procedure) and not have a general place of jurisdiction in Germany, the place of jurisdiction shall be the place of the registered office of the Provider of Service.
German law shall apply. The application of the UN Sales Convention and the law of conflicts shall be excluded.
Should individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions become ineffective or be or become void, the effectiveness of the other provisions shall not be affected.

House Rules

Dear Guests,
We kindly ask you to observe a few simple House Rules:

• From 10:00pm on we ask our guests to conduct all activities quietly. This includes the rooms, corridors, staircases, as well as the immediate environment of the hostel.
• On the day of arrival the allocated rooms are accessible from 4:00pm (we can provide adequate safe storage facilities until then). The rooms must be vacated and left in a reasonable state by 11:00 am on the day of departure.
• If any previous damage is recognised on arrival, please let us know immediately!
• Breakfast is offered from 8:00am until 12:00pm. Three weeks before arrival groups will be asked to let us know about your required breakfast times. Each group has a time frame of 30 min. The given times are binding. If they are overlapping with other group´s requests more arrangements have to be made. Breakfast is an all-you-can-eat buffet, however no food is to be taken outside or stored in the rooms. Also eating in the rooms is prohibited. Take out food (lunch packages) can be arranged in cooperation with our gastro partners.
• It is not permitted to consume alcohol that was purchased elsewhere. Our prices are very moderate and we do offer price reductions for collective orders. The consumption of alcohol in the rooms is especially prohibited and the receptionist-in-charge reserves the right to refuse service to individuals or groups that are excessively loud and/or intoxicated .
• Rubbish separation and recycling helps the environment! Every effort should be made to separate rubbish and place it into the appropriate bins. They are located in corridors and at reception.
•  Absolutely NO SMOKING on the premises; this includes the entire building!
• We reserve the right to apply penalties in cases of rule violations, any caused damage to Sunflower Hostel property or inconvenience to other hostel guests. In case of repeated offences or heavy impacts, we also claim the right to evict the responsible guests without subsequent remuneration payments. In cases of groups, this will apply to the whole group if no specific group member can be deemed responsible.
• sheets are provided for a deposit of 3,- Euro. This will be given back to you when you return them before check-out time (11 am) and you actually used them. For hygienic reasons please don’t use your sleeping bag!
•  There is only one key for all passengers in the room. This means The last person to leave the room should lock it and return the key to the receptionist. See the receptionist to obtain your room key before going upstairs.
•  We do not offer wake-up service in general, but we can provide alarm-clocks at a deposit of 6,- Euro, which will be given back when returned. Or get our special service for 10,- Euro:
  a personal appearance w/ a bucket of water, a cup of coffee and a smile!
• If any breakages occur during your stay, problems arise or you have a complaint, please inform the receptionist. Do the same in case of constructive criticism, any sort of suggestions and of course we do love compliments!
• If you have any questions or would just like general information about Berlin, feel free to ask the receptionist at anytime. Don’t be embarrassed or shy about asking, we are used to it and that’s why we are here. If we don’t know the answer, we’ll try our best to find out.

Enjoy your stay, be nice to your room-mates, smell the flowers and try to put emphasise on your Berlin nights!        

The Sunflower Hostel Staff