General Terms and Conditions

Relationship between TOPassau GmbH & Co KG – Customer

Preamble

TOPassau GmbH & Co KG is a business that operates in various areas of tourism mediation. It is agreed between the parties that TOPassau GmbH & Co KG mediates city tours, assistant services, travel services, and special tours (geocaching, culinary tours, Christmas walks, etc.) to independent tour guides. Beyond the mediation service, TOPassau GmbH & Co KG does not provide any additional services and is not obligated to do so. Thus, a tour guide contract is established between the client/customer and the tour guide. The tour guide himself is not subject to any instructions from TOPassau GmbH & Co KG regarding the manner of conducting the tour.

1. Service Description

1.1
The commissioned tour, including any additional agreements, will be conducted by a certified tour guide.

1.2
Information and assurances from third parties about the services of the tour guide, which are not contractually agreed upon or contradict the service description, are not binding. Changes to essential contract services, especially those necessary after the conclusion of the contract (e.g., time schedule), are permitted provided that the change is not significant and does not affect the overall nature of the tour. Any changes or additions must be made in writing. The client's/customer's change requests must be communicated in writing before the tour begins. If change requests arise after the tour has started, the tour guide will decide on their feasibility.

2. Prices and Payment Methods

2.1
Fees are specified in the offer or a separate listing.

2.2
For special tours and day programs for groups, TOPassau GmbH & Co KG charges an additional organization fee of €150.00. This fee cannot be reclaimed in the event of a tour cancellation.

2.3
If cash payment is agreed between TOPassau GmbH & Co KG and the client/customer, the client/customer must hand over the tour fee, any entrance fees, and agreed expenses to the responsible tour guide before the tour begins. In this case, the tour guide will issue a receipt for the received money.

2.4
Entrance fees incurred during a tour are not included in the tour fee. These must be paid by the client/customer or their representative for all participants collectively in the local currency and in cash to the tour guide, unless invoicing has been agreed upon. Any entrance fee receipts will be handed over to the client/customer.

3. Waiting Time, Cancellation

The tour guide is obliged to wait 30 minutes from the agreed starting time for the complete arrival of the group. If a significant part of the group has not arrived by this time, the tour is considered canceled, and the tour guide is entitled to 100% of the tour fee according to the agreed tour duration.

4. Changes Due to Late Arrival

In case of late arrival of the guests to be guided, the client/customer or their representatives and the tour guide must agree verbally on-site whether the tour will be shortened accordingly or, if the tour guide has no other obligations, whether the originally agreed duration of the tour will be maintained. The tour fee is then calculated based on the waiting time and the actual duration of the tour.

5. Withdrawal

5.1
The client/customer can withdraw from a booked tour by notifying the tour guide in text form. If the withdrawal occurs at least two full working days before the agreed tour date, no tour fee is owed by the client/customer. Section 2.2 remains unaffected.

If the withdrawal is not made at least two full working days before the agreed tour date, a cancellation fee of 100% of the tour fee according to the agreed tour duration is due.

5.2
If the cancellation is made in due form and time, no costs or cancellation fees will be incurred for the tour guide. Section 2.2 remains unaffected.

5.3
If the client/customer does not show up on the day of the booked tour for any reason or does not use it for reasons not attributable to the contractor, the agreed tour fee must still be paid. In these cases, the client/customer has no right to a rescheduled tour at a later date.

5.4
In the case of early termination of the tour at the client's/customer's request, the full agreed tour fee must be paid. If the client/customer does not use individual services after the start of the tour for reasons not attributable to the contractor, they are not entitled to a partial refund or reduction of the agreed tour fee.

5.5
The tour guide can withdraw from the booked tour if contract fulfillment is endangered, impaired, or made impossible due to force majeure, especially high water events. The tour guide can also cancel the tour without replacement under the same conditions. Compensation to the client/customer is expressly excluded in these cases.

6. Restrictions

6.1
The client/customer and the tour guide acknowledge that certain sights may not be accessible at certain times or the tour may be disrupted in its course, for example, due to major events with road closures. In such cases, the tour guide offers alternatives at his discretion, unless the client/customer expresses specific feasible wishes.

6.2
The client/customer is obliged to cooperate in fulfilling the agreed contract and to avoid any damages or disruptions. Specifically, the client/customer is obliged to inform the tour guide in advance of any relevant particulars of the group, especially any mobility, vision, or standing impairments. If such information is not provided or is given only at the start of the tour, the tour guide accepts no liability for any necessary performance restrictions.

6.3
Audio and video recordings of the tour guide as well as recordings of the tour content are only allowed with the prior agreement of the tour guide in special cases and exclusively for private use.

6.4
Issued visual and educational materials may not be reproduced in any way without the tour guide's consent.

7. Meeting Point, Additional Services

7.1
The meeting point for the tour is freely selectable by the client/customer within the city area of Passau.

7.2
For excursion trips, the meeting point is also freely selectable by the client/customer. However, any travel costs incurred must be reimbursed to the tour guide in addition to the agreed tour fee by the client/customer. A separate agreement with the tour guide is necessary for this.

8. Group Size

8.1
Geocaching tours may only be conducted by a tour guide for a group size of up to 15 persons (excluding the tour guide). From 16 persons, the client/customer must order a second tour guide.

8.2
Normal guided tours may only be conducted by a tour guide for a group size of up to 30 persons (excluding the tour guide). From 31 persons, the client/customer must order a second tour guide.

8.3
If the number of participants specified in Sections 8.1 and 8.2 is exceeded, the tour guide is entitled to refuse participation to individual guests at their discretion. For cathedral tours and combined city and cathedral tours, the tour guide is obliged to do so due to the prescribed use of headsets and the limited number of devices.

9. Special Conditions for Bus Tours

For bus tours where the group arrives with their own bus, the client/customer must ensure that a seat with a seatbelt and a functioning microphone system are available for all involved tour guides. If no seatbelt is available, the tour guide is entitled to refuse the tour. If the microphone system is missing or damaged, no explanations can be given during the ride. Regardless of this, the agreed tour fee remains due.

10. Liability

10.1
The tour guide's liability is limited to fulfilling the agreed scope of services and is financially limited to the amount of the agreed tour fee. This financial liability limitation does not apply to damages resulting from injury to life, body, or health, caused by intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by the tour guide or his agents.

10.2
No supervision is provided for minors participating in the tour. This responsibility remains with the parents, legal representatives, or accompanying persons.

10.3
TOPassau GmbH & Co KG is only liable to the customer for damages – regardless of the legal basis – in cases of intent and gross negligence by their legal representatives or agents, as well as in cases of culpable breach of essential contractual obligations on which the customer relied.

11. Limitation Period

11.1
Contractual claims of the client/customer against the tour guide arising from injury to life, body, or health, including contractual claims for pain and suffering, caused by negligent breach of duty by the tour guide or an intentional or negligent breach of duty by his legal representatives or agents, are subject to a limitation period of three years. This also applies to claims for other damages resulting from negligent breach of duty by the tour guide or an intentional or negligent breach of duty by his legal representatives or agents.

11.2
All other contractual claims are subject to a limitation period of one year.

11.3
The limitation period begins at the end of the year in which the claim arose, and the client/customer became aware of the circumstances giving rise to the claim or would have become aware without gross negligence.

12. Data Protection

The client/customer agrees that the data provided for the execution of the agreed service may also be used by the tour guide for customer care. This data will not be shared with third parties in accordance with the Federal Data Protection Act.

13. Acceptance of Contractual Terms

The client/customer acknowledges these General Terms and Conditions upon placing an order. If they become aware of these conditions only after placing an order, they acknowledge them unless they immediately object in writing. The burden of proof for the objection lies with the client/customer.

14. Jurisdiction, Applicable Law

14.1
The place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with the tour guide contract is, as far as legally permissible, Passau.

14.2
The parties agree to the application of German law, as far as permissible.

15. Validity of the General Terms and Conditions

The client/customer books exclusively on the basis of these "General Terms and Conditions of TOPassau GmbH & Co KG". Conflicting or differing conditions of the client/customer will not be recognized unless explicitly agreed upon in writing before the contract is concluded. The silent acceptance of bookings and payments by the tour guide does not imply consent to conflicting conditions of the client/customer.

16. Commencement

These terms and conditions come into effect immediately.

17. Severability Clause

The invalidity of individual provisions does not affect the validity of the entire contract. In place of the invalid provisions, a regulation that comes closest to the interests of the parties shall apply. If this is not possible, the statutory provisions shall apply in place of the invalid provisions.

Responsible Entity
TOPassau GmbH & Co. KG
Hermann-Mayrhofer-Str. 15
94036 Passau

Represented by:
Stefan Heusler
Phone: +49 176 20801965
Email: info@topassau.de