Conditions générales
- General These standard contract terms (authoritative is the Italian version) are an integral part of the agreement between you (also referred to below as ‘the Contract Partner’) and ourselves, the Supplier, namely Dot Holiday SA, Via San Giorgio 9A, 6976 Lugano (CH).
- Reservation and conclusion of contract 2.1 By making a verbal, written (incl. Email) or electronic (incl. Internet) reservation you are entering into a contract with Dot Holiday. From that moment the rights and obligations arising from the contract (confirmation of reservation), as well as the present contract terms, will be effective for you and for Dot Holiday. You will receive a confirmation of your reservation from your booking agent without delay. In the case of electronic bookings Dot Holiday confirms receipt of the booking electronically. 2.2 If the reservation confirmation differs from the description in the brochure, by paying a deposit you are acknowledging that the contract has been concluded on the basis of the reservation confirmation. 2.3 If no deposit is paid within 5 days from receipt of the reservation, or any recognized confirmation of payment sent, Dot Holiday may dispose of the reserved property as it sees fit. 2.4 If you have any special requests the booking agent can only accept them on a non-binding basis. You have no legal right for such request to be fulfilled unless it has been confirmed in writing by Dot Holiday.
- Services/prices 3.1.1 Unless otherwise stated, the published prices are deemed to be weekly rates for the whole property within the corresponding pricing period. The published prices are applicable until a new catalogue is issued or until the website is updated. Subject to paragraph 3.5 (‘Price changes’) the prices valid at the time of booking are applicable. If there are a number of apartments of equal value in a dwelling with the same number of rooms and for the same number of persons, in each case only one apartment of this type is listed in the catalogue and in the price list. Special promotions do not always apply to all apartments of the same type. 3.1.2 Listed together with the service description are the prices of laundry, utilities, local taxes and final cleaning that are not included in the rental price and are payable locally per person and/or according to consumption. Additional services requested by the customer (e.g. additional cleaning, firewood, bed linen, etc.) are not included in the rental price and are payable on the spot. 3.1.3 The minimum rental period is normally 7 days, and arrival and departure days are always Saturdays (high season). Exceptions are possible, subject to written confirmation from the booking agent. 3.2 The infrastructure services (transport facilities, shops, restaurants, sports amenities, public beaches and their amenities) shown in the brochure, on the travel confirmation and in the documentation are not a part of our obligations and duties. These facilities are independently responsible for deciding on their opening hours, etc. The same applies to public and private utility services (such as water and electricity). Likewise, details of climatic conditions do not constitute any sort of warranty. Duties to warn, inform and duties of care that may be relevant to us are not affected. 3.3 Payments The total rental for the booked rental property is payable before the travel date, as follows: 25% of the total rental for the reserved rental property is payable as a deposit within 5 days from the booking date, 50% of the total rental for the reserved rental property is payable as a deposit within 60 days from the booking date. The balance remaining must be paid to Dot Holiday by not later than 30 days before the start of the rental period. In the case of short-notice reservations of less than 35 days before the start of the rental period the total rental is payable immediately at the time of booking and must be paid to Dot Holiday. If the balance amount is not paid on time, or the total rental in the case of short-notice bookings, Dot Holiday may refuse to provide services. 3.4 Cancellation costs If you withdraw from the contract, we will invoice what paid by customer until that time. The relevant date is the date of receipt of your notification (cancellation) by the booking office also by E-mail. If the property is not occupied, or occupied late, the invoice amount is nevertheless payable in full. 3.5 Price changes Care has been taken in preparing the property descriptions and price calculations. Nevertheless, we cannot completely rule out the possibility of amendments to services or price changes. You will be notified of these at the time of booking and at the latest in the reservation confirmation. The details given on the reservation confirmation will apply. Although changes to services after conclusion of the contract are unlikely, they cannot be completely ruled out. If there is a major change to a material point in the contract, you have the right to withdraw from the contract without charge within five days of receipt of the notification. Payments already made will be refunded without delay. We expressly reserve the right to effect price increases up to 22 days before the start of the rental period on the following grounds: raising or introduction of taxes and duties on specified services and/or changes in exchange rates after conclusion of the contract. If prices are increased by more than 10%, you will have the same rights as detailed in the previous paragraph. 3.6 Change to services, alternative rental and cancellation of the contract by Dot Holiday Dot Holiday has the right to rescind the contract before or during the rental period if unforeseeable or unavoidable circumstances make it impossible to hand over the rental property, endanger the hirer or the property or impair the provision of services to such an extent that it is no longer reasonable to fulfil the contract. Alternatively, you may, if notified by us before starting your journey, request us to provide a rental property of at least equivalent value within 10 days if we are in a position to offer such a property from our range without any additional cost. Dot Holiday is under no obligation to pay compensation in any of the instances referred to in section 3.6.
- Arrival and departure; curtailment or extension of stay When the final payment has been made in full and not more than four weeks before your arrival date you will receive the travel documentation showing you as the authorized hirer for the rental property booked. The location for the handover of keys on arrival and departure will not necessarily be at the holiday home or resort. You must follow the arrival times in the travel documentation, normally between 16.00 and 19.00, and must depart before 10.00. The arrangements for arrival shown in your travel documentation are binding; exceptions cannot be guaranteed and must be agreed in good time directly with the keyholder. If you are unable to take over the property as agreed, e.g., because of increased volume of traffic, strikes, etc., or for personal reasons, the rental will remain payable in full. The same will apply if you vacate the property early. If you would like to extend your stay, you should discuss this as early as possible with the booking agent. During the season, it may be necessary to wait at the office where the keys are to be handed over.
- Occupancy The rental property must only be occupied by the specified number of persons (including children and infants). The keyholder may refuse to accept additional persons or invoice them separately. In the event of over-occupancy the keyholder is authorized to refuse to hand over the key and/or to immediately take the key back during the holiday.
- Additional duties of the hirer 6.1 Lodgment of security deposit A security deposit must be lodged on taking over of the key. You will find the amount of the security deposit, and also the payment method (in cash or by credit card) in the travel documentation. If the security deposit is not provided, handover of the property may be refused. 6.2 Duty of care The rental property must be carefully looked after in use. Local house rules apply, and consideration must be given in particular to neighbors (noise, behavior). 6.3 Kitchen cleaning Cleaning of the kitchen furnishings, crockery and cutlery is the responsibility of the hirer (and is not included in the final cleaning). 6.4 Liability for damage If the hirer or co-users causes any damage this must be reported immediately to the keyholder. The hirer is liable for any damage caused by him/her or co-users. The same applies if the apartment cannot be handed over to the next hirer. Any loss or damage may be offset against the security deposit (paragraph 6.1) or cash in case no security deposit was previewed. 6.5 Use of the Internet If a PC or Internet access is provided at the holiday home, its use will be under your own responsibility. By using the internet, you oblige to comply with the law in force. The internet can not be used to retrieve or share any immoral or illegal contents.
- Duty to report faults and period for registration of claims Should the condition of the property not be in accordance with the contract, or if you suffer any injury, this must be reported immediately to the keyholder. If the latter is unable to rectify the fault within a reasonable time, it is imperative that you inform Dot Holiday. If notification is not given immediately on commencement of the rental it will be assumed that the property is free of any defects. The same rules apply if any fault occurs during the rental period. External circumstances and specific regional circumstances such as the presence of insects, stray dogs, unfavorable weather conditions or the condition of official nature trails do not entitle hirers to claim compensation. Keyholders are not authorized to recognize claims or to issue legally binding statements. Any claims that cannot be settled by Dot Holiday must be notified in writing to the booking agent within four weeks from the end of the contractual rental and the necessary evidence submitted (photographs, confirmation of the keyholder or the local office, etc.). If you fail to comply with the above regulations and registration period you will forfeit all rights to compensation.
- Liability of Dot Holiday Statutory liability for loss or damage other than personal injury (e.g. damage to property or financial loss) is limited to the rental (with claims from all persons involved being counted together). If the services of Dot Holiday become subject to international conventions or national laws which further limit or exclude its liability, those conventions or laws will apply. Dot Holiday will not be liable if the loss or damage is caused by any of the following: acts or omissions on your part, or on the part of a co-user; unforeseeable or unavoidable omissions by third parties who are not involved in the provision of contractual services; force majeure or events which Dot Holiday, the intermediary or support personnel (e.g. keyholders) were unable to foresee or prevent despite exercising all due care; use of swimming pools, children’s play areas, sports facilities of all kinds (such as tennis courts, football pitches, training facilities). The use of such facilities is at the participant’s own risk; damage and losses resulting from theft or burglary; public access roads and personal injury or material loss caused by these; liability for support personnel is expressly excluded. These terms and conditions apply analogously to non-contractual liability.
- Ombudsman Before taking any legal action, or if you have any legal questions in connection with this contract, you can consult the Ombudsman for the Swiss travel industry. The Ombudsman will endeavor to reach a fair and equitable solution to all types of problems between you and Dot Holiday or the travel agency where you booked your trip.
- Statutory period Compensation claims against Dot Holiday, contractual rights reserved, expire by limitation after one year. The statutory period begins on the day following the end of the rental period.
- Choice of law and place of jurisdiction The applicable law and jurisdiction shall be governed by law and international conventions. Where a choice of law is possible, the parties agree that Swiss law shall be applicable. Valid from 01.01.2020