1. Scope of terms and conditions

• These standard terms and conditions of booking govern the business relationship between TCF and its customers. TCF's standard terms and conditions of booking shall apply even if TCF is aware of the customer's terms and conditions at the time of confirming the customer's booking. TCF shall not recognise conflicting, varying or additional terms and conditions of the customer unless it expressly agrees to them in writing.

2. What is covered by the terms and conditions

• a) TCF organises Guided Tours. For this purpose TCF books independent guides for the Guided Tours (City Walks and CityTours by Bus)
• b) The guides arranged by TCF can be booked for specific Guided Tours set by TCF in advance (e.g. "The imperial hall in the Römer (Kaisersaal)").

3. Conclusion of booking contract

• a) Specific bookings for Guided Tours with TCF must be made in writing or by e-mail. Bookings are deemed to be a binding declaration of intent on the part of the customer.
• b) No contract shall be formed with TCF until TCF has confirmed the booking with the customer in writing or by e-mail ("Booking Confirmation / Invoice").
• c) Similarly, any changes to a binding booking may only be made in writing or by e-mail.
• d) Where the customer is required to prepay for the tour (e.g. in the cases referred to in clause 5.c)e)), once the binding booking is made the customer will receive a form authorising TCF to check the customer's credit card details and to charge the relevant amount to the customer's credit card after confirming the booking. The customer must complete and sign this form and return it to TCF. TCF will only confirm the customer's booking and send a Booking Confirmation / Invoice after receiving the properly completed and signed form and checking the customer's credit card details.
• e) A cap on the number of participants per guide applies for certain Guided Tours. TCF will advise the customer of any such limitations in its specific quote. If the desired group size exceeds the cap on participants in any particular case, TCF will offer to book an additional guide for the customer; in such cases the group will be divided between the guides.

4. Price of admission; costs of the arranged guide

• a) Where admission fees are charged to enter certain places on a guided tour (e.g. the Goethe House) they must be paid separately by the customer
• b) The amount of booked flat charges for admissions by TCF are non-refundable if participants fail to use it.
• c) Due to the possibility of unexpected waiting times or unforeseeable, short-term closures of certain establishments (e.g. the Goethe-House, St. Paul’s Church, Emperor’s Hall), the TCF is unable to guarantee that its tour guides will accompany participants on their tour of the respective establishments if the timeframe predetermined for the tour has already been exceeded. 
• d) Travel costs for the guide may be incurred, particularly in the case of customised Guided Tours. These costs are not included in the guide's rates and will be charged additionally.
• e) In exceptional cases only, and only if expressly confirmed by TCF, the meeting and/or end point is outside Frankfurt.

5. Payment details

• a) The quote and the Booking Confirmation / Invoice contain specific terms and conditions of payment.
• b) If the customer's billing address is within Germany:
• (1) the invoice total is payable after receipt of the Booking Confirmation / Invoice no later than three (3) weeks prior the tour date.
• (2) Bookings made less than three (3) weeks prior to the tour date require immediate payment of the invoice total.
• c) Customers whose billing address is outside Germany are required to prepay for tours upfront by credit card.
• d) Where the customer is required to prepay but their credit card is declined (e.g. because the customer provided incorrect credit card details or their credit limit is exceeded), TCF is entitled not only to refuse to provide its services, but also to rescind the contract.
• e) If the customer has prepaid by credit card and a refund is owed to the customer after the provision of TCF's services (e.g. if a guide is sick), the relevant amount will be refunded to the customer in the payment manner selected by the customer. If there are amounts still payable by the customer after the provision of TCF's services, the outstanding payments will be billed to the customer retrospectively and charged to the customer's nominated credit card accordingly.

6. Guides arranged by TCF

• a) TCF chooses the guide depending on the qualifications required for the Guided Tour. The customer has no right to require a specific guide.
• b) Even where a specific guide is named, TCF reserves the right to arrange another appropriate and suitably qualified substitute guide if the original guide is unavoidably incapacitated (for example due to ill health).
• c) Guides are not to be contacted before the appointed meeting time. The personal information of the arranged guide is subject to privacy and data protection provisions, and TCF does not disclose such information to third parties.
• d) Guides arranged by TCF have no obligation to supervise participants during Guided Tours. Groups of minors (e.g. school groups) must be accompanied by a sufficient number of supervising adults. If it is the guide's opinion after proper appraisal that there are not enough supervising adults, the guide may refuse to commence the Guided Tour or interrupt any Guided Tour that has already commenced. The group will then be deemed to have failed to show up.
• e) Guides arranged by TCF do not advance cash to tour groups to cover admission, meals and other incursions. Similarly, the arranged guides do not collect cash at the door to cover admission.

7. Services

• All details and the description of the Guided Tours in brochures and on the internet etc. are merely provided as a general indication of the services available. They do not constitute a guarantee of a certain way of running the Guided Tours. TCF is liable only for providing the services expressly stated in the Booking Confirmation/Invoice.

8. Changes to the service and price changes

• a) The agreed booking may be changed or varied as long as the changes or variations are reasonable for the customer having regard to TCF's interests. In particular, changes and variations shall be deemed reasonable if they are immaterial and do not have a significant negative impact on the overall configuration of the booked tour, or if they are the result of external circumstances outside TCF's control, e.g. blocked streets, museum closures, last-minute illness of the guide etc. TCF has an obligation to notify the customer of service changes or variations without undue delay. If applicable, TCF may offer the customer the opportunity to rebook at no extra charge. The customer is entitled to rescind the contract if the changes or variations are not reasonable for the customer having regard to TCF's interests.
• b) A tour group has no right to a tour extension or a price reduction if it fails to turn up on time. Any extension of Guided Tours is at the guide's discretion. If the tour is extended, the total work time of the guide to be paid for shall be the time spent by the guide waiting and the actual duration of the tour. The maximum time that a guide will wait is 45 minutes. If the tour group is delayed by more than 45 minutes, it will generally be deemed to have failed to show up (with costs being governed by clause 9.a)).
• c) A guide's work time commences and finishes in Frankfurt. If a guide starts or finishes the tour outside Frankfurt, the guide's work time shall be extended accordingly and any travel costs incurred and the additional work time will be charged.

9. Cancellation and rebooking by the customer; failure to show up

• a) Customers may cancel their booking free of charge by notifying TCF in writing or by e-mail at least fourteen (14) days prior to the date of the tour. After such time, a cancellation fee of 100% of the costs of the tour applies – in such a case the customer is required to pay the agreed price in full. Relevant for the purposes of determining the date of cancellation is the date on which TCF receives the written or e-mailed (at the e-mail address stated in the Booking Confirmation/ Invoice) notice of cancellation.
• b) The agreed price is also payable in full if a customer or a group fails to show up for a booked tour.
• c) In all cases, the customer is allowed to prove that TCF did not suffer any damage or suffered substantially less damage as a result of the cancellation or failure to show up. Notwithstanding the fixed amount referred to above, TCF reserves the right to demand higher compensation based on individual calculations.
• d) TCF reserves the right to apply more restrictive cancellation conditions during peak booking periods, trade fairs and for tours scheduled on public holidays. The relevant quote and Booking Confirmation / Invoice contain details of the modified cancellation period and the associated terms and conditions of cancellation.
• e) Depending on the work involved, administrative fees of up to € 30.00 may be charged for extensive re-bookings, changes and the cancellation of services that have already been booked and are the subject of a binding agreement (tour guides). Such matters are otherwise governed by the above terms and conditions of cancellation.

10. Limitation of liability

• For damage other than personal injury, we shall only be liable if the damage was caused by our intentional misconduct or gross negligence, or by a breach of material contractual obligations (major obligations). If TCF negligently breaches its major obligations, its liability shall be limited to such loss or damage which is reasonably foreseeable in connection with the contract. TCF's liability shall in any event be limited to three times the value of the offered services. This limitation of liability also applies to TCF's vicarious agents.

11. Choice of law and jurisdiction

• These terms and conditions are governed exclusively by German law, subject to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). If the customer is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, or if it has no place of general jurisdiction in the Federal Republic of Germany, the place of exclusive (and international) jurisdiction for any and all disputes arising out of or in connection with TCF's business dealings with the customer shall be Frankfurt am Main.

Last updated: 10/2022