Travel price protection
Travel price hedging is in travel law the legal protection of travelers , which in vacation packages to tour operators payments or advance payments on the tour price have made.
General
Prepayments or prepayments on the travel price create a risk of advance payments for the traveler . It consists in the fact that the traveler has paid the travel price in whole or in part, but the tour operator cannot or can no longer provide the travel services in full because of its insolvency . The down payments or advance payments of the traveler are to be protected against this risk of insolvency.
This insolvency risk has been covered in Germany since November 1994 by the travel insurance certificate . On the basis of Article 17 (1) of Directive (EU) 2015/2302 of November 25, 2015 on “Package Travel and Related Travel Services”, all EU member states had to ensure that tour operators established in their territory provide security for the reimbursement of all travelers or their Make payments made in name , provided that the travel services in question are not provided as a result of the tour operator's insolvency. The EU Package Travel Directive specified these regulations and has been in force in all EU member states since July 1, 2018.
Legal issues
Secure the claim of the passenger to a refund of the price paid in advance. These prerequisites are regulated in § 651t BGB , where the travel security certificate is called "customer money security contract ". According to this, the tour operator may only request or accept payments from the traveler on the travel price before the end of the package tour if there is an effective customer money insurance contract (or in the cases of Section 651s BGB, the tour operator provides security) or the name and contact details of the security provider (bank or insurance company) ; Section 651r (3) BGB).
Pursuant to Section 651r (3) of the German Civil Code (BGB), the security provider may be a credit institute or an insurance company that secures the advance payment made in the form of a bank guarantee ( deposit guarantee ) or insurance bond ( deposit insurance ) or through corresponding guarantees . Insolvency of the tour operator will be refunded in case the front worked out payments and necessary expenses , which the passenger caused insolvency caused by the organizer for the return journey.
If you think the tour operator to fulfill its obligation to issue a travel insurance certificate, it can according to § 147b GewO with a fine be prosecuted. A multiple violation can lead to prohibition proceedings under commercial law according to § 35 GewO.
Exceptions
The travel price protection is subject to package tours and related travel services . Anyone who only buys a single tourist service ("module"), undertakes individual trips without using a travel agency or books day trips will not receive a travel insurance certificate. Tour operators who only travel occasionally, not for the purpose of making a profit and only for a limited group of people, are also not subject to travel price protection ( Section 651a, Paragraph 5, No. 1 BGB).
International
In Austria , the EU Package Travel Directive was implemented by the Travel Agency Security Ordinance (RSV). According to § 3 Para. 1 RSV, the organizer must ensure that the traveler is reimbursed for the payments already made (down payments and remaining payments), insofar as the travel services were not provided in whole or in part due to the organizer's insolvency, and the necessary expenses for the return trip, which arose as a result of the organizer's insolvency. In accordance with Section 3 (3) RSV, the organizer may choose between coverage through an insurance contract or an irrevocable and abstract bank guarantee . Both must extend their coverage to all bookings that are made during the term of the contract or the extended liability period and for which the booked trip ends no later than twelve months after the extended liability period has expired.
In Switzerland , package tours are only insured if the tour operator is affiliated to the "Swiss Travel Industry Guarantee Fund", which has existed since 1993. It was established on the basis of the Federal Law on Package Travel , which came into force in July 1994 . According to Art. 18 of this law, the organizer or the agent must ensure the reimbursement of amounts paid and the return trip of the traveler in the event of insolvency or bankruptcy. This means that customer funds are fully secured in the event of the provider's bankruptcy before departure.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Otto Palandt / Hartwig Sprau, BGB Commentary , 73rd edition, 2014, § 651k Rn. 1a
- ↑ BT-Drs. 14/8084 Bundestag printed matter 14/8084 of January 25, 2002, written questions , p. 3 f. (PDF; 525 kB)
- ↑ The travel agency as a tour operator when combining several individual services at the customer's request? April 23, 2004, archived from the original on April 23, 2004 ; accessed on August 29, 2018 .
