reservation
Under a reservation (in Swiss Standard German Reservation ) are understood in the services sector , the legally binding reservation in favor of a business entity for its use of a service at a specified future date or time period, so that they may not be available during the period in question more for other economic agents available.
General
In contrast, only the request is non-binding . With the reservation, legally binding means that a contract is usually concluded through it . It is typical for reservations that the service should not be used immediately and the person making the reservation wants to ensure that he can use the service on the scheduled date. The recipient of the reservation can confirm the reservation data and the conclusion of the contract to the person making the reservation by sending a reservation confirmation. Incoming reservations are then entered in a reservation book. Occasionally, the term booking is used synonymously instead of the reservation .
A (pre) reservation of a trip that only binds the tour operator for a specified period of time (maximum one week) is also called an option booking . It is characterized by the fact that initially no travel documents ( tickets , vouchers ) are issued and can be canceled free of charge within this period . If the person making the reservation agrees within the deadline, the travel contract is concluded.
Legal issues
When making a non-binding inquiry, someone would like information on whether, for example, a single room is available in the hotel for a certain period of time. If the hotel confirms availability and the inquirer declares that he would like to occupy this single room in the period in question, the reservation is binding . The reservation is legally classified as an offer according to § 145 BGB , which binds the person making the reservation. As a unilateral declaration of intent that requires receipt, the offer becomes effective upon receipt by the recipient of the offer ( Section 130 BGB). It is no longer up to the person making the reservation to prevent the conclusion of a contract after receipt.
Gastronomy , hotels , trips (by bus , train , plane or ship ) or events ( cinema , sports , theater ) are particularly suitable for reservations , especially if capacities are scarce . It is usually possible to reserve a seat for a specific seat , room or cabin . In contrast, table reservations in gastronomy are usually not possible for a specific table. Table reservations also result in a contract, so that the guest has to pay for the damage that the innkeeper has incurred in reliance on the reservation ( Section 311 (2) BGB) if the guest does not appear despite the reservation ( English no-show ).
By making a reservation, either an accommodation contract or just a preliminary contract can be concluded. A preliminary contract is accepted if a tour operator concludes a hotel reservation with an accommodation company for which the exact number of participants has not yet been determined. In this case, the accommodation contract is concluded later. A room reservation can also lead to the conclusion of an accommodation contract immediately.
Types of reservation in the hotel
- Room reservation
- A specific room is allocated (to regular guests)
- Category reservation
- It is debited from the inventory of a certain category - the actual room is only allocated at check-in . This type of reservation is more flexible and economical, as a floor or a certain area of the hotel does not have to be supplied when the occupancy rate is lower.
- 6pm reservation
- The reservation expires after 6:00 p.m. The free room can now be passed on to other guests.
- Guaranteed booking
- The room must also be kept free after 6:00 p.m.
- Option reservation (also tentative reservation)
- Travel agencies or tour operators have a preferential right to this room until the option period ; but mostly with contingents (available rooms for hotel agents).
- Central reservation system
- The room is booked through an external reservation office, which enables a possible higher occupancy and more sales, but also possibly costs membership fees, annual fees or commissions .
Maintenance of booking channels / reservation systems
Many hotels update prices and availability manually in the individual booking channels, and often a computer reservation system is also used . This manual maintenance can easily lead to price differences. Sometimes there are complaints on the part of the guests or that the guest books through the cheapest booking channel. Hotels should ensure that bookings can not only be made online via these systems, but also on their own website.
Maintenance of booking channels / channel management
Many hotels only use a few booking systems in order to keep the administrative work or daily maintenance of prices and availability low. In order to simplify this work and to be present on many reservation portals with current prices and availability, so-called channel manager programs have been developed.
economic aspects
The reservation enables the person making the reservation to use a certain service in the future; Reservations therefore lead to planning security for both contracting parties . However, it can happen that the service provider also makes reservations that lead to an overbooking . This service disruptions have compensation claims of reservee result. Reservations always make sense if the service providers only have limited capacities or, as seasonal businesses, have a high level of employment during the main season .
The cancellation of a reservation is usually associated with costs. In the case of package tours , the compensation to be paid by the traveler in the General Travel Conditions in accordance with Section 651h Paragraph 2 No. 1 BGB may be made dependent on the period between the withdrawal and the start of the journey. The closer the time of cancellation to the start of the trip, the higher the compensation and vice versa. There are similar regulations with other service companies.
Others
In retail , the reservation for a product that is currently out of stock or that is to be purchased at a later point in time is called a reservation. This is a right of first refusal under the law of obligations .
When traveling by train, passengers are required to reserve a seat depending on the country and type of train. For example, you can not book a ticket in Thalys or Eurostar without a fixed seat. This was never required on German passenger trains, which is related to the transport obligation. Seat cards are also a privilege for faster trains. As early as 1929, the reservation card was considered exclusive for express trains .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Ulrich Ammon, Variant Dictionary of German . The standard language in Austria, Switzerland and Germany as well as in Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, East Belgium and South Tyrol .. , Walter de Gruyter, 2004, ISBN 978-3-11-016574-6
- ↑ Wolfgang Fuchs / Jörn W. Mundt / Hans-Dieter Zollondz (eds.), Lexikon Tourismus , 2008, p. 493
- ↑ Karl Heinz Hänssler (Ed.), Management in the Hotel Industry and Gastronomy , 2011, p. 387
- ↑ Landgericht Kiel , judgment of January 22, 1998, Az .: 8 S 160/97 = NJW 1998, 2539
- ↑ OLG Hamm, judgment of May 29, 2002, Az. 30 U 216/01 full text
- ↑ OLG Düsseldorf, judgment of May 2, 1991, Az. 10 U 191/90 Leitsatz
- ^ On both sides of the rail route , Berlin– Beuthen edition from 1930, p. 5
