PIEMONTPUR by Birgit Trager (hereinafter referred to as PIEMONT PUR) is a sole proprietorship, active as an online tour operator, founded in 1996 and based in D 82329 Tutzing.
1. General/contractual conditions
PIEMONT PUR operates as a travel organiser for individual Piedmont tours. The terms and conditions stated here apply to all contracts between Birgit Trager, owner of the sole proprietorship PIEMONT PUR, and the travellers/customers.
Bookings can be made in writing (Internet, e-mail) or verbally. It shall be confirmed in writing by PIEMONT PUR and shall therefore be binding for the customer and for PIEMONT PUR.
2. Conclusion of a travel contract
The customer may confirm and register for the trip in writing, by telephone or in person. The travel contract shall be concluded upon acceptance of the registration by PIEMONT PUR, for which no special form is required. PIEMONT PUR shall provide information on the conclusion of the contract in the written booking confirmation. If the content of the travel confirmation differs from the content of the registration, PIEMONT PUR shall be bound by this new offer for 10 days. The travel contract shall be concluded on the basis of this new offer if the travel customer accepts the new offer within this period, which may also take the form of payment, and the travel contract shall be concluded on the basis of this new offer. In order to complete the booking documents, PIEMONT PUR requires the customer’s address and a mobile phone number where the customer can be reached during their stay in Piedmont. By making the booking, the customer confirms his/her agreement that this data may only be passed on to the service providers of the programmes booked by the customer (e.g. hotels, B&B, agriturismo, restaurants, tours).
Acceptance must be made in writing. If the content of the travel confirmation differs from the content of the registration, this shall constitute a new offer by the tour operator to which it shall be bound for a period of 10 days from receipt of the travel confirmation and which the traveller may accept within this period expressly or by conclusive declaration (payment of the travel price).
3. Tasks of PIEMONT PUR
PIEMONT PUR shall support and advise the customer in the selection of suitable accommodation/organisation/travel. PIEMONT PUR does not have specific accommodation at its disposal. PIEMONT PUR arranges accommodation and events on behalf of the respective owner/organiser. The booking conditions vary depending on the accommodation provider/organiser; these are requested from the accommodation provider/organiser and communicated to the customer. The complete holidays put together by PIEMONT PUR are covered by travel price insurance (insolvency insurance).
In order to prepare an offer for customers, PIEMONT PUR requires the telephone number for the first free consultation, the e-mail address for sending the offer and, under certain circumstances, the age of the children (for exact price calculation). In order to complete the booking documents, PIEMONT PUR requires the customer’s address and a mobile phone number where the customer can be reached during their stay in Piedmont. By making a booking, the customer confirms his/her agreement that this data may only be passed on to the service providers of the programmes booked by the customer (e.g. hotels, B&Bs, agriturismo, restaurants, sightseeing tours).
4. Costs & prices
The first non-binding consultation (by telephone) is free of charge. If the new customer then requests a customised travel offer, a processing fee of at least € 80 – € 250 will be charged (depending on the cost and number of people). The processing fee will be deducted in full from the travel costs when a binding booking is made. For regular customers and customers who have already booked through PIEMONT PUR, the processing fee is waived.
The booking shall be binding for the customer and for PIEMONT PUR upon written or verbal confirmation of the customer’s registration by PIEMONT PUR. Upon receipt of the booking confirmation, a deposit of 30% shall be paid upon booking to the account of PIEMONT PUR specified in the booking confirmation. The balance shall be paid as stated in the booking confirmation. For bookings made at short notice, the total price of the holiday is due immediately. Depending on the conditions of the respective accommodation provider/organiser, cancellation costs of varying amounts may be incurred. The respective payment and cancellation conditions can be found in the booking confirmation. If the customer fails to make the down payment and/or final payment in accordance with the agreed payment due dates, PIEMONT PUR shall be entitled to withdraw from the travel contract after sending a reminder setting a deadline and to charge the customer cancellation costs.
We must charge a processing fee of €55 per rebooking for rebookings initiated by the participant.
Deposits/residual payments or total payments are made by SEPA transfer to the German bank account.
5. Booking procedure
Following the customer’s request to PIEMONT PUR to make the booking, the customer shall receive the booking confirmation in writing, by e-mail or post, which contains the conditions (price, type of accommodation/event, method of payment, cancellation conditions) and the travel price guarantee certificate (customer money protection). The customer confirms the booking and transfers the deposit to PIEMONT PUR’s business account by the specified date.
After receipt of full payment of the tour price, PIEMONT PUR will send the vouchers for all domiciles and activities booked on the tour.
All details, addresses, agreed dates and times are listed on the vouchers.
6. Deposit/residual payment
A deposit of 30 % is due with the travel confirmation. Payments are to be made by SEPA bank transfer to the German bank account of PIEMONT PUR specified in the booking confirmation. The balance is to be paid as specified in the booking confirmation.
In the event of insolvency of the tour operator or travel agent, payments will be refunded. If the insolvency of the tour operator or, if applicable, the travel agent occurs after the start of the package tour and the transport is part of the package tour, the return transport of the travellers shall be guaranteed. PIEMONT PUR has taken out insolvency insurance.
7. Services and price changes
The services that are contractually agreed are set out in the service descriptions in the offer or in the travel confirmation. The information contained in the offer is binding. However, PIEMONT PUR expressly reserves the right to make justified changes to services and prices prior to conclusion of the contract, of which the traveller will of course be informed. Deviating services, e.g. from other offers of the service providers, as well as special requests that change the scope of the planned services, shall only be binding if they are expressly confirmed by PIEMONT PUR. Individual third-party services provided by other companies which are not part of a package holiday and which are expressly arranged on behalf of a third party, such as flight-only services, rental cars, excursions and other events, are not PIEMONT PUR’s own services.
7.1 Changes or deviations of individual travel services from the agreed content of the travel contract which become necessary after conclusion of the contract and which were not brought about by the tour operator in bad faith are only permitted insofar as the changes or deviations are not significant and do not affect the overall design of the booked trip.
Any warranty claims remain unaffected if the modified services are defective.
8. Services not utilised
If the customer does not make use of individual travel services that were duly offered for reasons attributable to the customer (e.g. due to early return), the customer shall not be entitled to a pro rata refund of the costs of the booked trip. PIEMONT PUR prepares all trips conscientiously. There will be no guarantee for subjectively imagined travel successes.
9. Withdrawal, cancellation, rebooking
Any withdrawal from the contract or cancellation of an accommodation booking/event must always be made by the customer to PIEMONT PUR in writing. The respective terms and conditions of the accommodation provider/organiser shall apply, which may charge cancellation fees of varying amounts.
In the event of cancellation or rebooking, e.g. a change of travel date or destination by the customer, PIEMONT PUR shall charge a fee of €80 per booking. For the customer’s security, PIEMONT PUR recommends taking out travel cancellation insurance.
The date of receipt by the tour operator shall be decisive for the calculation of the deadline. If the traveller withdraws from the travel contract or does not commence the trip without withdrawing from the travel contract, the tour operator may demand reasonable compensation from the traveller, taking into account the expenses usually saved and the income usually possible through other use of the travel service. The traveller is entitled to prove that the damage did not occur or was significantly lower than the flat rate. Rebookings are deemed to be cancellations with subsequent new bookings. The cancellation costs are listed in the booking confirmation and vary depending on the choice of hotel.
If a participant leaves the group prematurely, for whatever reason, he/she is not entitled to a refund.
PIEMONT PUR reserves the right to apply different cancellation conditions, as these may vary depending on the service providers booked.
Fees for additional services which are not included in the package price and which are shown separately as such, such as visas already applied for and tickets for concerts or similar and other events (cookery courses in a package arrangement) are generally non-refundable.
10. Travel insurance
The participant can insure himself against the cancellation costs (cancellation compensation) by taking out travel cancellation insurance. PIEMONT PUR strongly recommends taking out such insurance. PIEMONT PUR offers extended insurance cover with the following insurance policies: Travel Cancellation Costs, Luggage Insurance, Travel Accident Insurance and Travel Health Insurance.
11. Cancellation and termination by PIEMONT PUR
PIEMONT PUR may withdraw from the travel contract before the start of the trip or cancel the travel contract after the start of the trip in the following cases:
11.1. Without notice
If the traveller persistently disrupts the performance of the trip despite a warning or if he/she behaves in such a way contrary to the contract that the immediate cancellation of the contract is justified. If PIEMONT PUR cancels the contract for this reason, it shall retain its claim to the travel price, but must offset the value of the expenses saved and the benefits it obtains from any other use of the service not utilised.
11.2. up to 2 weeks before departure
If an advertised or specified minimum number of participants is not reached, if a minimum number of participants is stated in the travel advertisement for the relevant trip. In any case, PIEMONT PUR shall be obliged to inform the customer immediately after the conditions for the non-implementation of the trip have been met and to forward the cancellation notice to the customer without delay. Any payments already made towards the price of the trip shall be refunded to the customer.
12. Liability for package holidays
The tour operator is liable within the scope of the duty of care of a prudent businessman for
a) The conscientious preparation of the trip;
b) Careful selection and monitoring of the service providers;
c) The accuracy of the service descriptions;
d) The proper provision of the contractually agreed travel service.
12.1 Limitation of liability
The liability of the tour operator for contractual claims for damages is limited to three times the tour price:
a) Insofar as damage to the traveller is caused neither intentionally nor through gross negligence or
b) If the tour operator is responsible for damage incurred by the traveller solely due to the fault of a service provider.
12.2 The tour operator is not liable for service disruptions in connection with services which are merely arranged as third-party services (e.g. sporting events, theatre visits, exhibitions, etc.) and which are expressly identified as third-party services in the tour description, unless such service disruptions are due to culpable conduct on the part of the tour operator in the context of the arrangement.
12.3 Liability for mediation:
PIEMONT PUR shall not be liable for any claims arising from the brokered contract between the customer and the accommodation provider. Performance and warranty claims due to defects and recourse claims of any other kind arising from poor fulfilment or non-fulfilment of the services booked with the accommodation provider must be asserted against the accommodation provider. If applicable, the accommodation provider shall be liable to the customer within the scope of its terms and conditions, which PIEMONT PUR may request on special request. Any recommendations made by PIEMONT PUR shall be non-binding. No liability is assumed for this. PIEMONT PUR shall act as an agent for third-party services and shall only be liable for the proper procurement of the service and not for the provision of the service itself. PIEMONT PUR is therefore not liable for disruptions to services in connection with third-party services. In the case of luggage, loss, damage or delays must be reported immediately to the transport company. If the trip is not provided in accordance with the contract, the traveller may demand redress. PIEMONT PUR may refuse to remedy the situation if this would require disproportionate effort. PIEMONT PUR may also remedy the situation by providing an equivalent substitute service.
a) Reduction of the tour price
The traveller may demand a corresponding reduction in the price of the trip for the duration of any failure to provide the trip in accordance with the contract. The tour price is to be reduced in the same proportion as the value of the tour would have been at the time of sale in a faultless condition to the actual value. The reduction shall not apply if the traveller culpably fails to report the defect.
b) Cancellation of the contract
If a trip is significantly impaired as a result of a defect and PIEMONT PUR fails to remedy the situation within a reasonable period of time, the traveller may terminate the travel contract within the framework of the statutory provisions – in their own interest and for reasons of preserving evidence, it is expedient to do so in writing. The same shall apply if the traveller cannot reasonably be expected to continue the trip due to a defect for an important reason recognisable to PIEMONT PUR. It is only not necessary to set a deadline for remedial action if remedial action is impossible or is refused by PIEMONT PUR or if immediate cancellation of the contract is justified by a particular interest of the traveller. The traveller shall owe PIEMONT PUR the proportionate travel price attributable to the services used, unless the services used were of no interest to the traveller.
13. Cancellation of the contract due to extraordinary circumstances
If the trip is significantly impeded, jeopardised or impaired as a result of force majeure unforeseeable at the time the contract was concluded, both PIEMONT PUR and the traveller may terminate the contract. If the contract is cancelled, PIEMONT PUR may demand reasonable compensation for the travel services already provided or still to be provided at the end of the trip.
14. Complaints
If, despite the great care we take in planning and organising our trips, you should nevertheless have reasons for complaint, these must be reported to us immediately. The complaint must be communicated to the tour guide on site in order to give us the opportunity to remedy the situation. However, the tour guides are not authorised to recognise or grant claims for a reduction in the tour price. These claims must be made in writing to the organiser within one month of the contractually agreed end of the trip. After this deadline, you can only assert claims if you were prevented from meeting the deadline through no fault of your own. Claims in accordance with § 651j BGB expire within the period of 2 years after the contractual end of the trip.
Claims can be asserted against the tour operator within the time limit at the address given below:
Birgit Trager
Blumenstr. 26
D-82327 Tutzing
After expiry of the deadline, the customer/traveller can only assert claims if he/she was prevented from meeting the deadline through no fault of his/her own.
If a trip is significantly impaired as a result of a defect and the tour operator fails to remedy the situation within a reasonable period of time, the traveller may terminate the travel contract in accordance with the statutory provisions.
14.1 Obligation of the traveller to cooperate
14.2 If the traveller has not received their travel documents in good time before departure, they must inform the tour operator immediately.
14.3 In the event of any service disruptions, the traveller is obliged to inform the local tour guide or agency of their complaints. If a local tour guide or agency cannot be contacted or is unable to rectify the service disruption, complaints must be reported immediately to the service providers or the tour operator’s head office. At the request of the traveller, the local tour guide or agency must prepare a record of the individual complaints. The tour guide or agency is not authorised to make legally binding declarations.
15. Weather
Events and trips are planned on the basis of the available weather reports. This applies in particular to hikes, truffle hunts and bike tours. However, experience shows that weather forecasts are not always accurate. Forecasts are often only possible with severe restrictions. The weather risk with all its effects on the advertised programme must be accepted.
16. Cancellation of the arrangement/event/trip by PIEMONT PUR
If PIEMONT PUR has to cancel an accommodation/event before the start of the trip for reasons of force majeure, the deposit or total payment already paid by the customer will be refunded.
Courses, guided tours and group tours can only be organised if the minimum number of participants specified is reached. If the minimum number of participants is not reached, we are entitled to withdraw from the contract before the start of the trip. Cancellation must be declared to the tour participant at least 14 days before the agreed start of the tour. If it becomes apparent at an earlier point in time that the minimum number of participants cannot be reached, we must immediately exercise our right of cancellation. If the tour is not carried out for this reason, the tour participant shall be refunded any payments made towards the tour price without delay. PIEMONT PUR shall endeavour to carry out the planned trip even if the minimum number of participants is not reached, provided it is economically justifiable for it. If we make use of our right of cancellation, but you still wish to go ahead with the trip, this is now a completely new offer. We can then only accept this at a recalculated price, which we will inform you of. If you agree to the price to be calculated, a new contract will be concluded on the basis of which the trip can be carried out.
17. Passport, visa and health regulations
EU citizens need a passport or identity card valid for three months to enter Italy – a visa is not required. Citizens of other countries and stateless persons should enquire at the relevant consulate. The customer is responsible for obtaining and carrying the necessary travel documents. PIEMONT PUR recommends taking out foreign health insurance.
18. Pets
The Rental Firm may refuse to accept a pet if the Customer has not informed it that it will be travelling with a pet or if the information provided by the Customer about the pet (e.g. its size) does not correspond to reality. Maybe pets are not allowed in the restaurant or at the swimming pool.
19. Duty to co-operate
The traveller is obliged to cooperate within the framework of the statutory provisions in the event of disruptions to services and to avoid or minimise any damage. In particular, the traveller is obliged to inform the local tour guide immediately of any complaints. The latter shall be instructed to take remedial action if this is possible. In the absence of a local tour guide, complaints and requests for redress must be addressed to PIEMONT PUR at its registered office. If the traveller culpably fails to report a defect, there shall be no entitlement to a reduction in price or compensation.
20. Dissociation from the content of external links
PIEMONT PUR has no influence whatsoever on the design and content of the linked pages / content. PIEMONT PUR hereby expressly distances itself from all content of all linked pages on this website. This declaration applies to all pages of this site on which links or banners lead to external content.
21. Collateral agreements
All ancillary agreements, additional agreements and amendments must be made in writing. Should individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions be invalid or void, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.
22. Provision of information to third parties
Information about the names of tour participants and the whereabouts of travellers will not be provided to third parties, even in urgent cases, unless the traveller has expressly requested such information. The costs arising from the transmission of urgent messages shall be borne by the customer. It is therefore recommended that travellers inform their relatives of their exact holiday address.
23. Statutory provisions, forfeiture and limitation period
In all other respects, the statutory provisions apply. You must assert all relevant claims with us within one month of the contractually agreed end of the holiday. After the expiry of the deadline, the assertion is only possible if you were prevented from complying with the deadline through no fault of your own.
All claims – regardless of the legal grounds – expire one year after the contractually agreed end of the trip, unless we are responsible for an initial inability.
Claims for damages due to unauthorised action expire within the statutory period
24. Invalidity of individual provisions
The ineffectiveness of individual provisions of the travel contract and the General Terms and Conditions (GTC) does not result in the ineffectiveness of the entire travel contract or the GTC.
25. Newsletter
PIEMONE PUR sends out a newsletter with information and offers several times a year. If the customer does not wish to receive this, he can unsubscribe by e-mail, telephone or directly via the newsletter.
26. Place of jurisdiction
The place of jurisdiction for legal action against Birgit Trager is Starnberg.