TERMS AND CONDITIONS

General Terms and Conditions of Van der Valk Hotel Mechelen, Rode kruisplein 1-4, 2800 Mechelen

Group and professional bookings

1. Deposit Policy

• Belgian companies: a deposit of 75% of the total booked services is required as confirmation of the event within 2 weeks after signing the contract.
• Non-Belgian companies: a deposit of 100% of the total booked services is required as confirmation of the event within 2 weeks after signing the contract.

2. Total Cancellation of Rooms and Services

From the signed contract until 3 months before the event: 50% of the total on the pro forma will be charged. Between 3 months & 2 months before the event: 75% of the total on the pro forma will be charged. 2 months before the event: 100% of the total on the pro forma will be charged.

3. Room Change Policy

• Between 89 and 60 days before the event, a reduction of 35% of the total number of room nights is allowed without charge. If the change is greater than 35%, 20% of the reduced number of room nights will be charged.
• Between 59 and 30 days, a reduction of 25% of the total number of room nights is allowed without charge. If the change is greater than 25%, 50% of the reduced number of room nights will be charged.
• Between 29 and 10 days, a discount of 10% on the total number of room nights is allowed without charge. If the deviation is greater than 10%, 75% of the reduced number of room nights will be charged.
• Between 9 and 4 days, a discount of 5% on the total number of room nights is allowed without charge. If the deviation is greater than 5%, 85% of the reduced number of room nights will be charged.
• 3 days before the arrival date, any reduction in the number of room nights will be penalized with an amount for the total number of reduced room nights.

4. Act of God

Neither party shall be responsible for any delay or failure in performance, herein caused by force majeure, war, terrorism, government regulation, disaster, civil unrest, fire, curtailment of transportation facilities, or other emergencies beyond the reasonable control of such party. In the event that such events render the performance of this agreement impractical, unlawful, or impossible, either party may terminate this agreement without liability or penalty upon written notice to the other party.

5. Force Majeure

The establishment shall be relieved of its obligations or suspend the service in the event that it could not be performed with full guarantee due to the concurrence of exceptional circumstances or in case of force majeure, especially in the event of total or partial destruction of the establishment, suspension of energy supply, or other matters preventing the normal operation of the establishment, or affecting its safety or that of the customers.

In these cases, however, the hotel may, if possible, offer the customer the performance of the services at a nearby establishment of the same or higher category, with the hotel bearing all transfer costs arising therefrom. However, the customer may choose to cancel the services and request the refund of amounts paid up to that date.

6. Agreement

• This reservation agreement shall only come into effect upon acceptance and thus signing thereof by Van der Valk.
• Until such time, Van der Valk shall not be bound in any way to the customer or their participants, and Van der Valk shall have the right to consider the event as non-existent and to release or make available all rooms and spaces intended by the customer to third parties.
• The customer shall have no right to any services from Van der Valk until a definitive agreement is signed and handed to both parties.
• Upon signing, and thus acceptance by Van der Valk, all commitments between the parties shall be governed solely by this agreement, which shall supersede all prior agreements between the parties.
• Any changes or additions to this contract must be made exclusively in writing and accepted by both parties. Oral agreements shall be deemed invalid and non-existent.
• The organizer is fully aware of the above conditions, which are an integral part of the contract, and agrees to abide by them.

7. Miscellaneous

7.1. Increase in the number of participants for events and services

If the customer informs Van der Valk of an increase in the number of participants less than 14 days before the scheduled date, the Hotel will make every reasonable effort to provide its services to this increased number, albeit without the Hotel being held liable for the consequences if it fails or partially fails to do so.

7.2. Audiovisual and EDP equipment

• If Van der Valk provides the customer with audiovisual or EDP equipment, the customer is responsible for it for the entire duration of the event. In the absence of any remarks immediately after its provision, the customer will be deemed to have received this equipment in good condition and working order.
• If the customer uses their own equipment or equipment obtained from third parties, the customer (excluding Van der Valk) is and remains responsible for it for the entire duration of the event, and must take the necessary measures to prevent damage, theft, etc.
• The customer must inform the Hotel in advance if they wish to use the walls, tables, or floor of the reserved room. They must also request written permission from Van der Valk in advance to place posters, signs, flags, or any other advertising material.
• The customer must remove all their materials and equipment from the hotel by the end of the event. The Hotel cannot be held responsible for any material/equipment not removed in a timely manner.

7.3. Reserved conference rooms

The names of the meeting rooms, as stated in the contract, are exemplary and not binding. The Hotel has the right to unilaterally and freely change the names of the meeting rooms at any time. Van der Valk only needs to inform the Customer thereof, no later than on the day of arrival.

7.4. Check-in/Check-out of rooms

• Check-in will be possible from 3:00 PM on the arrival date. If the customer/participant arrives before this time, Van der Valk will endeavor, to the best of its ability and without obligation, to provide the room earlier, but it cannot be held to do so.
• If the customer or their participant wishes to ensure the availability of their room before 3:00 PM, they can book an early check-in from 1:00 PM for a fee of €25 per stay. If the customer or their participant arrives even earlier, the preceding night can be booked at the normal rate for that room type.
• The official check-out time is at 11:00 AM. In the case of a late check-out, you can choose to extend until 1:00 PM for a fee of €25 per stay. For extensions until 6:00 PM, an additional fee equal to half of the daily rate for the respective room applies. It is important to note that the possibility of extension is always subject to the availability of the room at that time and cannot be guaranteed.

7.5. Early departure

If the customer decides to terminate the event prematurely, or if the customer/a participant decides to leave the meeting rooms or the hotel before the booked departure date, Van der Valk is entitled to charge the remaining scheduled/booked days and/or overnight stays, including the reserved facilities/amenities, at the contractually agreed rate.

7.6. Schedule

The customer expressly undertakes to start and end their event within the contractually provided times. Van der Valk is entitled to charge the customer for all additional hours or other expenses resulting from the non-compliance with this schedule, which the customer accepts.

7.7. Choice of menu

• The final choice of menu and program must be communicated to Van der Valk no later than fourteen days before the event. If the customer fails to confirm the menu choice to Van der Valk within that time, Van der Valk is entitled to make a menu choice itself in order to ensure optimal preparation of the event.
• If the customer makes changes to their menu choice less than seven days before the event, Van der Valk (if it also manages to deliver the modified menu) may charge the additional costs resulting from this late choice to the customer.

7.8. Additional requests

In order to allow Van der Valk to provide maximum service, all additional requests must already be mentioned in this document signed by the customer. Only those specific requests to which Van der Valk subsequently expressly agrees in writing will be part of this agreement and the obligations of Van der Valk.

8. Liability/insurance

• The customer undertakes to take out insurance from a recognized Belgian insurance company to cover their liability as an organizer during the period provided.
• Furthermore, the customer must inform their participants that they are required to behave properly, in accordance with the hotel rules.
• The customer/their participants are prohibited, among other things, from using the spaces provided for meetings related to extreme ideologies or tendencies, and/or which could directly or indirectly have a negative impact on the normal operation of the hotel, or disturb the peace of the other hotel guests.
• In any case, the customer, together with their participants, jointly and severally, shall be liable to compensate Van der Valk for any damage or inconvenience caused by the customer's participants.
• The customer shall also indemnify Van der Valk against any claims (both in principal sum, interest, and costs) that may be made against Van der Valk by any other guests/clients, as a result of damage/inconvenience they may suffer as a result of the event and/or the attitude/behavior or omissions of the customer or their participants.
• The Hotel can in no case be held liable in any way for theft of or damage to goods/objects/etc. stored by the customer or their participants in the hotel.

9. Termination / Compensation

• Van der Valk has the right to terminate this agreement by simple written notice to the customer, organizer, in case the above-mentioned conditions have not been respected by the customer. In that case, the latter shall owe Van der Valk compensation equal to 100% of the amounts that would have been due by the customer if the agreement had not been terminated.
• If Van der Valk finds that it cannot provide the rooms/ meeting rooms/ facilities as reserved by the customer and accepted by Van der Valk, at the scheduled time, then Van der Valk must notify this fact to the customer as soon as possible. In this case, Van der Valk will only be obliged to provide equivalent rooms and facilities to the customer, in the nearest equivalent hotel, with Van der Valk only being obliged to reimburse the customer for any price difference, expressly excluding any other compensation or cost.
• If Van der Valk complies with the aforementioned in the previous paragraph, then the customer shall be obliged to indemnify Van der Valk for any claim that may be made by the customer's participants against Van der Valk, as a result of the failure of the latter to provide the planned rooms/ meeting rooms/ facilities.

10. Fire Prevention and Safety Procedures

• Emergency exits must always remain free from obstructions and indications of their location must be kept visible to everyone attending the function.
• Where explicitly stated, fire and emergency doors must always remain closed.
• Nothing may be attached to the panic locks, nor may materials be placed behind the doors in advance. Stairwells serving as escape routes must be kept free from obstructions.
• It is prohibited to bring flammable, explosive, or hazardous liquids or products into the hotel, as well as to make modifications to existing installations, materials, furniture, or equipment thereof without prior written permission from the hotel management.
• If such modifications are deemed necessary, this must be requested in writing at least 21 days before the function takes place.
• Curtains, wall coverings, and any other decorative material hung or attached to or against walls and ceilings must be made of at least fire-retardant or fire-resistant material.
• If these materials are hung in doorways or corridors, they must separate in the middle and be attached so that they can be easily pulled aside.
• Electrical provisions must not be overloaded.
• Firefighting provisions must not be abused.
• The smoking ban must always be respected.
• If the organizer hires external security personnel for the function, the contracted security company must be licensed by the Ministry of the Interior and its personnel must comply with the Law on Security Companies, Security Services, and Internal Security Services of April 10, 1999, regarding training. The number, name, and whether or not armed security personnel are employed must be communicated to the hotel management in writing in advance.
• Care must be taken to ensure that the maximum number of persons allowed in a room is not exceeded, without prior written permission from the hotel management.

11. Jurisdiction / Legislation

This agreement is governed exclusively by Belgian law.

Any dispute regarding its validity, interpretation, execution of the agreement, or billing in execution thereof falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of the Mechelen district.