General terms and conditions

If possible, please use our online shop (www.sprachcaffe.com) to register. The contract is concluded once Sprachcaffe accepts your registration. We will confirm your registration in writing or by email.

Accommodation as the only international guest in the host family, optional insurance, pocket money, meals during the outbound and return journey, additional excursions, and any local transportation costs incurred at the course location.

A deposit of 20% of the total amount is due upon registration. Please pay the deposit within one week of receiving our booking confirmation/invoice. The deposit will be credited toward the total travel price. The remaining balance must be paid in full four weeks prior to arrival.

For bookings made less than 28 days prior to departure, the full travel price is due immediately. Travel documents will be sent or handed over to you by Sprachcaffe/ the travel agency, depending on your preference.

Our schools offer a wide range of clearly differentiated proficiency levels. Placement in the appropriate learning level for group courses can only be determined reliably on site on the first day of lessons.

It therefore cannot be completely ruled out that, in rare exceptional cases, the placement test may not result in enough participants at the same level for group lessons on the first course day. In this case, the schools will run the course as (semi-)private tuition, with at least 60% of the duration of the booked group course delivered as (semi-)private tuition (i.e. instead of 20 group lessons, 12 units of (semi-)private tuition; instead of 30 group lessons, 18 units of (semi-)private tuition).

In any case, this is an "upgrade" - an improvement in quality - at no additional cost to you.

Changes and deviations of individual travel services from the agreed content of the travel contract that become necessary after the contract has been concluded and that have not been brought about by us in bad faith are permitted, provided that the changes or deviations are not material and do not affect the overall character of the booked trip.

In the event of a material change to an essential travel service, or in the event of a permissible cancellation by us due to not reaching the published minimum number of participants up to 4 weeks before departure, you may withdraw from the contract. In this case, Sprachcaffe is obliged to inform the customer immediately once the conditions for the trip not taking place are met and to send the notice of withdrawal without delay. You will then be refunded, without delay, any payments already made towards the travel price. If Sprachcaffe withdraws, you may alternatively request participation in at least an equivalent trip, provided we are able to offer such a trip from our programme at no extra charge. You are obliged to assert this right towards us immediately upon receipt of the change notification. We recommend using written form for this purpose.

You may withdraw from the trip at any time before departure. In your own interest and to avoid misunderstandings, we strongly recommend that you declare your withdrawal in writing. If you withdraw from the trip, we may demand reasonable compensation for the arrangements made and our expenses. When calculating this compensation, any expenses saved and any possible alternative use of the travel services are usually taken into account. The decisive factor for calculating the cancellation charges is the time at which the notice of withdrawal is received by Sprachcaffe. The amount of the cancellation charges is based on the travel price.

As a rule, the flat-rate cancellation fees that we must charge per registered participant in the event of your cancellation are as follows. However, you have the right to prove to us that the expenses incurred are lower than the cancellation charges claimed.

For bookings including travel to/from the destination, the flat-rate cancellation fee is:

• Up to 30 days before departure: 40%
• From 29 to 22 days before departure: 50%
• From 21 to 15 days before departure: 60%
• From 14 to 7 days before departure: 70%
• From 6 days before departure: 80%
• On the day of departure, in case of no-show, or after the trip has started: 90% of the total price

If a replacement participant is found, no cancellation fees will be charged; rebooking fees may apply. The traveller retains the right to provide evidence that no damage or only minor damage has occurred.

For bookings excluding travel to/from the destination, the flat-rate cancellation fee is:

• Up to 45 days before departure: 10%
• Up to 30 days before departure: 30%
• From 29 days before departure: 50%
• On the day of departure, in case of no-show, or after the trip has started: 80% of the total price

Any separate expenses will be reimbursed by Sprachcaffe. The traveller retains the right to provide evidence that no damage or only minor damage has occurred. If, despite a warning, a participant disrupts the conduct of the trip, or behaves in a seriously breach-of-contract manner, Sprachcaffe has the right to terminate the contract without notice. Sprachcaffe retains the right to the travel price; any expenses saved will be credited to the participant.

If you take out travel cancellation insurance with us, the cancellation fees stated above will be reimbursed if you are unable to start the trip due to unexpected illness or serious accidental injury. You will be responsible for an excess of 20% of the cancellation fees, unless the cancellation was caused by medically necessary emergency inpatient hospital treatment.

If, after concluding the travel contract, you decide up to 31 days before departure to take a different language course than originally booked, or to provide a suitable replacement participant, we must charge a rebooking fee of €50.00 to cover our additional administrative effort. Later rebookings may be possible by arrangement, subject to a higher rebooking fee.

The tour operator may withdraw from the travel contract if the contracting party fails to meet their payment obligations or does not comply with the agreed contractual conditions. The organiser expects the participant to respect the customs, practices, and laws of the host country. If the participant violates these, the organiser has the right to exclude them from the remainder of the trip after a written warning in the event of a repeated offence.

In the case of serious violations (e.g. criminal offences such as intentional assault, theft, drug consumption, wilful damage to property, etc.), immediate exclusion from the trip is also possible. Any costs arising from early return travel shall be borne by the participant. In the event of exclusion from the trip, Sprachcaffe retains the right to the travel price; any expenses saved will be reimbursed to the traveller.

As the flights offered are special fares, rebooking before departure is not possible or is only possible for a fee. After departure, the flight can no longer be rebooked.

Sprachcaffe will inform nationals of a Member State of the European Community in which the trip is offered, prior to the conclusion of the contract, about passport, visa and health regulations as well as any changes prior to departure. For nationals of other states, the relevant consulate will provide information. The tour operator shall not be liable for the timely issuance and delivery of any required visas by the respective diplomatic mission, unless the tour operator is responsible for the delay.

Our contractual liability for damages that are not bodily injury and that were not caused intentionally or through negligence is limited to three times the travel price. Any claims exceeding this amount arising from tort and any possible claims based on international conventions or statutory provisions deriving from such conventions remain unaffected by this limitation of liability.

Claims arising from the travel contract become time-barred after two years. This limitation period begins on the day on which the trip was scheduled to end under the travel contract. The assertion of any other claims is not affected by this provision.

Consumers have the option to obtain free assistance via the European Union's Online Dispute Resolution platform (ODR platform) for submitting a consumer complaint relating to an online purchase contract or an online service contract, as well as information on the procedures of consumer dispute resolution bodies in the European Union. The platform can be accessed at the following website:

https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/

SPRACHCAFFE is neither legally obliged nor willing to participate in out-of-court dispute resolution proceedings.

By accepting these terms and conditions, you grant Sprachcaffe the right to use photos, videos and audio recordings created during the course for advertising purposes without restriction, without having to obtain separate consent from you. You may revoke this consent at any time.

If any of the above travel terms is invalid or impermissible, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining travel terms.

Jurisdiction for legal actions brought by registered merchants against Sprachcaffe Reisen GmbH shall be exclusively Frankfurt am Main. Otherwise, the statutory provisions shall apply.