General terms and conditions and travel advice
General terms and conditions of HLX Touristik GmbH
for travel agency services via the SWISS Holidays sales brand:
1. Contractual relations, liability
"SWISS Holidays" is a sales brand of the company HLX Touristik GmbH (hereinafter referred to as "HLX"), Augustaplatz 8, D-76530 Baden-Baden. The booking confirmation constitutes a contract for the selected travel services between the tour operator or service provider named in the booking documents and the SWISS Holidays customer through the agency of HLX. The travel agent HLX does not perform the confirmed services. HLX is consequently not liable if the services arranged by it are defective or not provided.
2. Cancellation, contract rescheduling and travel interruption
2.1.1 Withdrawal
Withdrawal may be effected by express declaration or conclusive behaviour (e.g. by non-fulfilment of the payment agreements). The amount of the cancellation compensation depends on the booked service, the time of receipt of the cancellation notice and the general terms and conditions of the respective service provider. For reasons of documentation of the receipt of the cancellation request, we strongly recommend that you send a written cancellation by e-mail to service.lhh@hlx.com. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact HLX.
2.1.2 The cancellation conditions of the respective service provider shall be decisive for the amount of the cancellation costs. With the exception of cancellations of package tours, HLX charges a processing fee of SFR 50/EUR 35 per travel service and per affected traveller in addition to the cancellation costs of the respective service provider to compensate for its own additional expenses incurred as a result.
2.1.3 Any payment transaction fee collected is excluded from the refund after cancellation.
2.2 Reassignment of the contract to another traveller
If the tour operator does not object to a rebooking with a substitute traveller, HLX will arrange for the change request to be carried out and will charge a processing fee of SFR 50/EUR 35 per change and affected traveller for its own additional expenses. This shall also apply to any other requests for changes after the booking has been made with which the service provider agrees.
2.3 Trip interruption
As a rule, the general terms and conditions of the service providers do not provide for a claim for reimbursement of costs in the event of a trip being cancelled. We therefore recommend taking out travel interruption insurance, or better still an insurance package.
3. Data protection
Please refer to our data protection declaration at https://www.swissholidays.com/de-ch/datenschutz.
4. Travel insurance
Taking out travel cancellation insurance and insurance to cover assistance or including repatriation in the event of accident, illness or death is highly recommended.
5. Ombudsman
We expressly draw your attention to the fact that, with a view to reaching an out-of-court settlement, you have the option of involving the Ombudsman of the Swiss Travel Industry. For more information, please visit www.ombudsman-touristik.ch.
6. Final provisions
If any provision of the agency contract is or becomes invalid, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining conditions or the validity of the agency relationship as a whole.
Last updated: April 2021
General terms and conditions of holidays.ch AG
for the organisation of package tours arranged by HLX:
1. Conclusion of the package tour contract
1.1 By making a booking via the internet portal of the sales brand SWISS Holidays of HLX Touristik GmbH, you make a binding offer to the tour operator to conclude a package tour contract. The contract is concluded upon acceptance by the tour operator holidays.ch AG, Centralbahnstrasse 9, CH-4051 Basel. Upon or immediately after conclusion of the contract, you will receive a booking confirmation from the travel agent containing all essential information about the booked travel services.
1.2 If the confirmation differs from the registration, it is to be understood as a new offer by the tour operator. The traveller may accept the new offer by declaration or also by conclusive behaviour, such as payment of the balance or commencement of travel.
2. Payment
2.1 In order to be able to offer you the most attractive holiday offers, the tour operator often takes advantage of special flight tariffs which require the airfare to be paid to the airline immediately after booking, irrespective of whether the flight actually takes place. When booking a package tour more than 28 days before departure, a lump-sum deposit of EUR 50.00 will thus be charged. The agreed price of the tour is due for payment starting from the 28th day before departure. The EUR 50.00 paid in advance will be set off against this amount. The difference between the deposit paid and the agreed payment (balance) must be paid 28 days before the start of the tour. In the case of booking made at shorter notice (no more than 28 days before the start of the journey), the price will be due for payment in full immediately after receipt of the booking confirmation.
2.2 If due payments are not made or not made in full, the tour operator is entitled to withdraw from the contract and demand reimbursement of the costs arising from the booking and cancellation in accordance with its general terms and conditions.
2.3 Foreign bank accounts or foreign credit cards will only be accepted with the prior written or, in exceptional cases, (remote) verbal consent of the respective account or card holder.
2.4 If a payment collection agreed at the time of booking ends in a chargeback due to the fault of the account or payment card holder, the associated additional costs will be passed on. This includes, in particular, the fees charged by the bank or credit card company as well as a further EUR 10 per chargeback to cover the additional expenses incurred. A processing fee will be charged if, in the case of agreed payment by bank transfer, payments due are not made and measures become necessary.
3. Limitation of liability, third-party services
3.1 The contractual liability of the tour operator for damages which are not bodily injuries and which were not caused at least by gross negligence is limited to three times the tour price.
3.2 The tour operator is not liable for disruptions or deficiencies that occur in services that are not owed according to the content of the travel contract (third-party services). This applies in particular to additional programmes at the destination.
4. General passport, visa and health requirements
You will be informed about general passport and visa requirements of the country of destination, including approximate deadlines for obtaining visas, as well as health formalities. The traveller is responsible for complying with travel formalities, including obtaining the necessary entry documents.
5. Withdrawal, transfer of the contract to another traveller and other changes to the contract
5.1 If the traveller withdraws from the tour before it starts or does not show up, the tour operator loses the claim to the tour price. The parties thus agree on the following cancellation fees: In the event of cancellation up to 14 days before the start of the tour, the tour operator shall retain the lump-sum deposit amount of EUR 50.00 as a cancellation fee. Any travel price paid will be refunded minus this deposit amount. Starting from the 13th day before departure, the traveller will be charged 90% of the tour price and on the day of departure 95% of the tour price. The traveller has the right to prove that the loss incurred was lower.
5.2 Additional costs incurred in the event of a permissible contract transfer to a substitute traveller (name change) will be stated to you upon request.
5.3 With the exception of the statutory right to rewrite the contract, both parties are bound by their contractual agreement. Other contractual changes at the request of the traveller are only possible with the consent of the tour operator. With regard to additional costs incurred in this connection, 4.2 shall apply accordingly.
6. Identity of the operating air carrier
At the time of booking, information is provided on the identity of the respective operating air carrier in accordance with EU Regulation No. 2111/05. If there is a change of operating air carrier after booking, the passengers affected by this change will be informed immediately after it becomes known. The list of air carriers subject to an operating ban in the EU can be found at https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/air-safety-list_en.pdf.
7. Ombudsman
We expressly draw your attention to the fact that, with a view to reaching an out-of-court settlement, you have the option of involving the Ombudsman of the Swiss Travel Industry. For more information, please visit www.ombudsman-touristik.ch.
8. Final provisions
If any provision of the package tour contract is or becomes invalid, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining conditions or the validity of the package tour relationship as a whole.
Last updated: April 2021
General travel advice
a. Tour operators and travel agents regularly have no influence on airlines' decisions to operate flights. In particular, changes to departure and arrival times, routing and the aircraft to be used cannot be ruled out at short notice. Sometimes other airlines are also contracted to operate flights. In this regard HLX provides information on the identity of the respective operating air carrier at the time of booking in accordance with EU Regulation No. 2111/05. If there is a change of operating air carrier after booking, the passengers affected by this change will be informed immediately after it becomes known. The list of air carriers subject to an operating ban in the EU can be found at https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/air-safety-list_en.pdf.
b. Please note that the personal details on your flight documents and booking confirmation must match the details on your ID.
c. Entitlement to transportation exists only for the confirmed flights.
d. Check-in times may vary. For specific times, please call the service telephone number or visit the website of the transporting airline. Check-in usually begins about 120 minutes before departure. Passengers should therefore present themselves at the counter at least 90 minutes before departure. Especially for non-European destinations, however, check-in sometimes begins considerably earlier and the counter often closes as early as 120 minutes before departure. Please note: Late appearance is considered a no-show. If the outbound flight is not taken, this often results in a cancellation of the return flight. This is also the case in case of failure to confirm the return flight as required by some airlines. If flights are not used, airlines regularly retain the fare in full. However, if you wish, HLX will be happy to refund any taxes and airport charges not incurred on your behalf for a handling fee of SFR 50/EUR 35.
e. Since cancellations and delays in train traffic cannot be ruled out, it is strongly recommended that passengers travelling to the airport by train choose a train connection which, according to the railway timetable, guarantees arrival at the check-in desk at the departure airport at least 3 hours before departure and, in addition, guarantees timely arrival (see above), if necessary with the help of an alternative train connection.
f. Luggage allowance conditions vary depending on the airline, route and fare. You can find out more about permitted luggage and hand luggage, special luggage and oversized luggage, registration requirements and other useful information on the subject of luggage transport on the website of the transporting airline or the service hotline of the transporting airline. In general, the following applies: Medication, keys, important documents and valuables belong in your hand luggage. Violations of this can lead to an exclusion of liability on the part of the airline and tour operator in the event of damage.
g. Damage to luggage and loss of luggage must be reported immediately to the transporting airline itself or its handling agents at the destination airport and a damage report recorded as proof of this. In the event of damage to/loss of luggage, any action shall be excluded if the person entitled does not notify the airline in writing immediately after discovery of the damage or, in the case of international travel, at the latest seven days after receipt of the luggage. The same applies to the delayed delivery of luggage, with the proviso that this notification must be made without delay, but in any case no later than 21 days after delivery of the luggage. The notification must be in writing and must be sent within the aforementioned deadlines.
h. The age limits or whether a person is classified as an infant or child vary from airline to airline. Therefore, please check with the airline directly or with your booking agent about the regulations that apply to you. The following normally applies: Infants may travel from the age of 6 weeks at the earliest and travel on their parent's lap. They are not entitled to their own seat and luggage allowance unless they have their own non-discounted booking.
From the age of 2, children have their own seat. Children under 14 years of age will only be allowed to travel if accompanied by a person of at least 16 years of age who assumes responsibility for them. Children and young people under 16 years of age are only allowed to travel if they have the consent of their legal guardians. In Spain and France, children and young people under the age of 18 must present a completed authorisation form from their legal guardians in order to leave their home country. It is the passenger's responsibility to carry the required documentation.
i. Conditions of transportation for pregnant women vary from airline to airline. Therefore, please contact the respective airline directly for more information. Most often, air transportation is denied from the 28th week of pregnancy.
j. The booked hotel room is only available on the day of arrival from the official check-in time of the respective hotel (usually 14:00 local time). On the day of departure, the official check-out time of the respective hotel (usually 10:00 a.m. local time) must be observed.
k. Other countries, other customs: Please note that some hotels offer 2 single beds or queen-size or king-size beds instead of the classic double bed. The tour operator has no influence on this.
l. It is highly recommended to keep valuables such as means of payment and jewellery, but also travel documents and electronic devices safely locked in a room or hotel safe.
Last updated: April 2021