General Terms and Conditions (GTC)

Scope of the GTC:
For business relationships between Skischule Brandnertal Gmbh (hereinafter referred to as the “Ski School”) and the contractual partner (hereinafter referred to as the “Customer”), these General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as the “GTC”) shall apply exclusively in the version valid at the time. The valid version of the GTC shall be determined by the time at which the Customer submits the respective offer. The Ski School provides services to the Customer in the field of skiing and snow sports. This includes, among other things, providing ski, snowboard and cross-country skiing lessons, guiding and accompanying ski tours (within the meaning of § 1 para. 1 T-SSG 1995) as well as related activities (hereinafter referred to as “Courses”). Any childcare services and related services (e.g. meals for children) are also included. These GTC apply to all services provided by the Ski School in this context. Provisions deviating from these GTC shall only apply if expressly agreed in writing between the Ski School and the Customer. Conflicting terms and conditions of the Customer shall have no effect on the aforementioned business relationships.

Conclusion of contract:
A contract between the Ski School and the Customer may be concluded both electronically (submission of an offer via online form and acceptance of the contract by confirmation email) and at the business premises of the Ski School (conclusion of contract by handing over a payment receipt). The submission of a fully completed online form by the Customer constitutes a legally binding offer to the Ski School to conclude a contract for the services advertised by the Ski School. On the basis of such an offer, the Ski School sends an order confirmation to the Customer. A contractual relationship between the Ski School and the Customer is only established upon transmission of this order confirmation. The Customer’s declaration to an employee of the Ski School that they wish to make use of the Ski School’s services constitutes a legally binding offer to the Ski School to conclude a contract. A contractual relationship between the Ski School and the respective Customer is only established upon payment for the desired service and the issuing of a payment receipt. The booking confirmation and/or payment receipt serve as proof of entitlement to use the booked service and must be presented by the Customer to the respective course instructor at the start of the course. The Ski School is not obliged to notify the Customer of the rejection of online bookings. If the Customer’s offer is not confirmed by the Ski School within a period of 2 (two) weeks from receipt, the Customer’s offer shall in any case be deemed not to have been accepted.

Right of withdrawal:
Right of withdrawal for contracts concluded by telephone, web form, online shop or email: The services offered are “leisure services” within the meaning of the Austrian Distance and Off-Premises Contracts Act (FAGG). Pursuant to § 18 para. 1 item 10 FAGG, there is no right of withdrawal for leisure services. 

Right of cancellation:
Customers may cancel the contract in writing (email is sufficient) under the following conditions: Course bookings cannot be cancelled free of charge. In the event of cancellation no later than 14 days before the start of the course, the Customer is entitled to a refund of 80% of the course fee. In the event of later cancellations, no refund of course fees will be made. Compliance with the deadline depends on the timely receipt of the cancellation notice by the Ski School no later than 24:00 on the last day of the deadline. Transmission errors, technical problems or similar obstacles are the responsibility of the Customer.

Impossibility of performance:
If the provision of the service is not possible for safety reasons (e.g. weather conditions, avalanche danger, etc.), the Ski School is not obliged to provide the service. It is solely at the reasonable discretion of the Ski School to assess the impossibility of providing the service, whereby partial impossibility – e.g. if ski lessons are not possible on three out of five days – shall not affect the provision of the possible part of the service. In the event of partial or complete impossibility of performance, the Ski School shall refund the proportionate fee to the Customer within 14 (fourteen) days. The Customer shall have no further claims. Force majeure, in particular epidemics, pandemics, official measures such as closures, and other unforeseeable and unavoidable events, shall release the Ski School from its performance obligations. In the event of partial or complete impossibility of performance, the Ski School shall either issue a credit note for the proportionate fee or refund the proportionate fee to the Customer within 14 (fourteen) days. In this regard, the Customer shall have the right to choose. The Customer shall have no further claims.

Prices, payment terms:
All information – in particular the Ski School’s price lists on the internet, in brochures, advertisements or other information media – is non-binding for the Ski School. The Ski School reserves the right to make changes at any time. All prices are stated in EURO (€) and are gross prices including any statutory value added tax, unless otherwise stated. Costs for lift tickets or ski equipment are not included in the course fees. These must be purchased and brought by the Customer at their own expense. The Ski School’s claim to remuneration from the Customer arises upon conclusion of the contract. Payment becomes due at this time. In the case of online bookings, however, payment may already be made immediately upon submission of the offer using one of the payment methods provided for online bookings. If the Customer’s offer is not accepted by the Ski School, any amount already paid shall be refunded within 14 (fourteen) working days using the same payment method as that used by the Customer. In the case of other booking methods, e.g. by email or directly on site, payment of the course fee may be made in cash on site; however, it must in any case be received by the Ski School before the start of the course. All expenses – in particular bank charges – in connection with payment for the course booked with the Ski School shall be borne exclusively by the Customer. The Customer may only offset counterclaims that have been legally established by a court or expressly acknowledged by the Ski School, as well as in the event of the Ski School’s insolvency. Statutory rights of retention shall not be affected by this contractual provision. Default in payment shall occur without further notification by the Ski School. If the Customer defaults on a payment, the Ski School shall be entitled to charge the Customer statutory default interest and all additionally incurred costs and expenses, in particular collection or attorney fees. In the case of outstanding claims, the Ski School may allocate payments made by the Customer to any of the Customer’s outstanding claims at its discretion, irrespective of any designation by the Customer. In the event of non-payment of a claim, all other claims against the Customer shall also become due immediately. The place of performance for all obligations to be fulfilled by both the Ski School and the Customer shall be the place of the Ski School’s registered office.

Provision of services:
The Customer must arrive at the Ski School’s meeting point or at another location in the ski school area announced by the Ski School in good time before the start of the course. The Ski School reserves the right to change the meeting point for courses at short notice. In such cases, Customers will be informed by the Ski School. The Ski School reserves the right, before the start of each ski course day, to take each Customer’s temperature in compliance with data protection regulations and, in the event of an elevated temperature, fever or other clear signs of contagious diseases (e.g. COVID-19) that could pose a risk to other ski course participants as well as to instructors and supervisors, to exclude the Customer from lessons at its own discretion. In such cases, the Customer shall, at their choice, be entitled either to a proportionate refund of a fee already paid or to the issuance of a corresponding credit note. The Ski School undertakes to employ only instructors or childcare staff qualified for the respective service.

Limitation of liability:
In connection with the courses offered, the Ski School does not guarantee the training success of the course participants. With the exception of personal injury, the Ski School shall not be liable for damages unless the damages are based on intentional or grossly negligent conduct by the Ski School itself or by a person attributable to it, and the conduct causing the damage does not concern the main obligations arising from the concluded contract. The Ski School assumes no liability for damages that the Customer causes to themselves or to other persons during the provision of the agreed service without fault on the part of the Ski School, or that are caused to the Customer by such persons. Irrespective of fault, the Ski School shall not be liable for loss of profit, pure financial loss and consequential damages insofar as these exceed three times the service fee. The Customer is advised that failure to wear a protective helmet may constitute contributory negligence on the part of the Customer in the event of injuries. The Customer is therefore advised to wear a protective helmet and other safety equipment recommended for the booked service (e.g. avalanche transceiver for off-piste activities), or, in the case of avalanche equipment, to carry it. Protective helmets and safety equipment generally reduce the risk of injury. It is expressly stated that the practice of snow sports involves numerous risks and that, particularly on tours or descents in open terrain, there is an increased risk of injury or even death, especially due to avalanches, which cannot be completely excluded. The Customer acknowledges that rescue from slopes or open terrain is often associated with high costs. The Customer is therefore advised to take out appropriate insurance, especially since the Ski School is not liable for recovery and air rescue costs unless the Ski School or a person attributable to it has caused these recovery and/or air rescue costs through intentional or grossly negligent conduct. Customer obligations: The Customer must truthfully and comprehensively inform the Ski School about their abilities and experience in the respective snow sport booked and must independently ensure that they have equipment corresponding to the current state of skiing technology and the external conditions. The Customer must inform the Ski School of any health conditions or impairments. Furthermore, the Customer undertakes not to participate in the ski course in the event of febrile infections, contagious diseases or illnesses accompanied by diarrhoea and vomiting. In particular, if COVID-19 symptoms occur (fever, dry cough, fatigue, breathing difficulties, etc.), the Customer undertakes to refrain from participating in the ski course. If the Customer has booked a group course, they may exercise the right of cancellation provided for in these GTC upon presentation of a medical certificate. Before the start of lessons, the Customer must independently arrange for their ski equipment, in particular the ski bindings, to be checked by a specialist company. The Customer must follow the instructions of the Ski School, the instructors and the supervisors. Failure to comply with instructions and warnings shall entitle the Ski School to terminate the contract immediately. This also applies if Customers display improper behaviour, in particular towards other course participants.

Other provisions:
There are no oral side agreements to these GTC. Side agreements of any kind, amendments or additions must be made in writing in order to be effective. This also applies to any waiver of this written form requirement. For all disputes arising from legal transactions based on these GTC, the applicability of substantive Austrian law, excluding Austrian private international law, is agreed. If the Customer is an entrepreneur or a consumer domiciled outside the scope of the Brussels Ia Regulation[1] or the Lugano Convention[2] (these are all countries except the EU Member States, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland), the court with subject-matter and local jurisdiction at the registered office of the Ski School shall be agreed as the exclusive competent court for all legal disputes arising from or in connection with these General Terms and Conditions and/or contracts between the Ski School and the Customer concerning the provision of ski school services. If the Customer is a consumer domiciled within the EU or within the scope of the Lugano Convention, the statutory provisions on jurisdiction shall apply. If one or more of the provisions of these GTC is/are invalid, such legally effective provisions shall be deemed expressly agreed between the Ski School and the Customer that come closest to the economic purpose of the invalid provision. The validity of the remaining provisions shall not be affected by an invalid provision. All rights and obligations under these GTC shall pass to any legal successors of the Ski School. [1] Regulation No. 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 [2] Convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, concluded in Lugano on 16 September 1988