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BGH in Karlsruhe
Photo: RALPH ORLOWSKI/ REUTERS
Hotels must reimburse guests for their room costs if they were unable to arrive due to a corona-related ban on accommodation.
According to a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe, this even applies in the case of a plaintiff who chose a non-cancellable tariff for a hotel in Lüneburg in mid-May 2020.
The ruling is important beyond the case for hotel bookings during the pandemic, said presiding judge Ralph Bünger.
In the case under discussion, a woman booked three double rooms in autumn 2019 - before the outbreak of the pandemic.
After the state of Lower Saxony issued a ban on accommodation, the plaintiff asked in vain for a refund of the invoice that had been paid immediately.
Because the hotel, a member of a hotel group based in Berlin, only offered a postponement until the end of 2020, she went to court.
The lower courts had agreed with her and confirmed the claim for repayment.
The company, however, went into appeal.
This was unsuccessful at the BGH.
The hotel was unable to provide the service owed.
Again, the plaintiff could not be expected to wait any longer due to the changing nature of the pandemic, said Judge Bünger.
The woman was also able to effectively withdraw from the contract on May 7, 2020, although the state of Lower Saxony only extended the ban on accommodation for the booking period one day later.
This development - and thus the prerequisite for the resignation - was obvious, it was said.
The woman could assume “with almost certainty” that the hotel rooms would not be used for tourist purposes even in mid-May.
Ref. VIII ZR 363/21
ssu/dpa-AFX