Legal

General terms and conditions

for consulting services · for businesses only

Version 2026-10-16 · as of 16 October 2026

§ 1 Scope and provider

  1. (1)These General Terms and Conditions apply to consulting and assessment services of SALT Consulting, Esther Penelope Sieper, Kurt-Schumacher-Str. 3, 57271 Hilchenbach (“SALT”): Online Audit, Mystery Check, the combination of both, Strategy Session, Projects and Signature Experience, as well as individually agreed consulting services.
  2. (2)These services are offered exclusively to entrepreneurs (Unternehmer, § 14 BGB) booking them for their commercial or independent professional activity. SALT does not enter into contracts with consumers for these services.
  3. (3)These terms do not apply to digital products sold via Digistore24 (for example the SALT Guest Experience Audit PDF). There, the contractual partner is Digistore24 GmbH and its terms apply.
  4. (4)Deviating terms of the client only apply if SALT expressly agrees to them in text form.

§ 2 Conclusion of contract and precedence of individual agreements

  1. (1)Online Audit: the contract is concluded when the client completes the booking on the website with payment via Stripe and the payment is confirmed. Before paying, the client confirms booking for business purposes and accepts these terms. SALT confirms the contract by email and provides the agreed version of these terms.
  2. (2)Mystery Check, combination, Strategy Session, Projects and Signature Experience: based on a proposal by SALT in text form (scope, date or period, fee, any third-party costs and payment plan). The contract is concluded when the client accepts the proposal in text form; for an online booking with payment, sentence 1 applies accordingly.
  3. (3)Individual agreements, especially in the proposal, take precedence over these terms (§ 305b BGB).

§ 3 Scope of services and type of contract

  1. (1)The scope follows from the service description on the website at the time of booking or from the proposal. The services are assessment and consulting. Implementing recommendations and any particular commercial result (such as more bookings, revenue or better ratings) are not owed unless expressly agreed otherwise.
  2. (2)Online Audit and Mystery Check: what is owed is the described report as a work result; to that extent the law on contracts for work applies (§§ 631 ff. BGB). The Online Audit covers the hotel website, up to two platform profiles chosen by the client, one test booking only via the hotel website, the booking confirmation received and the pre-arrival email templates provided, an annotated report with priorities and one short question by email. The Mystery Check covers the agreed stay, the report and the agreed debrief.
  3. (3)Strategy Session: what is owed is the prepared consultation in the agreed scope including a written summary; to that extent the law on service contracts applies (§§ 611 ff. BGB).
  4. (4)Projects and Signature Experience: the proposal states which services are consulting and support (service contract law) and which specifically described work results are owed (contract for work law).
  5. (5)SALT provides the services personally. With the client's consent in text form, SALT may involve suitable third parties.

§ 4 Deadlines, cooperation and materials

  1. (1)Online Audit: SALT delivers the report within two calendar days, weekends included, after the completed questionnaire and all required materials have reached SALT. The period does not start with the purchase. If anything is missing, SALT states specifically what; the period starts when the missing details arrive. Stating that no further pre-arrival emails are sent is a complete answer.
  2. (2)Online Audit: the test booking is made via the hotel website on the free-cancellation conditions stated by the client and is cancelled afterwards. It causes no costs for the client.
  3. (3)The client provides the information and materials needed in good time, complete and without personal data of its guests unless expressly required. If the service is delayed because cooperation is missing, agreed dates and deadlines move accordingly; the statutory rights in case of missing cooperation (§§ 642, 643 BGB) remain unaffected.
  4. (4)Dates (for example the Mystery Check stay, Strategy Session, project dates) are agreed in the proposal or in text form. A postponement is agreed by both sides in text form.

§ 5 Prices, VAT and payment

  1. (1)The prices on the website at the time of booking or in the proposal apply. All prices are net prices plus VAT where legally applicable.
  2. (2)Online Audit: the fee is payable on booking via Stripe.
  3. (3)Mystery Check and combination: the fee is payable after confirmation of date, scope and expense estimate in text form and before the stay. Agreed travel and stay expenses are borne by the client in the agreed amount or as evidenced by receipts.
  4. (4)Projects and Signature Experience: unless agreed otherwise in the proposal, 40 % of the total fee is due on commissioning, 40 % on reaching the project milestone specifically defined in the proposal and 20 % at the agreed completion. The deposit is credited against the total fee.
  5. (5)Invoices are payable within the period stated in the invoice or proposal. Statutory rules apply to late payment.

§ 6 Cancellation, postponement and early termination

  1. (1)Statutory termination rights remain unaffected, in particular the client's right to terminate a contract for work at any time until completion (§ 648 BGB), termination for good cause (§§ 626, 648a BGB) and, where applicable, termination of services of a higher kind (§ 627 BGB).
  2. (2)On termination or cancellation, remuneration follows the statutory rules: for work under § 648 BGB (agreed remuneration minus saved expenses and income earned elsewhere), for services according to the services provided (§ 628 BGB). Partial services already provided are invoiced; payments made are credited and any excess is refunded.
  3. (3)Agreed third-party costs already incurred that can no longer be cancelled (for example booked travel or hotel costs for a Mystery Check) are borne by the client to the extent provided by law.

§ 7 Changes to the scope

  1. (1)If the client wishes changes or extensions, SALT states in text form how they affect scope, schedule and fee. The change applies once both sides confirm it in text form.

§ 8 Acceptance and defects of work results

  1. (1)Where contract-for-work law applies, statutory rules govern acceptance and rights for defects (§§ 634 ff., 640 BGB). The client reports apparent defects in text form as promptly as possible so that SALT can remedy them.

§ 9 Rights of use

  1. (1)The client receives a non-exclusive, perpetual right to use the reports and work results created for it for its own business, to share them internally and with service providers implementing recommendations for it. Publication or resale requires SALT's consent.
  2. (2)SALT's methods, templates, checklists and general expertise, including the SALT method, remain with SALT and may continue to be used by SALT.

§ 10 Confidentiality and data protection

  1. (1)Both sides keep non-public information of the other side confidential, also after the contract ends. SALT neither publishes reports nor names the client as a reference without its consent in text form.
  2. (2)For the Mystery Check, SALT does not inform the client's team in advance about the stay. SALT's privacy policy applies to the processing of personal data.

§ 11 Liability

  1. (1)SALT is liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence, for injury to life, body or health, under the Product Liability Act and to the extent of any guarantee given.
  2. (2)In case of slight negligence, SALT is only liable for breach of essential contractual obligations, i.e. obligations whose fulfilment makes proper performance of the contract possible and on whose observance the client may regularly rely, limited to the foreseeable damage typical for the contract. Otherwise, liability for slight negligence is excluded.
  3. (3)The client decides on implementing recommendations under its own responsibility.

§ 12 Final provisions

  1. (1)The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies. Declarations in text form (for example email) suffice where these terms require text form.
  2. (2)Should a provision be invalid, the remainder of the contract stays valid; the statutory provision takes the place of the invalid provision.
  3. (3)The German version is authoritative; the English version is for information.