Terms & Conditions

Everything According to the Rules

If you hold an event at our event venue and wedding venue in Cologne, the following rules apply. Please take a moment to read these carefully!

General Terms and Conditions for Events at Cologne Chocolate Museum

Lessor:

Chocolate Museum Gastronomy GmbH, Am Schokoladenmuseum 1a, 50678 Cologne

§ 1 Scope of Application

These terms and conditions apply to all contracts between Chocolate Museum Gastronomy GmbH (Am Schokoladenmuseum 1a, 50678 Cologne), hereinafter “Lessor”, and the Lessee regarding the rental of event rooms in the Chocolate Museum for the conduct of events of all kinds, as well as all related further services and deliveries by the Lessor. The Lessee’s terms and conditions shall only apply if this has been expressly agreed beforehand.

§ 2 Rental Object, Scope of Rental

The Lessee has at their disposal the furniture present in the rented event room. The respective equipment can be viewed on the Internet at www.schokoladenmuseum-event.de (section “Infos” / “General Information”).

The room rental is not a full-day rental but refers to the planned duration of the event. The event room may be used for a maximum of 7 hours. Any extension of this usage time must be agreed upon in advance. Each extension hour will be added to the flat-rate rental at an additional €250 net plus VAT. The possibility of using the event room ends in principle no later than 3:00 AM.

Items brought by the Lessee (e.g., sound systems) must be removed from the Chocolate Museum rooms no later than 9:00 AM the next morning.

The Lessee is obligated to inform the Lessor unsolicited when obtaining a quote if the planned event has a political character or if the planned event is otherwise likely to endanger the smooth operation of the business, the safety, or the public reputation of the Chocolate Museum. The Lessor reserves the right to refuse to enter into the contract in such a case.

The Lessor has house rights at the Chocolate Museum during an event. The Lessor’s event manager exercises these house rights vis-à-vis everyone. If there is a risk to the facilities of the Chocolate Museum or the safety of persons present, they may, after an unsuccessful oral warning to the Lessee, issue a house ban to the person responsible or dissolve the event. If the Lessee is not present and has not previously appointed a representative, the event manager may dissolve the event at any time. The event manager may suspend the sale of alcohol in whole or in part if guests are noticeably heavily intoxicated and therefore cannot act rationally. The assessment of the situation and the decision on the aforementioned measures are at the sole discretion of the event manager at all times.

§ 3 Rental and Catering

Booking an event room obligates the Lessee to use the in-house catering of the Chocolate Museum. The catering offerings can be viewed on the Internet at www.schokoladenmuseum-event.de.

Six to four weeks before the event date at the latest, catering details, in particular the selection of food, drinks, and their prices, will be determined together. The Lessee will receive a binding order confirmation in which, among other things, the provisional final price for the number of people booked is shown. Seasonal fluctuations in food prices may occur and may thus influence our prices up to this date.

Food and beverage prices are calculated for events with at least 35 people. For fewer participants, personnel costs will be charged separately.

For hygienic reasons, it is not permitted to take away uneaten food. The background for this is the EU hygiene regulation, according to which the cold chain for food requiring refrigeration must not be interrupted at any point. Adequate cooling of food is only guaranteed for the period of service during buffet distribution. If the cold chain is interrupted, there may be a health risk.

The minimum gastronomic turnover for the use of the premises on Friday and Saturday evenings is €7,500 net in the Bel Etage and €12,000 net in the Restaurant or Chocolate Factory. If this minimum turnover is not achieved, we will invoice the existing difference. Only food and beverages are included in the calculation of the minimum gastronomic turnover.

Activities outside of pure gastronomic catering (for example, receipt of goods or materials, decorations, storage and table planning) will be charged separately.

For beverage billing according to consumption, the Lessee has the opportunity at any time to view the beverage consumption in the form of the consumption slip kept and empty bottles and barrels at the beverage counter and to photograph it at the end.

The Lessee may not bring food and beverages to events in principle. Exceptions require prior written agreement with the Lessor. The Lessor may make their consent conditional on charging a contribution toward overhead costs.

§ 4 Technical Equipment and Connections, Official Permits

The use of the Lessee’s own electrical systems and use of the Lessor’s electrical network requires the express consent of the Lessor. This can be made conditional on the paid provision of a separate technician. Disturbances or damage to the Lessor’s technical equipment resulting from the use of these devices shall be at the Lessee’s expense, unless the Lessor is responsible for them. The Lessor may record and charge electricity costs resulting from the use in a lump sum.

Disturbances to technical or other facilities provided by the Lessor will be remedied as soon as possible. Payments may not be withheld or reduced insofar as the Lessor is not responsible for these disturbances.

The Lessee must obtain in a timely manner and at their own expense any official permits necessary for the event. They are responsible for compliance with public law requirements and other regulations.

§ 5 Payment Terms, Right of Retention

With the booking confirmation, the Lessee receives a rental invoice which they must pay to the Lessor’s account within 10 days.

After the event, the Lessor provides the Lessee with a statement of catering services in which food, beverage package or individual beverages and any additional services are charged.

The Lessor reserves the right to charge a down payment on the expected gastronomic consumption of up to 100%. This applies especially in the case of a large number of guests, a foreign billing address of the Lessee, or payment delays prior to the event.

If the Lessee does not pay the rent or down payment on time, the Lessor has the unilateral right to terminate the rental agreement.

§ 6 Lessee’s Withdrawal (Cancellation) or Reduction of Registered Number of Persons

If the Lessee cancels the event up to 3 months before the event date, no compensation for the lost gastronomic turnover is due. However, the obligation to pay the room rental remains.

If the Lessee cancels the event up to 8 days before the event date, the Lessee must pay the full room rental and compensation of €30.00 net = €35.70 gross per registered person. For events with over 199 registered persons, this period ends already 14 days before the event date.

If the Lessee cancels less than 8 days before the event date, the room rental and the agreed catering services in the amount of the provisional final price according to the order confirmation must be paid in full.

If a reduction in the number of registered persons is reported in writing at the latest 8 days before the event date, no catering costs are charged for persons not appearing if the shortfall is up to 10%. If the shortfall exceeds 10%, compensation of €20.00 net = €23.80 gross per additional person not appearing must be paid. If a reduction of more than 25% of the originally registered number of persons occurs, this compensation increases to €30.00 net = €35.70 gross for each additional person. For events with over 199 registered persons, this period ends already 14 days before the event date.

A reduction in the number of persons reported less than 8 days before the event cannot be taken into account; the full provisional final price as shown in the order confirmation must be paid.

The Lessor endeavors to minimize damage. In all of the above cases, the Lessee retains the right to prove that the Lessor has incurred damage lower than the compensation.

§ 7 Lessor’s Withdrawal

The Lessor is entitled to withdraw from the contract for good cause. This applies in particular in cases of force majeure or other circumstances not attributable to the Lessor that make performance of the contract impossible.

This also applies to an event that is booked under misleading or false information or concealment of facts essential to the contract. The identity of the Lessee, their ability to pay, or the purpose of the event may be considered essential to the contract.

The Lessor is furthermore entitled to withdraw from the contract for good cause if they have reasonable grounds to assume that the event may endanger the smooth operation of the business, the safety, or the public reputation of the Chocolate Museum. This applies in particular to social, religious, or political positions that do not align with the Chocolate Museum’s mission or social positions.

Furthermore, the Lessor may withdraw from the contract for good cause if the purpose or occasion of the event is unlawful or if the Lessee has violated their information obligation according to § 2 No. 5.

§ 8 Claims for Defects and Liability

Complaints or notices of defects must be communicated immediately and promptly to the Lessor or their agent at the event to give the Lessor the opportunity to remedy the defect.

The Lessee is liable for all damage caused by themselves, their agents for performance, guests, or third parties through fault. If the Lessee is liable hereafter, they must indemnify the Lessor against any claims by third parties. This liability of the Lessee also applies to increased cleaning costs due to gross soiling of the used rooms (e.g., due to confetti) and to fire department deployment costs triggered by the use of fog machines, open flames, fireworks, etc. The Lessee is obligated to immediately notify the Lessor of any damage to the rental object caused by them.

The Lessor is liable for intent and gross negligence. For simple negligence, they are only liable for violation of material contractual obligations. These are obligations whose fulfillment first enables proper performance of the contract and whose compliance the Lessee may regularly rely on. This liability exclusion does not affect liability for damage caused through fault to life, body, or health.

Exhibition items or other items, including personal property, are in the event rooms at the Lessee’s risk. The Lessor assumes no liability for loss, destruction, or damage, including property damage, except in cases of gross negligence or intent of the Lessor.

Brought-in decoration material and other items introduced by the Lessee must comply with fire safety requirement