Welcome! We are delighted to have you as part of our community. We believe in transparency and want to ensure you have a clear understanding of how our service works.

These Terms of Service ('Terms')

       ● form a legally binding agreement between you, as a user of our platform, and blankbase ('we,' 'us,' or 'our').

       ● together with your Booking Confirmation email ('Booking confirmation', 'Reservation'), outline the legal conditions under which our services are provided to you.

       ● cover all your interactions and communications through our platform.

By using blankbase, you agree to these Terms. This includes accessing our platform, viewing content, or completing a booking. If you do not agree, please do not use our platform.

Table of Contents

1. About blankbase

2. Guest Terms

• Searching and Booking on blankbase
• Cancellations, Reservation Issues and Refunds
• Your Responsibilities

3. Host Terms

• Hosting on blankbase
• Cancellations and Reservation Issues
• Taxes

4. General Terms

• Your account
• Content
• Fees
• Our Community & Platform Rules
• Termination and suspension of these terms
• Resolving complaints
• Applicable law and jurisdiction

1. About blankbase

blankbase offers an online marketplace where users can list, find, and book accommodations for 7-180 days. Those offering accommodations are 'Hosts,' and those booking or using them are 'Guests.' blankbase provides the platform but is not responsible for the travel experience. We do not own, control, offer, or manage any of the listed properties or travel services.

blankbase is not involved in the direct agreements between Hosts and Guests. We are not a real estate broker, insurer, or a package travel provider under EU regulations (Directive 2015/2302). blankbase acts as a neutral platform and not as an agent for any user, except for where blankbase acts as a collection agent as described in the payment terms.

At blankbase, we aim to create a great environment for our users. However, we can't control the actions or behavior of Guests and Hosts, and we do not guarantee

        ● the existence, quality, safety, suitability, or legal compliance of any listed accommodations or services offered by Hosts, or

        ● the accuracy or truthfulness of any listing descriptions, reviews, or other content provided by our users.
 

2. Guest Terms

Searching and Booking on blankbase

blankbase provides a wide range of accommodation choices, and we are committed to showing you the options most relevant to your needs.

Searching

You can search by destination, dates, and number of guests. The initial search results are displayed in our default order, but you can sort them by your preferences, such as price, internet speed, or others. You can also use filters to narrow your search. Results are ranked based on their relevance to your search and other factors, including price, internet speed, guest capacity, availability, reviews, customer support and cancellation history, popularity, past trips and saved listings, and Host requirements like minimum or maximum stay.

Booking

When you book a place on blankbase, you agree to pay the 'Total Price' which covers the cost of the accommodation, our blankbase service fee, any offline charges, taxes, and anything else listed during checkout. Just a heads-up that if there is a really obvious price mistake (like a luxury villa for a few euros), the booking might be cancelled, and we will give you your money back. Prices can change, but once your booking is confirmed, the price is locked in.

If you are paying in a different currency than the Host uses, we will convert the price for you based on our exchange rate.

Once you receive your booking confirmation, a direct agreement between you and the Host takes place. This reservation also comes with the Host's rules, like their cancellation policy, house rules, and any other things they have mentioned in their listing or during checkout. Make sure to read and understand these before you book!

Booking confirmation

Your Booking Confirmation will contain all the important details about your booking, like a description of the accommodation and the price you must pay. We (or the Host) will send your Booking Confirmation and any necessary travel information to the email address you have provided to us. If you do not receive your confirmation within 24 hours of booking, please contact us.

Your booking confirmation is a limited permission to enter and use the accommodation for your stay. Please make sure you do not have more guests than the maximum allowed.

The Host may need to re-enter the property during your stay, but only if:

        ● it is really necessary,

        ● your agreement with them allows it, and

        ● the law allows it.

If you stay past your checkout time, the Host can ask you to leave, as legally permitted, and may charge you for the extra time.

Cancellations and Refunds

If you cancel a reservation, your refund will generally follow the specific cancellation policy associated with that booking. Kindly note that the booking is for accommodation at a specific date. Therefore, you do not have a right to withdraw from the contract under EU consumer protection law (§ 18 (1) Z 10 FAGG). The booking becomes binding once confirmed. Any cancellation policy is a good-will gesture of the host.

If the host cancels, you might be eligible for help finding a new booking or a partial/full refund. The rules can also vary depending on the length of your booked stay.

When you book, you are agreeing to the policies mentioned in the listing. Hosts can cancel your booking if payments or fees are not received on time.

Any refunds will be processed in the original currency and payment method. The time it takes to get your money back depends on your payment method. Be aware that your bank handles currency conversions using their own exchange rate, which might differ from when you paid. Your bank might also deduct its own fees from the refunded amount, which, in such cases, will not be refunded by us.

Your Responsibilities

As a guest, you are responsible for yourself and anyone you invite to the accommodation and its shared areas. This means:

        ● Treat the accommodation and any communal areas with care, leaving them in the same condition as when you arrived.

        ● You are responsible for covering all damage costs.

        ● Act respectfully, with integrity towards others, and adhere to all applicable local laws.

        ● Be considerate of the property, neighbours, and community by avoiding any disruptive behaviour or noise.

If you book on behalf of others:

        ● Make sure you have the full consent of everyone you are booking for before finalizing the reservation.

        ● Ensure they know and agree to our terms and all the house rules.

        ● You will be the primary contact for this booking and you will be responsible for all payments, requests for modifications or cancellations, and generally managing the reservation.

        ● By booking or bringing a minor, you are legally responsible for them and their supervision.
 

3. Host Terms

Hosting on blankbase

As a Host, you can use our platform to share your property with guests and earn money, all within these terms. Listing is easy, and you control your pricing, availability, and rules for each space.

Contract

Once a guest confirms their booking through blankbase, the following applies:

        ● You are entering into a contract directly with the Guest

        ● You are expected to provide the accommodation as described, and at the price specified in your listing.

        ● You are required to pay all blankbase service fees and applicable taxes, which we will automatically deduct from your earnings, unless we have agreed on something else.

If you have other rules or conditions for your guests, please make sure they:

        ● do not conflict with our main terms, legal guidelines, and your listing details.

        ● are clearly stated in your listing description so guests know what to expect.

Listings

Our tools make it simple to create a listing, but please keep in mind that you are responsible for all your acts and omissions when using our platform. It is important that you keep your listing complete and accurate at all times. This includes all pricing details (and any extra charges), your availability calendar, property photos, as well as any rules or requirements for your guests or your property.

It is also your responsibility to have appropriate insurance coverage for your hosting activities. We recommend carefully reviewing your policy details, including what is covered and what is not.

You should only have one listing per accommodation, unless your property offers multiple spaces that you rent out individually to your guests.

Search results

How your listing appears in the search results depends on a few key factors, including but not only:

        ● What the guest is looking for: This includes things like the number of people, where they want to go, their travel dates and length, and their budget.

        ● Your listing details: This covers aspects like your property's location and price, when it is available, the quality and number of your photos, guest reviews, and any amenities you offer (like workspace or internet quality).

        ● What we know about the guest: This can include their past trips, listings they have looked at or saved, and even where they're searching from.

Search results might look different on our mobile app compared to our website, and the map view could also show results in a different order. Also, blankbase might offer ways for hosts to boost their listing's visibility for an extra fee.

Your legal obligations

As a host, it is your responsibility to understand and follow all the laws, rules, regulations, and agreements with other parties that apply to your listing and the services you offer. For example:

        ● Rental agreements and homeowner rules: Some leases or community guidelines might restrict or even prohibit short-term rentals or longer stays.

        ● Local zoning laws: Some cities have specific rules about short-term renting in residential areas.

        ● Permits and licenses: Depending on where you are, you might need to register, get a permit, or obtain a license before offering certain services like short-term rentals, longer stays, preparing food, serving alcohol, giving tours, or driving guests. In some places, these services might not be allowed at all.

        ● Guest registration: Some areas require you to register guests staying at your accommodation.

        ● Tenant rights: Be aware that some countries have tenant rights for guests, especially for longer stays, which could mean additional responsibilities for you as a host regarding things like rent control and evictions.

It is essential to check your local rules to know what applies to your hosting activities. Any information we provide about legal requirements is just for guidance, so please make sure to confirm your obligations independently. You are also responsible for handling any personal information of guests and others according to privacy laws. If you have any questions about local laws, it is always best to seek legal advice.

You are responsible for setting your prices and rules. You must clearly describe any extra fees or charges in your listing description. Also, all mandatory fees and charges that apply to your listing must be included in your total price breakdown.

Cancellations and Reservation Issues

Generally, if a guest cancels their booking, the amount you receive depends on the cancellation policy you have selected for that listing. As a host, you should only cancel a guest's booking if there is a valid reason covered by applicable law. If you cancel without such a valid reason, we may charge a cancellation fee and there could be other consequences.

If certain situations arise, such as:

        ● The guest experiences a significant issue with their booking,

        ● A Major Disruptive Event occurs, or

        ● The booking is canceled under specific sections of these terms,

the amount you are paid will be reduced by any refunds or other compensation we provide to the guest, as well as a blankbase handling fee of 3%.

If a guest receives a refund after you have already been paid, or if the refund and our related costs are more than your payout, we may recover that amount from you, possibly by deducting it from your future earnings.

It is important to know that these Terms take precedence over your cancellation policy if they allow for a cancellation and/or a guest refund. If we anticipate needing to refund a guest under one of these policies, we might hold off on releasing your payout for that booking until a decision on the refund is made.

Taxes

As a Host, you are responsible for all applicable taxes. This means determining, collecting, and remitting (or including in your price) any:

        ● Transaction Taxes (like VAT, GST, sales tax).

        ● Occupancy Taxes (hotel, lodging, tourist, city taxes, etc.).

We will list all applicable taxes on the invoice or booking confirmation.

In some jurisdictions, we may collect and remit these taxes directly for you if required by law or authorized by tax authorities. We can stop this service in any jurisdiction with prior notice.

Your Tax Information & Payouts

Tax rules may require us to collect and report your tax information, or even withhold taxes from your payouts. If you do not provide necessary documentation, we may withhold payouts up to the legal limit. You agree that blankbase can issue tax documentation (like VAT/GST invoices) on your behalf to assist with reporting your Host Services.

Guest Occupancy Tax Refunds

In certain areas, guests only pay Occupancy Taxes if they are below a specific age, or other exceptions apply. If a guest qualifies for an exception, they can claim a refund from the tax authority.

4. General Terms

Your account

You need an account to book or list accommodations. With your account you get access to your profile, settings and dashboard to search, book, manage and list accommodations. Every account can switch between host and guest view with different functionalities. Registration is only permitted for legal entities and natural persons who are 18 years or older.

You must provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration and it is your responsibility to keep your account information up-to-date.

Your account is your personal access to our platform. Please make sure that you do not transfer the access to anyone else, especially your account credentials (i.e. password) must be kept secret. Please notify us immediately if you suspect that someone has access to your account, your credentials have been lost, stolen, or your account is otherwise compromised.

You can delete your account in the settings. Please note that cancelling your account will delete all your information, which cannot be accessed or recreated at a later date. Upon cancellation of your account, all your upcoming bookings will be deleted in accordance with the applicable cancellation rules.

Content

When you share content like text, photos, videos, or feedback on the blankbase platform, you are giving blankbase permission to use that content to operate and promote our services. This includes storing it, displaying it to others, copying and sharing it, modifying it (such as resizing, reformatting or optimizing), creating new content based on it, and promoting blankbase on various on- and offline channels, including social media. This permission is non-exclusive, meaning you can still use your content elsewhere, it is worldwide, royalty-free, and lasts for the duration your content is legally protected.

When you upload a review or picture to our platform, you are confirming that:

        ● the content is genuine: The review reflects your true experience, and photos accurately represent the property.

        ● the content is safe: It does not contain any viruses or harmful software.

        ● you have the rights: You own or have permission to use any intellectual property in it.

       ● it respects privacy: It does not violate the privacy rights of others. Content that is discriminatory, obscene, harassing, deceptive, violent, and illegal material is prohibited.

       ● you are accountable: You accept full responsibility for any legal claims against us related to your content. We are not responsible for any pictures uploaded to our platform.

If your content includes personal information, we will only use it according to our Privacy Policy and applicable data protection laws.

Please be aware that blankbase may use automated tools to translate content, and your content could be translated in this way. Blankbase does not guarantee the accuracy of these translations, and users are responsible for verifying their accuracy.

You understand and agree that blankbase has the right to record, review, monitor, disable access to, remove, or edit text messages, in-app messages, phone call recordings, or other content for several reasons:

       ● To operate, secure, and improve the blankbase platform: This includes preventing fraud, assessing risks, investigating issues, and providing customer support.

       ● To make sure everyone follows these Terms.

       ● To comply with the law or requests from courts, law enforcement, or other official bodies.

       ● To address content that we believe is harmful or inappropriate.

       ● To take actions as outlined in these Terms.

       ● To maintain quality and eligibility standards: This might include removing listings that do not meet our criteria.

We reserve the right to remove any picture at our discretion. If we remove or disable your content, we will try to notify you and explain why, unless doing so would:

       ● Hinder our ability to detect or prevent fraud or illegal activities.

       ● Harm the legitimate interests of other users or third parties.

       ● Go against applicable laws.

Fees

For bookings made via our platform, blankbase may apply a service fee to guests, in addition to any relevant taxes. This fee is usually a percentage of the total rental cost, and the exact amount can vary based on the specific booking details.

We ensure transparency by disclosing all applicable fees to hosts before their listing goes live and to guests before they finalize their reservation.

Please note that, unless otherwise stated on the blankbase Platform, these service fees are generally non-refundable.

Our Community & Platform Rules

At blankbase, we aim to create a safe, respectful, and fair environment for everyone. To do that, we have some important rules. You must follow these rules and never help or encourage others to break them. Breaking these rules can lead to account suspension or other actions.

Act with Integrity & Respect

Be honest and treat everyone well.

       ● Be Truthful: do not lie, misrepresent yourself or others, or pretend to be someone you are not.

       ● Be Respectful: Communicate and interact with others politely and respectfully.

       ● Play Fair: do not try to get around our rules or policies, for example, by creating multiple accounts or listings for the same property.

       ● No Discrimination: Do not harass or discriminate against anyone.

Protect Our Platform

Do not harm our systems or data.

       ● No Automated Tools: Do not use bots, scrapers, or other automated tools to access, collect data, or interact with blankbase.

       ● No Hacking or Tampering: do not try to hack, bypass, or interfere with any security measures or technology used to protect blankbase or its content.

       ● No Reverse Engineering: Do not try to deconstruct or understand the underlying software or hardware that powers blankbase.

       ● No Damage: do not do anything that could damage or negatively affect how blankbase performs or functions.

Use blankbase as Intended

Only use blankbase in ways we have authorized.

       ● Personal Information: Only use another user's personal information if it is strictly necessary to complete a transaction through blankbase, as authorized by these Terms.

       ● No Unwanted Messages: Do not use blankbase or our messaging tools to send commercial messages (like spam or marketing) to users without their clear permission.

       ● Permission for Content: do not use content unless you have permission from the owner or we have explicitly authorized it.

       ● Stay On-Platform for Bookings & Payments: Do not request, make, or accept bookings or payments outside of the blankbase platform. This is to avoid fees, taxes, and ensure your protection.

       ● No Third-Party Requirements: do not require or encourage guests to interact with outside websites, apps, or services (like opening accounts or leaving reviews) before, during, or after a booking, unless blankbase has authorized it.

       ● Fair Search: Do not try to manipulate our search results or algorithm.

       ● Genuine Bookings: Only book host services if you genuinely intend to use them.

       ● Protect Our Brand & Layout: Do not copy, display, mirror, or use blankbase's platform, content, branding, layout, or design without our permission.

Honor Your Legal Obligations

Follow the law and these Terms.

       ● Comply with Laws: Understand and follow all laws that apply to you, including those related to privacy, data protection, and international trade.

       ● Using Others' Data: If you give us someone else's personal information, you must have the legal right to do so, and you authorize us to handle that information according to our Privacy Policy.

       ● Follow Our Policies: Always read and follow our Terms, Additional Legal Terms, Policies, and Standards.

       ● No Unauthorized Parties/Events: Do not organize or facilitate unauthorized parties or events.

       ● No Similar Names: do not use or register any domain names, social media handles, or trademarks that are confusingly similar to blankbase's brand.

Termination and suspension of these terms

This agreement between you and blankbase stays active until we or you end it.

You can end this agreement anytime by emailing us or deleting your account. blankbase can end it too, usually with a 30 days' notice sent to your email or other contact info. However, we might end it immediately without notice if:

       ● You seriously break these Terms, our other legal terms, or policies.

       ● You break any law.

       ● It is necessary to protect the safety or property of blankbase, our users, or others (e.g., in cases of fraud).

       ● Your account has been inactive for over two years.

We can change our services at any time, like adding or removing features, or changing the types of listings we allow. If we make big changes to core features, we will usually give you a 30 days' notice, unless it is to prevent abuse or meet legal requirements.

If you:

       ● Break these Terms, our policies, or standards

       ● Break laws or third-party rights

       ● Provide illegal or inappropriate content

       ● Repeatedly get bad reviews, or we hear complaints about your conduct

       ● Repeatedly cancel confirmed bookings or ignore requests without a good reason

       ● Or if it is necessary to protect blankbase, our users, or others

blankbase may take action, such as:

       ● Suspending your access to blankbase and/or your account.

       ● Hiding or removing your listings, reviews, or other content.

       ● Canceling your pending or confirmed bookings.

blankbase will usually tell you about the problem and give you a chance to fix it, unless doing so would hinder fraud detection, harm others, or break laws. If we take any of these steps, we will explain why, as required by law.

Resolving complaints

At blankbase, we are dedicated to creating the best experience for our hosts and guests. In cases of complete lack of customer service or when hosts fail to fulfill their duties arising from these Terms of Services, blankbase reserves the right (but is not obliged) to step in and resolve disputes between hosts and guests. Blankbase acts on behalf of the host in such cases which means that the legal obligation remains with the host.

Dispute Resolution for Business Users

In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services (the 'P2B Regulation'), blankbase has established an internal complaint-handling system for our business users (Hosts). Any Host may use this system to file a complaint relating to actions by blankbase that may affect them, including issues related to the suspension, restriction, or termination of their account.

To facilitate the out-of-court resolution of disputes with Hosts, blankbase is willing to engage with the following independent mediation service providers:

1. Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC)

a. Website: viac.eu

b. Address: Wiedner Hauptstraße 63, A-1040 Vienna, Austria

2. Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO)

a. Website: wko.at

b. Address: Wiedner Hauptstraße 63, A-1040 Vienna, Austria

This list of mediators may be updated from time to time. The mediation process is a voluntary option for both parties. Should a Host wish to initiate mediation, they may contact either of the named mediators directly. We will engage in good faith in any mediation proceedings to which we agree. Unless otherwise mutually agreed in writing, any costs associated with the mediation will be shared equally between blankbase and the Host.

Applicable law and jurisdiction

These Terms follow Austrian law. If blankbase needs to take any action against you as a consumer, we will only do it in the courts where you live. If you are using blankbase for your business, you agree that any legal issues will be handled by the Commercial Court of Vienna, Austria.