Terms of Use & Guidelines

Scope

These Terms of Use apply to the use of the platform rate-a-place.com, operated by Uwe Otte. The Platform allows users to read room reviews (without registration) and submit reviews (after registration).

Registration

Registration is free of charge. Required: a username, a valid email address, and a password. Users must keep their login credentials confidential.

Submitting Reviews

Reviews must:

• Describe the specific room only (no general hotel reviews)
• Be factual and truthful
• Include at least 4 photos from specified angles
• Show no people in photos
• Be free from offensive, discriminatory or unlawful content

Photos and Copyright

By uploading, users confirm that they took the photos themselves, no persons are recognizable in the photos, and no copyrighted materials are included. Users grant the Operator a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, display, and moderate the photos within the Platform.

Deleting Reviews

Registered users may delete their own reviews at any time. Deleted reviews are permanently and irrecoverably removed.

Moderation Rights

The Operator reserves the right to remove content without notice if it violates these Terms, is unlawful, or damages the Platform's reputation. Repeated violations may result in account suspension or deletion.

Disclaimer

The Operator assumes no liability for the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of user-submitted reviews and photos. Use of the Platform is at your own risk.

Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Scoring system

Each review score is between 1 and 10. To get the overall score you see, we add up all the review scores we've received and divide that total by the number of them. We use a weighted review system, which means the more recent the review, the bigger the impact on the total review score calculation. Guests can also give separate subscores in crucial areas. Note that guests submit their subscores and overall scores independently, so there's no direct link between them.

Eligibility to review

You can review a room if you stayed there. To make sure reviews are relevant, we may only accept reviews that are submitted within 3 months of checking out. We may stop showing reviews once they're 36 months old, or if the accommodation has a change of ownership. To edit a review you've already submitted, contact our Customer Service team.

Fake review detection

We have people and automated systems that specialize in detecting fake reviews submitted to our platform. If we find any, we delete them and, if necessary, take action against whoever is responsible. Anyone who spots something suspicious can always report it to our Customer Service team so that our fraud team can investigate.

Content we won't display

Ideally, we'd publish every review we get, positive and negative. However, we won't display any reviews that include or refer to (among other things):

• Politically sensitive comments
• Promotional content
• Illegal activities
• Personal or sensitive info (e.g. emails, phone numbers, credit card info)
• Swear words, sexual references, hate speech, discriminatory remarks, threats, or references to violence
• Spam and fake content
• Animal cruelty
• Impersonation (i.e. if the writer is claiming to be someone else)
• Any violation of our review guidelines

Review sorting

When you see multiple reviews, the most recent ones will be at the top, subject to a few other factors (e.g. language, whether it's just a rating or contains comments as well, etc.). You can sort and/or filter them by time of year, review score, and more.

Contributions should be room-related

The most helpful contributions are detailed and help others make better decisions. Please don't include personal, political, ethical, or religious commentary. Promotional content will be removed and issues concerning rate-a-place.com's services should be routed to our Customer Service or Accommodation Service teams.

Contributions should be appropriate for a global audience

Please avoid using profanity or attempts to approximate profanity with creative spelling, in any language. Comments and media that include hate speech, discriminatory remarks, threats, sexually explicit remarks, violence, or the promotion of illegal activity are not permitted.

All content should be genuine and unique to the guest

Reviews are most valuable when they are original and unbiased. Your contribution should be yours. rate-a-place.com property partners should not post on behalf of guests or offer incentives in exchange for reviews. Attempts to bring down the rating of a competitor by submitting a negative review will not be tolerated.

Respect the privacy of others

Refrain from including personal data, such as names, telephone numbers, email addresses, and other information about people in your posts.

Respect intellectual property

Make sure that you own or have the right to use any intellectual property that might exist in the content you post, particularly in images.

What is allowed

• Honest, first-hand room reviews based on your own stay
• Factual descriptions of room equipment, condition, and location
• Your own photos of the room, without recognizable people

What is prohibited

• Fake reviews or reviews without a personal stay
• Photos with recognizable people
• Insults, discrimination, or hate speech
• Advertising or sponsored content without disclosure
• Personal data of third parties (e.g., names of hotel staff)
• Content not related to the room itself
• Politically sensitive comments
• Illegal activities
• Spam and fake content
• Animal cruelty
• Impersonation