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APUSENI DIGITAL HUB S.R.L. · CUI 52599906
Version 1.0 — effective from the date of publication on the website
1.1. The Platform operator is APUSENI DIGITAL HUB S.R.L., CUI 52599906, J2025074412001, with its registered office in Dealu Bajului village, Arieșeni commune, 253A Principală Street, Alba County, Romania (the “Operator”).
1.2. The Partner is the authorised individual, sole or family enterprise, or legal entity identified in the approved registration application. The name, tax and registration details, registered office, representative, bank account and contact details in the application form part of the contract and are reproduced in the acceptance confirmation.
1.3. Operator contact: contact@exploreapuseni.ro; telephone 0750 269 246. Routine support is through Platform messaging, email or telephone. The email and registered office are available for contractual notices, formal complaints and legal communications. Notices to the Partner go to the account email, which the Partner keeps current.
1.4. The contract concerns professional use of the Platform. The Partner is a business user under Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 (“P2B”); contractual safeguards apply independently of any small-enterprise statutory exemptions available to the Operator.
2.1. The “Platform” is the mobile-adapted Explore Apuseni web application in Romanian and English. “Property” means an eligible guesthouse, cabin, villa, apartment, room or other accommodation structure; an “Experience” is a tourist activity offered by a Partner at a scheduled date and time. A “Listing” presents a property (entire property or by room) or experience, with photographs, facilities, calendar, map, prices, rules and cancellation policy.
2.2. A “Tourist” requests accommodation or an experience. A “Request” is an accommodation request awaiting manual acceptance. A “Confirmed Booking” has successful acceptance and payment for accommodation, or successful payment and automatic confirmation for experiences, with final confirmation sent to the tourist. “Check-in” means taking possession of accommodation; “Check-out” means handing it back.
2.3. “Preauthorisation” is a temporary hold of the price on the tourist's card; “Capture” is its collection. “Transfer” allocates funds to the Partner's Stripe Connect account; “Payout” moves funds from Stripe to the Partner's bank. A “Durable Medium” preserves a communication unchanged, such as email.
2.4. The Operator provides approved listing publication, search and map presence, messaging after confirmation, Stripe Connect collection, and management of listings, bookings, receipts and promotion. Hosts manually accept or reject accommodation; experiences are automatically confirmed on successful payment. The Platform has no public reviews.
2.5. Attractions, trails and locality pages are Operator-managed informational content without booking. The contract excludes package travel sales. Funding through AFIR, CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027, DR 36 LEADER intervention does not make the funder a contracting party or booking guarantor.
3.1. The accommodation or experience contract is between Partner and tourist. The Operator provides a separate intermediation service: the Platform, promotion, request transmission and facilitation of collection on the Partner's behalf through Stripe Connect.
3.2. The Partner grants a limited mandate to collect booking prices from tourists in the Partner's name and on their behalf; retain agreed commission and processing costs; make refunds owed under the accepted booking policy, Cancellation and Refund Policy and law; and transfer the balance to the Partner's Stripe Connect account. It does not authorise changes to the Partner's price, cancellation policy or service.
3.3. Valid Platform payment discharges the tourist's obligation to the Partner for that amount. The Partner must not demand it again or condition accommodation on an additional undisclosed payment, except local tax under Article 10.3.
3.4. The mandate does not make the Operator a payment service provider or create escrow; collection is through Stripe under the Partner's Stripe agreements. The Operator is not a travel agency and does not organise package travel.
4.1. The Partner must have the legal right to manage and offer the property or experience, contractual capacity and all legally required authorisations, classifications and approvals, including accommodation classification where mandatory. The representative declares authority to bind the Partner validly.
4.2. At registration, the Partner enters identification and tax information (name, CUI/CIF, registration number, registered office, VAT status, representative and IBAN) and, on request, uploads proof of the right to operate and classification and authorisation documents. Requests are proportionate and solely for eligibility verification. Stripe verification is separate from Operator approval.
4.3. The Operator may check public registers and request clarification. The Partner promptly updates identity, representation, authorisations, operating rights and bank details. Expiry of an essential authorisation requires suspension of offers until legality is restored.
4.4. Registration rejection is reasoned and identifies remediable deficiencies. Approval does not certify compliance with every legal obligation or transfer responsibility for operating the property to the Operator.
5.1. These Terms are available before registration and throughout the relationship. The Partner expressly accepts them on registration. The contract is concluded when the Operator emails registration approval (“Your host details have been approved”). Submission does not guarantee approval.
5.2. The contract is indefinite. Listing activation and purchase of Featured are separate operations; contract acceptance entails no payment by the Partner.
5.3. The Guest Terms, Payment Policy, Cancellation and Refund Policy, Privacy Policy, Intellectual Property Policy and Non-discrimination Policy form part of the contract insofar as relevant, in the versions published and communicated to the Partner.
5.4. Mandatory legal rules prevail. Confirmed booking conditions prevail over later changes. A special condition expressly agreed in writing between Operator and Partner prevails for its subject without reducing tourist rights. The contract is concluded in Romanian; English is informational.
6.1. The Partner publishes an accurate, current presentation: location, type, rental mode (entire property or by room), capacity, bedroom and bathroom numbers, their own representative photographs, facilities, access restrictions, prices (nightly, cleaning and additional guest fees), included services, stay rules, check-in and check-out times and cancellation policy. Photographs of other properties or claims of unavailable included facilities are prohibited.
6.2. The property meets legal hygiene, safety, fire prevention, installation, capacity and classification requirements. Accessibility information describes actual conditions.
6.3. The Operator approves before publication and may request correction of incomplete, unlawful or misleading information. It does not unilaterally change essential characteristics, price or rules; obvious spelling or formatting errors may be corrected with notice. The Partner checks English translation before publication; each party is responsible for its own errors.
6.4. The Partner immediately updates information affecting safety or legality and, before new requests, any relevant offer change. Changes affecting confirmed bookings are communicated to Operator and tourists with lawful remedies proposed.
6.5. Contact details (telephone, email, website or social networks) must not be inserted into photographs, descriptions or other listing fields. Mandatory pre-contractual Partner identity information is communicated by the Platform in booking confirmation.
7.1. The Partner maintains an accurate calendar, including bookings from other channels, and does not offer periods it cannot honour. There is no automatic calendar synchronisation; its absence does not justify overbooking.
7.2. For accommodation, the tourist submits a request and the amount is preauthorised. The Partner accepts or rejects through their account within the displayed deadline: at most 24 hours after authorisation, bounded by arrival time and card authorisation validity. Rejection requires a reason and cannot be discriminatory or unlawful. Experiences are confirmed automatically on successful payment without this manual acceptance.
7.3. Accommodation acceptance triggers capture; experience payment triggers automatic confirmation. Final confirmation is sent only after successful payment. The Partner checks account status and does not treat a request notification as confirmed payment. Payment failure does not authorise off-Platform collection.
7.4. Rejection or deadline expiry cancels preauthorisation without commission. Expired requests cannot be accepted retroactively; the tourist must submit a new request.
8.1. The Partner honours confirmed accommodation or experiences at the accepted price and conditions, arranges in-person check-in, confirms it in their account and responds within a reasonable time. No hidden mandatory arrival fees or substitute property without agreement may be imposed.
8.2. The Partner follows tourist-record and data protection law, requests only necessary documents, does not retain identity documents and does not use tourist data for advertising.
8.3. Access, safety and significant offer discrepancies are addressed promptly. The Partner cooperates in investigation, rectification and repayment. Informing the Operator does not discharge obligations to the tourist.
8.4. Changes to confirmed dates, capacity, price or services require tourist agreement through messaging and recording in the booking. Changes must not avoid cancellation policy or commission.
8.5. The Partner complies with the Non-discrimination Policy. Rejection, cancellation or different conditions based on legally prohibited grounds is a serious breach.
9.1. The Partner owes 10% commission on each confirmed booking. It is borne by the Partner and not added as a separate tourist fee.
9.2. For accommodation, the 10% commission base is retained accommodation value: nights, nightly supplements and additional guest fees after discounts, excluding cleaning. For experiences, the base is retained experience value. Local tax collected at the property is excluded.
9.3. The 10% is the Partner's total commission cost and includes VAT insofar as owed by the Operator. The invoice itemises components under the law.
9.4. Example: RON 440 accommodation and RON 80 cleaning, cancelled with 50% of accommodation retained, leaves RON 220 retained accommodation and RON 22 commission. Cleaning does not generate commission.
9.5. Commission becomes due on confirmation and is retained from collection, separately shown in the account. On cancellation it is recalculated on the amount actually retained; a full tourist refund means zero commission.
9.6. Stripe processing costs for collection, refund and transfer are borne by the Partner and deducted from their net amount or next payment if already transferred. They remain payable for cancellations under the Partner's chosen policy, including full tourist refunds. The Operator bears them only for recognised force majeure under the Cancellation and Refund Policy. Per-booking processing costs appear in the account.
10.1. Through SmartBill, the Operator issues intermediation commission invoices (EXC series) per confirmed booking or monthly as applicable, identifying bookings, and Featured invoices (EXP series). Invoices are available in the account and transmitted through RO e-Factura where mandatory. Retaining commission pays the invoice; it is not paid twice. Cancellation adjustments appear in reversal or correction invoices.
10.2. The Partner, as provider, issues the tourist's accommodation or experience fiscal document (invoice or fiscal receipt) using tourist billing information visible in the account. The Partner is responsible for lawful issue, transmission and correction.
10.3. The special local-council tourism promotion tax is excluded from online payment. The Partner collects it at the property, declares and remits it under the applicable local decision, and states the rate in the listing. No other undisclosed mandatory amounts may be collected at the property.
10.4. The Partner supplies and updates tax information, including VAT status, and checks received documents. Errors are promptly notified and lawfully corrected. Each party bears its own tax obligations; the Operator makes applicable platform-operator reports, including DAC7, using Partner-supplied data.
11.1. The Partner creates a Stripe Connect Express account through the host account, completes Stripe identity and activity checks and supplies an eligible bank account. Stripe presents its terms at creation. The Operator cannot guarantee approval or access documents submitted directly to Stripe. Paid bookings are unavailable before Connect setup is complete.
11.2. Tourist payment is collected on confirmation and allocated between commission, processing costs and Partner amount. For accommodation, transfer to the Partner’s Stripe account is initiated within 2 working days of the booking’s check-out date and time, without a check-in confirmation; bank payout follows Stripe’s Romanian schedule displayed in the account.
11.3. Release of the accommodation amount is scheduled using the booking’s check-out date and time. The Partner does not need to confirm the tourist’s arrival or check-in on the Platform for payment to be released.
11.4. The Operator may proportionately postpone an amount affected by justified fraud suspicion, serious non-performance complaint, bank dispute, mandatory check or legal order. Within legal limits it informs the Partner of reason, amount and review conditions and reassesses without undue delay. Unrelated revenue is not blocked.
11.5. If payout fails, the parties check information and follow Stripe's procedure; payment resumes after correction without duplication. Full tourist card details or security codes are never requested.
11.6. The account distinguishes collected price, commission, processing costs, refunds, adjustments and transferred or pending amounts. Discrepancies may be challenged under Article 23.
12.1. The Operator makes refunds owed under the Cancellation and Refund Policy and accepted booking policy. This contract authorises them, but not discretionary discounts at the Partner's expense. More favourable refunds require the Partner's request.
12.2. The Operator communicates the basis and calculation of each refund. Article 23 challenges do not suspend a tourist's refund.
12.3. If refunded funds were already transferred, the Partner owes that amount to the Operator. It is offset against future payments; if none are available within 30 days, the Partner pays within 15 days of invoice or notice. Offsetting is shown in the account.
12.4. For chargebacks, the Operator communicates available information and deadlines; the Partner supplies accommodation evidence. Losses attributable to the Partner, including non-performance, proven non-conformity or missing requested evidence, and associated costs are borne by the Partner and offset under Article 12.3. Losses attributable to Operator or Platform are borne by the Operator. Otherwise the Partner bears loss, except where card fraud could not have been prevented by them and the Operator omitted a prevention measure for which it was responsible.
13.1. The Partner chooses Flexible (free cancellation at least 5 days before arrival), Moderate (14 days) or Strict (30 days). After the deadline and before check-in, accommodation refunds are 50% for Flexible and Moderate and 0% for Strict. Cleaning is refunded under the Cancellation Policy, including no-shows for bookings carrying that rule. Changes apply only to future bookings.
13.2. If the Partner cancels or cannot provide confirmed accommodation, they immediately inform Operator and tourist. The tourist receives a full refund; commission is zero and processing costs remain with the Partner.
13.3. Repeated or unjustified cancellations, overbooking and refusal to honour confirmed bookings breach the contract and may trigger Articles 20 and 21. The Partner is liable to the tourist for legally attributable cancellation damage.
13.4. Force majeure is assessed under Civil Code Article 1351. The Operator recognises it using public evidence described in the Cancellation and Refund Policy, including orange/red ANM warnings, road closures and authority measures. The tourist receives a full refund or rescheduling with Partner agreement, and the Operator bears processing costs.
14.1. The Platform charges no damage deposit and does not hold the tourist's card after the stay. The Partner must not demand an undisclosed cash or card deposit on arrival.
14.2. The Partner may inspect after check-out and submit a damage claim offline through support at contact@exploreapuseni.ro within 48 hours of check-out, with evidence of initial condition, damage, connection to the stay and justified value. The tourist receives it through support and may respond within 5 calendar days. The Platform does not provide an account-based flow for submitting or managing damage claims.
14.3. The Operator facilitates communication and may suggest an amicable solution; it does not bindingly determine damage or value and does not charge the tourist's card. Undisputed compensation or compensation ordered by a competent authority is recovered directly between Partner and tourist. The Operator does not guarantee recovery or provide insurance.
15.1. Featured is an optional monthly subscription giving Partner listings priority in search results and recommendations, visibly marked “Promoted”. It is not certification, does not replace eligibility and guarantees no bookings, revenue, exclusivity or permanent position.
15.2. Price (currently RON 150 monthly, including VAT if due), period, activation and termination appear before payment. Payment is through Stripe Checkout and renews automatically monthly by charging the registered card until account cancellation. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the paid period; that period is non-refundable except under Article 15.3.
15.3. If promotion is not provided for reasons attributable to the Operator, the Partner may request rectification or a proportionate refund for the unprovided part. Suspension for Partner-attributable breaches gives no refund right.
15.4. Featured does not bypass availability or eligibility filters or confer moderation immunity. Price or condition changes follow Article 22 and do not affect paid periods.
16.1. Results reflect locality, dates, guest numbers, property type, facilities and price range; only approved, available, matching listings appear. Order is (a) active Featured listings marked “Promoted”; (b) others by chosen ascending/descending price or, by default, relevance and publication date. Reviews do not exist or influence ranking. The Operator also publishes these parameters on the tourist results page.
16.2. The Operator operates no properties on the Platform and grants no undeclared preferential treatment. Before listing its own or affiliated properties, it will describe treatment differences and reasons here.
16.3. Listings are distributed only through Explore Apuseni and the Operator's own promotional channels, such as social networks and Platform presentation materials. Offers are not distributed through other marketplaces or affiliate programmes without advance notice under Article 22.
16.4. There is no exclusivity or price parity requirement: the Partner may sell through any other channels.
17.1. The Partner must not request or induce off-Platform completion of a booking initiated here to avoid commission, such as rejecting then collecting directly for the same dates, or sending external payment links in messaging.
17.2. This protects intermediation remuneration and tourist conditions. It does not prohibit independent sales elsewhere or extend to the same person's future stays unrelated to the intermediated request.
17.3. Legally required information, arrival coordination and emergency handling do not breach this clause. The Operator must substantiate the link between the Platform request and alleged diverted transaction.
17.4. For proven breach, the Partner owes 10% of the diverted booking as agreed compensation, without excluding Articles 20 and 21 or compensation for proven greater loss.
18.1. Partners retain rights in their photographs, descriptions, names and other content. They warrant necessary rights or permissions, including from photographers and identifiable people.
18.2. The Partner grants a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence for hosting, reproduction, display, translation, technical adaptation (resizing, compression) and public communication on the Platform and its own social, newsletter and presentation channels during listing and as necessary for bookings and legal obligations. It excludes photograph resale or unrelated uses.
18.3. Public display stops on termination; copies remain only for existing bookings, evidence, legal obligations and backups under the Privacy Policy.
18.4. Infringement notices follow the Intellectual Property Policy. Explore Apuseni's brand and own content remain the Operator's; Partners may accurately mention cooperation without implying non-existent certification or representation. Logo use in their own materials requires consent.
19.1. The Partner accesses their registration data, listings, calendar, bookings, messages and receipts through their account. Tourist access is limited to request, stay, billing and incident needs (name, telephone, email, billing details, guest numbers and messages), excluding card data.
19.2. The Operator accesses registration data, listing content, request and booking data, payment records and communications necessary for support or incident checks, without an unlimited right to monitor conversations.
19.3. Partners cannot access other Partners' or their tourists' data. The Operator does not sell or disclose Partner data to third parties for those parties' commercial purposes.
19.4. Payment data go to Stripe; invoicing data to SmartBill; hosting and communications suppliers receive only what their services require, under the Privacy Policy.
19.5. After termination, the Partner may request a copy of still-retained information at contact@exploreapuseni.ro in a usual format, supplied within a reasonable period of at most 30 days. Retention is limited to tax obligations, evidence and existing bookings.
19.6. Both parties protect non-public commercial information, special terms and tourist data during the contract and for 3 years after termination. Communications to authorities, courts, confidential advisers or for rights defence are not prohibited. Partner and Operator are independent controllers for their respective tourist-data processing.
20.1. The Operator may wholly or partly restrict or suspend services for lost eligibility; false documents; unlawful or misleading listings; serious tourist safety risk; fraud; content rights infringement; discrimination or harassment; repeated attributable overbooking or cancellations; proven circumvention; security breaches; non-payment of an undisputed due debt after a request to remedy; legal orders; or mandatory processor restrictions.
20.2. Proportionate measures include requests to remedy, material removal, listing restriction, stopping new requests or account suspension. Where possible without maintaining risk, reasonable time to remedy is given.
20.3. Reasons are emailed before or at application, identifying facts, breached clause, scope, duration or review conditions and challenge route. In urgency, immediate action with reasons at application is permitted. Where law bars some disclosure, remaining information is communicated.
20.4. Article 23 complaints may be made without retaliation simply for complaining. Revoked measures lead to prompt restoration of access and data. Suspension does not confiscate balances; confirmed bookings are performed or closed while protecting tourists.
21.1. The Partner may terminate at any time by email on 15 calendar days' notice and request immediate cessation of new offers. Confirmed bookings are performed or closed under the Cancellation and Refund Policy and settlements completed.
21.2. The Operator may terminate (a) on reasoned 30-day email notice for repeated Article 20 breaches, legal inability to continue or cessation of service; or (b) automatically without notice by reasoned email in cases permitted by P2B Article 4(4): a legal obligation preventing notice, an overriding reason under national law, or repeated demonstrable breaches, such as proven fraud, false documents, discrimination or endangering tourist safety. This paragraph constitutes an express termination clause under Civil Code Article 1553.
21.3. Even under Article 21.2(b), reasons are sent promptly and Article 23 review is available. Temporary suspension must not circumvent notice for permanent termination.
21.4. Termination stops new bookings and promotion, completes settlement and adjusts paid but unprovided services. No penalty is charged solely for termination. Existing booking, tax, confidentiality, data and dispute obligations survive as necessary. The Operator does not withhold invoices to pressure payment of a disputed debt.
22.1. Proposed changes are emailed with the new text, nature and effective date on at least 15 calendar days' notice; longer is given where technical or commercial adaptation is needed.
22.2. The Partner may terminate before notice expires without penalty, settling existing obligations. Acceptance is a clear affirmative action, such as account confirmation, or continued publication after the effective date; mere login or administration of existing bookings is not acceptance.
22.3. Notice does not apply to legally imposed changes preventing that period or measures against unforeseen fraud, malware, spam, data breaches or other security risks under P2B; the Operator explains why.
22.4. Changes are not retroactive except where legally required or favourable to the Partner. Confirmed bookings and paid Featured periods remain unaffected.
23.1. The Operator provides a free internal procedure for Partner complaints about P2B compliance, technical problems, payments and settlements, data access, ranking, promotion, restrictions, suspension, termination or other service-related Operator conduct.
23.2. Complaints go to contact@exploreapuseni.ro or messaging, identifying the account, situation, challenged decision, grounds and evidence. Receipt is acknowledged within 2 working days and a reasoned individual response sent within 15 working days of receipt. If further checks are needed, before expiry the Operator explains what is missing and gives an estimated date. Safety or funds emergencies are prioritised.
23.3. A competent person assesses complaints in good faith, proportionately and equally for equivalent situations, avoiding conflicts. Evidence may be provided; assessment is not conditional on withdrawing criticism or buying Featured.
23.4. Responses identify checks, conclusions and remedies or rejection reasons. New information may support review. Complaints do not automatically suspend measures, but necessity is reassessed.
23.5. Mediation, authorities and courts remain available. The Operator publishes annual aggregate complaint numbers and types, average duration and outcomes without identifiable data.
24.1. The Partner is responsible for lawful operation, offer, accommodation or experience and its tax duties; the Operator for intermediation and its operations, including Platform functioning, booking transmission, collections, refunds and commission invoicing.
24.2. Operator liability to the Partner for contractual non-performance is limited per contractual year to commissions received from that Partner in the preceding 12 months. This excludes intent, gross negligence, harm to life or health and other legally prohibited limitations. Neither party is liable for lost profit except in intent or gross negligence.
24.3. The Partner indemnifies the Operator for third-party claims, including tourists, authorities and rights holders, caused by Partner breaches concerning property, offer, content or service. The affected party informs the other and allows reasonable defence and cooperation; neither settles in the other's name imposing obligations without agreement.
24.4. Platform interruption or provider error, including Stripe or hosting, does not automatically exempt the Operator for attributable conduct. Both cooperate to limit loss.
24.5. Romanian law and applicable European rules govern. Disputes are resolved amicably through Article 23 or mediation if a mediator is agreed for the specific dispute; mediation is neither mandatory nor arbitration. Otherwise courts at the Operator's registered office have jurisdiction except where law provides exclusive jurisdiction elsewhere.
24.6. ANPC and consumer SAL procedures do not apply to Operator–Partner commercial disputes. An ineffective clause does not affect the rest; the parties replace it with a valid clause of equivalent economic effect.