Terms of Service

Hostella provides a hosted AI-powered guest-operations platform that helps short-term-rental managers and villa operators handle guest communications across messaging channels (including WhatsApp Business, Telegram, SMS, email, and platform inboxes such as Airbnb, Booking.com, Agoda, Vrbo, and Expedia), route operational tasks to staff, and manage day-to-day property operations. The Service includes an artificial-intelligence agent (the "AI Agent") trained on Customer-supplied house rules, brand voice, and prior conversation context.

We may modify, add, or remove features of the Service at any time. Material changes that would adversely affect a paid subscription will be notified by email at least thirty (30) days in advance, and will not take effect until the start of your next billing cycle.

"Account"

your registered Hostella workspace and credentials.

"Authorised User"

an employee, contractor, or other person you authorise to access the Service under your Account.

"Customer Data"

any data, content, files, messages, configuration, or other information you or your Authorised Users submit to the Service, including guest messages and reservation data.

"AI Output"

any text, draft reply, summary, task, classification, or recommendation generated by the AI Agent in response to Customer Data and AI Agent configuration.

"Channel"

a third-party messaging or distribution platform integrated with the Service (e.g. WhatsApp Business API, Airbnb messaging API, Booking.com Connectivity Provider API).

"Subscription Plan"

the tier (Solo, Operator, Group, or any successor tier) you select, along with the associated fees and feature set published at hostellagent.com/pricing.

"Documentation"

the user-facing documentation, help center articles, and trust center we publish from time to time.

3.1 Eligibility. The Service is intended for businesses, not consumers. You must be at least 18 years old and legally capable of entering into binding contracts. You may not use the Service if applicable law prohibits you from doing so, or if you are located in a country subject to a comprehensive embargo by the European Union, United Kingdom, United States, or United Nations.

3.2 Registration. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration and to keep your Account details up to date.

3.3 Security. You are responsible for safeguarding your credentials and for all activity that occurs under your Account. You must notify us immediately of any unauthorised access at security@hostellagent.com. We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with this clause.

3.4 Authorised Users. You may invite Authorised Users to your Account. You are responsible for their compliance with these Terms and for any acts or omissions of your Authorised Users.

4.1 Nature of AI Output. The AI Agent uses large language models and other machine-learning techniques to produce AI Output. AI Output is probabilistic and may contain errors, omissions, or content that is incorrect, incomplete, biased, or unsuitable for a particular purpose.

4.2 Human-in-the-loop. The Service includes configurable escalation triggers (including, by default, refunds, complaints, VIP guests, novel situations, and any input the AI Agent classifies as low-confidence) that draft a response for your review rather than sending automatically. You are responsible for configuring those triggers and for reviewing and approving escalated drafts before they are sent to guests.

4.3 Customer responsibility for AI Output. Because the AI Agent acts on your behalf and in your brand voice, you acknowledge that AI Output sent to guests is treated as your statement and remains your responsibility. You agree to review the AI Agent's configuration, sample replies, and escalation thresholds before going live and on a regular basis thereafter.

4.4 No professional advice. AI Output is for operational convenience only. It is not, and must not be relied on as, legal, regulatory, medical, financial, tax, or other professional advice. You must not configure the AI Agent to provide such advice to guests.

4.5 No training on Customer Data by default. We do not use Customer Data to train shared AI models that benefit other customers. Improvements derived from your corrections and configuration are scoped to your Account only. If we ever offer an opt-in for shared training, it will be disclosed and require your explicit, separate consent.

You agree not to, and not to permit any Authorised User to:

• use the Service to transmit unsolicited messages or any communications that violate applicable anti-spam, telemarketing, or marketing laws (including CAN-SPAM, CASL, GDPR/ePrivacy, and TCPA);
• configure the AI Agent to deceive guests about whether they are interacting with an AI when applicable law requires disclosure;
• use the Service to discriminate, harass, threaten, defame, defraud, or otherwise harm any guest or third party;
• reverse-engineer, decompile, scrape, copy, or attempt to derive the source code, models, or training data of the Service except to the extent that applicable law permits such activity notwithstanding this restriction;
• probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Service, or circumvent any rate-limit, authentication, or access control;
• use the Service in any way that violates the terms of an integrated Channel, including the WhatsApp Business Solution Terms, Meta Commerce Policies, Airbnb Terms of Service, Booking.com Connectivity Provider Terms, or comparable platform rules; or
• use the Service to process special categories of personal data (as defined in GDPR Art. 9) unless you have a lawful basis to do so and have notified us in writing.

We may suspend the Service or remove offending content immediately if we reasonably believe your use breaches this section, with notice as soon as practicable thereafter.

6.1 Ownership. As between you and us, you own and retain all right, title, and interest in and to Customer Data. We claim no ownership over Customer Data.

6.2 Limited licence to operate the Service. You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, transmit, display, process, and create derivative works of Customer Data solely as necessary to provide and improve the Service for you, and to comply with law.

6.3 Controller / processor. Where Customer Data includes personal data subject to the EU or UK General Data Protection Regulation, you act as the data controller and we act as the data processor. Our processing obligations are set out in the Data Processing Addendum, which is incorporated by reference into these Terms.

6.4 Sub-processors and security. Our current sub-processors and security controls are published at hostellagent.com/trust. We notify you of any new sub-processor before relying on them to process Customer Data.

6.5 Guest data minimisation. You agree to collect from guests only the personal data reasonably needed to run your property and to be the lawful data controller of that data, including by providing guests with appropriate notices and a lawful basis under applicable privacy law.

7.1 Passthrough.The Service operates over third-party messaging Channels and platforms that we do not control. Your access to those Channels is governed by the Channel's own terms (e.g. WhatsApp Business Solution Terms, Airbnb Terms of Service). You are responsible for accepting and complying with those terms.

7.2 No warranty. We do not warrant the availability, accuracy, or continuity of any Channel. Channel outages, rate limits, policy changes, or account suspensions imposed by a Channel are not a breach of these Terms by us, and no refund is due for downtime caused by a Channel.

7.3 Optional integrations. If you connect the Service to additional third-party tools (calendars, CRMs, payment processors, model providers), you authorise us to exchange Customer Data with those tools as necessary to provide the integration.

8.1 Fees. Fees are payable in advance in the currency and at the rate set out in your Subscription Plan. All fees are exclusive of any applicable VAT, sales tax, or withholding taxes, which you are responsible for paying in addition.

8.2 Auto-renewal. Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing cycle (monthly or annual, as selected) unless you cancel before the renewal date via your Account settings or by emailing billing@hostellagent.com.

8.3 Free trial. If we offer you a free trial (currently 14 days for new accounts), you may use the Service during the trial without charge. At the end of the trial, if you have provided a payment method, your Subscription Plan begins and you will be charged. If you have not provided a payment method, your Account becomes read-only until you subscribe or your data is deleted in accordance with §17.

8.4 Overages. If your usage exceeds the limits of your Subscription Plan (for example, monthly AI message volume), overage fees apply at the rates published on the pricing page. We will notify you when you approach a limit.

8.5 Late payment. Undisputed invoices unpaid thirty (30) days after the due date may, at our option, be subject to interest at the lower of 1.5% per month or the maximum rate permitted by law, and we may suspend the Service until payment is made.

8.6 No refunds. Except where required by law or expressly stated in these Terms, fees are non-refundable. Cancelling mid-cycle does not entitle you to a pro-rata refund for the unused portion of that cycle.

9.1 Service IP. We retain all right, title, and interest in and to the Service, the AI Agent, the Documentation, our trade marks, and any improvements thereto. No rights are granted to you except as expressly set out in these Terms.

9.2 Feedback. If you give us feedback, suggestions, or ideas about the Service, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, sub-licensable licence to use that feedback without restriction.

9.3 AI Output and you. Subject to your compliance with these Terms, we assign to you all rights we have, if any, in AI Output generated for your Account, so far as is legally possible. You acknowledge that other customers may receive similar AI Output in response to similar inputs and that we cannot guarantee originality or exclusivity of AI Output.

Each party will protect the other's Confidential Information using the same standard of care it uses for its own confidential information of similar importance (and never less than reasonable care). Confidential Information may be used only to exercise rights and perform obligations under these Terms, and may be disclosed only to employees, advisers, and sub-processors bound by equivalent confidentiality obligations. This clause does not apply to information that is publicly known through no breach, was independently developed, or is required to be disclosed by law or court order.

11.1 Limited warranty. We warrant that the Service will perform materially in accordance with the Documentation under normal use. Your exclusive remedy for breach of this warranty is for us to use commercially reasonable efforts to correct the non-conformity, or, if we cannot do so within a reasonable time, to terminate the affected Subscription Plan and refund any pre-paid fees for the period after termination.

11.2 Disclaimer.EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY STATED IN §11.1, THE SERVICE AND ALL AI OUTPUT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE". TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, OR UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION.

12.1 Excluded damages. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NEITHER PARTY WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, BOOKINGS, GOODWILL, DATA, OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

12.2 Aggregate cap.EXCEPT FOR (a) AMOUNTS OWED UNDER §8, (b) A PARTY'S INDEMNIFICATION OBLIGATIONS UNDER §13, OR (c) A BREACH OF §5 (ACCEPTABLE USE) OR §10 (CONFIDENTIALITY), EACH PARTY'S AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL FEES YOU PAID OR OWED TO US IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM.

12.3 Consumer rights. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law (including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or fraudulent misrepresentation).

13.1 By us.We will defend, indemnify, and hold you harmless from any third-party claim that the Service, when used in accordance with these Terms, infringes that third party's registered intellectual-property rights, and pay any final award or settlement we agree to.

13.2 By you.You will defend, indemnify, and hold us harmless from any third-party claim arising from (a) Customer Data, (b) your or your Authorised Users' use of the Service in breach of these Terms or applicable law, (c) AI Output sent to guests under your configuration, or (d) your relationship with any guest or Channel.

13.3 Procedure. The indemnified party will give prompt written notice of the claim, allow the indemnifying party to control the defence and settlement (provided no settlement imposes a non-monetary obligation on the indemnified party without consent), and cooperate reasonably.

14.1 Term. These Terms begin when you accept them and continue until all Subscription Plans on your Account have ended.

14.2 Termination for convenience. You may cancel your Subscription Plan at any time via your Account. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the then-current billing cycle.

14.3 Termination for cause. Either party may terminate these Terms immediately on written notice if the other party materially breaches them and fails to cure within thirty (30) days of notice, or becomes insolvent.

14.4 Suspension. We may suspend access to the Service immediately if (a) we reasonably believe continued access poses a security, legal, or reputational risk, (b) a Channel requires us to do so to comply with its terms, or (c) fees are overdue per §8.5.

14.5 Effect of termination. On termination, your right to access the Service ends. We will make Customer Data available for export for thirty (30) days, after which we will delete it from production systems within ninety (90) days (back-ups within twelve (12) months), except where law requires longer retention. Clauses that by their nature should survive termination will survive.

We may amend these Terms by posting an updated version at this URL and updating the "Effective date" above. If a change materially reduces your rights, we will give at least thirty (30) days' notice by email or in-product banner. Continued use after the change becomes effective constitutes acceptance.

Neither party will be liable for any failure or delay in performance to the extent caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, war, terrorism, riot, embargo, government action, internet or telecoms outages, denial-of-service attacks, or pandemic. The affected party will use reasonable efforts to resume performance.

17.1 Governing law. These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles.

17.2 Jurisdiction. The courts of London, England have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms, except that either party may seek injunctive relief in any competent court to protect its intellectual property or Confidential Information.

17.3 Informal resolution first. Before filing a claim, the parties will attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute within thirty (30) days of written notice describing it.

18.1 Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, the DPA, your Order Form (if any), and any policies referenced herein, constitute the entire agreement between the parties regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements.

18.2 No waiver. Failure to enforce a right is not a waiver of that right.

18.3 Severability. If any provision is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force.

18.4 Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our prior written consent, except to a successor in a merger, acquisition, or sale of substantially all assets. We may assign these Terms without restriction.

18.5 No agency. Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, joint venture, agency, or employment relationship between the parties.

18.6 Notices. Notices to us must be sent to legal@hostellagent.com. Notices to you may be sent to the email address associated with your Account.

18.7 Language. The English-language version of these Terms is the controlling version. Translations are provided for convenience only.

Questions about these Terms? Email legal@hostellagent.com. For everything else, see contact@hostellagent.com.