Общи условия

1. About us (the operator)

1.1. The website greenshortstay.com (the "Website") and the Green Short Stay review service (the "Service") are operated by Travel Services Ltd. (in Bulgarian: Травъл Сървисис ЕООД), a single-member limited liability company registered in the Commercial Register and Register of Non-Profit Legal Entities of the Republic of Bulgaria ("Travel Services", "we", "us", "our").

1.2. The Service helps owners and operators of short-term rental accommodation understand and improve selected environmental practices at their property, through a free online self-assessment and a paid, document-based review carried out by our team.

1.3. Contact details: e-mail info@greenshortstay.com

1.4. Our activity is not subject to a licensing or authorisation regime. The authority supervising consumer protection in Bulgaria is the Commission for Consumer Protection (Комисия за защита на потребителите, www.kzp.bg). The supervisory authority for personal data is the Commission for Personal Data Protection (Комисия за защита на личните данни, www.cpdp.bg).

1.5. These Terms are provided in accordance with the Bulgarian Electronic Commerce Act and the Consumer Protection Act. You can save and print them at any time using your browser's save or print function. We will also send you a copy on a durable medium (e-mail/PDF) when you order a Paid Review.

2. Definitions

In these Terms:

"Host" / "you" means a natural or legal person who offers short-term accommodation (an apartment, studio, villa, house, room or similar unit) and uses the Service.

"Consumer Host" means a Host who is a natural person acting for purposes outside their trade, business, craft or profession. "Business Host" means any other Host, including companies, sole traders and natural persons renting out accommodation as a business activity.

"Property" means the accommodation unit(s) identified by the Host when ordering a Paid Review.

"Self-Assessment" means the online questionnaire the Host completes about the Property's practices. Its output is indicative only.

"Paid Review" means the electronic review, carried out against payment of the fee, in which our reviewers assess the Host's answers together with the photographs and documents (the "Evidence") the Host uploads.

"Review Categories" means the six areas assessed: (a) energy; (b) water; (c) waste; (d) materials and supplies; (e) guest experience; and (f) operations. The exact items assessed depend on the property type.

"Review Report" means the web-based report we provide to the Host after a Paid Review, accessible through a unique link (the "Report Link"). It states the date of issue and the expiry date, and contains the Recommendations.

"Recommendations" means the practical improvement suggestions contained in a Self-Assessment output or Review Report.

"Green Short Stay Marks" means the name "Green Short Stay", the Green Short Stay logo, and any associated device, icon, colour scheme or graphic, whether registered or not.

"Platforms" means third-party booking and listing platforms such as Booking.com, Airbnb, Vrbo and similar.

"Guest-Facing Communication" means any message to actual or potential guests or the public, in any medium. This includes platform listings, websites, social media, e-mails, messaging apps, printed materials, signage, plaques, stickers, welcome books, advertisements and audio-visual content.

3. Nature of the Service – a review, not a certification

3.1. The Service is a private, document-based review and advisory service. It helps Hosts understand and improve selected environmental practices at their Property.

3.2. The Service is NOT:

(a) a certification scheme, as defined in the Bulgarian Consumer Protection Act and Directive 2005/29/EC as amended by Directive (EU) 2024/825;

(b) an accreditation, conformity assessment, audit, inspection or energy performance certification;

(c) an eco-label, sustainability label, trust mark or quality mark;

(d) a scheme established by, approved by or affiliated with any public authority, including the EU Ecolabel, any national ecolabel or the Bulgarian authorities.

3.3. Travel Services develops the review criteria and also carries out the reviews. No independent third party monitors the reviews. A Review Report therefore does not entitle the Host to display any sustainability label or to claim that the Property is "certified".

3.4. Paid Reviews are carried out remotely on the basis of the information and Evidence the Host supplies. We do not visit the Property. We do not measure energy use, emissions or other environmental performance, and we do not verify the accuracy of Evidence beyond a reasonable plausibility check.

3.5. A Review Report reflects only the Review Categories, at the time of the review, and only to the extent of the information provided. It does not state or imply that the Property, the Host's business or travel to the Property has a positive, neutral or reduced impact on the environment. It is not a comparison with other properties and does not rank or grade the Property.

3.6. Hosts who want a recognised certification or eco-label for use in marketing should consider schemes that meet the legal requirements. Examples include the EU Ecolabel for tourist accommodation, officially recognised EN ISO 14024 Type I ecolabels, or third-party certification schemes. Our Recommendations may help Hosts prepare for such schemes, but we do not guarantee that any scheme will accept them.

3.7. Our criteria and methodology are summarised at greenshortstay.com/how-it-works. We may update them as described in Section 14.

4. Eligibility and Host responsibilities

4.1. To use the Service you must:

(a) be at least 18 years old and have full legal capacity;

(b) be the owner, lawful operator or authorised manager of the Property;

(c) where you act for a company or another person, be authorised to bind them.

4.2. You must provide accurate, complete and up-to-date information, and tell us without delay if your contact details or the information about the Property changes.

4.3. Authentic Evidence. All photographs and documents you upload must be genuine and must show the Property described. They must be recent (taken or issued no more than 12 months before submission, unless we state otherwise) and must not be edited in a way that misrepresents reality. You may not upload photographs of other properties, stock images, documents that are not yours, or altered invoices, certificates or records.

4.4. You confirm that you have the rights and any necessary consents to upload the Evidence. In particular, Evidence must not show identifiable guests or other people without a lawful basis. Please blur or remove personal data that is not needed.

4.5. You are solely responsible for:

(a) your compliance with laws applying to your accommodation business (registration, categorisation, tax, tourist tax, safety and similar);

(b) the terms of the Platforms you use;

(c) all statements you make to guests or the public about your Property, including environmental claims. Section 9 applies to these statements.

4.6. The Service does not require you to create an account. Access to your order, submission and Review Report is provided through the reference code and links we send to the e-mail address you give us. You must keep these confidential and notify us without delay of any unauthorised use.

4.7. You must not use the Service:

(a) for any unlawful, fraudulent or misleading purpose;

(b) to obtain a Review Report for a property you do not operate;

(c) to interfere with the Website's security or operation;

(d) to scrape, copy or reverse-engineer our questionnaires, criteria or scoring.

5. Self-Assessment and Paid Review process

5.1. Self-Assessment. You may complete the Self-Assessment free of charge. Its output is generated automatically. It is indicative only, does not constitute a Review Report, and may not be communicated to guests or the public in any form.

5.2. Ordering a Paid Review. After the Self-Assessment you may request a Paid Review. The ordering steps are:

(a) select the Property type and enter the Property details and your contact details;

(b) review the price and these Terms;

(c) for Consumer Hosts, give the express consent described in Section 8.5;

(d) confirm the order by clicking the button labelled "Order with obligation to pay".

Before you confirm, you can correct input errors on the order summary screen. The contract is concluded when we send you an order confirmation on a durable medium. No online payment is taken on the Website; we issue an invoice by e-mail as described in Section 8.2.

5.3. Submission. You submit your answers and Evidence through the submission link we send you within 30 days of payment. We may ask for clarification or additional Evidence. If you do not respond within 14 days of our request, we will issue the Review Report based on the information available or close the review in accordance with Section 8.

5.4. Review period. We aim to complete the Paid Review within 10 business days of receiving a complete submission. This timeframe is a target, not a guarantee.

5.5. Delivery of the Review Report. We will make the Review Report available as a web page at a unique Report Link and notify you by e-mail. The Report Link is personal to you and the Property reviewed (see Section 6.4).

5.6. Request for reconsideration. If you believe we have made a factual error, you may request reconsideration within 14 days of delivery of the Review Report, with reasons and any additional Evidence. We will respond within 14 days. Reconsideration is free of charge once per Paid Review.

5.7. Review languages. The Service is provided in English and Bulgarian. Evidence in other languages may need a translation.

6. The Review Report and Recommendations

6.1. The Review Report is a web-based report that describes, by Review Category, the practices we were able to see in the information and Evidence you supplied, and sets out practical Recommendations for improvement. It is accessed through the unique Report Link and is displayed at an address of the form greenshortstay.com/GSS-XXXXXX, where GSS-XXXXXX is the reference code of your review.

6.2. The Review Report is an informational document for the Host. It does not award a grade, score, level, stars, badge or label, and it is not comparable to any certification, eco-label or energy class.

6.3. Recommendations are general, non-binding suggestions. They are not engineering, energy-audit, legal, tax or financial advice. Before carrying out works or investments, you should obtain qualified professional advice and any required permits. You decide whether to implement any Recommendation, and we are not responsible for the costs or results.

6.4. The Review Report and the Report Link are personal to the Host and the Property reviewed. They cannot be transferred to another property, another operator or a new owner without a new Paid Review. Anyone who holds the Report Link can open the report, so you should share it only as permitted by Sections 9.4 and 9.7.

7. Validity, re-review, suspension and withdrawal of the Review Report

7.1. Validity. A Review Report is valid for two (2) years from the date of issue shown on it, unless it is suspended, withdrawn or ended earlier under these Terms. After expiry, the Review Report carries a notice that it has expired, and you may not link to or refer to it. You may request a new Paid Review at any time.

7.2. Material changes. You must tell us within 30 days of any change that may affect the Review Report. Examples include renovation, replacement of heating or cooling systems, a change in amenities or laundry policy, a change of operator, or sale of the Property. We may then ask for updated Evidence or a re-review.

7.3. Spot checks. During the validity period we may ask you to provide up-to-date photographs or documents to confirm that the information remains accurate. You must respond within 14 days.

7.4. Suspension. We may suspend a Review Report, on written notice with reasons, if:

(a) you fail to respond to a request under Sections 7.2 or 7.3;

(b) we receive credible information (including from guests) that the information or Evidence may be inaccurate;

(c) we reasonably suspect a breach of Section 9.

During suspension we may disable the Report Link or mark the report as suspended, and it may not be relied on for any purpose. If the issue is resolved, we will reinstate the Review Report for its remaining validity.

7.5. Withdrawal. We may withdraw a Review Report with immediate effect, by written notice with reasons, if:

(a) any information or Evidence was false, misleading, altered or not genuine;

(b) the Property no longer matches the information on which the report is based;

(c) you refuse to cooperate with a check;

(d) you materially or repeatedly breach these Terms, in particular Section 9;

(e) the Property is no longer operated by you.

7.6. Consequences. On suspension, withdrawal or expiry you must, within 5 business days, remove every link to or reference to the Review Report or the Report Link from your Guest-Facing Communication, and stop sharing the Report Link other than as permitted by Section 9.7. We may record the status of the Review Report against your reference code.

7.7. Hearing. Except where urgent action is needed to prevent consumers being misled, we will give you an opportunity to comment before withdrawal. You may contest a suspension or withdrawal through the reconsideration procedure in Section 5.6.

8. Fees, payment, refunds and cancellation

8.1. Prices. The current fee for a Paid Review is shown on greenshortstay.com/pricing and on the order screen before you confirm your order. Prices are in euro (EUR) and include VAT where VAT applies. Where VAT applies, the VAT amount is shown separately on the invoice. Any discounts for multiple Properties are shown before you order.

8.2. Payment. We do not take payment on the Website. When you order a Paid Review, we issue an invoice electronically to the e-mail address you provide, and the fee is payable in full by bank transfer within the period stated on the invoice.

8.3. What the fee covers. The fee covers one Paid Review of the Property or Properties ordered, the Review Report with Recommendations and one reconsideration under Section 5.6. Re-reviews requested by you or required under Section 7.2 may be subject to a separate fee shown before ordering.

8.4. Right of withdrawal – Consumer Hosts. If you are a Consumer Host, you may withdraw from the contract for a Paid Review within 14 days of the date the contract is concluded, without giving any reason. You can exercise this right by sending an unequivocal statement to info@greenshortstay.com, for example using the model withdrawal form in Annex 1. We will confirm receipt on a durable medium without undue delay.

8.5. Early start and loss of the withdrawal right. If you want us to start the Paid Review during the 14-day period, you must expressly request this when ordering. You must also acknowledge that you will lose your right of withdrawal once the Paid Review has been fully performed, meaning when the Review Report has been delivered. If you withdraw after requesting an early start but before full performance, you must pay an amount proportionate to the work performed up to the time you inform us of the withdrawal. We will refund the remainder.

8.6. Refunds on withdrawal are made without undue delay and no later than 14 days after we receive your withdrawal notice. They are made using the same payment method you used, unless you expressly agree otherwise, and at no cost to you.

8.7. Cancellation by Hosts (other cases).

(a) If you cancel before submitting any Evidence, we refund the fee minus an administrative charge of EUR 20, unless Section 8.4 applies.

(b) After the Review Report is delivered, the fee is not refundable, except where we have failed to provide the Service in accordance with these Terms.

(c) If you do not submit Evidence within 90 days of payment despite a reminder, the order lapses and 50% of the fee is refunded.

8.8. Cancellation by us. If we cannot perform the Paid Review for reasons within our control, we refund the fee in full. If we terminate the contract or withdraw a Review Report because of your breach under Section 7.5(a), (c) or (d), or Section 9.9, no refund is due for the work already performed. This does not affect any mandatory rights you have as a consumer.

8.9. Legal guarantee and complaints. Your statutory rights regarding non-conforming digital services remain unaffected. Complaints about the Service may be sent to info@greenshortstay.com. We will respond within 14 days and in any case within the time required by law.

9. Logo, trademarks and permitted communication

9.1. The logo is not a certification badge. The Green Short Stay logo and other Green Short Stay Marks identify Travel Services and its Service. They are not and do not represent a certification badge, certification mark, eco-label, sustainability label, trust mark or quality mark. They do not indicate that any property, host or stay has been certified or has any particular environmental performance.

9.2. No use by Hosts. Hosts are not permitted to use the Green Short Stay logo or any other Green Short Stay Mark in any way. This applies whether the Mark is in its original form, modified (for example recoloured, cropped, animated or translated) or imitated (any confusingly similar logo, leaf, badge, seal, level icon or name). The prohibition covers, in particular:

(a) listings and profiles on Booking.com, Airbnb or any other Platform, including photos, captions and descriptions;

(b) your own website, booking engine, e-mail signatures and guest messages;

(c) social media posts, profiles, stories, videos and advertisements;

(d) printed or digital marketing materials, brochures, price lists and welcome books;

(e) plaques, stickers, signage, door hangers, certificates or anything displayed at the Property;

(f) domain names, business names, hashtags or account names.

9.3. Written authorisation. The only exception is use that Travel Services Ltd. has expressly authorised in advance and in writing, signed by an authorised representative. Such authorisation will specify the exact use, medium and duration. It may be revoked at any time and will never extend to use as a badge, seal or label in Guest-Facing Communication. The Report Link, a Review Report or an e-mail from us is not an authorisation to use the logo.

9.4. Referring to the Review Report. You may link to your Review Report in your Guest-Facing Communication, including on Platform listings where the Platform allows it, only by using the Report Link as issued, without changes to its content. You must present it as a factual review report and not as a certification, label, badge, award or approval, and you must not create or use any badge, seal, rating, score or symbol based on it. You must not use the Review Report to support generic environmental claims of the kind listed in Section 9.5. You must stop linking to it when it expires, is suspended or withdrawn, or no longer matches your Property.

9.5. Prohibited claims. You must not state or imply, in connection with the Service, that your Property or business is any of the following:

(a) "certified", "accredited", "officially recognised", "eco-labelled" or "verified";

(b) "eco-friendly", "environmentally friendly", "green", "ecological", "sustainable", "climate-friendly", "climate-neutral", "carbon-neutral", "energy efficient" or similar;

(c) better for the environment than other accommodation.

You may make a generic claim of this kind only if you can demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance, such as an EU Ecolabel award, and the claim is then based on that award rather than on our Service.

9.6. What you may say. You remain free to tell guests about specific, accurate and verifiable measures you have actually implemented at your Property. The claim and its specification must appear in clear and prominent terms in the same place, and you must be able to prove it if asked by a guest or authority. Examples:

"All lighting in the apartment uses LED bulbs."

"We provide refillable soap and shampoo dispensers instead of single-use bottles."

"Bed linen is changed every 3 nights or on request, to reduce water and energy use for laundry."

"The nearest bus stop is 300 m away; timetables are in the welcome book."

These statements are your own claims and your sole responsibility. They must not be presented as a result of, or endorsed by, Green Short Stay. You must update or remove them if they stop being true. Our Recommendations may include suggested wording, which you must check and adapt to your actual situation before use.

9.7. Other sharing of the Review Report. You may share the Review Report and the Report Link privately with your own advisers, financiers, insurers, co-owners or property managers, or with a Platform or authority that requests it. Use of the Report Link in Guest-Facing Communication is governed by Section 9.4. You are responsible for who you give the Report Link to, and we may disable or replace the Report Link if we suspect it is being used contrary to this Section.

9.8. Platform features. Where a Platform allows Hosts to list individual practices (for example, sustainability practices on a property page), you may list the practices you actually apply, in line with Section 9.6. You may not attribute them to Green Short Stay.

9.9. Consequences of misuse. If you breach this Section 9, we may take any or all of the following steps:

(a) send you a written request to remove or correct the material within 5 business days. In serious cases, such as use on a live listing, we may require removal within 48 hours;

(b) disable the Report Link, suspend or withdraw your Review Report and/or terminate your Paid Review contract under Section 7, without refund for work already performed;

(c) inform the relevant Platform that the use is not authorised and request removal of the content;

(d) publish, where reasonably necessary to protect consumers, a statement that the Property is not certified by or affiliated with Green Short Stay;

(e) take legal action, including claims for an injunction and damages under Bulgarian law, and, where appropriate, notify the Commission for Consumer Protection.

Business Hosts shall indemnify Travel Services against fines, claims and reasonable costs arising from their misuse of the Green Short Stay Marks or misleading claims made in connection with the Service.

9.10. Reporting misuse. Guests and members of the public may report suspected misuse of the Green Short Stay Marks to info@greenshortstay.com.

10. Intellectual property

10.1. The Website, the Service, the questionnaires, criteria, scoring methodology, Review Reports, Recommendations, texts, graphics, software and databases, and the Green Short Stay Marks are owned by or licensed to Travel Services. They are protected by copyright, trademark and other laws.

10.2. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access and use the Service and your Review Report for your own internal purposes during the term of the contract. No other right is granted, and in particular no right to use the Green Short Stay Marks (see Section 9).

10.3. You keep ownership of the Evidence you upload. You grant Travel Services a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to store, reproduce and process the Evidence for the purpose of performing the Service, handling reconsiderations and complaints, meeting legal obligations and defending legal claims. We will not publish your Evidence or identify your Property publicly without your separate consent.

10.4. You may give us feedback about the Service, and we may use it without obligation to you.

11. Third-party platforms – no affiliation

11.1. Green Short Stay and Travel Services are independent and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or acting on behalf of Booking.com, Airbnb, Vrbo, Expedia or any other Platform, or any certification body, ecolabel scheme or public authority.

11.2. A Review Report does not affect your ranking, visibility, badges, filters or status on any Platform. Platforms make their own decisions about which sustainability information and certifications they display. Currently, major Platforms display only third-party certifications that meet their own requirements.

11.3. Names such as Booking.com and Airbnb are trademarks of their respective owners and are used on the Website only to describe where Hosts list their accommodation.

11.4. You are responsible for complying with each Platform's terms and content policies. We are not responsible for any action a Platform takes concerning your listing.

12. Disclaimers and limitation of liability

12.1. We will perform the Service with reasonable skill and care. However, a Review Report depends on the information you provide. We do not guarantee that a Review Report will lead to more bookings, higher prices, better reviews, energy savings, grants, Platform recognition or acceptance by any certification scheme.

12.2. We are not liable for loss or damage caused by inaccurate, incomplete or non-genuine information or Evidence supplied by you. We are also not liable for any statements you make to guests or the public, including statements that breach Section 9, or for decisions you take based on Recommendations without professional advice.

12.3. The Website is provided on an "as available" basis. We may interrupt it for maintenance, security or reasons beyond our control. We will try to give advance notice of planned interruptions.

12.4. Business Hosts. To the extent permitted by law, our total liability to a Business Host arising from or in connection with a Paid Review is limited to the fee paid for that Paid Review. We are not liable to Business Hosts for loss of profit, revenue, bookings, goodwill or indirect or consequential loss.

12.5. Consumer Hosts. Nothing in these Terms limits your statutory rights as a consumer. We are liable to you for foreseeable damage caused by our breach of these Terms in accordance with Bulgarian law.

12.6. No exclusion where prohibited. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for damage caused intentionally or through gross negligence, for death or personal injury, or for any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

12.7. Neither party is liable for failure to perform caused by events beyond its reasonable control (force majeure), provided it notifies the other party promptly.

13. Data protection and privacy

13.1. Travel Services acts as controller of the personal data processed in connection with the Website and the Service. This includes contact and billing details, Self-Assessment answers, Evidence and communications. Processing is carried out in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and the Bulgarian Personal Data Protection Act.

13.2. Details of the purposes, legal bases, recipients, retention periods, international transfers and your rights are set out in our Privacy Policy at greenshortstay.com/privacy. Your rights include access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability and objection.

13.3. When you upload Evidence, please avoid including personal data of guests or third parties (for example faces, names on documents or licence plates) unless it is strictly necessary.

13.4. You may contact us about data protection at info@greenshortstay.com. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Commission for Personal Data Protection (www.cpdp.bg) or the supervisory authority in your EU country of residence.

14. Changes to these Terms and to the Service

14.1. We may amend these Terms for valid reasons, such as changes in law, regulatory guidance, our criteria or methodology, prices or the functioning of the Service. We will publish the amended Terms on the Website with a new effective date.

14.2. For Hosts who have ordered a Paid Review, we will notify material changes by e-mail at least 30 days before they take effect. If you do not agree, you may cancel before the effective date. In that case the previous Terms continue to apply to any Paid Review already paid for.

14.3. Changes to the Terms do not affect a Review Report already issued. However, any change to Section 9 required by law applies immediately from the date we notify it, because it protects consumers from being misled.

14.4. Where the law requires changes to our criteria or the way we present Review Reports, we may adjust the Service. We will inform affected Hosts.

15. Governing law, jurisdiction and dispute resolution

15.1. These Terms and any contract concluded under them are governed by the laws of the Republic of Bulgaria.

15.2. Consumer Hosts. If you are a consumer habitually resident in another EU Member State, the choice of Bulgarian law does not deprive you of the protection of the mandatory provisions of the law of your country of residence. You may bring proceedings in the courts of your country of residence or in Bulgaria. We may bring proceedings against you only in the courts of your country of residence.

15.3. Business Hosts. Any dispute with a Business Host shall be submitted to the competent court in Sofia, Bulgaria.

15.4. Amicable resolution. Please contact us first at info@greenshortstay.com so that we can try to resolve any issue.

15.5. Alternative dispute resolution (consumers). If you are a consumer and we cannot resolve a dispute, you may refer it to the General Conciliation Commission at the Commission for Consumer Protection. Information and the application form are available at www.kzp.bg. The procedure is voluntary and free of charge for consumers. You may also contact the Commission for Consumer Protection directly, or the European Consumer Centre Bulgaria for cross-border disputes.

15.6. The former EU Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform was discontinued on 20 July 2025 and is therefore no longer available.

15.7. Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found invalid, the remaining provisions remain in force. The invalid provision will be replaced by a valid one closest to its purpose.

15.8. Language. These Terms are available in English and Bulgarian. In the event of any inconsistency, the Bulgarian version prevails, without prejudice to any mandatory consumer rights.

16. Contact details

Travel Services Ltd. (Травъл Сървисис ЕООД)

E-mail: info@greenshortstay.com

Website: https://greenshortstay.com