Terms of use

Last update 16.06.2011

1- Introduction

Welcome to Hospitality Connection (referred to herein as “HOSCO”, the “Company”, the “Site” or the “Platform”). The mission of HOSCO is to bring leading hospitality organizations together with students from top-ranked hotel schools. HOSCO’s innovative, real time and user-friendly online community optimizes the recruiting process of current interns and recent graduates and improves students’ first work experiences.

By registering with HOSCO and using the Site, you are entering into a legally binding agreement with Hospitality Connection Sàrl, Rue du Village-Suisse 10, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland, based on the terms of this User Agreement and the HOSCO “Privacy Policy” and become a HOSCO user (“User”).

If you are using HOSCO on behalf of a hotel school or company, our relationship may also be governed by this Agreement and an additional separate agreement.

If you do not wish to become a User of HOSCO, please do not click “Join HOSCO” and do not access, view or use any HOSCO webpage or services. Any use you make of the Site or related services confirms your acceptance of, and agreement to be bound, by the present “Terms of Use” and “Privacy Policy”.

The Company has the right to amend or modify these “Terms of Use” at any time without notice to you. Therefore you should periodically visit this page and review the most up-to-date version.

2- Service Description

HOSCO provides Users with a variety of online services, including but not limited to:
Blog: Interviews and articles with industry professional recommendations and tips for a successful recruitment, a successful career.
My Profile: A personalized page for each User of the Platform (students, companies and hotel schools). Visibility of the information contained on this page may be customized by the User at any time.
My Home: A homepage for all Users, with the Platform and most recent industry news.
My Inbox: An internal messaging system for HOSCO Users to interact and make/receive spontaneous applications.
Company Directory: A directory of all companies in the HOSCO community.
Offer Directory: A directory of all active offers posted by member companies of the HOSCO community.
School Directory: A directory comprising the hotel schools that are the leading educational providers to HOSCO.
Student Directory: A directory of all students from the member hotel schools participating in HOSCO.
My Offers: A practical tool for companies to manage, edit or delete the job offers they have on the Site.
My Applications: A practical tool for students to manage, edit or delete the applications they have made to job offers posted on the Site.
My Students: A directory accessible to a specific hotel school to view its student members on HOSCO.

3- Service Eligibility

HOSCO may be accessed and used by:
Recruiters and company managers looking forward to connecting with and hiring students or alumni of the participating hotel schools, after having selected a corporate package, completed the registration process and paid all related fees due to HOSCO.

Staff from the participating hotel schools, after the respective schools have entered into a formal collaboration agreement with HOSCO and completed their profiles on the Platform, to interact with students and employers.

Students and recent alumni (graduated within the last five years) from the participating hotel schools, to connect with companies and find internships or entry-level permanent positions.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, HOSCO Users must meet the following criteria and warrant that they are at least 18 years old, not prohibited from having a HOSCO account, not a competitor of HOSCO nor using the Platform for reasons that are in competition with HOSCO (the Site may not be used or linked to by third-party recruiters or by any party charging a fee for access to this Site or any information comprised in this Site), not already registered on HOSCO (only one account permitted at a given time), having full power and authority to enter into these “Terms of Use” and doing so not violating any other agreement to which they are a party, and not violating any rights of HOSCO.

HOSCO reserves the right to deny access to the Platform for any or no reason. Additionally, HOSCO reserves the right to expel Users and prevent their future registration on the Site for violating these “Terms of Use” or the law.

4- User obligations

To use the Site, you must agree to be bound by the “Terms of Use” and comply with all applicable laws.

You own and are responsible for all of the information you provide and post on HOSCO. You may request its deletion at any time, unless you have shared content or information with others and they have not deleted it, or it was copied or stored by other Users. By providing information to HOSCO, you represent and warrant that you are entitled to submit such information and that it is not confidential nor violates the copyright, privacy, publicity or intellectual property rights of any person/party, that it is accurate and updated and representative of your own profile or resume, education and work backgrounds/your company or hotel school. Users will strictly submit and post content or information on HOSCO related to the lawful purposes of the Site as referred in Section 3.

You are responsible for the use of the criteria available on the Site to filter the Users network and job offers and for ensuring that your use of such criteria complies with all applicable laws and regulations.
You must not submit content that is false, abusive, obscene, indecent, harassing, harmful or hateful, that could embarrass anyone or could motivate unlawful conducts.
You must not delete or modify any material posted by any other User on the Platform.
You must not collect, use or share any content or information on Users from HOSCO except as expressly permitted in the “Terms of Use” or as the owner of such content or information may expressly permit.
You must not add content to a content field that is not intended for such field on HOSCO (including but not limited to personally identifiable information: telephone number, first and/or last name, email addresses, street addresses).
You must not upload a symbol, drawing or any content other than a head-shot photograph of yourself for your personal profile photo.
You must not upload a symbol, drawing or any content not directly related to your organization in your organization profile photos and logo.
You must not rent, lease, trade or sell/re-sell access to HOSCO or any content and information therein.
You must not communicate, share or distribute content or information of HOSCO and its Users with third parties (even from the selected hotel schools or from your group/organization) not registered on the Platform.
You must not include, refer or manage more than one job vacancy per offer you post on the Platform (doing so will incur additional charges).
You must not post, upload, transmit or share any content that contains viruses or that can damage the platform or affect any User of HOSCO.
You must not violate or attempt to violate the security, efficiency or integrity of the Site in any way.
You must not post or transmit any unsolicited advertising, promotional materials, “spam”, junk mail or any solicitation without the prior written consent of HOSCO.
You must not create, either manually or electronically, a database with information and content posted on HOSCO.
You own and are responsible for keeping your password and log in details secure and confidential. You are responsible for anything that occurs through your account on the Platform until you turn it down or prove that your account security was compromised with no fault of your own. No User shall create more than one account on HOSCO without prior written consent of HOSCO.

5- User Information

You agree and acknowledge that HOSCO may access, preserve and disclose any information you provide when you register or use the Site, if required by law or in a good faith belief that it is necessary for legal purposes to enforce this agreement, respond to claims of violation of the rights of third parties, respond to customer service inquiries or protect the rights, property or security of HOSCO, our Users or the public.

Users can edit at any time their content and information posted on the Site, including but not limited to their resume, company profile, photos, news and postings, attachments, links and job offers. Visibility of such content and information towards the distinct User types of the Site can also be edited at anytime by the Users in the Account Settings section.

We also compile, use and disclose information and data about the Platform Users and their usage of the Platform on an average basis in a way that no specific User can be identified and no personal information about any Individual User is revealed.

For companies and hotel schools, you grant to HOSCO the right to cite your organization as a HOSCO member and to use or display your organization’s name, logo or pictures on the Site. You further grant to HOSCO the right to use or display your organization’s name, logo or pictures in promotional materials subject to a written confirmation by you.

All information provided to us by you is protected under and subject to our “Privacy Policy”, which is published and available on this Site.

6- User Communication and Posts

The Platform has been designed for employers, hotel schools, students and alumni to easily interact and find jobs/candidates. Communications between the parties may not be initiated for any reason except those directly related to this purpose. However, Users acknowledge that there are risks in dealing and communicating with strangers and agree and assume all risks associated with such dealing and communications linked to their use of the Site.

HOSCO offers Users various ways of posting information, files, links, updates, news, observations and comments, such as the Blog or the News & Postings or Attachment sections of the Users profiles on the Site. HOSCO cannot guarantee that other Users will not access and use such content and information. Consequently, if you would like to keep confidential information or if third-party rights may be infringed by you sharing it, you must not post it on HOSCO. The Company cannot be held responsible for a User’s use or appropriation of any content or other material you post on the platform (including on the Blog).

7- Privacy

You should read carefully our “Privacy Policy” prior to joining the Platform, as it governs our treatment of any and all information provided by you to HOSCO. Please note that some content, information or material you submit to the Platform and its Users are likely to reveal your ethnic background, age, nationality, gender, religion or other personal information. You acknowledge and agree that your submission of such content, information or material is voluntary on your part.

8- Content regulations

The HOSCO platform compiles and displays the content and information posted and transmitted by its Users and cannot be held responsible for the consequences of such postings and transmissions. HOSCO does not preview, revise, edit or monitor the content submitted by the Users on the Platform and therefore Users acknowledge that any reliance on any material or communication posted or transmitted by other Users is at their own risk.

HOSCO reserves the right (but shall have no obligation) to remove, reject or edit any content or communication submitted by any User on the Platform for any reason, at anytime and without notice. Any such decision by HOSCO shall not be subject to negotiation, debate or refund.

HOSCO cannot be held responsible or liable for the content, material and any reference from third-party websites provided on the Platform and any concern on such content, material and any other reference should be directly addressed to the third party.

9- Payments

All payable fees to HOSCO are presented to you within the Site and are directly payable by credit card or within thirty days following the date of the HOSCO invoice. The purchased service (Enhanced profile, Premium package, Posts or Talent Contact credits) will not take full effect until invoice payment is received. Invoices are sent based on the price valid at the time of the order or the price agreed between the parties. HOSCO reserves the right to modify its pricing policy.

HOSCO has no obligation to refund any amounts in any circumstances, unless otherwise stated in these “Terms of Use” or agreed in writing with the Company.

10- Term and Termination

You may terminate your use of the Site and this agreement for any or no reason and at any time, with notice to HOSCO. Your decision will become effective when HOSCO processes your notice.

HOSCO may terminate your use of the Site and this agreement for any or no reason, including, but not limited to, a violation of these “Terms of Use” or your failure to pay any fees due to the Company, at any time, and with no compulsory prior notice.

Termination of your HOSCO account includes disabling your access to the Platform and may also prevent you from any future potential use of the Platform.

HOSCO may also discontinue providing the Site or any part of the Site at its sole discretion, at any time and with or without prior notice. In such event, you agree that HOSCO may deactivate or delete your account and related content/information and that all fees and other amounts paid to the Company are non-refundable, except as otherwise defined in these “Terms of Use” or in any written consent provided by HOSCO.

For companies, in the event of a termination by HOSCO for any reason other than breach by you of these “Terms of Use” and of the law, any prepaid fees for unused services will be reimbursed to you.

For companies, the term of this agreement related to Enhanced Profiles and Standard or Premium Packages commences upon the effective purchase date on HOSCO and expiration is subject to the service duration you select. Precise expiration date is provided to you in the purchase confirmation you receive. Unless HOSCO is otherwise notified to the contrary, the agreement will automatically be renewed with the same conditions. If the prices or other conditions were to change, HOSCO will submit a new proposal to you. If you do not wish to renew your contract, you need to inform HOSCO using a written form (post, email or fax) at least 30 days before the contract expires.

11- Intellectual Property Rights

You acknowledge and agree that all the contents of the Site, including, but not limited to, all information, data, text, software, sound, music, photographs, video, graphics, messages or other materials, may be protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents or other proprietary rights and laws.

All Site content is the property of the Company or of its Users and affiliates and unless expressly permitted by the Company or its Users and affiliates, you may not copy, reproduce, distribute, publish, enter into a database, display, modify, perform, transmit, rent, lease, sell or in any way exploit any content or part of the Site.

You may download or print content that is limited to Users profile or detailed offers for your own use only when considering a potential employment in your company or application at the respective company. You may not transmit or share this content or make more than one print copy of this content (photocopies being prohibited).

The use of the Site content on any other web site or in a networked computer environment for any purpose is prohibited.

12- Disclaimer of Warranties

Some countries do not allow the following disclaimer and therefore this section or part of this section may not apply to you.

YOU AGREE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE SITE AND ALL INFORMATION AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, HOSCO DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND REPRESENTATIONS, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IF YOU ARE DISASTIFIED OR HARMED BY HOSCO YOU MAY CLOSE YOUR HOSCO ACCOUNT AND TERMINATE THIS AGREEMENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TERM AND TERMINATION SECTION (9) AND SUCH TERMINATION SHALL BE YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY.

HOSCO IS NOT RESPONSIBLE AND MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT THE SITE AND ITS SERVICES MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS, THAT IT FUNCTIONS WITHOUT INTERRUPTION OR ERRORS IN FUNCTIONNING. HOSCO DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES CAUSED BY ANY AND SUCH INTERRUPTION OR ERRORS IN FUNCTIONNING. FURTHERMORE, HOSCO DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY MALFUNCTIONING, IMPOSSIBILITY OF ACCESS OR POOR USE CONDITIONS OF THE PLATFORM DUE TO INAPPROPRIATE EQUIPMENT, DISTURBANCES RELATED TO INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS OR TO THE SATURATION OF THE INTERNET NETWORK, AND FOR ANY OTHER REASON. HOSCO MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE SITE OR ANY SERVER THROUGH WHICH YOU ACCESS THE PLATFORM IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. ANY CONTENT OR MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SITE IS AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF SUCH CONTENT OR MATERIAL.

HOSCO MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT THERE WILL BE ANY MINIMUM NUMBER OF USERS WITH RESUMES OR COMPANIES WITH JOB OFFERS ON THE PLATFORM, THAT ANY MINIMUM NUMBER OF USERS WITH RESUMES OR COMPANIES WITH JOB OFFERS WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS, AND THAT THE INFORMATION DISCLOSED BY THE USERS WITH RESUMES OR COMPANIES WITH JOB OFFERS IS ACCURATE, UP-TO-DATE AND RELIABLE.

HOSCO MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT ANY RESUME, JOB POSTING, NEWS DOCUMENT, ADVERTISEMENT OR OTHER CONTENT OR COMMUNICATION WILL BE VIEWED BY A MINIMUM OR DEFINED NUMBER OF USERS OR BY ANY SPECIFIC USER, AND THAT YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR EXPECTACTIONS ON THE QUANTITIY OR QUALITY OF JOB OPPORTUNITIES OR APPLICANTS WILL BE MET.

13- Limitation of Liability

Some countries do not allow the exclusion of liability and therefore this section may not apply to you.

Neither HOSCO nor any of its subsidiaries, affiliates, employees, shareholders or directors shall be in any way liable to you or any third party for any incidental, indirect, punitive or consequential damages or loss of use, profit, revenue or data to you or any third party arising from your use of or inability to use the Platform.

This limitation of liability shall apply regardless of whether HOSCO was advised, knew or should have known of possibility of such damages, or you base your claim on any legal theory, or the limited remedies provided in this section fail of their essential purpose.

HOSCO’s maximum liability arising out of or relating to the Site, your use of the Site, regardless of the cause of action, shall not exceed the total amount of fees paid to HOSCO during the last three months, if any, or CHF 100, whichever amount is greater.

14- Indemnification

You indemnify us and hold harmless for all damages, liabilities, losses and costs (including, but not limited to, attorney’s fees and costs) related to all third-party claims, charges and investigations, caused by your use or misuse of the Site, your posted contents, activities and communications on or through the Site and your failure to comply with these “Terms of Use”.

15- Miscellaneous

Any requests or inquiries on these “Terms of Use” should be directed to us through our contact form in the “Contact Us” section of the Site.

These “Terms of Use” constitute the entire agreement between the parties and prevail over any anterior agreement or arrangement.

These “Terms of Use” are governed and construed in accordance with Swiss laws, regardless of the country of origin of the User. Any disagreement will be treated by the competent tribunals of the canton of Geneva.

If any section of these “Terms of Use” is held invalid or unenforceable, that part shall be construed in a consistent way with applicable laws to reflect initial and original intentions of the parties and the remaining sections and parts shall remain in full force and effect.