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Terms of Service

Please read these Terms of Service carefully as they contain important information about your legal rights, remedies and obligations. By accessing or using the Alcove Platform, you agree to comply with and be bound by these Terms of Service.

Please note: Section 17 of these Terms of Service contains an arbitration clause and class action waiver that applies to all Alcove Members. If you reside in the United States, this provision applies to all disputes with Alcove. If you reside outside of the United States, this provision applies to any action you bring against Alcove in the United States. It affects how disputes with Alcove are resolved. By accepting these Terms of Service, you agree to be bound by this arbitration clause and class action waiver. Please read it carefully.

By using the Alcove mobile platform to find your ideal living situation, you’re agreeing to allow Alcove to perform basic background and credit checks. This preliminary access shortens the time it takes for you to become a Roommate. Find further information about our approval process below (Section 2.4; 16).

These terms also give us permission to move your money! Alcove will in no way compromise your financial information or provide it to third parties. Again, this makes life easier for everybody and we will notify you in advance when your money is moving. Find further information about our Payment Services policies below (Section 6.4 of these Terms and see separate Payment Terms).

By using the Alcove application to find the best spot for you, you’re also agreeing, formally, to not be a shitty roommate. Find further information on your obligations here. (Section).

Last Updated: November 6, 2017

Thank you for using Alcove!

These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement ("Agreement") between you and Alcove (as defined below) governing your access to and use of the Alcove website, including any subdomains thereof, and any other websites through which Alcove makes the Alcove Services available (collectively, "Site"), our mobile, tablet and other smart device applications, and application program interfaces (collectively, "Application") and all associated services (collectively, "Alcove Services"). The Site, Application and Alcove Services together are hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Alcove Platform”. Our Nondiscrimination Policy and other Policies applicable to your use of the Alcove Platform are incorporated by reference into this Agreement.

When these Terms mention “Alcove,” “we,” “us,” or “our,” it refers to the Alcove company you are contracting with.

If you reside in the United States, you are contracting with Alcove, Inc., 1919 Meeting St., Durham, NC 27705.

If you change your place of residence, the Alcove company you contract with will be determined by your new place of residence as specified above, from the date on which your place of residence changes.

Our collection and use of personal information in connection with your access to and use of the Alcove Platform is described in our Privacy Policy.

Any and all payment processing services through or in connection with your use of the Alcove Platform ("Payment Services") are provided to you by one or more Alcove Payments entities (individually and collectively, as appropriate, "Alcove Payments") as set out in the Payments Terms of Service ("Payments Terms").

Residence Providers alone are responsible for identifying, understanding, and complying with all laws, rules and regulations that apply to their Listings and Residence Provider Services. For example, some cities have laws that restrict their ability to Residence Provider paying guests for short periods or provide certain Residence Provider Services. In many cities, Residence Providers may have to register, get a permit or obtain a license before preparing food or serving alcohol for sale. Some cities may require a license to guide tours or to sail. Residence Providers are alone responsible for identifying and obtaining any required licenses, permits, or registrations for any Residence Provider Services they offer. Certain types of Residence Provider Services may be prohibited altogether. Penalties may include fines or other enforcement. We will provide some information at a later date in our Help Center to help you identify some of the obligations that apply to you. If you have questions about how local laws apply to your Listing(s) and Residence Provider Service(s) on Alcove, you should always seek legal guidance.

Scope of Alcove Services
Eligibility, Using the Alcove Platform, Member Verification
Modification of these Terms
Account Registration
Content
Service Fees
Terms specific for Residence Providers
Terms specific for Guests
Lease Modifications, Cancellations and Refunds, Resolution Center
Damage to Provided Residences, Disputes between Members
Taxes
Prohibited Activities
Term and Termination, Suspension and other Measures
Disclaimers
Liability
Indemnification
Dispute Resolution
Feedback
Applicable Law and Jurisdiction
General Provisions

1. Scope of Alcove Services

1.1 The Alcove Platform is an online marketplace that enables registered users (“Members”) and certain third parties who offer services (Members and third parties who offer services are “Residence Providers” and the services they offer are “Residence Provider Services”) to publish such Residence Provider Services on the Alcove Platform (“Listings”) and to communicate and transact directly with Members that are seeking to book such Residence Provider Services (Members using Residence Provider Services are “Roommates or Guests”). Residence Provider Services may include the offering of vacation or other properties for use ("Provided Residences"), single or multi-day activities in various categories (“Experiences”), access to unique events and locations (“Events”), and a variety of other travel and non-travel related services.

1.2 As the provider of the Alcove Platform, Alcove does not own, create, sell, resell, provide, control, manage, offer, deliver, or supply any Listings or Residence Provider Services. Residence Providers alone are responsible for their Listings and Residence Provider Services. When Members make or accept a Lease, they are entering into a contract directly with each other and the Residence Provider. Alcove is not and does not become a party to or other participant in any contractual relationship between Members, nor is Alcove a real estate broker or insurer. Alcove is not acting as an agent in any capacity for any Member, except as specified in the Payments Terms.

1.3 While we may help facilitate the resolution of disputes, Alcove has no control over and does not guarantee (i) the existence, quality, safety, suitability, or legality of any Listings or Residence Provider Services, (ii) the truth or accuracy of any Listing descriptions, Ratings, Reviews, or other Member Content (as defined below), or (iii) the performance or conduct of any Member or third party. Alcove does not endorse any Member, Listing or Residence Provider Services. Any references to a Member being "verified" (or similar language) only indicate that the Member has completed a relevant verification or identification process and nothing else. Any such description is not an endorsement, certification or guarantee by Alcove about any Member, including of the Member's identity or background or whether the Member is trustworthy, safe or suitable. You should always exercise due diligence and care when deciding whether to stay in a Provided Residence, or communicate and interact with other Members, whether online or in person. Verified Images (as defined below) are intended only to indicate a photographic representation of a Listing at the time the photograph was taken, and are therefore not an endorsement by Alcove of any Residence Provider or Listing.

1.4 If you choose to use the Alcove Platform as a Residence Provider or Co-Residence Provider (as defined below), your relationship with Alcove is limited to being an independent, third-party contractor, and not an employee, agent, joint venturer or partner of Alcove for any reason, and you act exclusively on your own behalf and for your own benefit, and not on behalf, or for the benefit, of Alcove.

1.5 To promote the Alcove Platform and to increase the exposure of Listings to potential Guests, Listings and other Member Content may be displayed on other websites, in applications, within emails, and in online and offline advertisements. To assist Members who speak different languages, Listings and other Member Content may be translated, in whole or in part, into other languages. Alcove cannot guarantee the accuracy or quality of such translations and Members are responsible for reviewing and verifying the accuracy of such translations. The Alcove Platform may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, express or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties for merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and noninfringement.

1.6 The Alcove Platform may contain links to third-party websites or resources (“Third-Party Services”). Such Third-Party Services may be subject to different terms and conditions and privacy practices. Alcove is not responsible or liable for the availability or accuracy of such Third-Party Services, or the content, products, or services available from such Third-Party Services. Links to such Third-Party Services are not an endorsement by Alcove of such Third-Party Services.

1.7 Due to the nature of the Internet, Alcove cannot guarantee the continuous and uninterrupted availability and accessibility of the Alcove Platform. Alcove may restrict the availability of the Alcove Platform or certain areas or features thereof, if this is necessary in view of capacity limits, the security or integrity of our servers, or to carry out maintenance measures that ensure the proper or improved functioning of the Alcove Platform. Alcove may improve, enhance and modify the Alcove Platform and introduce new Alcove Services from time to time.

2. Eligibility, Using the Alcove Platform, Member Verification

2.1 You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter into legally binding contracts to access and use the Alcove Platform or register an Alcove Account. By accessing or using the Alcove Platform you represent and warrant that you are 18 or older and have the legal capacity and authority to enter into a contract.

2.2 You will comply with any applicable export control laws in your local jurisdiction. You also represent and warrant that (i) neither you nor your Residence Provider Service(s) are located or take place in a country that is subject to a U.S. Government embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. Government as a "terrorist supporting" country, and (ii) you are not listed on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.

2.3 Alcove may make the access to and use of the Alcove Platform, or certain areas or features of the Alcove Platform, subject to certain conditions or requirements, such as completing a verification process, meeting specific quality or eligibility criteria, meeting Ratings or Reviews thresholds, or Lease and cancellation history.

2.4 User verification on the Internet is difficult and we do not assume any responsibility for the confirmation of any Member’s identity. Notwithstanding the above, for transparency and fraud prevention purposes, and as permitted by applicable laws, we may, but have no obligation to (i) ask Members to provide a form of government identification or other information or undertake additional checks designed to help verify the identities or backgrounds of Members, (ii) screen Members against third party databases or other sources and request reports from service providers, and (iii) where we have sufficient information to identify a Member, obtain reports from public records of criminal convictions or sex offender registrations or an equivalent version of background or registered sex offender checks in your local jurisdiction (if available).

2.5 The access to or use of certain areas and features of the Alcove Platform may be subject to separate policies, standards or guidelines, or may require that you accept additional terms and conditions. If there is a conflict between these Terms and terms and conditions applicable to a specific area or feature of the Alcove Platform, the latter terms and conditions will take precedence with respect to your access to or use of that area or feature, unless specified otherwise.

2.6 If you access or download the Application from the Apple App Store, you agree to Apple’s Licensed Application End User License Agreement. Some areas of the Alcove Platform implement Google Maps/Earth mapping services, including Google Maps API(s). Your use of Google Maps/Earth is subject to the Google Maps/Google Earth Additional Terms of Service.

3. Modification of these Terms

Alcove reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time in accordance with this provision. If we make changes to these Terms, we will post the revised Terms on the Alcove Platform and update the “Last Updated” date at the top of these Terms. We will also provide you with notice of the modifications by email at least thirty (30) days before the date they become effective. If you disagree with the revised Terms, you may terminate this Agreement with immediate effect. We will inform you about your right to terminate the Agreement in the notification email. If you do not terminate your Agreement before the date the revised Terms become effective, your continued access to or use of the Alcove Platform will constitute acceptance of the revised Terms.

4. Account Registration

4.1 You must register an account ("Alcove Account") to access and use certain features of the Alcove Platform, such as publishing or Lease a Listing. If you are registering a Alcove Account for a company or other legal entity, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to legally bind that entity and grant us all permissions and licenses provided in these Terms.

4.2 You can register a Alcove Account using an email address and creating a password, or through your account with certain third-party social networking services, such as Facebook or Google ("SNS Account"). You have the ability to disable the connection between your Alcove Account and your SNS Account at any time, by accessing the "Settings" section of the Alcove Platform.

4.3 You must provide accurate, current and complete information during the registration process and keep your Alcove Account and public Alcove Account profile page information up-to-date at all times.

4.4 You may not register more than one (1) Alcove Account unless Alcove authorizes you to do so. You may not assign or otherwise transfer your Alcove Account to another party.

4.5 You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of your Alcove Account credentials and may not disclose your credentials to any third party. You must immediately notify Alcove if you know or have any reason to suspect that your credentials have been lost, stolen, misappropriated, or otherwise compromised or in case of any actual or suspected unauthorized use of your Alcove Account. You are liable for any and all activities conducted through your Alcove Account, unless such activities are not authorized by you and you are not otherwise negligent (such as failing to report the unauthorized use or loss of your credentials).

4.6 Alcove may enable features that allow you to authorize other Members or certain third parties to take certain actions that affect your Alcove Account. For example, we may allow Members associated with an Enterprise (as defined in our Privacy Policy) to book for other Members, or we may allow Residence Providers to add other Members as Co-Residence Providers (as defined below) to help manage their Listings. These features do not require that you share your credentials with any other person. No third party is authorized by Alcove to ask for your credentials, and you shall not request the credentials of another Member.

5. Content

5.1 Alcove may, at its sole discretion, enable Members to (i) create, upload, post, send, receive and store content, such as text, photos, audio, video, or other materials and information on or through the Alcove Platform ("Member Content"); and (ii) access and view Member Content and any content that Alcove itself makes available on or through the Alcove Platform, including proprietary Alcove content and any content licensed or authorized for use by or through Alcove from a third party ("Alcove Content" and together with Member Content, "Collective Content").

5.2 The Alcove Platform, Alcove Content, and Member Content may in its entirety or in part be protected by copyright, trademark, and/or other laws of the United States and other countries. You acknowledge and agree that the Alcove Platform and Alcove Content, including all associated intellectual property rights, are the exclusive property of Alcove and/or its licensors or authorizing third-parties. You will not remove, alter or obscure any copyright, trademark, service mark or other proprietary rights notices incorporated in or accompanying the Alcove Platform, Alcove Content or Member Content. All trademarks, service marks, logos, trade names, and any other source identifiers of Alcove used on or in connection with the Alcove Platform and Alcove Content are trademarks or registered trademarks of Alcove in the United States and abroad. Trademarks, service marks, logos, trade names and any other proprietary designations of third parties used on or in connection with the Alcove Platform, Alcove Content, and/or Collective Content are used for identification purposes only and may be the property of their respective owners.

5.3 You will not use, copy, adapt, modify, prepare derivative works of, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, broadcast or otherwise exploit the Alcove Platform or Collective Content, except to the extent you are the legal owner of certain Member Content or as expressly permitted in these Terms. No licenses or rights are granted to you by implication or otherwise under any intellectual property rights owned or controlled by Alcove or its licensors, except for the licenses and rights expressly granted in these Terms.

5.4 Subject to your compliance with these Terms, Alcove grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable, revocable, non-transferable license to (i) download and use the Application on your personal device(s); and (ii) access and view any Collective Content made available on or through the Alcove Platform and accessible to you, solely for your personal and non-commercial use.

5.5 By creating, uploading, posting, sending, receiving, storing, or otherwise making available any Member Content on or through the Alcove Platform, you grant to Alcove a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual (or for the term of the protection), sub-licensable and transferable license to such Member Content to access, use, store, copy, modify, prepare derivative works of, distribute, publish, transmit, stream, broadcast, and otherwise exploit in any manner such Member Content to provide and/or promote the Alcove Platform, in any media or platform. Unless you provide specific consent, Alcove does not claim any ownership rights in any Member Content and nothing in these Terms will be deemed to restrict any rights that you may have to use or exploit your Member Content.

5.6 Alcove may offer Residence Providers the option of having professional photographers take photographs of their Residence Provider Services, which are made available by the photographer to Residence Providers to include in their Listings with or without a watermark or tag bearing the words "Alcove.com Verified Photo" or similar wording ("Verified Images"). You are responsible for ensuring that your Residence Provider Service is accurately represented in the Verified Images and you will stop using the Verified Images on or through the Alcove Platform if they no longer accurately represent your Listing, if you stop providing the Residence Provider Service featured, or if your Alcove Account is terminated or suspended for any reason. You acknowledge and agree that Alcove shall have the right to use any Verified Images in advertising, marketing and/or any other business purposes in any media or platform, whether in relation to your Listing or otherwise, without further notice or compensation to you. Where Alcove is not the exclusive owner of Verified Images, by using such Verified Images on or through the Alcove Platform, you grant to Alcove an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual (or for the term of the protection), sub-licensable and transferable license to use such Verified Images for advertising, marketing and/or any other business purposes in any media or platform, whether in relation to your Listing or otherwise, without further notice or compensation to you. Alcove in turn grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable, revocable, non-transferable license to use Verified Images outside of the Alcove Platform solely for your personal and non-commercial use.

5.7 You are solely responsible for all Member Content that you make available on or through the Alcove Platform. Accordingly, you represent and warrant that: (i) you either are the sole and exclusive owner of all Member Content that you make available on or through the Alcove Platform or you have all rights, licenses, consents and releases that are necessary to grant to Alcove the rights in and to such Member Content, as contemplated under these Terms; and (ii) neither the Member Content nor your posting, uploading, publication, submission or transmittal of the Member Content or Alcove's use of the Member Content (or any portion thereof) will infringe, misappropriate or violate a third party's patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other proprietary or intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy, or result in the violation of any applicable law or regulation.

5.8 You will not post, upload, publish, submit or transmit any Member Content that: (i) is fraudulent, false, misleading (directly or by omission or failure to update information) or deceptive; (ii) is defamatory, libelous, obscene, pornographic, vulgar or offensive; (iii) promotes discrimination, bigotry, racism, hatred, harassment or harm against any individual or group; (iv) is violent or threatening or promotes violence or actions that are threatening to any other person; (v) promotes illegal or harmful activities or substances; or (vi) violates any other Alcove policy. Alcove may, without prior notice, remove or disable access to any Member Content that Alcove finds to be in violation of these Terms or Alcove’s then-current Policies or Standards, or otherwise may be harmful or objectionable to Alcove, its Members, third parties, or property.

5.9 Alcove respects copyright law and expects its Members to do the same. If you believe that any content on the Alcove Platform infringes copyrights you own, please notify us.

6. Service Fees

6.1 Alcove may charge fees to Residence Providers ("Residence Provider Fees") and/or Guests ("Guest Fees") (collectively, "Service Fees") in consideration for the use of the Alcove Platform. Please contact us for more information about when Service Fees apply and how they are calculated.

6.2 Any applicable Service Fees (including any applicable Taxes) will be displayed to a Residence Provider or Member prior to publishing or Lease a Listing. Alcove reserves the right to change the Service Fees at any time, and we will provide Members adequate notice of any fee changes before they become effective.

6.3 You are responsible for paying any Service Fees that you owe to Alcove. The applicable Service Fees are due and payable and collected by Alcove Payments pursuant to the Payments Terms. Except as otherwise provided on the Alcove Platform, Service Fees are non-refundable.

6.4 Alcove will charge a one time Service Fee upon completion of a Lease Agreement between the prospective Roommates, in addition to the deposit required by the Lease Agreement. This fee is incurred to guarantee that you will perform all duties and obligations under the Lease Agreement and will treat other Members (Guests, Roommates, Co-Tenants) with mutual respect, dignity and any other requirements set forth in these Terms. This fee guarantees your continued enjoyment and use of the Alcove Platform. You may forfeit this Service Fee at the discretion of Alcove.

6.5 Should you choose to terminate your Lease Agreement before the end of the pre-established period as an individual, you acknowledge that your Service Fee will be distributed to your Roommates on a pro rata basis to encourage a quick resolution to the issues created by your absence.

7. Terms specific for Residence Providers

7.1 Terms applicable to all Listings

7.1.1 When creating a Listing through the Alcove Platform you must (i) provide complete and accurate information about your Residence Provider Service (such as listing description, location, and calendar availability), (ii) disclose any deficiencies, restrictions (such as house rules) and requirements that apply (including but not limited to any minimum age, cleanliness, student status requirements) and (iii) provide any other pertinent information requested by Alcove. You are responsible for keeping your Listing information (including calendar availability) up-to-date at all times.

7.1.2 You are solely responsible for setting a price (including any Taxes if applicable) for your Listing (“Listing Fee”). Once a Member requests a Lease of your Listing, you may not request that the Member pays a higher price than in the Lease request.

7.1.3 Any terms and conditions included in your Listing, in particular in relation to cancellations, must not conflict with these Terms or the cancellation policy you have selected for your Listing.

7.1.4 Pictures, animations or videos (collectively, "Images") used in your Listings must accurately reflect the quality and condition of your Residence Provider Services. Alcove reserves the right to require that Listings have a minimum number of Images of a certain format, size and resolution.

7.1.5 The placement and ranking of Listings in search results on the Alcove Platform may vary and depend on a variety of factors, such as Member search parameters and preferences, Residence Provider requirements, price and calendar availability, number and quality of Images, customer service and cancellation history, Reviews and Ratings, type of Residence Provider Service, and/or ease of Lease.

7.1.6 When you accept or have pre-approved a Lease request by a Member or Members (Roommates), you are entering into a legally binding agreement with the Member and are required to provide your Residence Provider Service(s) to the Member as described in your Listing when the Lease request is made. You also agree to pay the applicable Residence Provider Fee and any applicable Taxes, which will be collected pursuant to the Payments Terms.

7.1.7 Alcove recommends that Residence Providers obtain appropriate insurance for their Residence Provider Services. Please review any respective insurance policy carefully, and in particular make sure that you are familiar with and understand any exclusions to, and any deductibles that may apply for, such insurance policy, including, but not limited to, whether or not your insurance policy will cover the actions or inactions of Guests (and the individuals the Guest has booked for, if applicable) while staying at your Provided Residence or or other Residence Provider Service.

7.2 Listing Provided Residences

7.2.1 You may only list one Provided Residence per Room in the Listing.

7.2.2 If you choose to require a security deposit for your Provided Residence, you must specify this in your Listing ("Security Deposit"). Residence Providers are not allowed to ask for a Security Deposit after a Lease has been confirmed or outside of the Alcove Platform. Alcove will use commercially reasonable efforts to address Residence Providers’ requests and claims related to Security Deposits, but Alcove is not responsible for administering or accepting any claims by Residence Providers related to Security Deposits.

7.2.3 You represent and warrant that any Listing you post and the Lease of, or a Guest's stay at, an Provided Residence will (i) not breach any agreements you have entered into with any third parties, such as homeowners association, condominium, or other agreements, and (ii) comply with all applicable laws (such as zoning laws), Tax requirements, and other rules and regulations (including having all required permits, licenses and registrations). As a Residence Provider, you are responsible for your own acts and omissions and are also responsible for the acts and omissions of any individuals who reside at or are otherwise present at the Provided Residence at your request or invitation, excluding the Member (and the individuals the Member invites to the Provided Residence, if applicable).

7.3 Co-Residence Providers ←- This section is better known as the “Relationship between Alcove and Property Managers” Section

7.3.1 Alcove may enable Residence Providers to authorize other Members (“Co-Residence Providers”) to administer the Residence Provider’s Listing(s), and to bind the Residence Provider and take certain actions in relation to the Listing(s) as permitted by the Residence Provider, such as accepting Lease requests, messaging and welcoming Guests, and updating the Listing Fee and calendar availability (collectively, “Co-Residence Provider Services”). Any agreement formed between Residence Provider and Co-Residence Provider may not conflict with these Terms and the Payments Terms. Co-Residence Providers may only act in an individual capacity and not on behalf of a company or other organization, unless expressly authorized by Alcove. Alcove reserves the right, in our sole discretion, to limit the number of Co-Residence Providers a Residence Provider may invite for each Listing and to limit the number of Listings a Co-Residence Provider may manage.

7.3.2 Residence Providers and Co-Residence Providers may agree on a fee (“Co-Residence Provider Services Fee”) in consideration for the Co-Residence Provider Services provided by the Co-Residence Provider. When such an agreement is made, the new Member or Co-Resident agrees to pay the Co-Residence Provider Services Fee for any confirmed Lease of their Listing, which will be deducted directly from the Services Fee after deduction of any applicable Residence Provider Fee. In addition, Residence Providers may instruct a Co-Residence Provider to provide certain one-time services in relation to their Listing. Residence Providers can pay Co-Residence Providers for one-time services and any other expenses using the Resolution Center. Alcove Payments will process Co-Residence Provider Services Fees and Resolution Center payments pursuant to the Payments Terms.

7.3.3 Residence Providers and Co-Residence Providers agree that each activity, Lease, or other transaction reported on the Alcove Platform, including any Co-Residence Provider Services provided by the Co-Residence Provider and any amounts due from a Residence Provider to the Co-Residence Provider for the provision of such services, will be deemed accurate, correct and binding, unless challenged, by notifying the other person and Alcove (by emailing Residence Provider-exp@Alcove.com), within 21 days of posting of the disputed activity, Lease or other transaction on the Alcove Platform.

7.3.4 Residence Providers should exercise due diligence and care when deciding who to add as a Co-Residence Provider to their Listing(s). Residence Providers remain solely responsible and liable for any and all Listings and Member Content published on the Alcove Platform, including any Listing created by a Co-Residence Provider on their behalf. Further, Residence Providers remain responsible and liable for their own acts and omissions, including, but not limited to, conduct that causes harm or damage to the Co-Residence Provider(s). Co-Residence Providers remain responsible and liable for their own acts and omissions when engaging in their roles and responsibilities as a Co-Residence Provider, including, but not limited to, conduct that causes harm or damage to the Residence Provider. In addition, both Residence Provider and Co-Residence Provider are jointly responsible and severally liable for third party claims, including Guest claims, arising from the acts and omissions of the other person as related to Residence Providing activities, communications with Guests, and the provision of any Co-Residence Provider Services.

7.3.5 Unless agreed otherwise by Residence Provider and Co-Residence Provider, Residence Provider and Co-Residence Provider may terminate the Co-Residence Provider agreement at any time. This provision also applies to Members and Roommates upon early termination of a lease. In addition, both Residence Provider and Co-Residence Provider acknowledge that their Co-Residence Providing relationship will terminate in the event that Alcove (i) terminates the Co-Residence Provider service or (ii) terminates either party’s participation in the Co-Residence Provider service. When the Co-Residence Provider agreement is terminated, the leaving Member will remain responsible for all of the new Roommate’s actions prior to the termination, including the responsibility to fulfill any pending or future Leases initiated prior to the termination. When a Member is removed as a Co-Residence Provider, that Member will no longer have access to any Residence Provider or Guest information related to the applicable Residence Provider’s Listing(s). In addition, Residence Provider agrees to pay Co-Residence Provider for all Co-Residence Provider Services completed prior to Co-Residence Provider’s termination within 14 days of Co-Residence Provider’s termination via the Resolution Center. A Co-Residence Provider will not be entitled to any fees for any Co-Residence Provider Services that have not been completed prior to the Co-Residence Provider’s termination.

8. Terms specific for Members and Roommates

8.1 Terms applicable to all Leases

8.1.1 Subject to meeting any requirements (such as completing any verification processes) set by the Residence Provider, you can book a Listing available on the Alcove Platform by following the respective Lease process. All applicable fees, including the Listing Fee, Security Deposit (if applicable), Member Services Fee and any applicable Taxes (collectively, “Total Fees”) will be presented to you prior to Lease of a Provided Residence. You agree to pay the Total Fees for any Lease and Services requested in connection with your Alcove Account.

8.1.2 Upon receipt of a Lease confirmation from Alcove, a legally binding agreement is formed between you, your Roommates and your Residence Provider, subject to any additional terms and conditions of the Residence Provider that apply, including in particular the applicable cancellation policy and any rules and restrictions specified in the Listing. Alcove Payments will collect the Total Fees at the time of the Lease request or upon the Residence Provider’s confirmation pursuant to the Payments Terms.

8.1.3 If you book a Residence Provider Service on behalf of additional guests, you are required to ensure that every additional guest meets any requirements set by the Residence Provider, and is made aware of and agrees to these Terms and any terms and conditions, rules and restrictions set by the Residence Provider. If you have an additional guest who is a minor, you represent and warrant that you are legally authorized to act on behalf of the minor.

8.2 Lease Provided Residences← Lease Agreements

8.2.1 You understand that a confirmed Lease of a Provided Residence (“Lease Agreement”) is a limited license granted to you by the Residence Provider to enter, occupy and use the Property for the duration of your Lease, during which time the Residence Provider (only where and to the extent permitted by applicable law) retains the right to re-enter the Property, in accordance with your Lease agreement with the Residence Provider.

8.2.2 You agree to leave the Property no later than the Move-Out Date that the Residence Provider specifies in the Listing or such other time as mutually agreed upon between you and the Residence Provider. If you stay past the agreed upon Move-Out Date without the Residence Provider's consent (“Overstay”), you no longer have a license to stay in the Property and the Residence Provider is entitled to make you leave in a manner consistent with applicable law. In addition, you agree to pay, if requested by the Residence Provider, for each Lease period (weekly or monthly) that you Overstay, an additional fee of up to two (2) times the average (weekly, monthly) Listing Fee originally paid by you to cover the inconvenience suffered by the Residence Provider, plus all applicable Member Fees, Taxes, and any legal expenses incurred by the Residence Provider to make you leave (collectively, "Overstay Fees"). Alcove Payments will collect Overstay Fees from you pursuant to the Payments Terms. A Security Deposit, if required by a Residence Provider, may be applied to any Overstay Fees due for a Member’s Overstay.

9. Lease Modifications, Cancellations and Refunds, Resolution Center

9.1 Residence Providers and Members are responsible for any modifications to a Lease that they make via the Alcove Platform or direct Alcove customer service to make ("Lease Modifications"), and agree to pay any additional Listing Fees, Residence Provider Fees or Member Fees and/or Taxes associated with such Lease Modifications.

9.2 Once Members agree to become Roommates on the Platform, the move-in process has begun, and Members may forfeit their Service Fee if they choose to abandon the process. If a Member removes him or herself from the move-in process, they understand that their Service Fee will be used to make the other Members whole, and they will be refunded any additional Fees. This does not apply to the formal Lease process or Security Deposits, which do not involve Alcove in any manner. Please refer to the Service Fees mentioned in Section 6.4 of these Terms.

9.3 If a Residence Provider removes a Provided Residence, the Member will receive a full refund of the Service Fees collected by Alcove (excluding Security Deposits) for such Lease and Alcove may publish an automated review on the Listing cancelled by the Residence Provider indicating that a Lease was cancelled, unless that Member moves into another property listed on the Alcove Platform. In addition, Alcove may (i) keep the calendar for the Listing unavailable or blocked for the dates of the cancelled Lease, and/or (ii) impose a cancellation fee, unless the Residence Provider has a valid reason for cancelling the Lease or has legitimate concerns about the Member’s behavior.

9.4 In certain circumstances, Alcove may decide, in its sole discretion, that it is necessary to cancel a Lease Agreement and make appropriate refund and payout decisions. This may be for reasons (i) where Alcove believes in good faith, while taking the legitimate interests of both parties into account, this is necessary to avoid significant harm to Alcove, other Members, third parties or property, or (ii) for any of the reasons set out in these Terms.

9.5 Members may use the Resolution Center to send or request money for refunds, additional Residence Provider Services, Co-Residence Provider Services or Damage Claims related to Leases. You agree to pay all amounts sent through the Resolution Center in connection with your Alcove Account, and Alcove Payments will handle all such payments pursuant to the Payments Terms.

Formerly Reviews (Later Date)

10. Damage to Provided Residences, Disputes between Members

10.1 As a Member, you are responsible for leaving the Provided Residence (including any personal or other property located at the Provided Residence) in the condition it was in when you arrived. You are responsible for your own acts and omissions and are also responsible for the acts and omissions of any individuals whom you invite to, or otherwise provide access to, the Provided Residence, excluding the Residence Provider (and the individuals the Residence Provider invites to the Provided Residence, if applicable).

10.2 If a Residence Provider claims and provides evidence that you as a Member have damaged a Provided Residence or any personal or other property at an Provided Residence ("Damage Claim"), the Residence Provider will proceed under the terms of the Lease. Alcove is not responsible for, or a party to, Lease violations. If you agree to pay the Residence Provider, or Alcove determines in its sole discretion that you are responsible for the Damage Claim, Alcove Payments will collect any such sums from you and/or against the Security Deposit (if applicable) required to cover the Damage Claim pursuant to the Payments Terms. Alcove also reserves the right to otherwise collect payment from you and pursue any remedies available to Alcove in this regard in situations in which you are responsible for a Damage Claim, including, but not limited to, in relation to any payment requests made by Residence Providers under the Alcove Residence Provider Guarantee.

10.3 Members agree to cooperate with and assist Alcove in good faith, and to provide Alcove with such information and take such actions as may be reasonably requested by Alcove, in connection with any Damage Claims or other complaints or claims made by Members relating to Provided Residences or any personal or other property located at an Provided Residence. A Member shall, upon Alcove's reasonable request and at no cost to the Member, participate in mediation or a similar resolution process with another Member, which process will be conducted by Alcove or a third party selected by Alcove or its insurer, with respect to losses for which a Member is requesting payment from Alcove.

10.4 If you are a Member or a Roommate, you understand and agree that Alcove may make a claim under your homeowner's, renter's or other insurance policy related to any damage or loss that you may have caused, or been responsible for, to an Provided Residence or any personal or other property located at an Provided Residence (including without limitation amounts paid by Alcove under the Alcove Residence Provider Guarantee). You agree to cooperate with and assist Alcove in good faith, and to provide Alcove with such information as may be reasonably requested by Alcove, to make a claim under your homeowner's, renter's or other insurance policy, including, but not limited to, executing documents and taking such further acts as Alcove may reasonably request to assist Alcove in accomplishing the foregoing.

11. Taxes

11.1 As a Residence Provider you are solely responsible for determining your obligations to report, collect, remit or include in your Listing Fees any applicable VAT or other indirect sales taxes, occupancy tax, tourist or other visitor taxes or income taxes ("Taxes").

11.2 Tax regulations may require us to collect appropriate Tax information from Residence Providers, or to withhold Taxes from payouts to Residence Providers, or both. If a Residence Provider fails to provide us with documentation that we determine to be sufficient to alleviate our obligation (if any) to withhold Taxes from payouts to you, we reserve the right to freeze all payouts, withhold such amounts as required by law, or to do both, until resolution.

11.3 You understand that any appropriate governmental agency, department and/or authority ("Tax Authority") where your Provided Residence is located may require Taxes to be collected from Members or Residence Providers on Listing Fees, and to be remitted to the respective Tax Authority. The laws in jurisdictions may vary, but these Taxes may be required to be collected and remitted as a percentage of the Listing Fees set by Residence Providers, a set amount per day, or other variations, and are sometimes called "transient occupancy taxes," "hotel taxes," "lodging taxes," "city taxes," "room taxes" or "tourist taxes" ("Occupancy Taxes").

11.4 In certain jurisdictions, Alcove may decide in its sole discretion to facilitate collection and remittance of Occupancy Taxes from or on behalf of Guests or Residence Providers, in accordance these Terms ("Collection and Remittance") if such jurisdiction asserts Alcove or Residence Providers have an Occupancy Tax collection and remittance obligation. In any jurisdiction in which we decide to facilitate direct Collection and Remittance, you hereby instruct and authorize Alcove (via Alcove Payments) to collect Occupancy Taxes from Guests on the Residence Provider's behalf at the time Listing Fees are collected, and to remit such Occupancy Taxes to the Tax Authority. The amount of Occupancy Taxes, if any, collected and remitted by Alcove will be visible to and separately stated to both Guests and Residence Providers on their respective transaction documents. Where Alcove is facilitating Collection and Remittance, Residence Providers are not permitted to collect any Occupancy Taxes being collected by Alcove relating to their Provided Residences in that jurisdiction.

11.5 You agree that any claim or cause of action relating to Alcove's facilitation of Collection and Remittance of Occupancy Taxes shall not extend to any supplier or vendor that may be used by Alcove in connection with facilitation of Collection and Remittance, if any. Guests and Residence Providers agree that we may seek additional amounts from you in the event that the Taxes collected and/or remitted are insufficient to fully discharge your obligations to the Tax Authority, and agree that your sole remedy for Occupancy Taxes collected is a refund of Occupancy Taxes collected by Alcove from the applicable Tax Authority in accordance with applicable procedures set by that Tax Authority.

11.6 Alcove reserves the right, with prior notice to Residence Providers, to cease the Collection and Remittance in any jurisdiction for any reason at which point Residence Providers and Guests are once again solely responsible and liable for the collection and/or remittance of any and all Occupancy Taxes that may apply to Provided Residences in that jurisdiction.

12. Prohibited Activities

12.1 You are solely responsible for compliance with any and all laws, rules, regulations, and Tax obligations that may apply to your use of the Alcove Platform. In connection with your use of the Alcove Platform, you will not and will not assist or enable others to:

breach or circumvent any applicable laws or regulations, agreements with third-parties, third-party rights, or our Terms, Policies or Standards;
use the Alcove Platform or Collective Content for any commercial or other purposes that are not expressly permitted by these Terms or in a manner that falsely implies Alcove endorsement, partnership or otherwise misleads others as to your affiliation with Alcove;
copy, store or otherwise access or use any information, including personally identifiable information about any other Member, contained on the Alcove Platform in any way that is inconsistent with Alcove’s Privacy Policy or these Terms or that otherwise violates the privacy rights of Members or third parties;
use the Alcove Platform in connection with the distribution of unsolicited commercial messages ("spam");
offer, as a Residence Provider, any Provided Residence that you do not yourself own or have permission to make available as a residential or other property through the Alcove Platform;
unless Alcove explicitly permits otherwise, book any Provided Residence if you will not actually be using the Residence Provider Services yourself;
contact another Member for any purpose other than asking a question related to a your own Lease, Listing, or the Member's use of the Alcove Platform, including, but not limited to, recruiting or otherwise soliciting any Member to join third-party services, applications or websites, without our prior written approval;
use the Alcove Platform to request, make or accept a Lease independent of the Alcove Platform, to circumvent any Service Fees or for any other reason;
request, accept or make any payment for Listing Fees outside of the Alcove Platform or Alcove Payments. If you do so, you acknowledge and agree that you: (i) would be in breach of these Terms; (ii) accept all risks and responsibility for such payment, and (iii) hold Alcove harmless from any liability for such payment;
discriminate against or harass anyone on the basis of race, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, age or sexual orientation, or otherwise engage in any abusive or disruptive behavior;
use, display, mirror or frame the Alcove Platform or Collective Content, or any individual element within the Alcove Platform, Alcove's name, any Alcove trademark, logo or other proprietary information, or the layout and design of any page or form contained on a page in the Alcove Platform, without Alcove's express written consent;
dilute, tarnish or otherwise harm the Alcove brand in any way, including through unauthorized use of Collective Content, registering and/or using Alcove or derivative terms in domain names, trade names, trademarks or other source identifiers, or registering and/or using domains names, trade names, trademarks or other source identifiers that closely imitate or are confusingly similar to Alcove domains, trademarks, taglines, promotional campaigns or Collective Content;
use any robots, spider, crawler, scraper or other automated means or processes to access, collect data or other content from or otherwise interact with the Alcove Platform for any purpose;
avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, impair, descramble, or otherwise attempt to circumvent any technological measure implemented by Alcove or any of Alcove's providers or any other third party to protect the Alcove Platform;
attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer any of the software used to provide the Alcove Platform;
take any action that damages or adversely affects, or could damage or adversely affect the performance or proper functioning of the Alcove Platform;
export, re-export, import, or transfer the Application except as authorized by United States law, the export control laws of your jurisdiction, and any other applicable laws; or
violate or infringe anyone else’s rights or otherwise cause harm to anyone.

12.2 You acknowledge that Alcove has no obligation to monitor the access to or use of the Alcove Platform by any Member or to review, disable access to, or edit any Member Content, but has the right to do so to (i) operate, secure and improve the Alcove Platform (including without limitation for fraud prevention, risk assessment, investigation and customer support purposes); (ii) ensure Members’ compliance with these Terms; (iii) comply with applicable law or the order or requirement of a court, law enforcement or other administrative agency or governmental body; (iv) respond to Member Content that it determines is harmful or objectionable; or (v) as otherwise set forth in these Terms. Members agree to cooperate with and assist Alcove in good faith, and to provide Alcove with such information and take such actions as may be reasonably requested by Alcove with respect to any investigation undertaken by Alcove or a representative of Alcove regarding the use or abuse of the Alcove Platform.

12.3 If you feel that any Member you interact with, whether online or in person, is acting or has acted inappropriately, including but not limited to anyone who (i) engages in offensive, violent or sexually inappropriate behavior, (ii) you suspect of stealing from you, or (iii) engages in any other disturbing conduct, you should immediately report such person to the appropriate authorities and then to Alcove by contacting us with your police station and report number (if available); provided that your report will not obligate us to take any action beyond that required by law (if any) or cause us to incur any liability to you.

13. Term and Termination, Suspension and other Measures

13.1 This Agreement shall be effective for a 1 year term, at the end of which it will automatically and continuously renew for subsequent 30-day terms until such time when you or Alcove terminate the Agreement in accordance with this provision.

13.2 You may terminate this Agreement at any time via the "Cancel Account" feature on the Alcove Platform or by sending us an email. If you cancel your Alcove Account as a Residence Provider, any confirmed Lease(s) will be terminated at the end of the Lease Agreement period. If you cancel your Alcove Account as a Member, any confirmed Lease(s) will be automatically cancelled and any refund will depend upon the terms of the Listing’s cancellation policy. Any terminations of Lease Agreement or Provided Residences, and refunds distributed as a result, explicitly exclude the Service Fee mentioned in Section 6.4 of these Terms.

13.3 Without limiting our rights specified below, Alcove may terminate this Agreement for convenience at any time by giving you thirty (30) days' notice via email to your registered email address.

13.4 Alcove may immediately, without notice terminate this Agreement if (i) you have materially breached your obligations under these Terms, the Payments Terms, our Policies and Standards, (ii) you have violated applicable laws, regulations or third party rights, or (iii) Alcove believes in good faith that such action is reasonably necessary to protect the personal safety or property of Alcove, its Members, or third parties (for example in the case of fraudulent behavior of a Member).

13.5 In addition, Alcove may take any of the following measures (i) to comply with applicable law, or the order or request of a court, law enforcement or other administrative agency or governmental body, or if (ii) you have breached these Terms, the Payments Terms, applicable laws, regulations, or third party rights, (iii) you have provided inaccurate, fraudulent, outdated or incomplete information during the Alcove Account registration, Listing process or thereafter, (iv) you and/or your Listings or Residence Provider Services at any time fail to meet any applicable quality or eligibility criteria, (v) you have repeatedly received poor Ratings or Reviews or Alcove otherwise becomes aware of or has received complaints about your performance or conduct, (vi) you have repeatedly cancelled confirmed Leases or failed to respond to Lease requests without a valid reason, or (vii) Alcove believes in good faith that such action is reasonably necessary to protect the personal safety or property of Alcove, its Members, or third parties, or to prevent fraud or other illegal activity:

refuse to surface, delete or delay any Listings, Ratings, Reviews, or other Member Content;
cancel any pending or confirmed Leases;
limit your access to or use of the Alcove Platform;
temporarily or permanently revoke any special status associated with your Alcove Account; or
temporarily or in case of severe or repeated offenses permanently suspend your Alcove Account.

In case of non-material breaches and where appropriate, you will be given notice of any intended measure by Alcove and an opportunity to resolve the issue to Alcove's reasonable satisfaction.

13.6 If we take any of the measures described above (i) we may refund your Members in full for any and all confirmed Leases that have been cancelled, irrespective of preexisting cancellation policies, and (ii) you will not be entitled to any compensation for pending or confirmed Leases that were cancelled.

13.7 When this Agreement has been terminated, you are not entitled to a restoration of your Alcove Account or any of your Member Content. If your access to or use of the Alcove Platform has been limited or your Alcove Account has been suspended or this Agreement has been terminated by us, you may not register a new Alcove Account or access and use the Alcove Platform through a Alcove Account of another Member.

13.8 Unless you reside in Germany, if you or we terminate this Agreement, the clauses of these Terms that reasonably should survive termination of the Agreement will remain in effect.

14. Disclaimers

If you choose to use the Alcove Platform or Collective Content, you do so voluntarily and at your sole risk. The Alcove Platform and Collective Content is provided “as is”, without warranty of any kind, either express or implied.

You agree that you have had whatever opportunity you deem necessary to investigate the Alcove Services, laws, rules, or regulations that may be applicable to your Listings and/or Residence Provider Services you are receiving and that you are not relying upon any statement of law or fact made by Alcove relating to a Provided Residence.

If we choose to conduct identity verification or background checks on any Member, to the extent permitted by applicable law, we disclaim warranties of any kind, either express or implied, that such checks will identify prior misconduct by a Member or guarantee that a Member will not engage in misconduct in the future.

You agree that some Experiences, Events or other Residence Provider Services may carry inherent risk, and by participating in those Residence Provider Services, you choose to assume those risks voluntarily. For example, some Residence Provider Services may carry risk of illness, bodily injury, disability, or death, and you freely and willfully assume those risks by choosing to participate in those Residence Provider Services. You assume full responsibility for the choices you make before, during and after your participation in a Residence Provider Service. If you are bringing a minor as an additional guest, you are solely responsible for the supervision of that minor throughout the duration of your Residence Provider Service and to the maximum extent permitted by law, you agree to release and hold harmless Alcove from all liabilities and claims that arise in any way from any injury, death, loss or harm that occurs to that minor during the Residence Provider Service or in any way related to your Residence Provider Service.

The foregoing disclaimers apply to the maximum extent permitted by law. You may have other statutory rights. However, the duration of statutorily required warranties, if any, shall be limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

15. Liability

15.1 You acknowledge and agree that, to the maximum extent permitted by law, the entire risk arising out of your access to and use of the Alcove Platform and Collective Content, your publishing or Lease of any Listing via the Alcove Platform, your stay at any Provided Residence, participation in any Experience or Event or use of any other Residence Provider Service or any other interaction you have with other Members whether in person or online remains with you. Neither Alcove nor any other party involved in creating, producing, or delivering the Alcove Platform or Collective Content will be liable for any incidental, special, exemplary or consequential damages, including lost profits, loss of data or loss of goodwill, service interruption, computer damage or system failure or the cost of substitute products or services, or for any damages for personal or bodily injury or emotional distress arising out of or in connection with (i) these Terms, (ii) from the use of or inability to use the Alcove Platform or Collective Content, (iii) from any communications, interactions or meetings with other Members or other persons with whom you communicate, interact or meet with as a result of your use of the Alcove Platform, or (iv) from your publishing or Lease of a Listing, including the provision or use of a Listing’s Residence Provider Services, whether based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence), product liability or any other legal theory, and whether or not Alcove has been informed of the possibility of such damage, even if a limited remedy set forth herein is found to have failed of its essential purpose. Except for our obligations to pay amounts to applicable Residence Providers pursuant to these Terms or an approved payment request under the Alcove Residence Provider Guarantee, in no event will Alcove’s aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with these Terms and your use of the Alcove Platform including, but not limited to, from your publishing or Lease of any Listings via the Alcove Platform, or from the use of or inability to use the Alcove Platform or Collective Content and in connection with any Provided Residence, Experiences, Event or other Residence Provider Service, or interactions with any other Members, exceed the amounts you have paid or owe for Leases via the Alcove Platform as a Member in the twelve (12) month period prior to the event giving rise to the liability, or if you are a Residence Provider, the amounts paid by Alcove to you in the twelve (12) month period prior to the event giving rise to the liability, or one hundred U.S. dollars (US$100), if no such payments have been made, as applicable. The limitations of damages set forth above are fundamental elements of the basis of the bargain between Alcove and you. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, so the above limitation may not apply to you. If you reside outside of the U.S., this does not affect Alcove’s liability for death or personal injury arising from its negligence, nor for fraudulent misrepresentation, misrepresentation as to a fundamental matter or any other liability which cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

16. Indemnification

You agree to release, defend (at Alcove’s option), indemnify, and hold Alcove and its affiliates and subsidiaries, and their officers, directors, employees and agents, harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, arising out of or in any way connected with (i) your breach of these Terms or our Policies or Standards, (ii) your improper use of the Alcove Platform or any Alcove Services, (iii) your interaction with any Member, stay at an Provided Residence, participation in an Experience, Event or other Residence Provider Service, including without limitation any injuries, losses or damages (whether compensatory, direct, incidental, consequential or otherwise) of any kind arising in connection with or as a result of such interaction, stay, participation or use, (iv) Alcove’s Collection and Remittance of Occupancy Taxes, or (v) your breach of any laws, regulations or third party rights.

17. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Agreement

17.1 This Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Agreement shall apply if you (i) reside in the United States; or (ii) do not reside in the United States, but bring any claim against Alcove in the United States (to the extent not in conflict with Section 21).

17.2 Overview of Dispute Resolution Process. Alcove is committed to participating in a consumer-friendly dispute resolution process. To that end, these Terms provide for a two-part process for individuals to whom Section 19.1 applies: (1) an informal negotiation directly with Alcove’s customer service team, and (2) a binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) using its specially designed Consumer Arbitration Rules (as modified by this Section 19). Specifically, the process provides:

Claims can be filed with AAA online (www.adr.org);
Arbitrators must be neutral and no party may unilaterally select an arbitrator;
Arbitrators must disclose any bias, interest in the result of the arbitration, or relationship with any party;
Parties retain the right to seek relief in small claims court for certain claims, at their option;
The initial filing fee for the consumer is capped at $200;
The consumer gets to elect the hearing location and can elect to participate live, by phone, video conference, or, for claims under $25,000, by the submission of documents;
The arbitrator can grant any remedy that the parties could have received in court to resolve the party’s individual claim.

17.3 Pre-Arbitration Dispute Resolution and Notification. Prior to initiating an arbitration, you and Alcove each agree to notify the other party of the dispute and attempt to negotiate an informal resolution to it first. We will contact you at the email address you have provided to us; you can contact Alcove’s customer service team by emailing us. If after a good faith effort to negotiate one of us feels the dispute has not and cannot be resolved informally, the party intending to pursue arbitration agrees to notify the other party via email prior to initiating the arbitration. In order to initiate arbitration, a claim must be filed with the AAA and the written Demand for Arbitration (available at www.adr.org) provided to the other party, as specified in the AAA Rules.

17.4 Agreement to Arbitrate. You and Alcove mutually agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the breach, termination, enforcement or interpretation thereof, or to the use of the Alcove Platform, the Residence Provider Services, or the Collective Content (collectively, “Disputes”) will be settled by binding arbitration (the “Arbitration Agreement”). If there is a dispute about whether this Arbitration Agreement can be enforced or applies to our Dispute, you and Alcove agree that the arbitrator will decide that issue.

17.5 Exceptions to Arbitration Agreement. You and Alcove each agree that the following claims are exceptions to the Arbitration Agreement and will be brought in a judicial proceeding in a court of competent jurisdiction: (i) Any claim related to actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation or violation of a party’s copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents, or other intellectual property rights; (ii) Any claim seeking emergency injunctive relief based on exigent circumstances (e.g., imminent danger or commission of a crime, hacking, cyber-attack).

17.6 Arbitration Rules and Governing Law. This Arbitration Agreement evidences a transaction in interstate commerce and thus the Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this provision. The arbitration will be administered by AAA in accordance with the Consumer Arbitration Rules (the “AAA Rules“) then in effect, except as modified here. The AAA Rules are available at www.adr.org or by calling the AAA at 1–800–778–7879.

17.7 Modification to AAA Rules - Arbitration Hearing/Location. In order to make the arbitration most convenient to you, Alcove agrees that any required arbitration hearing may be conducted, at your option, (a) in the county where you reside; (b) in Durham County; (c) in any other location to which you and Alcove both agree; (d) via phone or video conference; or (e) for any claim or counterclaim under $25,000, by solely the submission of documents to the arbitrator.

17.8 Modification of AAA Rules - Attorney’s Fees and Costs. You may be entitled to seek an award of attorney fees and expenses if you prevail in arbitration, to the extent provided under applicable law and the AAA rules. Unless the arbitrator determines that your claim was frivolous or filed for the purpose of harassment, Alcove agrees it will not seek, and hereby waives all rights it may have under applicable law or the AAA rules, to recover attorneys’ fees and expenses if it prevails in arbitration.

17.9 Arbitrator’s Decision. The arbitrator’s decision will include the essential findings and conclusions upon which the arbitrator based the award. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court with proper jurisdiction. The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only on an individual basis and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the claimant’s individual claim.

17.10 Jury Trial Waiver. You and Alcove acknowledge and agree that we are each waiving the right to a trial by jury as to all arbitrable Disputes.

17.11 No Class Actions or Representative Proceedings. You and Alcove acknowledge and agree that we are each waiving the right to participate as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class action lawsuit, class-wide arbitration, private attorney-general action, or any other representative proceeding as to all Disputes. Further, unless you and Alcove both otherwise agree in writing, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one party’s claims and may not otherwise preside over any form of any class or representative proceeding. If this paragraph is held unenforceable with respect to any Dispute, then the entirety of the Arbitration Agreement will be deemed void with respect to such Dispute.

17.12 Severability. Except as provided in Section 19.11, in the event that any portion of this Arbitration Agreement is deemed illegal or unenforceable, such provision shall be severed and the remainder of the Arbitration Agreement shall be given full force and effect.

17.13 Changes. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3 (“Modification of these Terms”), if Alcove changes this Section 19 (“Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Agreement”) after the date you last accepted these Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms), you may reject any such change by sending us written notice (including by email) within thirty (30) days of the date such change became effective, as indicated in the “Last Updated” date above or in the date of Alcove’s email to you notifying you of such change. By rejecting any change, you are agreeing that you will arbitrate any Dispute between you and Alcove in accordance with the provisions of the “Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Agreement” section as of the date you last accepted these Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms).

17.14 Survival. Except as provided in Section 19.12 and subject to Section 15.8, this Section 19 will survive any termination of these Terms and will continue to apply even if you stop using the Alcove Platform or terminate your Alcove Account.

18. Feedback

We welcome and encourage you to provide feedback, comments and suggestions for improvements to the Alcove Platform (“Feedback“). You may submit Feedback by emailing us, through the “Contact” section of the Alcove Platform, or by other means of communication. Any Feedback you submit to us will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary to you. By submitting Feedback to us, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, sub-licensable, perpetual license to use and publish those ideas and materials for any purpose, without compensation to you.

19. Applicable Law and Jurisdiction

19.1 If you reside in the United States, these Terms will be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of North Carolina and the United States of America, without regard to conflict-of-law provisions. Judicial proceedings (other than small claims actions) that are excluded from the Arbitration Agreement in Section 19 must be brought in state or federal court in Greensboro, North Carolina, unless we both agree to some other location. You and we both consent to venue and personal jurisdiction in Durham, North Carolina.

20. General Provisions

20.1 Except as they may be supplemented by additional terms and conditions, policies, guidelines or standards, these Terms constitute the entire Agreement between Alcove and you pertaining to the subject matter hereof, and supersede any and all prior oral or written understandings or agreements between Alcove and you in relation to the access to and use of the Alcove Platform.

20.2 No joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and Alcove as a result of this Agreement or your use of the Alcove Platform.

20.3 These Terms do not and are not intended to confer any rights or remedies upon any person other than the parties.

20.4 If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision will be struck and will not affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions.

20.5 Alcove’s failure to enforce any right or provision in these Terms will not constitute a waiver of such right or provision unless acknowledged and agreed to by us in writing. Except as expressly set forth in these Terms, the exercise by either party of any of its remedies under these Terms will be without prejudice to its other remedies under these Terms or otherwise permitted under law.

20.6 You may not assign, transfer or delegate this Agreement and your rights and obligations hereunder without Alcove's prior written consent. Alcove may without restriction assign, transfer or delegate this Agreement and any rights and obligations hereunder, at its sole discretion, with 30 days prior notice. Your right to terminate this Agreement at any time remains unaffected.

20.7 Unless specified otherwise, any notices or other communications to Members permitted or required under this Agreement, will be in writing and given by Alcove via email, Alcove Platform notification, or messaging service (including SMS and WeChat). For notices made to Members residing outside of Germany, the date of receipt will be deemed the date on which Alcove transmits the notice.

20.8 If you have any questions about these Terms please email us.

Terms of Service

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