CGU of the CASH & SMILE Loyalty Program as of March 3, 2025
IMPORTANT: The General Conditions of the Loyalty Program CASH & SMILE are governed by article 1369-1 et seq. of the Civil Code.
Article I. Purpose
The loyalty program CASH & SMILE (hereinafter referred to as the “Program”) aims to allow the member of the program (hereinafter referred to as the “Member”) to benefit from advantages giving the right to immediate online discounts or obtaining prize pools.
The Program is implemented by Contact Hotel Services, whose head office is located at 2 rue de Preize, 10 000 Troyes, in accordance with the provisions of article 211-1 of the Tourism Code.
Article II. Membership in the Program
1. Steps to follow
Anyone wishing to join the Program has three options:
- Solution #1 : During their stay at a Contact Hôtel hotel, the customer can make their request at reception. A valid email address will be requested and the kitty accumulated during the stay will be credited to a temporary account linked to the email address provided. An email to validate their email address will be sent to them and they can then, by clicking on a link, validate these General Terms and Conditions of the Program and finalize the creation of the online loyalty account "CASH & SMILE" (hereinafter referred to as the "Account"). The kitty accumulated will then be activated.
- Solution #2 : Log in and register on “www.cash-and-smile.com” in order to validate these General Conditions of the Program and finalize the creation of your Account.
- Solution #3 : Call* the CASH & SMILE service on 03 25 45 87 08 to pre-register. An email will then be sent to the customer with a link to the site “www.cash-and-smile.com”, on which he can validate these General Conditions of the Program and finalize the creation of his Account.
* Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 14 p.m. to 18 p.m.
2. Conditions:
The same customer (same first name, last name, date of birth and postal address) can only join the Program once. A valid individual email address is required to join the Program. The same email address is not accepted for two Members.
The Account is strictly personal. It cannot be sold or loaned. Each Account created is associated with a unique loyalty number, a unique e-mail address and a single Member. In addition, the Member must be able to present a valid identity document.
Membership of the Program is free and open to any adult natural person.
Article III. Operation of the Program
The loyalty program CASH & SMILE is a dematerialized program. The customer is not required to have a physical card and tracks their prize pools on their Online Account. The customer can choose to benefit from two rewards: the discount or the prize pool.
The percentage of the discount or prize pool is determined according to the customer's status.
The loyalty program CASH & SMILE is a dematerialized program. The Member can choose between two types of benefits:
- Immediate delivery : a 7% reduction (to 10% depending on status) applied directly when booking online on the site www.contact-hotel.com. This discount is not applicable to reservations made directly at the hotel (by telephone or at reception).
- The accumulation of jackpot : a cashback of 7% (10% depending on the status) credited to your loyalty account. This cashback can be used to make future online reservations OR is available for reimbursement once the threshold of € 50 is reached in the piggy bank.
In the event that the member creates his account at the hotel during his first stay
the customer:
- Must complete account registration to activate account.
- Not eligible for instant discount.
- Receive a prize pool from the hotelier of 7% of the amount paid at check out
Possible choices for the following stays:
Option 1 – Use of the kitty and immediate delivery (EX: a leisure traveler):
- When booking online at www.contact-hotel.com, the Member may deduct the prize pool accumulated from previous stays without having to wait for €50.
- It also benefits from the 7% immediate discount on the amount of his new reservation.
- This option allows you to immediately deduct the prize pools.
Option 2 – Accumulation for reimbursement (EX: a business traveler):
- The Member does not spend never his kitty because he is not the one who pays for his overnight stays (his company pays the accommodation costs).
- So he continues to to collect 7% (to 10% depending on the status) of the amount of its reservations up to €50.
- Once this threshold is reached, he will receive a refund of €50 (or in increments of €50), either in cash, by check or as a deduction from his last night up to the amount of the total bill (see article B.5).
1. The statutes
The statuses allow Members to benefit from larger discounts or prize pools depending on consumption and turnover achieved whether online on the site www.contact-hotel.com or directly from the hotelier.
Four statuses are possible depending on the number of euros spent per year: Explorer (first status when creating the account), Traveler (second status), Collector (third status) and Globe-Trotter (fourth status).
|
Status
|
Explorateur
|
Traveler
|
Collector
|
Globetrotter
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Annual expenses
|
<1400 €
|
between € 1400,01 and € 4500
|
between € 4500,01 and € 8000
|
> 8000 €
|
|
Discount / Prize Pool
|
7%
|
8%
|
9%
|
10%
|
The status is updated between January 1st and 15th of each year (n) based on the Member's spending in the previous year (n-1). A Member can move up a status during the year, but can only move down a status at the time of the update at the beginning of the next year.
Some examples :
- 24/03/2025: registration for EXPLORER status 7%. For €104 spent on the first stay, i.e. €7,28 collected
- 11/05/2025: After several stays, the member exceeds €1400 in expenses = obtaining TRAVELER status with 8%
- 10/06/2025: TRAVELER status with 8%: a stay of €104 brings €8,32 into your kitty (or could benefit from an 8% discount for online bookings)
- 04/10/2025: TRAVELER status with 8%: a stay of €112 on the online site Contact-hotel.com, the member wishes to benefit from the immediate discount on his online reservation, i.e. €112 – €8,96 = €103,04 paid
- 08/10/2025: After several stays, the member exceeds €4500 = obtaining COLLECTOR status with 9%
- 31/12/2025: In total, he makes €5300 with all his purchases in hotels and/or on the online site.
- As of January 1, 2026 = He keeps the COLLECTOR status
- As of 31/12/2026: In total for the year 2026, he makes €1300 with all his purchases in hotels and/or online sites.
- fAs of January 1, 2027 = He starts the year with EXPLORER status
2. Advantages
A) The discount
The Member can choose to benefit from the discount on their online reservations only on reservations made on the site www.contact-hotel.com.
The member cannot benefit from the discount at the hotel reception or any other website (other than www.contact-hotel.com). In this case, he/she will be able to benefit from the prize pool on the amounts spent at the hotel (except exceptions).
B) The kitty
The kitty is possible on reservations made on the site www.contact-hotel.com, by email or by telephone directly from the hotel (except exceptions).
B-1) Obtaining the prize pool
To obtain their prize pool, the Member must be identified with their account for online reservations on the site www.contact-hotel.com or can present their loyalty number, email address, mobile number or name for faster management.
Prize pools for stays prior to the account creation date cannot be added after the Account is created.
The “CASH & SMILE” prize pools cannot under any circumstances be refunded individually, exchanged, transferred or given, nor even combined with those of any other Member of the “CASH & SMILE” Program.
LThe prize pools acquired by the Member will be credited to the Member's account, regardless of the identity of the person or entity having paid for the stays in the Contact Hotels, provided that said Member has given his loyalty number and/or his name when booking the stay, and/or upon arrival or departure.
However, if several people are staying in the hotel, the prize pool can only be allocated to the person actually paying the bill at the time of check-out. As a result, an employee will not be able to accumulate on his personal account the kitty for stays paid directly by his employer or by a third party, unless he pays the entire bill himself, including for his colleagues. For example, a customer paying for several rooms, such as an employee for his colleagues or a parent for his family, will be able to accumulate the entire kitty on his account.
Members will be responsible for informing any third party or legal entity paying for stays in Contact Hotels, including the Member's employer, of the prize pools obtained under the program.
The prize pools are pending and will only be credited to the Member's account once the stay has been checked out. Although the prize pools are calculated and associated with the stay upon booking or the start of the stay, they cannot be used or considered acquired by the Member until after the stay has been finalized.
B-2) Validity of prize pools
The “CASH & SMILE” prize pools are valid for 24 to 27 months depending on the prize pool allocation date. The Member will receive by default a quarterly email informing them of the prize pools/euros expiring in the coming quarter.
Example: a prize pool obtained on 16/10/2025 will be valid until 31/12/2027. The Member will be informed on 01/10/2027 of prize pools expiring at the end of the current quarter. At the end of this period, any unused prize pool is permanently lost.
B-3) Eligibility
The “CASH & SMILE” prize pools are valid for reservations made by telephone directly with the hotel or the reservation center. Contact Hotel Services, or, on the hotel's own website or on the website of Contact Hotel : www.contact-hotel.comThey are valid on the prices displayed, the “evening stopover”, “half board”, “full board” and BB (room + breakfast) packages, excluding all the restrictions below.
B-4) Restrictions
The “CASH & SMILE” prize pools are NOT valid for: reservations by e-distributors, Tour Operators, travel agencies, distribution channels, negotiated rates, corporate/business rates, seminars, packages, gift boxes and vouchers issued by Contact Hotel for partner assistance companies, consumption at the bar only, at the restaurant only, at the hotel shop and tourist taxes.
B-5) Reimbursement or Cashback
Once the prize pool reaches € 50 (or a multiple of €50), the Member is reimbursed for his last night on the basis of the price paid in one of the following forms:
- Cash ou by cheque during his stay in a partner hotel.
- Deducted from his last night.
Please note:
Reimbursement can never exceed the amount paid for the last night.
If the kitty contains an amount that is not divisible by €50, the remaining balance is kept for a future reimbursement.
Example of reimbursements:
- Jackpot at €57 + Stay at € 78 → Refund of €50, rest € 7 in kitty.
- Jackpot at €57 + Stay at € 48 → Refund of €48 (the amount cannot exceed the price of the last night), remaining € 9 in kitty.
- Jackpot at €103 + Stay at € 108 → Reimbursement of 2 x €50, rest € 3 in kitty.
3. Duration
Membership in the Program is concluded for an indefinite period.
4. Termination
The Member has the right to cease participating in the Program at any time by notifying his or her decision in writing by e-mail: loyalty@contact-hotel.com or by mail:
Contact Hotel Services
CASH & SMILE
2 Street Preize
10000 Troyes – France
In the event of termination, all prize pools available on the Online Account prior to the termination date will be permanently lost.
5. Amendment
The Program may be suspended, modified or deleted, in whole or in part, at any time, at the initiative of Contact Hotel. Members will be informed by receiving an email (provided that the email address provided by the Member is still valid). No modification, suspension or deletion of the Program will entitle the Member to compensation. In the event that the Program is stopped, on the day the Program is stopped, all prize pools available on the Member's Online Account will be permanently lost.
6. Converting old points
The points system has been replaced by a system of prize pools and discounts. All old points have been converted into prize pools and the validity of the prize pool is set at 24 months (maximum 27 months). Here is the conversion scale:
- Tourist Member (accounts for 6 points), 1 old point = €3,33 in the kitty
- Explorer Member (12 points), 1 old point = €4,5 in the kitty
- Traveler Member (accounts for 12 points), 1 old point = €4,66 in the kitty
- Collector Member (accounts for 12 points), 1 old point = €4,83 in the kitty
- Globe-Trotter Member (12 points), 1 old point = €5 in the kitty
For example, a member with EXPLORER status with 4 points will have a prize pool of €18 when the new CASH & SMILE program is launched.
In order to calculate the turnover achieved by the member over the period from 01/01/2025 to the date of implementation of the Cash & Smile program, i.e. 03/03/2025, it was decided that the points allocated to the member's account during this period would be multiplied by an average price of €90 (average price representative of a stopover evening in the Contact Hôtels group on the day of conversion).
This conversion allows the member's 2026 status to be calculated according to the new criteria for the year 2025.
7. Conversion of statuses
The names of the statuses remained the same. As of March 3, 2025, when the new program was launched, it was decided to base it on the average price of a night at Contact Hotels: €90 (in 2024).
To calculate the Customer's expenses in 2024 and thus determine the new status of the customer at the launch of the new program, the following calculation was applied: Expenses 2024 = number of points obtained in 2024 x €90.
So, if the customer did in 2024:
- Between 0 to 16 points: ▶ Explorateur
- Between 17 and 50 points: ▶️ Traveler
- Between 51 and 88 points: ▶️ Collector
- More than 89 points: ▶️ Globe-Trotter (GT)
Article IV. Hotels
1. Hotels participating in the Program
The Program is valid in the hotels of the “Contact Hôtels” and “Charme & Caractère” Group in France on the day of the reservation and stay, and the list of which appears on the website “www.contact-hotel.com”. This list is regularly updated. The Member is invited to check the participation of the hotels in which he wishes to stay.
If an establishment leaves the Group Contact Hotel after booking, but before the stay, no prize pool will be awarded.
2. Complaint
Each Member of the Program must personally ensure that the prize pools they have obtained are credited to their Online Account by the participating hotel. The Member, within two weeks following the date on which the corresponding services were consumed, must submit their claim accompanied by their loyalty number and all necessary supporting documents.
Any complaint must be sent by email: loyalty@contact-hotel.com or by mail:
Contact Hotel Services
CASH & SMILE
2 Street Preize
10000 Troyes – France
If the claim is justified, the prize pools are then credited on the date the claim is processed.
Article V. Liability
1. Responsibility of Contact Hotels and Charm & Character
The prize pools provided to Members by participating hotels are provided under the terms of use developed by Contact Hotel Services. In the event of a failure of the computer system, Contact Hotel Services cannot be held responsible in the event of partial or total loss of the prize pools awarded.
2. Member’s Responsibility
The Member assumes full responsibility for the use of the prize pools accumulated within the framework of the Program. It is recalled that, according to article II – 2, the prize pools accumulated are for the exclusive benefit of the Member and cannot be transferred to third parties.
Any breach of the General Conditions of Use of the Program, any fraudulent use of the prize pools, falsification, theft, violence or repeated non-compliance with the internal regulations of participating hoteliers, may result in the termination, without notice or compensation, of the Member's membership in the Program and the deletion of the prize pools acquired on his/her online Account.
Article VI. Modification of the general conditions
These General Conditions are subject to change at any time and without notice by Contact Hotel Services. Contact Hotel Services remains committed as long as the offer is electronically accessible by itself.
Article VII. Use of data
The information obtained from Members (identification data, Account data including the Account number, etc.) is intended for Contact Hotel Services in connection with the use of the loyalty program CASH & SMILE.
These data are stored by Contact Hotel Services for the duration of membership in the loyalty program.
Our entire confidentiality and privacy policy is available on this page: https://www.contact-hotel.com/politique-de-confidentialite.htm
The information on the online registration form, followed by an asterisk, is mandatory. Membership cannot be taken into account if these mandatory information have not been completed.
Article VIII. Dispute Resolution
Here is the link to the European Dispute Resolution Assistance Platform: ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr .
Mediation:
Contact Hotel is part of the Tourism and Travel Mediation Service (MTV). If you have contacted our team or the Contact Hotel quality department (http://satisfaction.contact-hotel.com) and in the absence of a satisfactory response within sixty (60) days, you can contact the MTV Mediator, whose contact details and referral procedures are available on the website: http://www.mtv.travel
Article IX. Member Rights
In application of the provisions of articles 39 and following of the French law of January 6, 1978 relating to information technology, files and freedoms, all personal information given by the Member is permanently accessible and may be subject to immediate rectification or deletion. The Member also has the right to object, for legitimate reasons, to their data being processed or used for prospecting purposes, in particular commercial.
To exercise these rights, the Member can send his request by e-mail: loyalty@contact-hotel.com or by mail:
Contact Hotel Services
CASH & SMILE
2 Street Preize
10000 Troyes – France