Terms & conditions
This is a translation. The Arabic version of this document is the authoritative text and governs its interpretation. This English version is provided for convenience only. If the two differ, the Arabic prevails. Read the Arabic version.
About these terms
These terms apply to properties in Egypt. They were written in Arabic and are governed by Egyptian law.
Take your time reading them, and ask us about any clause that is not clear. We will explain it.
1. Who these terms are between
These terms are between you, as owner of the property or its authorised manager, and [Egyptian company name], a company incorporated in the Arab Republic of Egypt, registered in the commercial register under number [...] and tax card number [...], trading under the name Hive Stewards.
Use of the website itself is governed separately by our Website terms . These terms apply alongside the individual service agreement we sign with you; where the two conflict or do not sit together, the service agreement prevails.
2. The nature of our relationship
We contract with you as your agent in managing your property, under the agency provisions of the Egyptian Civil Code. We do not rent your property and we do not take a lease over it.
These terms grant neither you nor us any real right over the property, and create no partnership or employment relationship between us.
3. What we do
We provide short-let management services, which may include: communicating with guests, managing pricing and the calendar, coordinating changeovers and cleaning, and requesting reviews.
We perform our services with the care of a diligent professional. We do not guarantee any level of occupancy or any particular return.
4. Your obligations and licences
As owner or authorised person, you are responsible for the following. Some are duties imposed by law or by the terms of the licence, and some are conditions we require in order to operate:
- Proving you own the property, or holding written authority from the owner to let it
- Obtaining the holiday-home licence from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and renewing it annually, under Ministry Decrees No. 209 and 801 of 2025 depending on the type of property, since no residential unit may be offered for short stays without one
- Meeting the obligations of the Hotel and Tourist Establishments Law No. 8 of 2022 that apply to your property, including providing guest details to the Ministry within the set periods, and installing the required monitoring and security measures
- Complying with the occupiers’ association or compound management rules and its security procedures, and confirming that short letting is not prohibited by them
- Registering with the Tax Authority and paying what is due on the letting income
- Keeping current insurance on the building and contents that covers paid occupancy. This is a contractual condition of ours rather than necessarily a legal obligation
- The safety of the property and its services, particularly the electrical and gas installations, and meeting any safety requirements set by the holiday-home licence or the civil protection authorities
- Telling us about any camera in the property or at its entrance, including a video doorbell, so it can be disclosed in the listing and to guests. Cameras are not permitted inside private areas.
- Telling us immediately of anything affecting bookings, such as building works, a change of ownership, or the withdrawal of any licence
If the holiday-home licence is not current, a safety document has expired, or insurance is not in place, we may suspend bookings or decline to continue operating the property.
Any fine or penalty arising from a breach of the above rests with you.
5. Fees and tax
Our fee is the percentage of booking income set out in the service agreement, calculated after platform commission. Our fee is denominated in dollars and payable in dollars or the equivalent in Egyptian pounds.
We are not currently registered for value added tax, so no VAT is added to our fee and the published prices are what you actually pay. If we become required to register under VAT Law No.67 of 2016, we will update the published prices before that applies to you, and the tax will then be added at the rate in force and shown separately on the tax invoice.
We arrange cleaning, linen, supplies and repairs as your agent, and they are charged to you at cost with nothing added.
We do not spend more than the limit agreed with you on any single item without asking you first, except in an emergency threatening injury or serious damage.
Invoices are payable within 14 days of their date. Where payment is late, delay compensation is due at the statutory rate set by the Egyptian Civil Code.
6. Collection and payment of what you are owed
We do not hold client money. Guest payments are collected by the booking platform and paid to you directly, or to us as co-host where the platform supports it, so your income reaches your own account without passing through ours.
Our fee is either taken as the co-host split from the platform or included in a monthly invoice, as are the costs we incur on your behalf. We do not operate a client account and we do not receive rent or deposits to pass on to you.
You can ask at any time for a statement showing every booking and what has been deducted in fees and costs.
7. Access, keys and security
You give us the access we need to manage the property. Keys and codes are held securely, shared only with those actually working on the property, and returned or reset when the agreement ends.
8. Bookings, cancellation and damage
We work to the cancellation policy set in your listings. If you cancel a confirmed booking for a reason that is not an emergency, you bear any penalty the platform imposes and the cost of rehousing the guest.
We tell you promptly about any damage caused by guests and help you claim through the platform’s cover or your insurance, without guaranteeing recovery.
9. Compound permits and guest data
We coordinate guest entry permits with compound management or security on your behalf, which requires sharing guest details with them so far as the compound requires.
10. Personal data protection
Each of us is a controller of the personal data it processes for its own purposes, and each of us complies with Personal Data Protection Law No.151 of 2020 and its executive regulations so far as it concerns them. Where we process personal data solely on your documented instructions in a particular operation, we act as processor for that operation.
We use guest data only to run the stay and to meet the legal obligations referred to above, as set out in our Privacy policy. If a breach affects the other party’s data, we notify them without delay and cooperate on dealing with it and on any notification to the Personal Data Protection Centre.
11. Confidentiality
Neither of us discloses the other’s confidential information, including entry codes, guest details, financial figures and the terms of the service agreement.
We may not name you as a client in our marketing without your prior written consent.
12. Liability
We perform our services with reasonable care and skill. We are not liable for lost profit or anticipated bookings, nor for the acts of guests, nor for the acts of third parties.
Our total liability in any twelve months is limited to the fees you paid us in that period. This limit does not apply to fraud or to anything the law does not allow to be limited.
13. Force majeure
Neither of us is liable for failing to perform because of force majeure or an unforeseeable event within the meaning of the Civil Code, such as natural disasters, fires, utility failures, booking-platform outages, epidemics, or decisions of the authorities that make performance impossible. The affected party notifies the other as soon as possible. If the impediment continues for more than 30 days, either of us may end the agreement by written notice, with fees earned to that date remaining due.
14. Term and ending the agreement
The agreement runs monthly and renews automatically. Either of us may end it on written notice of 30 days. Bookings already confirmed are honoured and our fee on them remains due.
Either of us may end it immediately on a serious breach not remedied within 14 days of it being raised in writing, or if operating the property becomes unlawful.
On ending, we return access to your accounts, transfer the guest correspondence you need, return the keys and provide a closing statement.
15. If you are a consumer
Most of our clients contract with us in the course of a letting business. If you are contracting outside any commercial or professional activity, Consumer Protection Law No.181 of 2018 and its executive regulations may apply to you, and nothing in these terms reduces the rights it gives you.
That includes your right to accurate, clear information about the service and its price before contracting, and your right to complain.
16. Complaints
If something goes wrong, email us at egypt@hivestewards.com giving the property address and what happened. We acknowledge within two working days and give you a full reply within 14 days.
If you remain dissatisfied you may go to the competent authorities, including the Consumer Protection Agency
17. General
We may amend these terms on notice to you of 30 days, and you may end the agreement within that period if the amendment does not suit you.
These terms together with the service agreement are the whole of what we have agreed. If any clause is invalid, the rest continue to apply.
We may subcontract parts of the work while remaining responsible to you for them. Neither of us may assign the agreement without the other’s written consent.
Notices are sent by email to the address given above, and from us to the last email address you gave us. Notices of termination are given in writing.
These terms were written in Arabic, which is the authoritative language for their interpretation. Any English translation is provided for convenience only.
These terms are governed by Egyptian law, and the competent Egyptian courts in Cairo have jurisdiction over any dispute arising from them.