In its ruling of September 27, 2023, the Federal Court of Justice clarified an important legal issue (VII ZR 12/23). The commercial agent – owner of a travel agency – demanded payment of commission from the tour operator for brokering a travel contract that had been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The question was whether the represented company was responsible for the specific circumstances of the cancellation or not. In their decision, the judges of the 7th Senate emphasized that Section 87a (3) sentence 1 of the German Commercial Code (HGB) gives the commercial agent an irrevocable claim to commission if it is established that the entrepreneur does not execute the transaction or does not execute it as agreed. However, in the event of non-performance, the claim to commission may lapse in accordance with Section 87a (3) sentence 2 HGB if and to the extent that the non-performance is based on circumstances for which the entrepreneur is not responsible. Within the meaning of Section 87a (3) sentence 2 HGB, the entrepreneur is responsible for the circumstances on which the non-performance of the transaction is based not only if he or his vicarious agents are personally at fault in this respect, but also if they are attributable to his entrepreneurial or operational risk area or are based on a risk assumed by him. The entrepreneur is not responsible for circumstances that are not attributable to his entrepreneurial or operational risk area, such as unforeseeable operational disruptions or unlawful interventions by higher authorities. According to the uncontested findings of the Court of Appeals, however, the hotel closure that led to the cancellation of the travel contract was not enforced by legal regulations in connection with the coronavirus pandemic and measures to combat it during the period of the planned trips. The regulations in force during the aforementioned period did not prevent the hotel from opening. Rather, according to the findings of the Court of Appeals, the hotel closure was based on an economic decision made by the hotelier due to a decline in bookings and was therefore attributable to the represented company. The sales representative's commission claim was therefore not forfeited, and the tour operator remained obliged to pay the commission.