The Gazette 1976

J U NE/J U LY

1976

GAZETTE

HOTEL PROPRIETORS' LIABILITY IN IRELAND

includes everv establishment registered in the register of hotels kept under Part III of the Tourist Traffic Act, 1939." The definition is not an exhaustive one. It auto- matically includes every establishment registered as a hotel with Bord Fáilte. Therefore, a guest at one of these registered hotels will enjoy the protection of the 1963 Act. However, establishments other than registered hotels are not excluded from the definition. It was the v : ew of the Minister for Justice 6 that "apart from registered hotels, the question whether a particular premises constitutes a hotel for the purposes of the Bill will be a question of fact in every case." 7 The Minister continued and said that "it can be taken, however, that, in general, guest houses, boarding houses, and similar establishments do not come within the ambit of the Bill." 8 One can assume that establishments which do not provide sleeping accommodation, such as restaur- ants, public houses and cafes are outside the definition. The definition of hotel "proprietor" as set out in Section 1 is self-explanatory. The word "guest" is not expressly defined but it can be implied from Section 3(1) that a guest is a person who, whether he has made an advance booking or not, presents himself and requires sleeping accommodation, food or drink. Duties of the hotel proprietor Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the 1963 Act place certain duties on the hotel proprietor. These can be classified under three headings : 1. The duty to receive all comers. 2. The duty as to safety of guests and as to safety of hotel premises. 3. The duty to receive property of guests. It is intended to examine each duty in turn. 1. The duty to receive all comers (Section 3) A hotel proprietor is bound to receive all persons whether or not under special contract who present themselves at his hotel and require sleeping accommo- dation, food or drink and to provide them therewith unless he has reasonable grounds for refusal. At the time the person presents himself at the hotel the onerous burden of deciding whether a refusal is reasonable in the circumstances is placed on the pro- prietor. If the proprietor unreasonably refuses accom- modation to a person then that person can sue the proprietor in damages. The proprietor (apart from civil liability) could also be convicted (summarily) of a criminal offence if he is in breach of his duty under Section 3. The penalty for such an offence is a fine not exceeding £100. 6 Since the Act came into operation there have been no judicial guidelines as to what defences are open to a hotel proprietor. According to the Minister for Justice "the interpretation of what are reasonable grounds will be a matter to be determined by the Court in relation to any particular instance." 10 A proprietor would surely have good reason for refusal if a person who presents himself at the hotel is drunk or if all the bedrooms in the hotel are occupied. The proprietor must provide sleeping accommodation, food or drink at the charges for the time being current at the hotel. This duty is "subject to the terms of anv special contract" so that the statutory provision does not interfere with the right of a guest to make an arrangement in advance with the proprietor to provide the guest with sleeping accommodation, food or drink at special prices. 81

By Hugh M. Fitzpatrick, B.C.L., Solicitor

In 1957 a commentator stated that "of the many anomalous branches of the law at present existing, none can be more productive of hardship and illogical results than that which relates to the liability of the inn- keeper". 1 The Oireachtas answered the need for reform early in 1963 by enacting the Hotel Proprietors Act 1963. 2 This Act codified the law relating to inns and innkeepers Delany described it as "a comprehensive code dealing with all aspects of innkeepers' liability".-' 1 It is on the 1963 Act that this article is based. The scope of the Act The liability of hotel proprietors had been considered previously by the Council of Europe the aim of which is to achieve closer unity between its Members, inter alia by the adoption of common rules in legal matters. The enactment of the Hotel Proprietors Act 1963 enabled Ireland, being a Member State of the Council of Europe, to sign the Convention on the Liability of Hotel- keepers concerning the Property of their Guests which had been approved on the 17th December 1962 by the delegates of the Council of Europe. 4 The 1963 Act pro- vides that the hotel proprietor has a duty not only to be liable for his guests' personal property but also that be has a duty as to the safety of the person of his guests and a duty to ensure that the hotel premises are safe. The Convention, as its title suggests, restricts its rules to liability in respect of guests' property. In this respect the Irish Act is more extensive than the English Hotel Proprietors Act 1956 and the Hotel Proprietors Act (Northern Ireland), 1958, both of which confine their provisions to the liability of the hotel proprietor in respect of the guest's property. In England common law rules still apply subject to the provisions of the Hotel Proprietors Act 1956 and the Innkeepers Act 1878. There is a significant difference of approach in Ireland. The 1963 Act replaced and codi- fied the common law of inns and innkeepers and re- pealed the previous legislation in its entirety. 5 How- ever, some of the concepts of the repealed legislation are retained. Section 2(1) of the 1963 Act provides that "the duties, liabilities and rights provided for by this Act shall have effect in place of the duties, liabilities and rights which heretofore attached by the common law to innkeepers as such." The statutory duties, liabilities and rights as set out in the Act replace those which were imposed by the common law on the innkeeper "as such" (i.e. as the innkeeper). Therefore, it would seem that the provisions of the Act do not relate to the liabilities which a hotel proprietor may incur in some way other than as a hotel proprietor as, for example, where a bailment arises. However, a dis- cussion of such a transaction is outside the scope of this article. Definitions The ancient terms "inn" and "innkeeper" have been replaced by the words "hotel" and "hotel proprietor". A hotel is defined by Section 1 of the 1963 Act as "an establishment which provides or holds itself out as providing sleeping accommodation, food and drink for reward for all comers without special contract and