The Gazette 1976

J U NE/J U LY

GAZETTE

1976

sleeping accommodation. The hotel proprietor is strictly liable for any damage to, or loss or destruction of, property received by him from an "overnight guest" or from someone on behalf of such a guest. The strict liability for loss or damage applies to property of which the proprietor takes charge not only at the hotel but also outside it, as, for example, where he sends a servant to collect the luggage of a guest from a railway station. Section 6(2) places a wide liability on the hotel pro- prietor. It provides that a motor vehicle is deemed to have been received by the hotel proprietor where it has been placed within the premises of the hotel or in any garage or car park or other premises provided by the proprietor of the hotel for this purpose. However, a guest will not be protected by Section 6 for loss or damage to a motor vehicle or its contents unless he has previously notified the proprietor of the hotel (or some servant of his authorised) that the motor vehicle has been brought to the hotel. The liability under section 6 applies during the time for which the sleeping accom- modation is engaged or during a reasonable period before or after that time. Under Article 1(2) of the Convention a Contracting Party is free to impose greater liabilities on hotel- keepers concerning the property of their guests than those set out in the Annex to the Convention. Article 7 of the Annex provides that a hotel-keeper is not liable for "vehicles, any property left with a vehicle, or live animals". The liability imposed on a hotel proprietor by Section 6 of the Act is therefore greater than that imposed by the Convention. The provision in this part of Section 6 is more favourable to the guest than the hotel proprietor. However the hotel proprietor is exempt from liability under Section 6 to the extent that the damage, loss or destruction is due (a) to an unforeseeable and irresis- tible act of nature, act of war, or (b) to the guest him- self or any person accompanying him or in his employ- ment or visiting him. 1 * These are the only excepted perils referred to in the Act. Therefore, it would seem that the hotel proprietor is not exempt from liability under Scction 6 where the damage, loss or destruction is due to the nature of the property of the guests received by the hotel proprietor. Where there is contributory negligence by a guest the position is governed by the Civil Liability Act 1961 1« The Accidental Fires Act 1943 does not apply in relation to a claim for damages under the Hotel Pro prietors Act 1963.™ ' Limitation of liability by notice The hotel proprietor is not allowed under the 1963 Act to contract out of his strict liability. 1 ? But if he conspicuously displays a notice in the form prescribed in the First Schedule to the Act relief is given to the hotel proprietor by Section 7(1). Where the hotel proprietor is liable under Section 6 and the statutory notice is displayed at or near the reception office or desk or near the main entrance to the hotel, then his liability to any one person cafinot exceed £100. However, there are three exceptional cases where the liability is not so limited : 1. Where the property was damaged, lost, stolen or destroyed through the wrongful act, default or omission of the hotel proprietor or his servant- 2. Where the property was deposited by the guest (or on his behalf) expressly for safe custody with the hotel proprietor or an authorised servant- 1 » 3. (i) Where the property was offered for deposit with the hotel proprietor and he or his servant refused to accept it, or

2 The duty as to safety of guests and as to safety of hotel premises (Section 4) The hotel proprietor must take reasonable care of the person of the guest. He is not an insurer of the personal safety of his guest. 11 The duty of a hotel proprietor would seem to be wider where a guest suffers personal injuries because of the dangerous state of the hotel premises. The pro- prietor must ensure that for the purpose of personal use by the guest, the premises are safe as reasonable care and skill can make them. In the view of one commen- tator 12 a guest's statutory right against a hotel pro- prietor is wider than an invitee's right against his in- vitor in that the hotel proprietor would seem (as it is phrased under the statute) to be liable for the acts of his independent contractors. The same commentator believes that Section 4 is intended to extend the liability of the hotel proprietor rather than consolidate his common law position and suggests that this view is affirmed by Section 4(2) which declares that the duty is "independent of any liability of the proprietor as occupier of the premises." 3. The duty to receive property of guests (Section 5) The proprietor is obliged only to receive property brought to the hotel by or on behalf of a guest who has engaged sleeping accommodation and for which the proprietor has "suitable accommodation" at the hotel. Thus it would seem that a hotel proprietor is bound to admit a guest's luggage and any other property which a guest normally brings to a hotel. However, this leaves the hotel proprietor "free to refuse items of an excep- tional character such as, for example, dangerous or cum- bersome articles likely to cause inconvenience or offence to other guests". 13 It is interesting that the Council of Europe Convention is more specific than the 1963 Act in relation to this duty. Article 2(2) of the Annex to the Convention provides that : "A hotel-keeper shall be bound to receive securities, money and valuable articles; he may only refuse to receive such property if it is dangerous or if, having regard to the size or standing of the hotel, it is of excessive value or cumbersome". The obligation of a hotel proprietor to receive pro- perty under Section 5 (as indicated above) extends only to the property of a guest who has "engaged" sleeping accommodation. The choice of the word "en- gaged" in Section 5 (and in Section 6) is unfortunate. It means that a hotel proprietor could be liable for the property of a guest who engages sleeping accommoda- tion but never actually takes it up. Under the Council of Europe Convention (in Article 1(1) of the Annex) liability for property of a guest only arises where a guest "stays at the hotel and has sleeping accommoda- tion put at his disposal." Section 5(2) of the 1963 Act lays down a time limit on the liability imposed on the hotel proprietor under Section 5 It provides that the obligation placed on the hotel proprietor applies to property brought to the hotel during the time for which the person is entitled to use the accommodation which he has engaged or during a reasonable period before or after that time. If the proprietor of the hotel is in breach of his duty under Section 5 he shall, without prejudice to his civil liability, be guilty of an offence and liable to the same penalty as is laid down in the Act for breach of duty under Section 3. Liability of the hotel proprietor for his guest's property As in Section 5, the obligation imposed by Section 6 extends only to the property of a guest who has engaged 32