COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Hotel, Restaurant, and Travel Law: A Preventive Approach, Seventh Edition Chapter 10 Guests’ Rights

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Introduction  Law endows guests with a variety of rights  If an innkeeper violates any of those rights, liability can result

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Guests’ Rights  Right to occupy hotel rooms without disruption  Right to privacy in guest room, including right to restrict access  Right to be treated respectfully

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Guests’ Rights (continued)  Right to be free from false arrest  Right to be free from credit card fraud  Right to be informed of fees and charges  Right to have hotel employees process guests’ mail properly

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Right to Occupy Assigned Room  Without disruption from innkeeper  Exception: where innkeeper has legal right to remove guest

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Right to Privacy in Guest Room  Five exceptions: Normal maintenance Imminent danger Nonpayment When requested to enter by guest When rental period has expired and not been extended

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Right to Privacy in Guest Room (continued)  Obligates innkeeper to prevent unauthorized employees from entering, also unauthorized would-be visitors  Peeping Toms—employees who create peepholes through which they observe guests in their rooms

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Protection against Illegal Searches  A guest might be engaging in illegal activity in the room  Guest’s right to privacy may conflict with innkeeper’s interest and police to enter and search a room

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Report by Innkeeper of Illegal Activity  Permitting illegal activity to proceed may endanger other guests  Violates innkeeper’s duty to protect their safety  May also jeopardized hotel’s license to carry on business

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Report by Innkeeper of Illegal Activity (continued)  Hotel should report illegal activity to police  Innkeeper can enter the room of a guest who is “smashing things” without violating right to privacy  Guest who is being loud and disruptive should anticipate that the hotelier will investigate

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Search Warrant  Order from a judge commanding a police officer to search a designated place for evidence of criminal activity  Police cannot search an occupied hotel room without permission of guest or a search warrant

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Search Warrant (continued)  Probable cause—facts sufficient for a reasonably prudent person to believe that evidence of a crime is located in the place the police want to search  Warrant provides a buffer between individuals and police  Exclusionary rule—evidence obtained in a warrantless search will not be admissible in court

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Consent to Search  The guest gives permission for the police to search the room  Exception to the requirement that police obtain a search warrant

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Effect of Termination of Occupancy  If a guest fails to pay or the rental period expires, the right to occupy reverts from guest to innkeeper  The innkeeper may enter to Prepare for next visitor Remove any remaining property of the previous guest  No privacy rights apply

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Effect of Termination of Occupancy (continued)  The guest’s right to occupy room ends  So does expectation of privacy  A hotel guest has no reasonable expectation of privacy in a room after the rental period has expired

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Disturbing the Peace  A condition in a guest’s room is disturbing to other guests  A hotel employee enters the room to stop the disruption and discovers evidence of a crime  The innkeeper has a duty to protect guests from interference by others

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Emergency Situation  The innkeeper is permitted to admit police where reasonable grounds exist to believe that a guest is in distress and in need of assistance

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Room Registered to Another  A person who is not a registered guest does not have a right of privacy in a hotel room

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Search of Items Mislaid by Guests  The innkeeper may open a briefcase to determine the true owner  The briefcase owner’s right to privacy yields to a reasonable search to determine the owner

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Unclaimed Lost Property  The proprietor is required to inform the police when lost property is found  Police headquarters provides a central location for owners to pursue lost property  Failure to notify the police may constitute a crime

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Protection against Insults  Use of insulting and abusive language is objectionable and can evoke anger  Courts have been slow to regard it as a basis of civil liability between individuals  Most states do not recognize abusive language as a tort

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Protection against Insults (continued)  If language is beyond abusive and qualifies as outrageous, it may constitute tort of intentional infliction of emotional stress  Words must be “so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency and to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community”  Plaintiff must have suffered severe or extreme emotional distress

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Protection against False Arrest  Innkeepers or restaurateurs are under no duty to prevent the arrest of a guest by the police acting within their authority  If arrest is due to a false statement by the facility or their agents, the establishment could be liable

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Protection against False Arrest (continued)  Only if a guest actually commits a crime may the establishment legally detain him  Many states authorize a restaurant to detain a person if it has reasonable cause to believe he did not pay money owed

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Protection against False Arrest (continued)  Detention may only last a reasonable amount of time  Must be carried out in a reasonable manner

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Protection against False Arrest (continued)  A person who is detained without reasonable cause, for an unreasonable amount of time, or in an unreasonable manner is entitled to recover damages  The hotel or restaurant cannot with impunity interfere with its patrons’ freedom of movement without good cause

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Protection against Credit Card Fraud  Guests frequently pay with credit cards  They expect employees to use it for official purposes only to complete a payment transaction

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Protection against Credit Card Fraud (continued)  Identity theft—obtaining personal financial information and illegally using that information for the thief’s economic gain  The hotel or restaurant may be liable if it failed to institute procedures to prevent such occurrences

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Rights Concerning Rates and Fees  Legal mandates and good practice require that room rates and other fees be disclosed before charges are incurred  The hotel cannot impose charges for services not provided

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Right to Advance Notice  Guests have a right to know the fees and charges a hotel will impose  Rates should be posted in each room and signs should not be misleading

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Right to No Extraneous Fees  Hotels should ensure they do not impose fees for services not actually rendered  Hotels should impose fees for services to only those guests who utilize them

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Right to No Extraneous Fees (continued)  If demand for a service does not cover costs, the hotel should consider discontinuing that service  Hotels can offer complimentary services without charging an additional fee  Costs are incorporated into room rate

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Telephone Charges  Failure to provide a telephone in a guest room may violate innkeeper’s duty to protect guests’ safety and to provide adequate security  Telephone may be only source of communication in an emergency situation

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Telephone Charges (continued)  Most states have eliminated regulations limiting the surcharge hotels can impose on calls  “Truth-in-dialing act” requires the hotel to display on or “in immediate vicinity of” telephone advising there will be a fee imposed when using the hotel’s phone  Cell phones have significantly reduced hotels’ revenues from in-room phone calls

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Proper Handling of Mail, Packages, and Faxes  Guests often receive letters, packages, and faxes at a hotel  Sometime mail arrives after the guest leaves  Guests have a right to have mail handled properly

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Proper Handling of Mail, Packages, and Faxes (continued)  Delivery services (UPS, FedEx, Post Office) release obligations when they deliver items to the hotel in good condition

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Proper Handling of Mail, Packages, and Faxes (continued)  Procedures that fulfill the hotel’s responsibility: When a package arrives for a guest, notice is placed in the guest’s room “Call” light in room alerts the guest to call the front desk The package is not released unless the person shows identification