Luggage and Belongings
Key facts
- If you run serviced accommodation, you are
required by law to undertake responsibility for
the safekeeping of all reasonable items of
luggage brought in by guests.
- Hotel owners have the legal right to
detain a guest's property until the guest
settles his/her bill.
Rights and responsibilities
Depending on whether your property is classified as
a 'hotel' or as a 'private hotel' will have a
bearing on:
- your responsibility for guests’ luggage
and belongings
- your right to keep guests’ luggage.
Note!
For these purposes, all serviced accommodation
establishments are either hotels or private hotels.
What is a hotel and a private hotel?
-
A
hotel
is an establishment that offers food, drink
and sleeping accommodation to anybody who
appears able and willing to pay, and who is
in a fit state to be received. Note: 'drink'
does not have to be alcoholic.
-
private hotel
is any accommodation establishment that is
not a hotel. For example, you will be a
private hotel if any of the following apply
to you:
- you do not provide food and/or
drink
- you pick and choose your guests,
even if you have a free room
- you have an advertised policy of,
for example, 'no children' or 'no
coaches'
- you can only book in advance.
What is the responsibility of a hotel for luggage and belongings?
If you run a hotel and you accept a guest into
your accommodation for at least one night, you
are required by law to undertake responsibility
for the safekeeping of all reasonable items of
luggage brought in by the guest. If the guest’s
property is then lost or damaged, the extent of
your liability is as follows.
-
You may not be liable
, where the loss or damage to the guest's
property is caused by an act of negligence
on the part of the guest or by an 'Act of
God' (such as a flood).
-
You may be fully liable,
where:
- the loss or damage to the guest's
property is caused solely by your
negligence or wilful act (or that of
your staff), or
- the goods have been entrusted to
you for your safekeeping, or
- the goods have been offered to you
for safekeeping but refused by you.
-
You may limit your liability to
£50/£100
, where the loss or damage to the guest's
property does not fit into either of the
above categories and you have displayed the
statutory notice set out below in a
prominent area of your establishment (near
the main entrance or reception area). You
may then be liable for a minimum amount of
£50 per article and £100 maximum per person.
Note!
Under the
London Local Authorities Act 2004
, the limits in Greater London are £750 and
£1500 respectively.
The statutory notice is as follows
(the second version of the notice if for Greater
London only).
NOTICE: Loss of or damage to guests’ property
Under the
Hotel Proprietors' Act 1956
, a hotel proprietor may in certain
circumstances be liable to make good any
loss of or damage to a guest's property even
though it was not due to any fault of the
proprietor or staff of the hotel. This
liability however:
- extends only to the property of
guests who have engaged sleeping
accommodation at the hotel
- is limited to £50 for any one
article and a total of £100 in the case
of any one guest, except in the case of
property which has been deposited, or
offered for deposit, for safe custody
- does not cover motor cars or other
vehicles of any kind or property lost in
them, or horses or other live animals.
This notice does not constitute
an admission either that the Act applies
to this hotel or that liability
thereunder attaches to the proprietor of
this hotel in any particular case.
NOTICE: Loss of or damage to guests’ property
Under the
Hotel Proprietors' Act 1956
and the
London Local Authorities Act 2004
, a hotel proprietor may in certain
circumstances be liable to make good any
loss of or damage to a guest's property even
though it was not due to any fault of the
proprietor or staff of the hotel. This
liability however:
- extends only to the property of
guests who have engaged sleeping
accommodation at the hotel
- is limited to £750 for any one
article and a total of £1500 in the case
of any one guest, except in the case of
property which has been deposited, or
offered for deposit, for safe custody
- does not cover motor cars or other
vehicles of any kind or property lost in
them, or horses or other live animals.
This notice does not constitute
an admission either that the Act applies
to this hotel or that liability
thereunder attaches to the proprietor of
this hotel in any particular case.
What if the guest did not stay overnight?
If you are a hotel and the guest did
not stay overnight and was, for example, just
visiting the restaurant or bar, the position is
the same as in the paragraph below for private
hotels.
What is your liability as a private hotel?
If your establishment is a private
hotel, then you will usually be liable for the
loss or damage to your guests' property only if
you or your staff have been negligent or if the
guest handed the property over to you for
safekeeping.
It is difficult to be more specific
regarding your liability to the loss to guests'
property as each case depends on the facts in
the circumstances of the loss or damage.
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Your right to retain a guest’s luggage
Owners of hotels
The owner of a hotel (see Definitions
above) has the legal right to detain a guest's
property until the guest settles his/her bill.
This right does not extend to the guest's car or
property left in it, or to the clothes that the
guest is wearing.
When the bill is paid, the property
must be returned to the guest. No storage charge
may be made and you must reimburse the guest
accordingly if the property has been damaged
while in your possession.
Selling guests' property
If the bill has not been paid in
full after six weeks, you may then sell the
guest's property. The sale must be by public
auction and it must be advertised at least
four weeks in advance in both a London and a
local newspaper. The adverts must set out
your intention to sell the property, give a
full description of the goods, name the
guest to whom they belonged and give full
details of the forthcoming sale.
The proceeds of sale, less the
amount owed to you and the costs of the
advertisements and organising the auction,
must then be returned to the guest on
demand.
This right is in addition to any other right
that you have, such as that of pursuing a
claim for non-payment through the small
claims court
. Also, the guest may not be detained except
to await the arrival of the police.
Owners of private hotels and self-catering accommodation
The private hotelier who retains the
right to pick and choose his/her guests has no
legal right to detain and sell a guest's
property, nor does a proprietor of self-catering
accommodation.
If a guest does not pay a bill and further
contact or correspondence does not result in
payment, then you have the option of pursuing a
claim for non-payment through the
small claims court
.
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Further guidance
For more detailed advice, or if a serious
claim is made against you, you are advised to obtain
professional legal advice.
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