Tourism Law in Europe

15 4.2.5. Timeshare, long-term holiday product, resale and exchange contracts Directive 2008/122/EC on the protection of consumers in respect of certain aspects of timeshare, long-term holiday product, resale and exchange contracts 37 was transposed into Slovenian law by the Consumer Protection Act 38 . According to publicly available case law there are no court decisions dealing with these types of contract which suggests that they are rather rare in practice. 4.3. Special Customs and Usages in the Hospitality Industry An important semi-private source of law in the tourism sector are Special Customs and Usages in the Hospitality Industry 39 , which comprise of a collection of business customs in the field of tourism, codified by the Chamber of Commerce of Slovenia in 1995. The customs and usages only apply where the parties have expressly referred to them in the contract or if it is clear from the circumstances that they wanted to use them. Customs and usages should in principle apply only in business-to-business transactions. However, the courts have also used them in business-to-consumer relationships to determine the extent of the commercial entity’s obligation, particularly the content of its duty of care (e.g. concerning the liability for damage on a car parked in the hotel’s parking lot). The Special Customs and Usages define business relationships that apply primarily to contracts for providing food and accommodation to guests. Four types of contracts are regulated: hotel services contract (between a hotel and a guest), agency contract for hotel services (between an agent and a hotel), contract on the lease of hotel capacity (allotment contract) and food and beverage service contract (catering). The Special Customs and Usages mainly specify the parties’ rights and obligations that are already defined in the Obligations Code and introduce some additional obligations. The provisions on hotel services contract, for example, concern the conclusion of the 37 Directive 2008/122/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 January 2009 on the protection of consumers in respect of certain aspects of timeshare, long-term holiday product, resale and exchange contracts, OJ L 33, 3.2.2009, pp. 10–30. 38 Articles 59-60(g) of the Consumer Protection Act. 39 “Posebne uzance v gostinstvu”, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 22/95.