Tourism Law in Europe

14 Code, hotelkeepers are liable for any deterioration, destruction or removal of any property of the guests of their hotel. The hotelkeepers’ liability may be limited or unlimited . In the case of property “brought” into the hotel, the liability is limited to the value of the damaged, destroyed or stolen property, up to a maximum of one hundred times the rental price of the accommodation per day. In case of items “handed over” by the guest to the hotelkeeper for safekeeping, the liability is unlimited, and the damage must be fully compensated. The hotelkeeper shall also be liable without limitation if he or she refused to take custody of the property that he or she was required to accept, i.e. paper money or paper securities, cash and valuables. The hotelkeeper may only refuse to accept any dangerous property or of excessive value or bulky in nature, taking into account the level and the operating conditions of the hotel. However, the hotelkeeper shall not be liable if the property’s deterioration, destruction or removal is caused by the guest, the persons accompanying the guest (in his or her service or visiting him or her), force majeure or the nature of the property. Finally, the Civil Code deals with the hotelkeepers’ claims (art. 2760), granting them a privilege on the property brought into the hotel in the event of non-payment by the guest. If the hotel contract can be considered the prototype of hospitality contracts 26 , the provisions on hotel storage are general and apply to all accommodation establishments and other similar activities 27 . It is, one might say, the modern evolution of the actio in factum granted by the Roman praetor many centuries ago. 11. The New Package Travel Contract From a strictly Civil Law point of view, the core of tourism regulations is the package travel contract, which, in Italy, is traditionally known as the “travel contract” 28 . Travel contracts 26 See Mariaenza LA TORRE, I contratti di ospitalità , in Vincenzo FANCESCHELLI & Francesco MORANDI, Manuale di diritto del turismo , op . cit ., p. 306. 27 Under article 1786 of the Civil Code, providing for the following: “Premises and venues used as hotels. The provisions of this section also apply to the proprietors of nursing homes, public entertainment venues, bathing facilities, inns, sleeping carriages and the like”. 28 On travel contracts, the bibliography is – of course – impressive, see, for instance, Gabriele SILINGARDI & Francesco MORANDI, Il contratto di “pacchetto turistico” , Giappichelli, Turin, 1996 (II ed. 1998); Giorgia TASSONI, Il contratto di viaggio , Milan, Giuffrè, 1998; Angelo VENCHIARUTTI, Viaggi organizzati e tutela del turista , Cedam, Padua, 2012; Gianluca CIURNELLI, I contratti del turismo organizzato , in Vincenzo FANCESCHELLI & Francesco MORANDI, Manuale di diritto del turismo , op . cit ., p. 357; and Ettore BATTELLI,