Also known as: hotelkeepers · hotel keeper · hotel-keeper · innkeeper
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An operator of a public lodging establishment who owes affirmative duties to guests, including protection against unreasonable risks of physical harm and the provision of first aid when needed.
Hamid Hassan checked into a room at a Harmony Retail hotel. After slipping on a wet lobby floor and striking his head, he lay unable to rise. The hotelkeeper observed the fall from the front desk yet summoned no medical help for twelve minutes. Hamid later sued the hotelkeeper for failing to protect him from harm or render aid.
Hana Huang worked as a chambermaid at a hotel owned by Hunter Hughes. The hotel paid her below the state minimum wage for forty-eight-hour weeks. Hana and her husband sued the hotelkeeper to recover the shortfall. The court upheld the wage statute as applied to the hotelkeeper.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Hyun Han, a Black traveler, sought a room at Hakim Hall's hotel. The hotelkeeper refused the booking under a state law permitting racial discrimination in public accommodations. Hyun sued the hotelkeeper, claiming the statute violated federal equal-protection guarantees.
Hana Hashimoto arrived at a motel operated by Horizon Dynamics and was turned away because of her race. The hotelkeeper cited a policy of serving only local guests. Hana sued the hotelkeeper under federal civil-rights legislation that reached interstate-travel facilities.
Hyperion Systems, a hotel chain, challenged a state statute fixing maximum charges for rooms and meals. The hotelkeeper argued the law deprived it of property without due process. The court upheld the regulation as a valid exercise of state power over businesses affected with a public interest.
Hunter Hughes leased space in a building owned by Becker v. IRM Corp. to operate a small hotel. A guest was injured when a latent defect in the common stairway caused a fall. The hotelkeeper sued the building owner, claiming the owner had a duty to inspect and repair known hazards.
A hotelkeeper must protect guests from unreasonable risks of physical harm and must provide first aid once the hotelkeeper knows or has reason to know a guest is ill or injured. These duties arise from the special relationship between innkeeper and guest. The duties continue until the guest can be cared for by others.
Supporting sources
No. A hotelkeeper remains liable for conversion even when it acts under a mistaken belief, whether of law or fact, that it is privileged to dispose of a guest's property. The mistake must not have been induced by the owner. Liability attaches once the hotelkeeper intentionally exercises dominion inconsistent with the owner's rights.
Supporting sources
A hotelkeeper owes no general duty to rescue merely because it knows of a guest's peril. An affirmative duty arises only when a special relationship such as innkeeper-guest exists or when the hotelkeeper has undertaken to provide protection. Courts do not impose rescue obligations on ordinary bystanders or employees without such a relationship.
Supporting sources
…As we have seen, 32 States prohibit racial discrimination in public accommodations. These laws but codify the common-law innkeeper rule which long predated the Thirteenth Amendment. It is difficult to believe that the Amendment was intended to abrogate this principle. Indeed, the opinion of the Court in the Civil…