The Greek hotel at which the plaintiff stayed had glass patio doors fitted with ordinary glass, not safety glass, of 5mm thickness, which complied with Greek but not with British safety standards, which would have required the use of safety glass. The plaintiff sought damages after falling through the glass.
Held: The claim failed.
Phillips J said: ‘What is the duty of a tour operator in a situation such as this? Must he refrain from sending holidaymakers to any hotel whose characteristics, in so far as safety is concerned, fail to satisfy the standards which apply in this country? I do not believe that his obligations in respect of the safety of his clients can extend this far. Save where uniform international regulations apply, there are bound to be differences in the safety standards applied in respect of the many hazards of modern life between one country and another. All civilised countries attempt to cater for these hazards by imposing mandatory regulations. The duty of care of a tour operator is likely to extend to checking that local safety regulations are complied with. Provided that they are, I do not consider that the tour operator owes a duty to boycott a hotel because of the absence of some safety feature which would be found in an English hotel unless the absence of such a feature might lead a reasonable holidaymaker to decline to take a holiday at the hotel in question. On the facts of this case I do not consider that the degree of danger posed by the absence of safety glass in the doors of the Vanninarchis Beach Hotel called for any action on the part of the defendants pursuant to their duty to exercise reasonable care to ensure the safety of their clients.’
Judges:
Phillips J
Citations:
[1993] 1 All ER 353
Statutes:
Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 13
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Lougheed v On The Beach Ltd CA 27-Nov-2014
‘Standards of maintenance and cleanliness vary as between countries and continents and indeed what is reasonably to be expected in a five star hotel in a Western European capital differs from what is reasonably to be expected in a safari lodge, . .
Cited – TUI UK Ltd v Morgan ChD 9-Nov-2020
Tour Co Responsible For injury – Standards Applied
The claimant suffered an injury tripping at a hotel on a package holiday. The company now appealed.
Held: The appeal was refused. A term will generally be implied into a contract for services by operation of law (the 1982 Act s 13) to the . .
Cited – Morgan v TUI UK Ltd Misc 12-Jun-2020
The claimant as injured walking back along a terrace on a holiday put together by the defendant package holiday company.
Held: The claim succeeded. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Personal Injury
Updated: 01 April 2022; Ref: scu.655633
