Imperial Hotel - Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957

In this report, I will give an analysis on the two provided tasks, about incidents involving the Imperial Hotel.

Task A: Facts

1. The Imperial Hotel is owned by Majestic Holidays Co.

2. The hotel is managed by David Armitage

3. The hotel employs its own tour guides

4. The Bakers had a guaranteed booking (credit card booking)

5. The Baker’s reservation was transferred to the Mandarin Hotel

6. There was no policy of 6pm release at any Majestic Holidays Co.

Task A Analysis

Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957

Majestic Holidays Co. is the owner of The Imperial Hotel. This does not necessarily mean that they are also the occupier of the premises. An occupier is the person or persons responsible for controlling the premises. (Lecture notes, 05/10/05) In this case, Majestic Holidays Co. is not the occupier, David Armitage manages the hotel, and he is therefore the occupier. He has control over the premises thus he owes a duty of care to those lawful visitors who come onto his premises.

The case Wheat v. Lacon & Co. helped to clarify the definition of an occupier. A guest was staying at a public house which was owned by Lacon & Co., but managed by someone else. The guest fell down a flight of stairs and died. It was revealed that Lacon & Co. was responsible for the structure of the building as well as similar matters; however, they were not liable for daily maintenance such as sufficient lighting in a stairwell. Both the owner and the manager of the public house owed a duty of care but Lacon & Co. was not liable for the damages. (Poustie et al., 1999, p64)

An occupier does not always have complete control of the premises, control can be shared. (Keenan and Smith, 1995, p427) David Armitage appears to be the sole occupier of the hotel; therefore he is obligated to make sure lawful visitors are safe during their stay at the Imperial Hotel, once they are on the premises.

Law of Contract

A guaranteed booking or credit card booking implies that a contract was started, a contract for The Imperial Hotel to provide the Bakers with accommodation and meals at that particular hotel only.

A contract is a joint agreement between two parties. An offer is made by one party and the other party accepts. The termination of the contract, in this case, should occur only after “the contract […] is performed satisfactorily.” (Poustie et al., 1995, p53) In other words, when the agreed period of time for the family to stay has elapsed and they have checked out.

The Bakers were transferred to another hotel and they became aware