LEGAL CONTEXT
Tourism is undoubtedly one of the most important and dynamically growing sectors of the Greek economy.
Greece has strong incentives to attract tourists, which are linked to its natural beauty, its mild climate, its archaeological monuments and its comparative advantage over other tourist destinations.
There are various laws to regulate liability issues arising from the provision of tourist services, i.e. the transport, accommodation and leisure of tourists; such laws include the Civil Code, presidential decrees, regulatory decisions and circulars issued by various administrative bodies.
At the same time, tort law is based on the principles of Community law, the Consumer Protection Act (2251/1994), the general clauses of the Civil Code, the provisions on tort and inter-contractual liability and, finally, the rules of conduct of hoteliers and tourism operators in general.
This presentation will attempt to highlight certain issues that may arise in the context of the provision of tourist services, focusing on the rights of tourist guests in the case of incidents of mistreatment by hoteliers, which, although isolated, never cease to concern many of our fellow citizens and foreign tourists.
First of all, a hospitality contract is understood as a contract concluded by the hotelier directly with a specific guest (independent traveller) or with a group of guests (group travellers), usually without a travel agent, for the direct provision of standard hotel services (accommodation, meals, cleaning, storage of things).
As regards its legal nature, the hospitality contract can be described as a mixed contract combining elements of a rental or sale agreement, a work contract, or a consignment and supply agreement; i.e. it is a combination of several contracts as it contains basic elements of several contractual types, which are merged into a single document.
The hotelier is usually obliged to provide their guest, in exchange for a fee, the use of a room (rent of a thing) on the one hand and the provision of food and other services on the other.
The status of these latter services is not directly regulated by law, since the provision of food is a combination of a sale and a contract for the provision of independent services, while other services, e.g. cleaning, could be included in both a service and a work contract, etc.
As regards the applicable rules, the provisions on mixed contracts apply, considering that the main service is the lease of a thing (Article 574 et seq.), based on subjective (will of the parties) and objective (economic importance of the services) criteria. Thus, the terms and conditions of a rental contract apply equally to the actual defects of the main service, i.e. the accommodation facility (e.g. broken beds, noise, etc.), but also to the ancillary services, such as breakfast, lunch or other services included in the accommodation contract.
The prominent lease nature of the mixed accommodation contract and its subordination as a rule to the substantive provisions on leasing, also justifies its procedural treatment as a lease dispute, adjudicated according to the special provisions of articles 647 et seq. of the Code of Civil Procedure.
However, on several occasions it has been decided to apply the theory of combination regarding accommodation contracts, which means that the specific rules of each applicable contract will apply in parallel for each service.
Thus, for example, actual defects in the breakfast or meal justify only its replacement or a reduction in the price or withdrawal from the sale of the breakfast or meal (Article 540 of the Civil Code, as replaced by Article 1, paragraph 1 of Law 3043/2002) and not termination of the entire accommodation contract. Withdrawal, however, cannot be understood in the case where the guest has already consumed the meal, since the beneficiary of the withdrawal will have already received the service but, as is natural, after exercising the right, will not be able to return it.
In any case, when we search for the rules of law that apply to this case, we will take into account the will of the contracting parties under Article 200 of the Civil Code.
If the guest no longer has an interest in the accommodation contract, because they intended for a specific service that was not provided to them or was provided to them deficiently (e.g. not being able to use swimming facilities included in the contract), then it would be fair to accept that the guest will be entitled to terminate the contract.
The hotelier’s obligations facing the guest and vice versa are regulated by the entire legal order, in particular the provisions which refer directly or indirectly to the profession of the service provider (Article 834 et seq.), the specific provisions for this purpose (decision 503007/1976 of the Secretary General of the Greek National Tourism Organization, hereinafter the hotelier-guest relations regulation, legislative decree of 1/7.11.1938, supplementary decree of 14/16.1.1937, art. 4 of law 2160/1993) and the general clauses of law (Article 281, 288, 197 etc.), as these are co-determined by the specific ethical rules of the profession or activity, in combination with Article 57 for the protection of personality.
At the same time, in addition to establishing the hotelier’s liability for breach of his/her contractual obligations, the guest can base a claim for compensation on other legal bases, such as the provisions on tort (Article 914 et seq. of the Greek Civil Code) when a law provision is violated, and the law on consumer protection (Law 2251.1994) since the tourist is considered a recipient of services.
Thus, if, for example, the hotelier, despite having accepted the room order, refuses to make it available to the guest, or has double-booked the room, failing to make sure that guest may stay in a hotel of a similar class as they ought to, in addition to being liable to a compensation because of breach of their contractual obligations, they will also held accountable for tort, provided of course that the guest has suffered proven damage, e.g. when the guest is unable to find accommodation during peak season.
In tort liability, the injured guest bears the burden of proving the actual events that constitute the conditions of the claim, while in contractual liability, the fault of the injured party is presumed (CC 336, 342, etc.). The statute of limitations for tort is five years (Article 937 of the Greek Civil Code) and begins from the time the victim became aware of the damage.
The guest may claim compensation from the hotelier not only for the material damage suffered, but also for moral harm, provided that there has been an attack on health or honor and the conditions of Article 932 of the Civil Code are met.
Although it is not directly provided for by the provision, we would possibly acknowledge that the guest may claim financial compensation due to loss of vacation time, as a more specific form of moral harm.
Furthermore, hotel and hotel and related businesses are liable to be held accountable for things brought in by the guests under the provisions of Articles 834-83936.
Our Law Firm, with its highly qualified legal department and 20 years of experience in Contract and Property Law, can be a valuable advisor for any interested party who has been received tourist services that are inconsistent with the existing legislation and the Greek spirit of hospitality and are contrary to their rights.
Our law firm through its highly qualified legal department, with 20 years of experience in Civil and Contract Law cases, can be a valuable advisor for any interested party who has been the recipient of practices – during the provision of tourist services – that are not in accordance with the existing legislation and Greek hospitality and violate their rights.
