Hotel Accommodation’s Management Of Alcohol Liability

The sale of alcohol is an essential and profitable element of an accommodation hotel's service. However, excessive consumption by hotel guests can cause problems for hotel operators, as Jacob Duane explains.

The sale of alcohol in an international hotel accounts for a significant component of hotel revenue.¹ Many people who stay in a hotel expect to have access to alcoholic drinks. However, alcohol does cause health problems.² These health problems must be balanced against guest enjoyment, to ensure that guests are not being harmed, to ensure that the hotel is perceived to be a safe place to stay, and to provide staff with a safe working environment.

Hotel operators, as do all business owners, have a duty of care to protect their guests.³ Failure to observe this duty of care can result in the hotel operator, and possibly other hotel staff, being sued for damages.⁴ To address this duty of care and to protect guests, especially in the case of alcohol consumption,