Facts
The facts concern a case where a hotel guest parked his vehicle during his stay at Hotel H. SA in Geneva in the hotel garage. The vehicle was stolen during the night. The hotel guest and his insurer subsequently filed a claim against the hotel for damages. The Federal Supreme Court had to decide whether the hotel is responsible for the theft of the vehicle. To this end, it first had to classify the contractual relationship between the hotel guest and the hotel.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court came to the following conclusion:- The hotel contract contains elements of the rental, sales and agency contracts, as well as elements of the deposit contract. The liability regulations according to Art. 487 et seq. CO apply to the items brought in by the guest, which also include the vehicle. - According to the case law of the Federal Supreme Court, the hotelier is generally liable for a vehicle of the guest parked in the hotel garage under Art. 487 CO. A further-reaching liability such as that of the garage keeper (Art. 472 et seq. CO) does not exist. - However, a prerequisite for the liability of the hotelier under Art. 487 CO is that the vehicle has come under the control of the…