BILL REQ. #:  H-3258.1 

Read first time 01/15/14.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to valuables of guests, lodgers, and boarders of hotels; adding a new section to chapter 19.48 RCW; creating a new section; and repealing RCW 19.48.030 and 19.48.070.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that the existing statutory limitations on hotel liability regarding the loss of valuables and luggage do not provide adequate protections for the guests, lodgers, and boarders of the hotels. The legislature finds that the substance of the existing statutes was last revised over eight decades ago and the caps on liability that are still in place do not reflect modern society. While the protections established for hotels may have made sense at that time, the legislature finds that the standards of gross negligence should be replaced by a standard of negligence. The legislature further finds that a guest, lodger, and boarder, or any other person who the hotel has a duty to, should be able to fully recover for any personal property that is lost due to the negligence of a hotel. Similar to a common carrier, a hotel should not be able to contractually limit liability with a guest, lodger, and boarder regarding lost valuables.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 19.48 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) When a guest leaves baggage or property in any hotel after the end of the guest's contracted stay in the hotel or sends any baggage or property in advance of a stay in a hotel, the hotel may hold the baggage or property. After six months from the receipt of such baggage or property, a hotel may sell the baggage or property at public auction as provided by law for the sale of property to satisfy a hotel keeper's lien. The hotel may use the proceeds of the sale to reimburse any reasonable expenses related to the advertisement and sale of the property, any reasonable storage costs that may have accrued, and any other amounts owed by the owner of the baggage or property to the hotel.
     (2) When any such baggage or property is received, kept, or stored by a hotel, the hotel may deliver the baggage or property at any time to a storage or warehouse company for storage.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:
     (1) RCW 19.48.030 (Liability for loss of valuables when safe or vault furnished -- Limitation) and 1933 c 114 s 1, 1929 c 216 s 2, 1915 c 190 s 3, & 1890 p 95 s 1; and
     (2) RCW 19.48.070 (Liability for loss of baggage and other property -- Limitation -- Storage -- Disposal) and 2011 c 336 s 541, 1929 c 216 s 3, 1917 c 57 s 1, & 1915 c 190 s 4.