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Duty of Reasonable Care Hotels and motels must provide a minimumstandard of comfort, safety, and sanitation. Minimum standardsinclude reasonable heat and ventilation, clean beds, reasonably quiet surroundings,and freedom from disturbances by hoodlums, criminals, andpersons of immoral character. Hotel keepers must use reasonable carein protecting their guests from harm. They are responsible for injuriesto guests caused by the negligence of the hotel or its employees.Example 12. A section of carpeting in the hall outside Susan’sroom at the Main Street Motel had torn loose, and the motelhousekeeper had neglected to repair it. Susan tripped over thecarpeting, suffering painful injuries. She may hold the motelresponsible for damages resulting from the injury.Hotel keepers must respect their guests’ right of privacy. Guests areguaranteed exclusive and undisturbed privacy of rooms assigned by thehotel. Interruption of the guests’ privacy through uninvited entry byhotel employees or other guests creates a liability in tort for invasion ofprivacy.Example 13. Eliza stopped at the Ocean Breeze Motel for thenight. After taking a shower, she opened the bathroom door anddiscovered a couple bringing suitcases into her room. The motelclerk had assigned the room to the couple by mistake. Eliza mayseek damages against the motel for invasion of privacy.Hotel keepers have a greater duty of care toward their guests’ propertythan is imposed in the usual mutual-benefit bailment. With exceptions,hotel keepers are held by law to be insurers of their guests’property. The insured property includes all personal property broughtinto the hotel for the convenience and purpose of the guests’ stay. In theevent of loss, the hotel keeper may be held liable, regardless of theamount of care exercised in the protection of the guests’ property.Most state statutes require hotel keepers to provide a secure place,such as a hotel safe, for guests to store valuables. If guests do not usethe hotel safe, the hotel keeper is not liable as an insurer for any loss.Gift of LifeBlood is one of thehuman body’s mostprecious assets. Aroundthe world there is anongoing need for blooddonors. In the UnitedStates, the Red Crosscollects about 50 percentof the blood forthe nation’s bloodbanks. Licensed by theFood and Drug Administration,blood banksscreen blood anddonors for infectiousdiseases, such as hepatitis,AIDS, and malaria.How do you feelabout donatingblood?Get InvolvedCheck with your localRed Cross about volunteeringwith theirBlood Drive campaigns.Find out if there arelaws that prevent somepeople from beingdonors, and writea report.Example 14. Isabel rented a room at the Evergreen Hotel. Shehad in her possession a valuable diamond necklace, which disappearedduring the night. The hotel proved that there was a goodlock on the door and that all reasonable precautions had beenmade to protect the hotel against theft. The hotel escaped liabilitybecause Isabel should have put her necklace in the hotel safe.Chapter 17: Personal Property and Bailments 375