Rights of Hotels as Public Accommodations - Essay Example

The opinion is clear though that the common law cannot interfere in a case whereby the hotel gives a discount to any of its clientele or when the guest is not stranded and has other options but opts to pay for the unreasonable charges demanded by the hotel owner. The opinion basically cites the common law protection against unreasonable charges while at the same time encouraging the values of free trade.

Since hotels are considered public accommodations, are they required to allow members of the public to use their facilities like other public trust facilities?

Hotels are public accommodations and can only exercise their right to admission to a certain level. The hotels may not refuse accommodation to guests for reasons that are deemed discriminatory. They however have the right to regulate the use of their facilities other than the basic by allowing a certain section of their clientele access to some of their facilities and withholding the privileges so long as the selection criteria do not amount to discrimination by reason of race, origin, nationality, color, religion or Condition.

In California, can a hotel refuse accommodations to a person who is dressed in an odd manner? What about in other states?
The mode of dressing does not make one a minority. The Unruh Civil Rights aims to protect minority customers from discrimination on the basis of factors such as religion, age, gender, color, ancestry, nationality, disability, medical condition, marital status, or sexual orientation. The hotels in California can therefore legally refuse accommodation to a person dressed in a peculiar manner for instance when the mode of dressing may be offensive to other guests. The same applies to other states and cannot be viewed as discrimination. However, hotels in California and other states may not refuse accommodation to a person on the basis of their dressing if the same boils down to discrimination. An example is when the clothes worn indicate adherence to a certain religion. Read More