Keeping guests safe and hotels out of the courtroom

Hotels can be held legally responsible for injuries and activities that occur on their property. This responsibility can extend to negligent security cases. Negligent security cases usually involve criminal activity, with the plaintiff/victim suing the hotel for breach of a duty to take reasonable steps to keep the plaintiff/victim safe from foreseeable harm. The standard for liability is whether or not the hotel took reasonable steps to protect the plaintiff/victim from the reasonably foreseeable intentional acts of third parties.
From a liability standpoint, the first element to examine is whether the actions were reasonably foreseeable. Reasonable foreseeability is based on prior criminal activity; if crimes of a similar nature have occurred in the past in areas near the hotel or at similar hotels, than a judge or jury may find that that crime is reasonably foreseeable.
If a crime is reasonably foreseeable, then the second step in determining liability is whether or not the hotel took reasonable steps to protect the plaintiff/victim from the criminal act. A hotel has a legal duty to protect its guests and staff from reasonably foreseeable crimes. Failure to maintain proper security can result in liability.