what happens if your vehicle is broken into in the parking lot?

Is parking your vehicle in the car park of a restaurant, hotel or campsite different from parking in a simple public car park? Does a sign indicating “unguarded parking” allow the hotelier to protect himself? Let’s take stock of hotels and campsites.

Your vehicle is broken into in the hotel car park

“The Civil Code provides for a specific liability regime for the hotelier. The victim of the theft may claim compensation which may represent up to 50 times the price of the room. The motorist will have to prove a breach of the duty of care or supervision on the part of the owner of the establishment. This is particularly the case when the hotelier makes a commitment by announcing “24-hour surveillance” or “guarded parking””, specifies Maître Jean-Baptiste Le Dall.

In which cases is the hotelier not responsible?

“The first thing to know is that the motorist will not be able to claim these compensations if he came to the establishment only to eat, without reserving a room. Second thing to know: you will have to be parked in the hotel car park. If the receptionist has advised you to park your vehicle further away, you are no longer covered. The “unguarded parking” sign affixed to the entrance of the hotel will not allow the hotelier to exonerate himself from his responsibilities,” adds Maître Le Dall.

And in a campsite?

“Be careful, what concerns hotels cannot concern campsites. Compensation in the event of theft in a campsite does not come under the same articles of the Civil Code. The Court of Cassation considered in the case of a campsite, that it was a simple rental and not a rental of a hotel, specifies our lawyer. But the good reflex in case of theft of a computer, a telephone, various equipment is to check its insurance contracts. Some of these contracts cover compensation in the event of theft of these objects. Contact your insurance company”, advises Maître Le Dall.