Case study

James checked into a budget hotel in Petaling Jaya. At the check in desk, James asked the hotel staff to keep his brand new laptop (worth RM5,200) in the hotel safe. The hotel staff politely refused to keep James's laptop, and told him to use his room's safety box. The next morning, James went to the gym to exercise. On returning to his room, he noticed that his room door was ajar and he noticed that his laptop was missing from his luggage. He could not remember whether he locked his room door securely or not.

Immediately, he went to see the hotel manager and complained that it was the hotel's fault for not keeping his laptop in the hotel's safe. The hotel manager explained to John that there was a notice of section 4 of Innkeepers Act 1952 displayed in his room. Therefore, the hotel is not liable for any lost or damage of guest's property and is limited to RM500 only.

a)Apply the Innkeepers Act 1952, to advise the hotelier of its liabilities and support your answer with relevant cases.

(24 marks)