First Choice Holidays and Flights Ltd. v Holden

A package tour operator’s contractual responsibility for proper performance does not impose English safety standards on an overseas hotel. The claimant must prove, on the balance of probabilities, that the hotel fell below the safety standards applicable in the country concerned. Evidence of local regulations or custom is required; the operator’s own practices, the hotel’s star rating, and general evidence of medical care do not establish the local standard. A system requiring constant or event-triggered inspection of otherwise safe, non-slip stairs may also impose an unrealistically high standard. The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur does not establish liability where the accident may have resulted from an isolated spillage.

Mrs Holden was injured after falling down stairs at a Tunisian hotel during a package holiday organised by First Choice Holidays and Flights Ltd. The Portsmouth County Court found that she had slipped on liquid and that the hotel should have operated a system requiring checks for spillages when guests carried open drinks. Judgment was entered for Mrs Holden in damages and costs.

First Choice appealed, arguing that the Recorder imposed an excessive standard and that Mrs Holden had produced no evidence of Tunisian safety standards. The central issue was whether the hotel had failed to meet the safety standards applicable in Tunisia.

1. Appeal allowed. The Recorder’s finding that Mrs Holden slipped on liquid was open to him. The accident itself did not establish negligence, and res ipsa loquitur did not apply.
2. Under Regulation 15 of the The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992, the tour operator was liable for proper performance of the holiday contract. The claimant nevertheless had to prove that the relevant obligations were performed without reasonable skill and care, consistently with Hone v Going Places Leisure Travel Ltd.
3. The applicable duty was that stated in Wilson and Best Travel. A tour operator was not required to ensure that an overseas hotel met English safety standards. Subject to any uniform international rules, the relevant inquiry was whether the hotel complied with local safety regulations and standards, including local custom where appropriate.
4. Mrs Holden had adduced no evidence of Tunisian regulations or custom. The Recorder was wrong to infer the Tunisian standard from the hotel’s four-star classification, local medical treatment, or First Choice’s own interest in health and safety. Those matters could not substitute for evidence of the applicable local standard.
5. The proposed requirement that staff check the stairs whenever a guest entered or left the restaurant with an open drink was unrealistically high even on an English standard. The stairs were non-slip, had a handrail, and there was no evidence of frequent spillages or previous accidents. Evidence that the hotel was regularly cleaned did not establish a breach of Tunisian standards.
6. The Recorder’s reliance on Cook was misplaced. That decision did not relieve Mrs Holden of proving the applicable local standard. The claim therefore failed.

• Portsmouth County Court: held First Choice Holidays and Flights Ltd liable and awarded Mrs Holden £5,721.01 in damages and £13,355.63 in costs.
• High Court (Queen’s Bench Division): allowed First Choice’s appeal and set aside the County Court decision.