High-speed Internet access has become the must-have amenity for lodging operators who hope to capture their share of the business traveler market. And, logically, if business travelers are staying with you due to your HSIA offering, the odds are they have a laptop with them.

And when you consider an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 laptops are stolen every year, with the average claim being significantly greater than the value of the hardware itself due to the proprietary data that is lost, you can envision a recipe for disastrous liability claims.

The solution that many lodging operators are turning to is the in-room safe. Guests are typically reluctant to use safety deposit boxes due to the inconvenience of their location, distrust of the hotel staff, or lack of awareness of their existence and procedures for accessibility. They're also reluctant because they are fearful of becoming robbery targets each time they visit the safety deposit box area.

If installed properly, monitored properly and maintained properly, in-room safes provide instant access for the guest, greatly reduce the concern and distrust of potential access by employees, eliminate the “target” concern and greatly enhance the notification of availability.

Historically, innkeepers under the doctrine infra hospitium (Latin… meaning that within the inn… once a traveler's baggage comes infra hospitium, that is, in the care and under the charge of the innkeeper, it is at the innkeeper's risk) were totally responsible for the personal property of the guest. Over time, legislation in each state placed a limit on innkeepers' liability for missing guest property provided that the innkeeper complied with certain requirements, usually including providing safety deposit boxes for guest valuables, unrestricted access to the boxes by the guest and using diligence to notify the guest about the deposit boxes availability. The laws are commonly referred to as Innkeeper Liability Statutes or Limited Liability Statutes for Innkeepers.

Most of these laws were passed in the early- and mid-1900s and haven't been updated since. Consequently, in most instances the liability cap (ranging from $50 to $1,000 depending upon the state) is usually very favorable to the innkeeper (given the types and value of property that guests travel with today). At the time these laws were enacted, no one was predicting computers would be commonplace, much less that travelers would tote them around like lunchboxes to the factory.

Many innkeepers install in-room safes with the perception that they substitute for the hardware requirements and notification provisions of the Innkeeper Liability Statutes. A review of court decisions suggests that hoteliers need a different perception. Courts are holding that in order for an inn to avail itself of the safe harbor provisions (liability caps) for lost or stolen property, the innkeeper must have strictly complied with the Innkeeper Liability Statute, including the notice provisions.

Accordingly, an innkeeper that has previously installed or is considering installing an in-room safe system would be prudent to review the following suggestions in order to maximize the convenience and utility to the guest, while simultaneously enhancing the safety and security of guest property:

1. Be sure to follow careful, complete compliance with the Innkeeper Liability Statute in the state in which the inn is located. (Pay particular attention to the notification requirements, how many notices and where they must be located. Notices in a drawer or closet don't equate to “conspicuous.”)

2. Install safes large enough to hold laptops.

3. If an electrical outlet is provided, make absolutely certain there is no risk of shock.

4. Secure installations with hidden attachment apparatuses.

5. Secure as broad a warranty as possible from the safe provider on forced entry and/or removal of the safe.

6. Put safes in locations convenient for guest access.

7. Provide sufficient lighting to read the directions and operate the safe.

8. Post clear operating directions in appropriate languages for your guest base.

9. Implement a secure key or code control system.

10. Provide accessible safes for disabled guests.

11. If an additional fee is charged for the usage of the safe, be sure to clearly and accurately disclose the fee to the guest.

12. Unless specifically authorized to do so by your state, don't sell insurance or advise the guest that the fee is for insurance.

13. Establish a policy for changing the master code in a timely fashion when an employee with access to the master leaves the company for any reason, or any other time the confidentiality of the master code could have been compromised.

14. Post a hard-to-miss message asking the guest to leave the safe open upon departure.

15. Implement a checklist item for housekeepers to insure the safe is open for the next guest, and if the safe is locked upon guest departure, to take appropriate steps to unlock the safe (e.g., contact security, advise GM) without compromising the master code or key.

16. Check with your insurance company for a potential premium discount.

17. If possible, select a unit with an interrogation feature to allow tracking of historical usage.

18. If your units have mechanical key safes, use a high-level security key that can't be duplicated and has an infinite number of key ways.

While in-room safes aren't substitutes for statutorily required safety deposit boxes, they are an added layer of security and if installed, maintained and monitored properly, a serious tool in the loss prevention tool box that can significantly mitigate theft opportunity.

Stephen Barth is the founder of HospitalityLawyer.com and the Hospitality Law Conference series and is professor at the Conrad N. Hilton College at the University of Houston. He can be reached at (713) 963- 8800 or at sbarth@hospitalitylawyer.com.