With the arrival of June, the imminent season for young people without bank credit generates a mix of high occupancy and growing concern for hoteliers in Maspalomas and the rest of southern Gran Canaria. The question that resonates in many establishments is a recurring and far from trivial one: Will the room furnishings survive? It's not an unfounded concern; it's common to find serious damage in accommodations after certain groups of tourists leave. Imagine the scene: a minibar without a door, broken bed frame shelves, a cracked mattress, and a broken toilet, totaling a repair cost of 2.500 euros. Faced with this situation, what can a hotelier do in the tourist heart of the island? The answer is clear: there are legal avenues to file a claim.
Non-hotel guests in southern Gran Canaria, like any citizen, have legal mechanisms to claim damages. The Civil Code is the main source of support. Article 1902 of the Code firmly establishes: "Whoever, by action or omission, causes harm to another, whether through fault or negligence, is obliged to repair the damage caused." This premise is reinforced by Article 1101, which states that those who breach their obligations through willful misconduct, negligence, or delay are liable to compensation for damages. Regardless of the legal avenue chosen, the key to a successful claim lies in thorough documentation and immediacy. Antoni Mut, a lawyer at MONLEX, recommends a series of essential steps to strengthen the case against the guests responsible for the damage.
A crucial point for the reality of student travel is Article 1903 of the same Code, which extends liability to parents: "Parents are responsible for damages caused by children under their care." Hoteliers can opt for both civil and, in more serious cases, criminal remedies to seek compensation. First, if a potentially problematic outing is known or anticipated, it is essential to conduct a room inspection with the tourists. Second, if a joint inspection is not possible, the inspection should be carried out by several hotel staff members, thoroughly documenting each defect with clear photographs and videos before the room is cleaned or reassigned. Third, repair estimates and/or purchase invoices for the affected furniture items should be collected as urgently as possible to quantify the economic damage. Fourth, reviewing security cameras in the hotel's various common areas can provide additional evidence regarding the origin of the damage or the behavior that led to it.
Once all this documentation has been collected—which includes everything from the damage report to visuals and estimates, along with guest check-in information—the next step is to formalize the claim. A corresponding civil claim must be filed against the person responsible for the damage or, if the guests are minors, against their parents. In the most serious situations, the filing of a criminal complaint is not ruled out. "Because a stay shouldn't end in destruction, and an invoice can't cover what others break," emphasizes lawyer Antoni Mut. "Preventing, documenting, and claiming is not just a right of the hotelier: it's the only way to prevent tourism from extending services to imperfections in all-inclusive accommodations." For resorts in Maspalomas and the rest of southern Gran Canaria, with their high dependence on tourism, diligence in managing these incidents is crucial not only to recover losses but also to maintain the integrity of their assets and the economic viability of their businesses.
