Texas Hotel Eviction Statute: What You Need to Know

Overview of Hotel Evictions

Texas hotel eviction laws set standards for a business’s right to remove guests from the property. Hotels aren’t just a service provider; they also provide security, comfort and location for the people who stay with them. At the same time, hotel guests are also more than just customers. They’re guests. And as such, they have their own rights about what happens to them while they’re inside the properties. Thus, it’s incumbent on hotels to make sure they know how to enforce these rights in cases where it is no longer appropriate for a guest to remain .
A commercial business can ask a guest to vacate when a guest fails to comply with appropriate, published rules and regulations. It can also ask guests to leave if they engage in disreputable behavior, block access to entrances and exits and violate fire codes, nor can they loiter on the premises.
Hotels have statutory and common law authority to act as they see fit. Evictions can be made by a peace officer, but so long as they’re reasonable, hotel personnel can take action to evict a guest. The steps required to do so depend on the circumstances.

The Law For Evicting Guests

In order to evict a guest, the hotel must have legal grounds. Acceptable grounds generally fall into three categories: non-payment, illegal activities, and violation of hotel policies. Non-payment namely refers to the situation whereby the guest has failed to pay for their bill. The TTPA allows for the hotel to charge a late fee on all past-due accounts, but not in excess of 1% per month. The hotel would have a legal right to evict the guest if the guest has not paid their bill within the 4 day grace period as allowed under the TTPA. Illegal activity is the second ground upon which a hotel may seek to evict a guest. Such activities would include drug use or sales, prostitution, vandalism, or other activities which create a hazardous or offensive living environment. The final ground upon which Hotels may seek to evict a guest is violation of hotel policies. Violation of hotel policies may include violation of non-smoking policies, keeping pets, improperly using amenities such as pools and gyms, abuse of staff, or noise complaints.

Hotel Guests Versus Tenants

The legal distinction between a hotel guest and a tenant would seem rather obvious, and yet, the law in Texas may be unclear to a number of people. Specifically, a hotel guest is more a visitor than a tenant. They are not entitled to the same rights as a tenant under Texas law. The main distinction between guests and tenants is that guests have an independent relationship with the owner of the premises, while a tenant exists largely through the landlord. Because there is an independent relationship, hotel guests do not have access to the lease of the property, do not typically sign a lease, and are not aware of any laws governing the property. Guests therefore have no obligation to the landlord other than the consideration for their rooms-otherwise known as rent. Tenants, on the other hand, are expected to be aware of the terms of the lease and the laws governing the property. Tenants may also have other legal protections against eviction such as security deposits, reduction of rent, retaliatory eviction, etc.
Guests have many less rights than tenants. If a guest fails to pay for a room two days after they are due, the hotel can call security and have the guest forcibly removed. In a tenant/landlord situation, this would be illegal and the tenant would have to be lawfully evicted. Evictions have been governed by the Texas Property Code and it is nuanced and slow. For a hotel, calling security and a simple phone call or written notice is sufficient to have the guest removed.

Eviction Procedures for Hotels in Texas

Should a guest in a hotel or motel fail to comply with management’s policy on checking out, the facility must follow all necessary eviction procedures under Texas law. A full description of this process is set out below.
Within the first twenty-four (24) hours of documenting that a guest has failed to check out, the proprietor must attempt to notify the person by telephone or must send a written communication by certified mail to the person’s home or business address advising that the person must leave, to include the date and time when they must leave.
If the person fails to leave the premises within the specified time set out in the correspondence, or if the facility is unable to contact the person pursuant to this section, the facility must commence judicial proceedings for forcible entry and detainer against the guest. The hotel or motel is entitled to recover its court costs and attorneys’ fees, and can request any amount owed as set out in the guest’s registration agreement or the room rate agreed to with the guest.
While this process may ultimately result in a successful eviction, the hotel or motel should not assume that any funds owed are collectible. In most cases, it is simply not worth the cost to pursue collections. Until such time as this legislation is confounded by the courts or repealed by the Legislature, however, the hotel or motel should adhere to the law exactly and consistently.

Rights of Guests When suddenly Evicted

As long as the hotel or motel properly follows the Texas state and local laws, it has the right to evict its guests. But more often than not, the legalities of hotel evictions are resolved in the hotels’ favor. However, if the hotel fails to properly notify you of your eviction and your home in the middle of the hotel is taken from you without notice, you probably have a case for damages that you may be able to pursue.
If you are a victim of an improper eviction, there are certain things that you can do to exercise your rights:
• Once a hotel has properly served you notice, it generally has the right to physically evict you at any time. Therefore, it is wise to leave the premises before being forcibly removed by security, police , etc.
• It is extremely difficult to have possessions that have been removed from your room returned to you.
• In most cases the hotel will deny knowing what happened to your belongings. It generally does not matter that you have never before acted in a violent manner, never offered to pay more, have no criminal history, or pose any threat to others. The hotel’s policy, especially in a major chain, is just to turn the matter over to the police or security and let the facts speak for themselves.
• You may receive no compensation for stolen or missing items or for your emotional distress. In many cases, the best you can hope for is an apology, although that is unlikely.
The best advice for individuals who find themselves in this situation is to know your rights going in.

Legal Ramifications of Improper Evictions

Hotel eviction that is not handled properly can have significant legal consequences for the hotel itself. A person or company wrongfully removed from a room may file a suit for damages/damages sustained by the unlawful removal. An unlawfully evicted person can also seek injunctive relief against the hotel. Remedies may include:
Compensatory damages;
Punitive damages;
Actual damages;
A temporary restraining order;
An injunction, and
Declaratory judgment.
A hotel being sued for improper eviction may face substantial legal costs, and potentially large damages. Such damages would include lost profits and lodging costs resulting from losing the customer, embarrassment, and any possible unflattering reviews of such hotel.
A hotel must be aware of potential defenses when faced with such a suit. For example, the eviction may have been in response to non-payment of room debt. A hotel must always have a distinct legal reason for eviction. Otherwise, it may be charged with a hotel being "terminable at will" under the Texas Property Code. A hotel terminating a tenant "at will" without legal grounds is at risk of suffering the legal consequences associated with such termination.
The Texas Attorney General may sue for fine of up to $20,000, or be petitioned to file suit for the following;
A temporary restraining order,
A permanent injunction, and/or
A civil penalty of not more than:

$250,000 for a violation of Section 301.461,
$500,000 for violations of Section 301.461(a)(4) (a violation determined to be intentional or knowing), and
Any equitable relief the court deems appropriate.

Hoteliers can Evict Guests Lawfully

Addressing Non-Payment: When a guest’s funds are exhausted before the scheduled departure date, or when the guest simply refuses to pay for charges accrued during their stay, hotel managers must take appropriate action. A simple strategy can maintain a good relationship with the customer and ensure potential for future business. In daily interactions, the manager will drop a "hint" regarding the need for additional funds to the property. When no funds are presented, the manager must move forward with the eviction procedure as outlined above. When you see the customer making an effort to add funds, rather than addressing the guest in a confrontational manner, approach the guest prior to initiation of the self-help eviction procedure and gently remind the guest of the inability to continue without payment for outstanding costs. Allowing the guest additional opportunity to correct the situation will maintain a good relationship with the guest, while also ensuring that the hotel is paid for the stay. Remember, when the guest is allowed additional opportunity to fix the problem, he or she is more likely to return to your area in the future to visit. You want to make sure the guest remembers a positive experience.
Establishing House Rules: Well written policies enforce expectations and minimize confusion. Ensure that rules and policies prohibit misconduct not only by guests, but any other visitors to the hotel, including but not limited to employees and employees’ guests. Publicizing your policy in areas where guests are likely to visit allows everyone to familiarize themselves with the policies and abide by them.
Investigating Bad Behavior: You invest time and energy into training your staff to learn proper methods for responding to guests. Do not leave the investigating of inappropriate behavior to subordinates and rely on their report alone. This minimizes miscommunication, and enables the manager to proceed with actions necessary to resolve the problem appropriately. One miscommunication could result in a missing or altered document, and a required defense in a law suit. The manager not only investigated and addressed the issue as it occurred, but is able to tell the story as it really happened. It would be difficult for the hotel any other way.
Equal Treatment of Guests: All guests should be treated equally, regardless of gender, race or sexual identity. Unless the property is a nudist resort, hotel policy should dictate the appropriate level of dress/undress in and about the hotel. However, rules permitting nudity in a pool area should be enforced regardless of gender. Overt discrimination creates liability for the hotel, while ignoring the behavior risks safety and the hotel for claims of negligence.
Conflict Resolution: When the manager is the resident expert on conflict resolution, a happy resolution can be reached in a timely manner, saving names and profanities that may appear on the hotel ratings web page. Properly investigating and resolving the issues as they arise can avoid potentially high costs to the property and owners, and instead, result in satisfied and returning customers. The cost of a complimentary stay is often far less than the cost of lost customer business.

Changes in the Law on Hotel Evictions

The Texas legislature made some updates to hotel eviction laws a couple of years ago. Before, if a hotel didn’t keep a full bank of keys and had only one key per guest, the hotel could be liable for damages if it called the police to remove the guest without that guest’s property. If you’ve ever been spread out in a huge room with six of your friends (common in Austin during South by Southwest, ACL, or Formula 1), you know it wouldn’t be safe to leave that room if everyone had a key and could get back in. Even if the hotel managed the keys carefully and only issued one key to one room, the statute forbade them from calling the police to remove a guest without certain steps having been taken first. First, the guest and the hotel made contact. Then, if they couldn’t work something out, the hotel would have to write a letter to the guest. That letter would need to demand that the guest leave within 30 days. If the hotel had non-emergency property, they’d have to give the guest another 30 days to take the property. If the guest still hadn’t left after 30 days , the hotel would have to file a separate lawsuit to oust them and take the property. The law would further require that the hotel take a further action to help the guest move out of the room. The law is a little easier and fairer to everyone now. The law no longer requires hotels to send letters or wait 30 days. They can evict a guest who fails to pay the rate (whether the guest agreed to pay the rate while booking via telephone, in a web portal, or over-the-counter) after just one night. (Citing to Justice O’Neill’s concurrence in Ganther v. City of New Orleans, 263 F.3d 427, 437 n.11 (5th Cir. 2001)). From the hotel’s perspective, they can recover possession of the room after a failed "take our money agreement." From the guest’s perspective, they’ll know that they will be ousted in the morning if they’ve failed to pay their room rate. Depending on when the guest checks in, their stay could last two or three calendar days. Either way, the law is much more certain and the disputes between hotel and guest can be resolved quickly and fairly.