Question

What did the case of Olley v Maraborough Hotel demonstrate?

a) "The failure to supervise the keys amounted to a breach of that contract."
b) "The lack of key supervision was not considered a breach of the contract."
c) "The contract did not involve key supervision clauses."
d) "The breach of contract was unrelated to key supervision."

Answer 1

The case of Olley v Maraborough Hotel showed that key supervision failure by the hotel resulted in a breach of contract when guests' belongings were stolen.

Step-by-step explanation:

The case of Olley v Maraborough Hotel is a pivotal case in contract law. This case demonstrated that a notice limiting liability displayed in the hotel room did not form part of the contract between the hotel and the guest, because the contract had been formed at the reception desk when the room was booked and paid for, before the guest had seen the notice in the room. The failure to supervise the keys by the hotel did amount to a breach of that contract, as the couple's belongings were stolen from their hotel room due to hotel staff negligence in allowing a thief access to the room key.