5.1.1. Liability for Damage Caused to the Guest’s Health and Physical Integrity (Objektif Özen Yükümlülüğü) When a tourist enters a hotel, they inherently surrender a significant degree of control over their physical environment, relying entirely on the infrastructural safety and hygienic standards maintained by the operator. To counterbalance this vulnerability, Turkish jurisprudence imposes an “Objective Duty of Care” (Objektif Özen Yükümlülüğü) upon the hotelier.30 This duty dictates that the hotel operator is not merely a passive provider of shelter, but an active guarantor of the guest’s physical and psychological integrity. Any bodily harm suffered by the guest—ranging from food poisoning contracted in the main restaurant to physical injuries resulting from slipping on a wet, unmarked pool deck—triggers a comprehensive liability framework under the Turkish Code of Obligations (TBK). From an analytical standpoint, a breach of this duty usually leads to a “Concurrence of Claims” (Hakların/Taleplerin Yarışması). The injured tourist may simultaneously invoke contractual liability for the breach of the accommodation contract (TBK Art. 112) and non-contractual tort liability.31 Within the realm of tort and strict liability, the hotel operator’s accountability is enforced through several converging statutory mechanisms including Liability of the Employer (TBK Art. 66 - Adam Çalıştıranın Sorumluluğu); Liability for Auxiliary Persons (TBK Art. 116 - İfa Yardımcısının Fiillerinden Sorumluluk); Liability of the Building Owner (TBK Art. 69 - Bina Malikinin Sorumluluğu); Danger Liability (TBK Art. 71 - Tehlike Sorumluluğu). 5.1.2. Liability for Damage to the Guest’s Property (Kusursuz Sorumluluk ve Sınırları) The protection of a traveler’s personal belongings is so fundamentally critical to the psychological comfort and facilitation of mass tourism that the Turkish Code of Obligations dedicates a highly specialized, historically rooted liability regime exclusively for it. Known as the “Innkeeper’s Liability” (Otelcilerin Sorumluluğu), this regime is governed by Articles 576 through 580 of the TBK. Under the absolute mandate of Article 576, the hotel operator is held strictly liable (kusursuz sorumlu) for the destruction, damage, or theft of any baggage or personal items brought into the facility by the guest. The evidentiary burden is 30 Tuğçem Seçer, “Konaklama Sözleşmesi”, Ankara Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Doktora Tezi (2022): 145 31 Murat Fırat, “Konaklama Sözleşmesi ve Konaklama Sözleşmesinden Doğan Uyuşmazlıkların Çözümü”, Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi Yüksek Lisans Tezi (2023): 62 16 ENES ALTAN
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