complementary accommodation facilities operated by the same entrepreneur who manages a food and beverage business, within the same building and its appurtenances. These facilities may include no more than six rooms and up to fourteen beds, thereby allowing restaurateurs to expand their core offering of food service by adding lodging services, and consequently to increase their revenue40. The assimilation of the restaurant contract to the hotel contract involves multiple aspects. It concerns, first, the formation of the contract, as the restaurateur, like the hotelier, makes an offer to the public pursuant to Article 1336 of the Italian Civil Code, by displaying signage and often the menu in such a way that the offer is valid for anyone willing to accept it41. The completion of the contract, through acceptance, will then vary depending on the business model adopted: in the case of table service, it occurs when the customer places an order; in the self-service model, it is perfected upon payment for the items selected and placed on the tray. Furthermore, the complexity of the service provided, and the restaurateur’s liability for the safekeeping of the customer’s personal belongings, are additional elements that restaurant contracts share with hotel contracts. As in the case of hotel deposit contracts42, the hotelier is liable for all goods the guests bring with them or entrust to the hotel, although the scope of liability varies depending on the circumstances. Similarly, under a restaurant contract, the restaurateur is liable for the theft, loss, or deterioration of the customer’s belongings, which the latter is obliged to set aside in order to consume the meal, this, pursuant to Article 1786 of the Italian Civil Code. As with hotel deposits, liability may arise both in cases of direct custody and of indirect custody43. According to Article 1783 of the Italian Civil Code, liability is limited to 100 times the price paid by the guest for one night’s stay at the hotel in cases of indirect custody44. 40 The text of the law refers to the supply contract with regard to restaurant contract. 41 See G. Ciurnelli, Contratti per la somministrazione di alimenti e bevande, cit., p. 356. 42 On the hotel deposit contract see: M. E. La Torre, Contratto di deposito in albergo, in (edited by) V. Franceschelli – F. Morandi Diritto del turismo, Turin, 2019, page 332 and following; D. Galli, La responsabilità dell’albergatore tra regole economiche e responsabilità ex recepito, in Danno e responsabilità, 4/1999 page 402. 43 F. Mastropaolo, Il deposito in albergo, in Trat. Dir. Priv, diretto da Rescigno, Torino, 1985, pag. 552 e ss.; G. Ferri, Manuale di diritto commerciale, Torino, 1988, pag. 870 et seq. 44 In the case of a restaurant, this could be understood as 100 times the meal consumed, or, as some doctrine states, the average price of the meal. See Santagata, cit., p. 203. 46 VINCENZO FRANCESCHELLI | SARA D´URSO | ALESSANDRA CORRADO
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