Justice agrees with the San Sebastián restaurant that applied a charge of 510 euros to three diners who did not cancel their reservation, generating the consequent economic damage to the premises. The corresponding court does not consider this penalty "abusive", which calculated an amount of 170 euros per person at the time of applying the charge, and which was denounced by the person who suffered the penalty
The facts date back to July 16, 2021, in the middle of the high season of tourism in San Sebastián. The place is also located in the tourist epicenter of the city, next to La Concha beach. There is the Hotel Villa Favorita and the Amelia restaurant, with two Michelin stars.
The sentence handed down by a court of first instance in Donostia/San Sebastián states that the plaintiff reserved a room at the Hotel Villa Favorita on July 6, ten days before attending. He also reserved a table for three people at the aforementioned restaurant, an appointment that would be confirmed on July 12.
The plaintiff, however, delayed his plans one day and notified the hotel where he was going to stay. On the contrary, he did not notify the Amelia restaurant, according to the sentence. The consequence was that the same night of July 16, when he did not go to dinner, they charged him the aforementioned 510 euros.
When he entered the hotel with his companions on July 17, the plaintiff did not realize that he had been charged the aforementioned amount and, in fact, asked about his reservation at the restaurant. From the hotel they contacted the restaurant, with which they have a direct relationship as it is located in the same building, and informed them that the reservation was for the night before. The complainant then requested a reservation for the same night, and was informed that there were no tables. He still did not know that he had been charged the 510 euros from the night before.
When he realized that this amount had been charged to his account, the plaintiff, a notary by profession, considered that it was an abusive charge and contacted the establishment to request accounts. From there he was referred to the terms in which he made the online reservation, where the cancellation policy appears, a factor that has been taken into account by the San Sebastian court that has given reason to the restaurant.
The court has also taken into account the arguments of the restaurant, which indicates that it is a very particular business, with a reduced number of tables for a few diners. The restaurant, in fact, has indicated that the damage generated by the plaintiff was "notably" higher, since the restaurant makes specific purchases, "measured to the millimeter", such as products from Japan, which if they are not consumed are not frozen and are they spoil
Finally, the ruling states that a clause "whose prior acceptance was a 'conditio sine que non' for making the reservation" cannot be considered abusive.
