A woman has lost a court battle after she claimed that “water is a natural resource and a universal human right” having been refused a glass of tap water by the Hotel Sassongher in Corvara
A hotel has won a legal fight with a tourist who asked for a glass of water.
In the UK, the right to ask for a glass of water from certain establishments is enshrined in the law. Restaurants that serve alcohol are legally required to provide free tap water to paying customers, although they may charge for the glass or service.
The same cannot be said for other countries.
In Italy, the land’s highest court has just ruled that a five-star Dolomites hotel acted lawfully when it refused to provide tap water to a tourist.
Way back in 2019, the woman, from Rome, asked for a glass of H2O, only to be told that she couldn’t have one and that she’d have to make do with a £6 bottle of mineral water instead.
What followed was a legal fight that has run on until this week. Eventually settled in the Italian Supreme Court, the tourist claimed that “water is a natural resource and a universal human right”.
However, such arguments failed, with the five-star Hotel Sassongher in Corvara eventually victorious and the tourist’s request for £2,300 in compensation for emotional distress and economic damage dismissed.
Silvio Belardi, the lawyer representing the hotel, told the Corriere Alto Adige newspaper that the court held that “there is no obligation to supply tap water”.
According to the lawyer, the case had been rejected first by a court in Rome, then by an appeals court and now the Court of Cassation.
The Roman had argued that her consumer rights had been violated. She compared the denial of tap water to a hotel not putting sheets on a bed or soap in the bathroom.
“The woman claimed she had suffered damage, including financial and moral harm. This was rejected for lack of evidence,” Mr Belardi told the BBC.
Supreme Court judges dismissed her claim, eventually ruling that Italian laws and regulations do not require venues to provide tap water to guests. It is up to individual establishments whether they decide to do so.
“We also argued that if a person wanted running water, they could easily get that in the hotel – just not at the restaurant,” the lawyer added
European countries where free tap water is legally required
France: Requires restaurants to provide a carafe of water with every meal at no extra charge.
Spain: Passed a law in 2022 requiring bars and restaurants to offer unpackaged drinking water for free.
Lithuania: Restaurants must give guests tap water if they ask for it.
What about the EYU as a whole?
The EU as a whole has passed no laws requiring establishments to provide free tap water, although that could change soon. The EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, approved by the EU Council, encourages member states to ensure restaurants, bars, cafés, and catering services provide tap water for free or for a minimal service fee, with rules set to take effect in August this year.
