Travel agency liable for MERS cancellations
Jeju District Court rules \262m to be paid to hotel

The Jeju District Court has ruled in favor of a hotel that sued a local travel agency for failure to pay for rooms it reserved but then cancelled due to the MERS outbreak last year.

District Court Judge Seo Hyeon-seok (서현석) ruled that the travel agency that serves Chinese travellers, needed to pay the hotel 262 million won for outstanding debts and damages. The ruling acknowledged that the MERS outbreak had resulted in a large drop in Chinese tourists to Jeju, but it was not reasonable to relinquish the travel agency’s liabilities.

The company in question had agreed to pay the hotel for 60 rooms regardless of whether or not the rooms were used. However, the travel agency said that it could only pay for the rooms that were actually used by its clients. And in response, the hotel sued for damages.

"메르스로 中관광객 안왔어도 객실료 지불해야"

제주지방법원 제2민사부 서현석 부장판사는
A 호텔이 중국 전담여행사인 B여행사를 상대로 제기한
객실사용료 청구소송에서 2억 6천200만 원을 지급하라며
원고 승소 판결했습니다.

법원은 지난해 메르스 사태로 중국인 관광객이 급감한 사실은 인정되지만 여행사가 호텔측에 대해 채무 자체를 이행하지 못하는 상태가 된 것은 아니라며 판결 이유를 설명했습니다.

한편 해당 호텔은 이 여행사와 60개 객실에 대해 사용여부와 관계없이 비용을 지불하기로 계약했지만 실제 사용한 객실에 한해서만 요금을 내겠다고 통보하자 소송을 제기했습니다.