150,000 euros in damages
Incorrect coat hook: Hotel guest is liable for water damage
October 21, 2026 – 1:07 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
If you are looking for somewhere to hang your clothes, you should under no circumstances use a sprinkler system. This mistake is now costing a Düsseldorf hotel guest dearly.
Those who stay in hotels don’t always hang their clothes properly in the closet. People often improvise – pants, jackets or shirts end up everywhere in the room. However, hotel visitors should not use a sprinkler head to hang up their clothes – in the worst case scenario, this can be very costly. This comes from a recent ruling by the Higher Regional Court Dusseldorf (Az.: 10 U 8/26), which the portal “Beck aktuell” points to.
A guest in a Düsseldorf hotel had hung his clothes hanger on a sprinkler head on his ceiling. When the hanger was being put on or taken off, the head tore off, setting off the sprinkler system. Thousands of liters of water then poured into the hotel room. There was damage of around 150,000 euros.
Guest doesn’t want to pay for damages
The hotel’s building insurer then held the hotel guest liable. He caused the damage through his behavior through gross negligence. He defended himself: The sprinkler head looked similar to a coat hook, and there were no protective devices or warnings. The confusion with a coat hook was therefore merely negligent, but not grossly negligent. Accordingly, he does not have to pay for the damage caused.
Unlike the previous instance, the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court did not share this argument. Sprinkler heads are small, fragile components that are attached to the ceiling – the court therefore ruled out any possibility of them being confused with a coat hook. The court also did not consider the fact that the hotel operator had installed neither protective flaps nor warning notices as a relief for the guest. The sprinkler head was mounted on the ceiling of the room and therefore out of normal reach – this had to be sufficient as protection.
Behavior particularly carefree
The court also did not accept the guest’s objection that clothing was often hung in unusual places in a hotel room, such as a doorknob or the shower rail. Both items are not comparable to a sprinkler head. However, anyone who hangs their clothing on a visibly fragile object whose meaning is unclear is acting particularly carelessly and therefore grossly negligent.
Accordingly, the hotel guest or – if available – their liability insurance must cover the resulting damage. The Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court did not allow an appeal against the verdict.
