4-205.06. Hotel or motel minibars; rules; definitions

A. Notwithstanding any other statute, a hotel or motel may sell spirituous liquor in sealed containers in individual portions to its registered guests at any time by means of a minibar located in the guest rooms of those registered guests, if all of the following conditions are met:

1. Before providing a key, magnetic card or other similar device required to attain access to the minibar in a particular guest room to the registered guest, or before otherwise providing access to the minibar to the registered guest, the licensee verifies that each registered guest to whom a key, magnetic card or similar device is provided or to whom access is otherwise provided is not a person under the legal drinking age.

2. All employees handling the spirituous liquors to be placed in the minibar in any guest room, including an employee who inventories or restocks and replenishes the spirituous liquors in the minibar, are at least eighteen years of age.

3. The minibar is not replenished or restocked with spirituous liquor between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.

4. The minibar is located on the premises of a person who has been issued an on-sale retailer's license.

5. The minibar contains no more than thirty individual portions of spirituous liquor at any one time.

B. A minibar may be part of another cabinet or similar device, whether refrigerated in whole or in part or nonrefrigerated, from which nonalcoholic beverages or food may be purchased by the guests in hotel or motel guest rooms. The portion of the cabinet or similar device in which spirituous liquors are stored shall comply with the requirements of this section.

C. The director may prescribe rules to regulate the use of a minibar including rules on the size of containers of spirituous liquors and may by rule reduce from thirty the number of containers of spirituous liquor placed in the minibar.

D. For the purposes of this section:

1. " Hotel" or " motel" means an establishment that is licensed to sell spirituous liquors and that contains guest room accommodations with respect to which the predominant relationship existing between the occupants of the rooms and the owner or operator of the establishment is that of innkeeper and guest. For the purposes of this paragraph, the existence of other legal relationships as between some occupants and the owner or operator is immaterial.

2. " Minibar" means a closed container, either refrigerated in whole or in part or nonrefrigerated, where access to the interior is restricted by means of a locking device that requires the use of a key, magnetic card or similar device.