Glossary

Hospitality business

A hospitality business offers food and/or drinks to guests. Depending on the activity, Austrian trade law, in particular section 111 of the Trade, Commerce and Industry Regulation Act 1994, may apply.

In brief

“Hospitality business” is not a single, uniformly defined statutory trade category. In ordinary usage, it describes a business that offers food and/or drinks to guests. The legal assessment therefore depends not only on the name of the venue, but on the services actually offered and the way the business operates.

Under section 111 of the Austrian Trade, Commerce and Industry Regulation Act 1994, a trade authorisation for the hospitality trade is required in particular for accommodating guests, serving food of any kind and dispensing drinks. Whether an exception or a less demanding requirement applies depends on the circumstances of the individual business. The hospitality and business topic sets out the main questions.

The trade authorisation must be distinguished from whether the premises and equipment require approval as a business premises. The right to refuse entry is a separate issue: it may govern access and use within legal limits, but it does not replace a required trade authorisation or operating-facility approval.