Thursday, April 9, 1998 | 10:25 a.m.
What's the difference between a hotel room and a suite?
The Rio Suite hotel-casino says a hotel room is a suite if it's bigger than most other hotel rooms, and has "furnishings situated in such a way as to create divisions."
But Los Angeles lawyer Robert P. Baker doesn't buy that description. A suite, Baker says, is a single living unit divided by walls or doors into multiple rooms.
The dispute is not one merely of semantics. In this case, the dispute could end up costing the Rio millions of dollars. Baker is suing the Rio under California's false advertising laws in an attempt to make the hotel change the way it markets itself.
"What I want out of this suit is to have the Rio stop falsely advertising as suites their single-room accommodations," Baker said.
He also wants the resort to offer refunds or room credits to every Californian who has stayed there, and to pay his legal fees. He is thinking about seeking class-action status for the suit.
The total lawsuit, Baker said, "is potentially a multi-million dollar problem (for the Rio)."
Rio officials vow to fight Baker's suit.
"We believe it is absolutely without merit," said Jay Barrett, president of Rio Hotel & Casino Inc. "Certainly, we're well within the industry definition (of a suite)."
Baker's introduction to the Rio came late on the evening of March 12, 1997. Baker was in town on business, and had an early morning meeting. He was expecting a multi-room suite. The Rio, he says, sorely disappointed.
"There were no interior divisions or alcoves in my single room and that as such would not constitute a suite," he said.
Baker complained to the Rio desk staff the next morning and refused to sign his credit card slip, but was still charged for the room, he said. After returning to Los Angeles, he wrote the first of several letters complaining that Rio's rooms were not suites, and demanding that the resort change its advertising practices.
Baker's argument is simple. "Webster's dictionary defines a suite as a series of connecting rooms forming a single living unit," he said. Rio's rooms may be big, and they may have a seating area, but they are not divided into separate rooms, and thus are not suites, Baker said.
"The room I stayed in at the Rio was no different whatsoever from rooms I have stayed in at comparable hotels in Las Vegas which made no pretense of providing me with a suite," Baker wrote in a May 12 letter to the Rio. "On the other hand, every hotel in Las Vegas that promised to provide me with a suite gave me a real suite; that is more than one room."
Rio court documents acknowledge its suites are not broken into multiple rooms, but say they still meet the definition of a suite.
"All of the hotel rooms at the Rio are larger than average hotel rooms with upgraded amenities and features, with furnishings situated in such a way as to create divisions in these rooms," say court papers filed by Rio attorneys. "Because of these particular room features, the Rio advertises itself as an all-suite hotel, and uses the term 'suite' in its name, as is an accepted practice in the hospitality industry."
Barrett said other Las Vegas hotels define suite the same way and that the Rio's rooms have received numerous awards.
"Over the years we've received numerous third-party awards for the product that we have," he said.
In his letters, Baker threatened a lawsuit unless the Rio stopped advertising its rooms as suites. He also demanded the Rio offer a $50 refund or a free night's stay to Californians who had stayed at the hotel. In one letter, Baker demanded the resort delete the word "suite" from its name.
However, Baker recalled this week, he was only half-serious about the suit. He really just wanted the Rio to change its advertising and refund his money.
But on June 10, the Rio forced his hand, Baker said. The resort sued Baker in U.S. District Court for Nevada, asking for a declaration that its advertising practices were not false or misleading. Baker countered that suit by filing his case in Los Angeles. It has been moved to Las Vegas.
The case is in the discovery stage. Baker is trying to compel a list of all California residents who have stayed at the Rio, a request the resort calls "burdensome" and "oppressive." He is also trying to get copies of all Rio advertising to support his false advertising claim.
Baker said he wants to interview a sampling of the California residents before deciding whether he will seek class-action status for the case.
According to the Rio, Baker's is the only existing lawsuit complaining about the way the resort defines a suite. The Rio has received two other letters of complaint, officials said, both since Baker filed his suit.
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