Hotel Reference Guide - June 2025.docx

A Reference Guide

to Hotel Licensing

in Utah

June 2025

P.O. Box 30408

Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0408

Telephone: 801-977-6800

Website: www.abs.utah.gov

HOTEL LICENSE SPECIFICS1

Utah Code, Title 32B, Chapter 8b, Hotel License Act, allows the storage, sale, service, and consumption of alcoholic beverages on the premises of the hotel sublicenses.

Cap: Limited to 80 licenses within the state^[1]

Effective Dates: November 1 to October 31

Application Fee: $500 (non-refundable)

Licensing Fee: $5,000 (includes 3 sublicenses)

Additional sublicenses at initial licensing: $2,000 each

Additional sublicense application fee after initial licensing: $300 (non-refundable)

Additional sublicenses after initial licensing: $2,250 each

Renewal Period: September 1 to September 30

Renewal Fee: $1,000 for each sublicense

Bond: $10,000 (covers sublicenses and designated conveyance area)

Dramshop Insurance: $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 in the aggregate

"Hotel" means one or more buildings that:

Comprise a hotel and is owned or managed by the same person or by a person who has a majority interest in or can direct or exercise control over the management or policy of the person who owns or manages any other building under the hotel license within the boundary of the hotel
Primarily operate to provide lodging accommodations, including privately owned dwelling units
Have on-premise banquet space and provide on-premise banquet service within the boundary of the hotel
Have a restaurant or bar establishment within the boundary of the hotel
Have at least 40 rooms as temporary sleeping accommodations for compensation

Sublicenses

A hotel license consists of a general hotel license and three or more SUBLICENSES operating within the boundary of the hotel. A hotel may add additional sublicenses at a later date after the license has been granted.

One sublicense must be an on-premise banquet sublicense and one sublicense must be a restaurant or bar establishment sublicense. Sublicenses must follow statutes and rules for their license types.

For the third and any additional sublicense, you may choose from the following:

A hotel licensee may have up to three locations per sublicense for the convenience of its guests (three full-service restaurant locations, three limited-service restaurant locations, three bar locations) if the hotel has a minimum of 150 guest rooms, the locations are within the hotel, and the locations are managed by the restaurant or bar sublicensee.

ROOM SERVICE2

There are two ways to provide room service to your guests and residents. The hotel licensee will either use the on-premise banquet sublicense or apply for a type 4 package agency. A hotel licensee may also choose a type 1 package agency with type 4 privileges. However, a package agency is not available as a sublicense and must be applied for separately.

ON-PREMISES BANQUET: may only serve alcohol from 10 AM to 1 AM.

TYPE 4 PACKAGE AGENCY: may provide room service 24/7.

DELIVERY TO GUEST ROOMS:

No minibars are allowed in guest rooms or dwellings if they are being rented or leased
Room service of alcoholic beverages can only be delivered in person to an adult guest
Alcoholic beverages may not be left outside the guest room for retrieval by a guest
Alcoholic beverages may be provided in a sealed container or by the drink. However, portion sizes and metered dispensing requirements still apply
Room service alcohol must be sold through the banquet license or type 4 package agency, and not the restaurant or bar sublicenses
A type 4 package agency held by a hotel that operates seven days a week, 24 hours per day, must have a separate dispensing outlet for use during the times that a sublicense is not allowed to sell liquor

SPA SUBLICENSE3

The spa has to be located on the premises of a hotel licensee and provide professionally administered personal care treatments such as massages, facials, and hair and nail care. However, the premises must be suitable for spa activities and the spa must not have barricades or conceal its alcohol operations. The spa must be locally licensed as a spa and treatment providers must be professionally licensed.

THOSE WHO MAY BE ADMITTED INTO THE SPA:

Only a guest may be allowed into a spa.
A minor may not be admitted unless accompanied by an individual 21 years of age or older.
Minors can momentarily pass through the bar or lounge area while en route to another area of the spa, but may not remain or sit there.

SALES AND SERVICE OF ALCOHOL AT THE SPA:

All alcohol may be sold from 10:00 a.m. until 12:59 a.m. every day.
Food has to be available at all times when an alcoholic product is sold or consumed.
An alcoholic product may only be consumed at a table or counter and customers may never be seated at the dispensing structure (bar).
A patron may not have more than two alcoholic products of any kind at a time.
A spa patron may not have two spirituous liquor drinks if one of the drinks consists of the same liquor in the other drink (NO SIDECARS!).

The spa must remain open for one hour after the sale and furnishing of an alcoholic beverage until all individuals have left the spa, or during an emergency. During that hour, a person may only finish consuming one:

Single drink containing spirituous liquor
Serving of wine not exceeding five ounces
Serving of heavy beer
Serving of beer not exceeding 26 ounces
Serving of a flavored malt beverage

A spa must have a written alcohol price list or menu that includes prices available for a patron to review at request. The alcohol menu must include any set-up charges, service charges, chilling fees, etc.

SUBLICENSES HELD ON THE SAME PREMISES4

The commission may issue a restaurant sublicense, on-premise banquet sublicense, reception center sublicense, on-premise beer retailer that is not a tavern sublicense, or hospitality amenity sublicense for the same premises as long as they are not operating at the same time on the same day.

Each premises must be clearly delineated by one or more permanent physical structures that separate the sublicensed premises, such as a wall, rail, or other architectural features.
There must be enough obvious delineation to the architectural feature so patrons know that they are entering the bar.
Control measures must be in place so minors do not enter a bar premise. Furthermore, anyone who appears to be 35 or under must have their ID scanned before entering a bar premise.

NOTE: It is required that a sign be posted in a conspicuous location at the entrance stating what type of sublicense is currently operating in that space. The sign must measure at least 8 ½ by 11 inches.

SUBLICENSES MAY SHARE THE SAME KITCHEN

Two or more sublicensees may share a kitchen or culinary facilities located in or on one or more of the sublicensees' licensed premises.

The sublicensed premises are each owned or leased by the same person and located in the same building.
The only shared premises between the issued or held sublicenses is the kitchen or culinary facilities area, including any pathway necessary to transport an item to and from the area.

RESTAURANTS AND BARS IN THE SAME ROOM5

A hotel licensee may have a bar and a restaurant in the same room under the following conditions:

The commission may issue more than one type of sublicense to a hotel licensed under Chapter 8b, Hotel License Act, for the same room if the sublicensed premises are clearly delineated by one or more permanent physical structures, such as a wall or other architectural feature, that separate the sublicensed premises.

A minor may momentarily pass through a bar to reach another location where a minor may lawfully be if there is no practical alternative route to the location (i.e. the restroom). NOTE: This is the exception, not the rule.

NOTE: A patron may not transport an alcoholic beverage between the two sublicensed premises located in the same room.

SIGNAGE6

All sublicenses within the hotel must display:

The DABS License
The Local Business License
Alcoholic Beverage Warning Sign

The warning sign: The warning sign contains two messages, each of which must be in a different font. It may be used as-is or custom-made, but the size of the sign and the size of the fonts may not be any smaller than the template. The color of the print does not have to be red, and the sign does not have to be white, but it has to be easily readable and posted in a prominent place (obviously, not behind the pickle jar or in the office) on each sublicensed premises. GO HERE to download a warning sign template from the DABS website.

SALES AND CONSUMPTION HOURS7

Each sublicense must follow the sales and consumption hours of the specific license type, such as an on-premise banquet, a full service restaurant, a limited service restaurant, a beer-only restaurant, or a bar establishment.

Bars and on-premise banquet sublicenses: All alcohol may be sold from 10:00 a.m. until 12:59 a.m. every day.
Restaurant sublicenses: All alcohol specific to the license type may be sold from 11:30 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. Monday through Friday. On weekends, state or federal legal holidays, or for private events, alcohol, specific to the restaurant license type, may be served beginning at 10:30 a.m.

NOTE: There is an exception for beer, which is allowed to be served until 12:59 a.m. for all sublicense types.

RECORDKEEPING8

Each sublicense is required to keep current, detailed quarterly records for expenses and sales of alcohol and food. The general hotel license is required to maintain at least 70% of its total food and beverage business from the sale of food, which does not include:

Mix for an alcoholic product
A service charge in connection with the service of an alcoholic product

Expensive wines in excess of $175 per bottle or $30 a glass, or an individual portion of spirituous liquor over $30 are not included in calculating the food to alcohol ratio.

Dispensing liquor through an approved dispensing system is required for any licensee selling spirituous liquor. Dispensing records must also be kept and matched daily to the sales records of all primary liquor beverages sold. Spills, miss-clicks, returned beverages, etc. must all be accounted for on a dispensing record. Your DABS Compliance Specialist can help you with questions and formulating an appropriate form. Licensees shall maintain records for at least three years. Remember, falsifying records is illegal.

ALCOHOL STORAGE9

Alcohol may be stored only in a designated place approved by the DABS on the initial application floor plan. Any changes to the storage area(s) must first be approved by DABS.

Hotels may have one or more remote storage locations, or a centralized location, to serve all sublicenses. However, each sublicense must be able to separately account for its own alcoholic beverages when stored in a common location.

NOTE: Liquor, wine, and heavy beer storage must remain locked at all times when alcohol sales are not permitted. However, the licensee may open the storage area during hours otherwise prohibited for the limited purpose of inventory, restocking, repair, and cleaning.

ALCOHOL DISPENSING LOCATIONS10

The hotel may have a remote dispensing system, meaning a system where the alcoholic beverages are stored in a single centralized location, such as a gun system. These types of systems distribute the alcohol through lines and/or hoses and may have separate dispensing heads at different locations. However, the system must be capable of accounting for the amount of alcohol dispensed to each location. If sublicenses are in reasonable proximity to each other, the dispensing of alcoholic beverages may be made from another sublicense under the following requirements:

Sales records must be able to record the amounts of each alcohol beverage sold in any sublicense
The cost of alcoholic beverages must be maintained for each location

Dispensing of alcoholic beverages to each sublicense must be done only during allowed hours pertinent to that license type. Dispensing may not be made in any manner prohibited by the operational restrictions of that license type. For example, a restaurant sublicense would not be able to dispense liquor to a bar sublicense after midnight. For most hotels, if there is only one dispensing location, it may make sense to dispense from the bar sublicense so there are no conflicting hours.

DESIGNATED CONVEYANCE AREAS11

When a patron purchases an alcoholic beverage from one of the designated sublicensed premises within the hotel (listed below), they are permitted to transport the beverage along a clearly marked and designated route (referred to as the conveyance area) to any of the other specified premises or directly to their guest room. This facilitates a convenient and enjoyable experience for patrons while adhering to public safety and regulatory standards.

the premises of a bar establishment sublicense
the premises of a hospitality amenity sublicense
the premises of an on-premise banquet sublicense

The route may not pass through or include a pool area or other recreation area, a designated business center, or any other sublicensed premises.

The hotel licensee is explicitly prohibited from selling, offering for sale, or distributing alcoholic beverages in the designated conveyance area route. Patrons are not allowed to exit the designated route with their alcoholic beverages, nor may they leave their beverages unattended along the route. The designated route must prominently display signage that clearly identifies it and unequivocally states that patrons cannot take alcoholic beverages beyond this area.

The alcoholic beverage must be in a specific solid, opaque container that is readily recognizable and intended to be used to carry the drink within the designated route and nowhere else.

EMPLOYEES12

A person’s willingness to serve alcoholic beverages may not be made a condition of employment. Any employee who sells, serves, dispenses, or handles alcohol must be twenty-one years of age or older. Servers of alcohol must wear a unique identification badge showing the employee's first name, initials, or a number assigned by the employer and must be worn above the waist. Employees may not consume or be under the influence of alcoholic beverages while on duty.

Employees can be fined or suspended from alcohol sales for violations. The commission is authorized to assess an administrative fine against an officer, employee, or agent of a licensee for a violation of the alcoholic beverage laws.

EMPLOYEES TRANSPORTING ALCOHOL ACROSS SUBLICENSES13

Hotel employees may transport alcohol from one sublicense to another as long as it is within the licensed boundary of the hotel if the sublicensed premises are licensed for the specific type of alcohol being transported. For example, employees cannot transport liquor across the premises of a beer-only restaurant.

1 32B-5-201; 32B-8b-102; 32B-8b-201; 32B-8b-202; 32B-8b-103

2 32B-6-605; 32B-8b-301; R82-2-310

7 32B-8d-104, 32B-6-405, 32B-6-706, 32B-6-204, 32B-6-204, 32B-6-905.1

8 32B-8b-301; 32B-1-207; R82-5-104

9 32B-5-303

10 R82-5-104; R82-5-105; 32B-6-205.2

11 32B-8b-102; 32B-8b-201; 32B-8b-202; 32B-8b-301; 32B-8d-104

12 32B-6-205.2; 32B-6-305.2; 32B-6-905.1

13 32B-8d-104

[1] Reference to Utah State Code 32B-8b-201(3)