Leisure travel is booming, and this summer many people took their vacations "no matter what." Last summer saw renewed enthusiasm for hitting the road, and this summer confirmed it. This should be no surprise: pandemic or inflation notwithstanding, people love to travel. According to the most recent McKinsey travel survey, Americans asked what they would do with a $10,000 windfall, respondents ranked travel ranked second. READ MORE

In the wake of the pandemic, many hoteliers who have been through the belt-tightening and all-hands-on-deck emergency status of crisis operations are rethinking the traditional RevPAR approach. Today, optimizing total revenue across the entire property is seen by many hotel owners and operators as both a competitive necessity and a smart way to position themselves in an evolving industry landscape. READ MORE

Combining two hotels in the same vicinity into one operation isn't new. It makes a lot of sense, as it results in efficiencies that a single hotel cannot provide. However, there are very specific scenarios when hotels should think about complexing. How can hoteliers know when and why this might make sense for their properties? READ MORE

Social media is the most powerful way to reach travelers in 2022. Make sure your hotel property has a compelling presence on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn to boost brand reputation, convert qualified leads, increase website traffic, and capture customer insights. READ MORE

The global pandemic affected nearly every aspect of business and dramatically altered business travel, leisure travel, events and conferences. In the wake of the pandemic, with focused recovery efforts underway, digital transformation has become a core focus to ensure a strong recovery throughout the hospitality industry. With 2022 ushering in the 5G experience, here are the key takeaways for hoteliers. READ MORE

While different jurisdictions may differ in their rules for interpreting force majeure, most of the hotel agreements contain a close covering unpredictable circumstances such us terrorist attacks, floods, strikes, and pandemic. Depending on the force majeure clause on the hotel management agreement, the performance obligation, of either parties, can be temporarily or permanently excused. READ MORE

As we welcome 2023, hospitality employers should familiarize themselves with the plethora of new employment laws and how those laws impact their business. Christine Samsel, employment attorney with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, shares 10 key areas to address, from job posting and pay transparency requirements, privacy protections and separation agreements to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. READ MORE

In the wake of the pandemic, the hospitality industry faces a range of potential challenges and opportunities, from finding enough qualified workers to fill jobs to incorporating ESG standards into hotel operations and construction projects. Economic volatility and rising interest rates could make it more difficult for hotels to secure new financing. What's the push and pull between guest data and privacy? READ MORE

The pandemic has caught all industries by surprise and the hotel industry is not an exception. Parties were not prepared for, and did not anticipate, the extreme challenges that the pandemic would end up causing to hotel rebranding renovation projects. That has led to major delays and at least technical non-compliance with PIP requirements for projects that started before the onset of the pandemic. Franchisors should take that into consideration when assessing non-compliance with PIP. READ MORE

The COVID-19 pandemic continues impact the hospitality sector. Analytics suggests that recovery to pre-pandemic levels for the hard-hit business travel sector will not be achieved until 2023 or later. This article examines current legal trends in the alcohol beverage retail space, and encourages hotels to assess the opportunities present in the changing licensing regime in their respective states. READ MORE

Hotel accessibility matters as much online during the booking journey as it does when those with disabilities come to stay. Hotel operators who recognize this and ensure that their digital presence is ADA compliant will benefit from reduced risk of lawsuit, an enhanced brand reputation, and will be well positioned to capture a slice of the growing accessible travel market. READ MORE

The Covid-19 pandemic raised many new and polarizing issues in the work environment, not the least of which were vaccine mandates. This article will provide a brief overview of the status of vaccine mandates, consider the most common claims made by employees, and provide some points for hotel employers to consider before modifying or withdrawing a mandatory vaccination policy. READ MORE

Over the last decade, there has been a drastic change in cannabis laws. Not only has recreational and medicinal marijuana been legalized in many states, but states have put specific protections in place for employees who engage in off-duty cannabis use. Can employers still maintain a drug-free workplace? READ MORE

The COVID-19 Pandemic imposed disruption and hardship on hospitality industry employers. Now that employers are actively recovering from the receding Pandemic, nationwide organizing efforts threaten to take advantage of the fragile situation left in the Pandemic's wake. Hospitality industry employers should understand the current state of U.S. labor laws and increased post-Pandemic organizing efforts and how employers can maintain a non-unionized workforce. READ MORE

The UK's hospitality industry is in the grip of a staffing shortage crisis, with the latest figures from the ONS indicating that in the last quarter, there were c.158,000 vacant positions. In this article, we explore the socio-economic factors driving the crisis, and what those in the industry can do to ensure labour shortages do not negatively impact customer experience. READ MORE

Human trafficking is a global problem that has increasing insurance coverage implications. According to the Labor Organization Board, in 2017 there were 24.9 million victims of human trafficking worldwide. Human trafficking has become a serious concern not only for those victims and their families, but for those in industries that could arguably benefit from the human trafficking enterprises. READ MORE

In the initial days of the pandemic, there were immediate existential problems that required innovative solutions. People risked infection. Hotels faced shuttering. Cities needed to aid their at-risk populations. Some hotel owners and cities quickly devised a plan that could house homeless and/or isolating populations to ride out the pandemic. The consequences of these arrangements are now under consideration. READ MORE

Many companies in the hotel and hospitality industries around the country have recently seen a significant uptick in state and federal wage and hour investigations in recent months. While full wage and hour audits take time, expense and energy (which takes away from business operations) there are some basic assessments you can do to understand wage and hour claims and what an investigator will ask for. READ MORE

Hospitality's legal environment is forever in a state of flux as external factors and internal issues continue to lead to the rise of new labor statutes. Ensuring full compliance with new laws can be a challenge, but new technologies are allowing hoteliers to sidestep the guesswork and create work environments that attract and retain productive employee teams. READ MORE

The pandemic has impacted us all in the way we live, work and play. Additionally, the pandemic has impacted our businesses, how we work and where we work. The issues from the pandemic also impacted the hospitality legal environment. This article will highlight multiple areas of lodging and hospitality operations, as human resources, safety and security, and technology. READ MORE