General Management Opinion Articles

August 3, 2018

When Does a Hotel Operator Actually Add Value?

There are plenty of industries that appear to be slowing down in the world today. Hospitality is not one of them. According to last year's global travel report by the research firm Deloitte, global bookings surpassed AUD $2.1 trillion in 2017, with continued growth projected through 2018 and beyond. Influential factors include greater competition amongst airline companies, a renewed focus on face-to-face business meetings, and a growing preference for experiences over things.

By Dean Minett, Director and Founder, Minett Consulting

Opinion Article

June 20, 2018

What do top hotel executives see on the horizon for 2018?

Meet the Money® is a productive conference with a casual atmosphere; the executives and other hotel industry representatives who attend often speak candidly about their expectations for hotel finance, development and investment throughout the upcoming year.

By Jim Butler, Partner & Co-Chair Hospitality Practice, Blank Rome LLP, Blank Rome

Opinion Article

May 25, 2018

How Caring For Your Staff Can Get Them More Engaged

Just like every other business organization, it is essential for hotel management to truly care about their staff in order for them to be as engaged, productive, and as happy as they can be. Happiness in the workplace is important because a happy employee will go to greater lengths in order to accomplish their tasks and satisfy their managers.

By Victoria Lim, Freelance Lifestyle Writer, Media Gurus

Opinion Article

May 14, 2018

Proposition 65 Defense Lawyer: Is your hotel ready for the new Prop 65 regulation deadline?

For many years, businesses operating in California have been plagued by "bounty hunter" and government lawsuits brought under Proposition 65 — the California law that requires warnings about hazardous substances. The technical disclosure requirements have bedeviled many legitimate businesses for some time. From our continuous interaction with members of the hotel industry, it appears to us that many are not aware of new requirements they must meet by August 30, 2018.

By Jodi Smith and Jim Butler

California, United States

Opinion Article

May 3, 2018

Texting guests is about to be a HUGE legal liability that can cost a hotel 4% of its annual revenue

Every GM knows the equation for implementing new hotel services. Benefit must be greater than the cost. In 2017, the most popular new craze for hotels was text messaging guests. The cost was low and the benefits were high. But in 2018, that cost is going to sky rocket, thanks to the GDPR or General Data Protection Regulation. If your hotel hasn't heard of the GDPR yet, you better learn fast, because it's going to change how nearly every hotel around the world does business. At its core, the GDPR is the strongest consumer privacy and protection laws in history. Though the GDPR was created by the EU, it's not limited to Europe, its Global. And starting this May, the GDPR goes active. So why will the GDPR affect guest text messaging services in hotels? Because the GDPR has 4 requirements that text messaging just can't accomplish, leaving a legal liability with penalties of up to 4% a hotel company's entire annual revenue.

By Einar Rosenberg, CIO, Creating Revolutions

Opinion Article

March 26, 2018

GDPR, the New Regulation for Personal Data in 2018

GDPR is designed to give people better control over their personal data, so important question is does your hotel and management software comply with the recent GDPR rules?

By Harvey Norman, Owner, HospitalityTechGuru

Opinion Article

February 9, 2018

Hotel Vehicle Rental: How to Start It

Vehicle rental is a competitive business sector that promises opulent rewards, as more and more customers are turning to it in order to cover their transportation needs. At the same time, many aspiring entrepreneurs are launching their own businesses with little more than a shoestring budget, a couple of cars, a phone number and a computer.

By Lillian Connors, Senior Digital Marketing Strategist, Bizzmark

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Why Hospitality Net Leads B2B in Hospitality

Learn what makes us the industry-leader in what we do.

Hospitality Net

Opinion Article

January 15, 2018

Hotel Storage Optimisation: The Essentials

Hotels operate strictly with the aim of increasing guest traffic and generating more revenue, therefore, all the attention usually goes upfront, i.e. to a luxurious and welcoming lobby and highly comfortable rooms and amenities. What's often left in the background is the storage space, which is what suffers the most when the hotel business is growing and expanding.

By Lillian Connors, Senior Digital Marketing Strategist, Bizzmark

Opinion Article

December 13, 2017

California Labor & Employment Law Update: Key Changes in 2017 and What’s Slated For 2018

California has enacted a number of new regulations related to labor and employment that go into effect when 2018 begins. Hotels owners and developers with properties in California need to be aware of how these rules apply to their workforce so they can meet their legal obligations and remain in compliance with the law. A round-up of upcoming changes, written by the JMBM Labor & Employment group, is below.

By Jim Butler, Partner & Co-Chair Hospitality Practice, Blank Rome LLP, Blank Rome

Opinion Article

November 27, 2017

Innkeepers Law – Should Vacation Rentals be Included?

Allow me to begin this article with a true story: In 1994 I took over a hotel as General Manager and immediately was called upon to attend a jury trial where a jewelry designer was suing the hotel because of a $500,000 jewelry theft from his room at the property. Without going into details of the cases, the suit became a "he said, she said" battle of whether Innkeepers Law was posted on the back of the entrance door. The jury found the hotel to be 30% negligent.

By Richard Evans, President of Revenue Report Card LLC & Author of “the Definitive Study of Vacation Rentals”, The Revenue Report Card

Opinion Article

November 21, 2017

ADA Compliance & Defense Lawyer Update: 99 ADA lawsuits dismissed as fraudulent and malicious

On October 26, 2017, a judge dismissed 99 ADA lawsuits, ordered an in forma pauperis plaintiff (a person without funds to pursue the cost of a lawsuit) to pay filing fees of $38,300 and authorized the defendants to file fee and sanction motions.

By Martin Orlick, Chair, JMM

United States

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Why Hospitality Net Leads B2B in Hospitality

Learn what makes us the industry-leader in what we do.

Hospitality Net

Opinion Article

November 10, 2017

The open-border-policy that’s shaping African travel

While most regions endeavor to close their borders, Africa is striving to do the reverse by incessantly implementing an open-border-policy and enhancing collaboration. Towards the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063 policy document that outlines seamless borders, the launch of the African passport in July 2016 allowing holders to travel visa-free to all 53-member states, is a milestone to behold.

By Josephine Wawira, Consultant, Jumia Travel

Opinion Article

October 30, 2017

Homeland Security Warns Against Threats to US Infrastructure

Hotels rely on third-party vendors to help run their properties efficiently, and often must give them access to sensitive guest data. This leaves hotels vulnerable to cyber attacks; they're only as secure as their vendors are, and may find themselves directly liable for a data breach. My partner Bob Braun, senior member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® and co-chair of JMBM's Cybersecurity and Privacy Group, discusses recent hotel cybersecurity breaches and how hotel owners can protect themselves.

By Robert Braun, Partner, Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell, LLP, JMM

United States

Opinion Article

October 18, 2017

US revokes economic sanctions against Sudan: What it means for hospitality businesses

News of the revocation of economic sanctions against Sudan by the United States government, is music to the ears of businesses and investors interested in Africa's third largest country after two decades of severe restrictions.

By Josephine Wawira, Consultant, Jumia Travel

Sudan

Opinion Article

October 16, 2017

The impact of the newly added VAT on the UAE hospitality sector

Earlier this year it was announced that the GCC states would introduce a value added tax (VAT) rate of 5% to be levied anytime between 2018 and 2019. The UAE Ministry of Finance has announced that it will be implemented as early as the 1st of January 2018.

By Mariano Faz, Head, TFG Asset Management

United Arab Emirates

Opinion Article

October 13, 2017

How to avoid litigation on Resort Fees and other mandatory hotel charges

In evaluating what you should do about the new furor over mandatory hotel charges, it would be helpful to have a clearer understanding of what the FTC seems to be saying on the issue. The chart below is our translation into "street English" of the FTC pronouncements discussed earlier. (See How Resort Fees became an explosive $2.7 billion issue which contains links to the original FTC press release of November 29, 2012 and the most recent FTC Economic Analysis of Hotel Resort Fees of January 2017.)

By Jim Butler, Partner & Co-Chair Hospitality Practice, Blank Rome LLP, Blank Rome

Opinion Article

September 27, 2017

All forces that do not respect the law become tyrannical

Today, a major part of distribution and commercialization is in the hands of the Web giants. The advent of Internet has turned away a large share of clientele who were originally attracted by the force of yesteryear's hotel brands. While it should have allowed for substantial savings on the costs of headquarters in terms of commercialization, it is very difficult to evaluate because hotel chains have also let go of their assets, and a majority of hotels are in the hands of franchisees, who have now become the market's main operators. It would have been better if at the beginning they had done like airlines did with IATA and got together and collaborated with all hotel groups in order to create a booking platform on the web. However, individualities and dualities have made it impossible to create a solid front, despite an initiative between all major players that quickly failed to materialize.

By Georges Panayotis, President & Founder of MKG Group & Hospitality ON, Hospitality ON

Opinion Article

August 24, 2017

Six Steps to Respond to Negative Online Reviews - From a Legal Perspective

A commercial lawyer with experience in travel, tourism and hospitality issues, has shared with an online gathering of travel and tourism leaders her effective steps to dealing with negative online reviews.Addressing a 23 August MyTravelResearch.com webinar of travel industry leaders, many of them from small businesses, Alyssa Antcliffe, the principal of Antcliffes Legal, told tourism industry leaders and brand managers that having an online presence and being accessible through online platforms is essential in today's digital world.The digital economy has been built on ratings and reviews to enable people to 'window shop' online. However, it only takes one disgruntled former client or customer to ruin a good reputation by posting a negative review, no matter how false or misleading that review might be, she said.Antcliffe added that, usually, what is published online is not intended to be malicious, but is someone's honestly held opinion."In these circumstances, if a comment is substantially true, or represents the honestly held opinion of the reviewer, then a business will have difficulty in bringing a successful defamation claim," she said.Antcliffe suggested that if you believe that you or your business is the victim of unfair, untrue and or defamatory remarks as a result of an online review you should act quickly to minimise the damage.She suggested six strategies designed to help minimise damage and avoid costly legal proceedings:

By Alyssa Antcliffe, Principal, MyTravelResearch.com

Opinion Article

August 4, 2017

Tonight’s Special: Discrimination and Harassment with a Side Order of Retaliation

A growing number of lawsuits alleging discrimination and harassment at some of the U.S.'s most famous restaurants have made headlines recently. To anyone who has worked in foodservice – front or back of house – this is not a recent phenomenon. Across all segments of the industry, allegations of discrimination and harassment are a daily challenge, which begs the question: why are managers, chefs and owner/operators still struggling with how to respond to, address, and resolve the allegations? Will there be lawsuits despite best efforts? Probably. Are best efforts actually always employed to address these issues? Unfortunately, not always.

By Juliette Gust, Founder & President of Ethics Suite, Ethics Suite, LLC

Opinion Article

June 8, 2017

Key Takeaways: AHLA & AAHOA’s – Legislative Action Summit 2017

The American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) held their annual Legislative Action Summit (LAS) on May 17 and 18 in Washington, D.C. Year after year this event brings together a strong showing of general managers, owners, operators, developers, investors, asset managers, hotel employees, and government affairs experts to meet with congressional representatives from their respective states in their Capitol Hill offices to share stories and educate Congress on the issues presently affecting the hotel and lodging industry. The event included remarks from the respective organizations' Presidents and CEO's, briefings from political influencers and members of congress. During the first day, attendees were educated on how to effectively lobby Congress to discuss issues affecting the industry before heading to "the Hill" on the second day for the unique opportunity to meet with their Congressional Representatives and their staffs.

By Kirby D. Payne and Chelsey Leffet

Washington, District of Columbia, United States