WHAT WE DO

HospitalityLawyer.com® converges legal, safety, and security solutions for the hotel, food and beverage, private club, meeting, event, and corporate travel industries.

We are a worldwide network of attorneys that focus on hospitality, travel and tourism issues; a marketing conduit for suppliers of legal, safety and security solutions to reach hospitality developers and operators in need of those solutions; we mitigate critical incidents, injuries, litigation and liability within the hospitality industry, in the U.S. and abroad by facilitating the creation, collection, and dissemination of legal, safety and security information, products and services.

WEEKLY SPOTLIGHT

Attorney of the Week
David Denney

Mr. Denney’s practice encompasses both corporate transactions and business litigation. Prior to forming the firm in early 2007, David practiced with Vial, Hamilton, Koch & Knox, LLP, where he was a member of the Litigation and Corporate Transaction Practice Groups, and where he founded and chaired the Food, Beverage, and Hospitality Practice Group. Some of the clients with whom we have been privileged to work over the years have been in industries as diverse as bespoke letterpress printing, commercial landscaping, member-based private air travel, turn-key retail development, medical, and non-profit, as well as myriad restaurants, bars, private chefs, caterers, breweries, wineries and distilleries. Our small firm is agile: an efficient ninja strike force, capable of adapting and turning on a dime – not a battleship that is impossibly slow to turn.

Law Firm of the Week

Dentons

Dentons is designed to be different. As the world’s largest global law firm with 21,000 professionals in over 200 locations in more than 80 countries, we can help you grow, protect, operate and finance your business. Our polycentric and purpose-driven approach, together with our commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity and ESG, ensures we challenge the status quo to stay focused on what matters most to you. At Dentons, inclusion and diversity are not just ancillary values. They are core to our business strategy. Inclusion and diversity are essential to the success and strength of our people, our firm and the delivery of justice through our profession. The time for action and courage is now. Today, tomorrow and until this is a different world.

Company of the Week
Global Guardian

Global Guardian is a provider of world-class security solutions, custom-tailored to the individual needs of its global client base. The company offers an integrated suite of best-in-class security services that help clients identify and mitigate the risks of traveling and doing business both overseas and domestically. Global Guardian’s management and advisory team is comprised of highly experienced former military special operations and federal law enforcement personnel and seasoned business professionals. The group’s diverse background ensures both a high level of subject matter expertise on the global security climate and the changing needs of businesses working and traveling internationally. Our local security teams are carefully vetted to assure integrity, capabilities, and compliance with all applicable international and local laws and regulations. Our due diligence process is the most extensive in the industry and includes strict insurance and employee screening requirements, initial and ongoing operational readiness and capability testing, extensive sustainment training, bilingual speakers and 24-hour operational capabilities; among other aspects.

While You're Here:

Find lawyers, law firms and companies which focus on hotel, restaurant, and travel law, as well the duty of care owed by businesses to traveling employees in our extensive directories.

Browse our resources for articles and white papers, access training and downloadable forms and solutions to assist in mitigating liability, and check out our groundbreaking conferences for intensive education, exceptional networking, and unequaled crisis management training.

Subscribe to our CONVERGE Blog and Newsletter for valuable insights from hospitality and travel risk management experts. Our blog features exclusive content from our contributors, who collectively represent the full spectrum of hospitality law, risk management and comprehensive duty of care solutions.

FROM OUR CONVERGE BLOG
Our CONVERGE BLOG focuses on legal, safety, and security challenges for Hospitality, Travel, Travel Vendors, and Corporate Travel Buyers as individuals and businesses.
Our blog features exclusive content from our contributors, who collectively represent the full spectrum of hospitality law, risk management, and comprehensive duty of care solutions.

AI Can Serve Up More Tricks Than Treats

On Halloween, it is fun to dress up and pretend to be someone else; online, however, when people “masquerade” as someone else, it can lead to scams, fraud, identity theft and more. With artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools readily available, it has become much easier for bad actors to dupe people into sharing credentials, providing access ...
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Online Travel Update: The Spotlight on SMB Initiatives, Coalition Against Fake Reviews, and the Real Costs to Hoteliers

  • Google Trial Continues to Provide Interesting Insight into OTAs Online Advertising.  In last week’s Update, we featured the testimony of a senior Booking Holdings executive.  This week, we feature the testimony of a former senior Expedia executive.
  • Rival Platforms Form New Coalition to Fight Fake Reviews.  Much was written this past week about several prominent online platforms’ (including Booking.com, Expedia and Tripadvisor) newly announced coalition against fraudulent online reviews.  In this week’s Update, we include the story from the perspective of Seattle’s own, Geekwire.  The newly formed “Coalition for Trusted Reviews” is notable as it is one of the few instances (perhaps only) where three major online travel rivals come together for a common objective.  According to Amazon (which has been quite active pursuing fake reviews), the Coalition hopes to define best practices for hosting online reviews and to share effective methods for detecting and stopping fake reviews.  The Coalition next meets in December at a meeting organized by Amazon.
  • Booking.com’s Payment Challenges Lead to Class Action Lawsuit.  Over the past few weeks, we’ve featured several stories about Booking.com’s payment platform’s apparent delay in making much needed payments to hotels in Europe and Asia.  According to one operator in Japan, the payment delays still continue.  Now, a group of Japanese hoteliers are planning a class-action lawsuit against Booking.com.
  • How Much Do Hoteliers Really Pay Intermediaries?  According to industry consultant, Max Starkov, the amount for 2023 is a staggering $50 billion.  If you include the costs associated with corporate travel agents and traditional travel agencies in the total, Skift estimates the yearly total climbs to $75 billion.    
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Online Travel Update: Expedia’s Asia/Pacific Expansion, Hopper’s Operational Shifts, and an ADA Case Update

This Update features a variety of stories, including the latest on Hopper and its apparent ongoing transition. Enjoy.
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Online Travel Update: California Tackles Hidden Fees, Hopper’s Supplier Shift, and Booking.com’s Advertising Strategy

Resort fees garnered most of the industry’s headlines this past week as California’s governor signed legislation prohibiting hidden fees and the Federal Trade Commission finally released its proposed federal trade regulation – “Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees.”  The good news is that both laws appear to apply equally to suppliers and third party distribution ...
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