Legal - HospitalityLawyer.com®

The JOBS Act: Potential Impact on the Sale of Hotel Condominium Units

by Bruce Czachor in Hotel Development, Legal, Lodging. Posted June 28, 2015

Co-authored by Brian L. Belt Changes in federal securities laws—namely, the loosening of rules on solicitation and advertising—may have opened up a new vista for investors and speculators, such that the sale of hotel condominium units could become both more profitable and more common. What follows are details of these changes and their expected impact. ...

Passing Credit Card Swipe Fees to Employees and Guests

by Kara Maciel in Food & Beverage, Legal, Lodging, Technology. Posted June 28, 2015

Our national hospitality practice frequently advises restaurant owners and operators on whether it is legal for employers to pass credit card swipe fees onto employees or even to guests, and the short answer is, yes, in most states. But whether an employer wants to actually pass along this charge and risk alienating their staff or ...

Suction Entrapment in Hotel Swimming Pools

by Thomas Cate in Insurance & Loss Prevention, Legal, Lodging, Safety & Security. Posted June 26, 2015

Background In June of 2002, 7-year old Virginia Graeme Baker drowned when she became stuck to the suction drain outlet of a hot tub. Baker, who had been swimming without assistance since age 3, was trapped underwater against the drain by the suction force of the water flowing into the drain. She was unable to ...

Licensing the Music Used in Select-Service Hotels

by BMI in Legal, Lodging. Posted June 26, 2015

Although the music played in hotel guest rooms does not require a music license, a license might be needed when music is played in the public areas of hotels, such as lobbies, bars, fitness centers, etc. This is because under U.S. copyright law, songwriters, composers and music publishers own the music they create and must ...

Don’t Let your Guests Walk into a Silent Lobby…

by BMI in Legal, Lodging. Posted June 26, 2015

In today’s world, a hotel or lodging establishment is more than just a place to sleep while on vacation. People select hotels based on amenities and value, and if searching the web for one, many people can just look at photos of a hotel and almost hear and feel what it would be like to ...

A Guide to Electronically Stored Information Preservation Responsibilities

by Daniel Barude in Legal, Lodging. Posted June 25, 2015

Co-authored by Thomas W. Tobin The litigation-related duty to preserve relevant evidence, including electronically stored information (ESI), is well established and widely known in the legal community and the business world. Despite broad familiarity with this obligation, many corporate litigants have recently been subjected to severe sanctions due to an increasing judicial intolerance for the ...

Is the Hotel Industry Due for Another Crash Course in Hospitality 101?

by Richard Barrett-Cuetara in Legal, Lodging. Posted June 25, 2015

Co-Authored By: Peter Campbell Sode Whether it’s the Hotel Shangri-La Hotel in Santa Monica, CA, the Millennium Broadway Hotel Times Square NYC, NY, the Comfort Suites Mission Valley Hotel, San Diego, CA or the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel, Miami Beach, FL, allegations of discrimination are not new to the hotel industry. Unfortunately, the hospitality industry ...

Hospitality Litigation: Asset Managers, Hotel Operators and Franchisors

by Richard Barrett-Cuetara in Hotel Development, Legal, Lodging. Posted June 25, 2015

Originally published on HotelExecutive.com In the hotel industry, the myriad of complex business relationships also creates legal land-mines for the unwary. In that regard, hotel asset managers, hotel operators and franchisors should be extremely mindful of their legal obligations to their client, the owner of the hotel. Even if the hotel is a single asset, ...

Time Flies When You Are Having Fun: Start getting those H-1B petitions ready for the 2015 filing season

by Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete LLP in Human Resources, Legal. Posted June 24, 2015

Yes, it’s that time again – time to prepare to file your H-1B petitions for Fiscal Year 2016. Starting April 1, 2015, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will begin accepting H-1B petition filings – subject to the cap – for the next fiscal year, which begins October 1, 2015. We strongly recommend that H-1B petitions ...

Does Your Hotel or Resort Use Non-Compete, Non-Solicitation or Non-Disclosure Agreements? Should It?

by David Tryon in Legal, Lodging. Posted June 24, 2015

Imagine that your hotel has hired a sales staff to develop conference or resort business. You have paid that sales staff to develop relationships with companies, travel agents and other key people. After years of work and expensive networking, 30 percent of your revenue is now tied to those relationships. Those contacts and relationships are ...

Legal ( Page 32 )