In this brief, Jeff M. Moore, PhD, will discuss recent trends in hotel violence from terrorism, physical and sexual assaults, and human trafficking, and the corresponding legal and financial and/or insurance impacts.

Terrorism
There were two spectacular terrorist attacks against hotels in the first half of 2019. One happened in Kenya, and the other in Sri Lanka. Both incorporated terrible casualties, plausible negligence, sizable insurance claims, and high financial damages.

The dusitD2 Nairobi Attack
On 15 January 2019, a squad of five gunmen from the al Shabaab terror group raided the 5-star dusitD2 hotel and associated business complex in Nairobi, Kenya. The attack killed 21 and wounded 28. The hotel stayed closed for 197 days and reopened after considerable reconstruction, remodeling, and rebranding.

Franchisees, Subsidiaries, and Affiliates Beware: California’s New Privacy Law May Apply To You, Too

January 30, 2020 via ConvergeBlog

Many small or solo franchisees, subsidiaries, and affiliates of larger businesses may think the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), does not apply to you because you don’t meet one of the three threshold criteria...But upon closer inspection, you may be disappointed to learn that California’s groundbreaking new privacy law, which became effective January 1, 2020, may yet still apply to you.

What This Minor Vs. Marriott Lawsuit Reveals About the Hotel Biz

January 17, 2020 via Skift

The case is riveting for the Asian hotel industry and beyond.

It’s not because of the amount being claimed by Minor, which at $19 million (571 million baht) is a pittance, but because it opens a can of worms in the public arena on issues that have surfaced as a result of global chains’ consolidation.

Chief among these issues is whether the asset-light model of these companies is sustainable. As the behemoths, with their rain-shower of brands, fiercely compete for management fees and guest loyalty, a question on conflicts-of-interest, and of the real costs to hotel owners of being in the system, arises.