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Hospitality Law is the body of law relating to the foodservice, travel, and lodging industries. That is, it is the body of law governing the specific nuances of hotels, restaurants, bars, spas, country clubs, meeting and convention planners, and more.

Hospitality law doesn’t just involve one area of law. It encompasses a wide variety of practice areas, including contracts, antitrust, tort law, and more.

Recent events have made hospitality law even more relevant. Food allergies are on the rise, making it increasingly important for restaurants to not only train staff about ingredients but to also have appropriate labels for food containing peanuts or wheat. The Mumbai terrorist attacks, which included a hostage situation at the Taj Mahal Hotel among other places, raise questions about what a hotel can legally do to ensure the safety of its guests.

Overview
While hospitality law covers many different entities, hotels and restaurants are the two most common hospitality businesses.

Hotels
Hotel operators in the United States have a duty to their guests and to their guests’ property.

Duty to Guest
Lodging operators have a duty of care to their guests. This duty does not insure the guests’ safety, but does require the operator to “act prudently and use reasonable care.” This means, among other things, that an operator can be held liable if he or she is found negligent.

An operator also must ensure that all of the guests’ personal information is retained and destroyed according to proper and recommended procedure.

Duty to Guest Property
Common law held innkeepers liable for any loss of guest property when the guest was on their property. Nearly all states have abrogated that duty, placing limits on an innkeeper’s liability, as long as the innkeeper complies with certain requirements. These requirements, usually regulated in the state’s innkeeper statute, govern the placement of the law (many statutes require that the statute be placed in a common area, at the front desk, or behind the door of the room) and the size of the text of the displayed statute. Generally, to be protected under the statutes, the innkeeper and his employees cannot be complicit in the theft or the loss of property. Lastly, the innkeeper usually has to provide a safe for the safekeeping of the guests’ property.

American statutes also govern bailments. A bailment is the “delivery of an item of property, for some purpose, with the expressed or implied understanding that the person receiving it shall return it in the same or similar condition in which it was received, when the purpose has been completed.” Coat checks, safety deposit boxes, and luggage storage are common examples of bailments for the hospitality industry. It is important for lodging and restaurant operators to understand that they are responsible for the safety of the guest’s property when a bailment is established.

Restaurants
Restaurant operators in the United States have a duty to sell food that is merchantable, that is, suitable for buying and selling. “Truth in Menu” laws govern descriptions of food in menus. These laws ensure that the customer receives what the menu says he or she will (e.g., one dozen oysters for a certain amount, instead of 11 oysters). They also govern the ingredients, nutritional descriptions, preparation style, and more. For example, a bill once introduced to the New York City Council required that the use of the words “homestyle” or “homemade” refer to dishes prepared “from scratch.”

The federal government has had a long history of regulating food advertisement and sales. In 2003, the FDA began to require labels to include trans fat content.

The National Restaurant Association produces a helpful guide for restaurateurs - A Practical Guide to the Nutrition Labeling Law -to help the restaurant industry understand what nutrition claims it can make on its menu items.

Anti-Trust
Antitrust laws regulate business conduct to preserve competition and to prevent economic coercion. Hotel operators should not enter into an understanding regarding 1) room rates and conditions and terms of providing rooms or 2) scope of operations.

It is important to remember that a hotel operator is ordinarily responsible if its managers or employees violate antitrust laws.

Contracts
There are two main types of contracts applicable to the hospitality industry: franchise contracts and management contracts.

A franchise agreement dictates the terms, rights, and responsibilities between the franchisee and the franchisor. It covers termination policies, each party’s responsibilities, indemnification, and more. Franchise agreements should be carefully reviewed by an attorney.

A management contract covers the duties and responsibilities between a management company and the business owner. Management contracts covers fees, the management company’s investment or ownership, exclusivity, and more.

Tort Laws
Torts, including negligence (as described above), intentional acts, assault, and more, are also relevant for the hospitality industry. Lodging operators need to be aware of their duties to guests in parking lots. Restaurant operators that serve alcohol should also be aware of their duties to their guests when patrons become belligerent or hostile to each other or to other guests.

International Hospitality Law
In many parts of the world, the hospitality industry is referred to as the “travel and tourism” industry or the “tourism” industry.

Several global organizations are in place to improve and promote the global travel industry, including the World Tourism Organization (WTO), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the World Health Organization (WHO).

HospitalityLawyer.com Blog
HLcom (talk) 22:37, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

Articles for deletion nomination of Hospitality law
I have nominated Hospitality law, an article that you created, for deletion. I do not think that this article satisfies Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion, and have explained why at Articles for deletion/Hospitality law. Your opinions on the matter are welcome at that same discussion page; also, you are welcome to edit the article to address these concerns. Thank you for your time.Please contact me if you're unsure why you received this message. Ironholds (talk) 20:38, 8 September 2009 (UTC)