Hotel & Motel Management - February 4, 2008 - (Page 8)

8 Legally Speaking and the hotel had not replaced it or added supports to the area beneath the cracks. Instead, he claimed, the hotel merely patched the ﬂoor then placed a bath mat over the cracks to hide them. If true, very disingenuous. I am reminded of a case where the seat on a wicker chair in a hotel room had worn, leaving nothing to support a guest’s derriere. We can only guess that the short-sighted hotel owner weighed the cost of a new chair against the cost of a cushion, and the cushion won. It was big enough to hide the hole in the seat. Woe to the unsuspecting guest who sought a place to sit. The cost of a new chair would have been a small price to pay to avoid the big price of the resulting lawsuit. The same theory applies throughout the hotel. If there’s a problem, repair it. Don’t dwell on the cost; instead, dwell on the savings. Wert sought $500,000 for medical expenses alone, plus pain and suffering, lost wages and, for Mrs. Wert, loss of consortium (a spouse’s companionship and sexual relations). The cost to ﬁx the ﬂoor pales. H&MM February 4, 2008 | HotelMotel.com Repair problems to avoid injuries, lawsuits IN THE details Fix it before you forget it Focus on savings, not cost Document with photos Preserve evidence By Karen Morris H&MM Columnist n ounce of prevention is indeed worth a pound of cure. If you discover a dangerous condition at your facility, ﬁx it right away. Whatever the price, it is less than the cost of a lawsuit and a money judgment. Here are a few examples: A he fell. La Quinta Inn encourages its managers to have a camera on site and take photos of any accidents that occur. Depending on the facts of a case, pictures could provide the critical evidence that saves the hotel from liability or at least helps to reduce the amount of a judgment. The lesson: Be sure your facility has a user-friendly camera on hand. Cell phones with a camera built in can be handy for this purpose. Reinforce in training the importance of documenting incident scenes photographically. Preservation of evidence After Wert vacated his room (no surprise—he completed his Nashville stay at another hotel), the manager directed maintenance staff to tear out the shower stall (ﬁnally) and dispose of it. She did not preserve any part of the ﬂoor and did not have anyone else inspect it. At trial, Wert requested the judge to charge the jury that it could draw a negative inference from the hotel’s failure to preserve the evidence (the legal term for the hotel’s action is spoliation of evidence). This request is based on a rule that applies when important evidence is not retained by the party who controls it. If the request is granted, the judge would tell the jury that it could infer that the discarded evidence would have favored Wert’s position in the case. In another recent case, the plaintiff tripped and fell at a bar (Tomasello v. Franklin, 2007). The defendant facility lost the surveillance videotape taken at the time of the incident. The court there too determined that an appropriate sanction for the loss of the evidence was an adverse inference charge. The upshot: Preserve any items that might be relevant as evidence in a case. Eggshell theory This case provides yet another lesson. Wert suffered from a pre-existing degenerative disk disease in his back. This condition made the spine injury from his fall in the shower more serious than the average person would have experienced. Should the hotel be responsible for the enhanced injury? The law says yes. A rule called the “eggshell theory” holds that defendants are not guaranteed Penny wise, pound foolish A Mr. Wert was enjoying a shower at a La Quinta Inn in Nashville. Alas, the ﬁberglass ﬂoor in the shower stall gave way, causing our country-andwestern fan to fall. His pre-existing back injury was exacerbated, resulting in two surgeries. In his lawsuit against the hotel (Wert v. La Quinta Inns, 2007), Wert claimed that the shower ﬂoor had cracked before his shower, a healthy plaintiff. If you are negligent and a frail guest suffers heightened injuries, you are liable for all of the resulting injuries. The possibility of shelling out large amounts of money should provide added incentive to keep your premises in good repair. Hopefully Wert is on the mend. We owe him thanks for several lessons. When you ﬁnd a defective or dangerous condition on your premises, abandon the quick ﬁx; pursue the thorough ﬁx. Stated differently, spare the court and spoil the guest. Train employees to document accidents with pictures of the scene. Provide easy access to a camera for this purpose. Preserve evidence. Guest-proof your premises with the fragile visitor in mind. hmm@questex.com Karen Morris is a lawyer, municipal judge and Distinguished Professor at Monroe Community College in Rochester, N.Y., where she teaches hospitality law. Contact her at kmorris222@ yahoo.com. Picture worth 1,000 words Wert was clever enough to take pictures of the ﬂoor soon after AAHOA Update Bill could promote global goodwill, foreign travel market IN THE details Foreign travel beneﬁcial Fewer travelers to U.S. Travel boosts bottom line Reputation needs boosted By Danny Patel H&MM Columnist s chairman of the Asian American Hotel Owners Assn., I regularly interact with people from around the world. As a ho- A tel owner and developer, I cannot help but pay attention to conversations about the health of the hospitality industry, and I can’t ignore the prevailing perception that foreign travel to the U.S. is made prohibitively burdensome by our travel policy. I have heard countless reports of the delays and inconveniences that accompany U.S. travel, and the resulting disinclination of would-be tourists. From visa delays to arduous border processes, the incentive for travelers to look elsewhere is undeniable, and the numbers agree. Amid worldwide increases in foreign travel, the U.S. Department of Commerce reports that the U.S. is the only major country to have missed the boat (as it were). Even business trips to the U.S., for which demand typically is less ﬂexible, have declined, while similar trips to other countries have increased. This decline partially can be explained by the emergence of “new” destinations such as China and India, as well as lingering post-9/11 anxiety. It seems clear, however, that there is more to the story, and if the U.S. is to reclaim its lost share of the foreign travel market, the time has come to look inward. The Travel Promotion Act of 2007, introduced in Congress on June 19, does just that. If made law, the bill would establish an independent nonproﬁt corporation to promote foreign travel to the U.S. This entity would be charged with informing potential visitors about U.S. travel policy—and correcting their misconceptions. These are the basics, but the bill promises to achieve much more. Foreign travel to the U.S. is good—for the industry and the economy. Foreign tourists stay longer and spend more money than their domestic counterparts, to the clear beneﬁt of the bottom line. Foreign tourism also exposes us to cultures different from our own. The exposure goes both ways, resulting in familiarity and trust, which are at a premium in this time of international uncertainty and resurging stereotypes. As the legislation moves through the government, I hope Congress will recognize the ways in which this bill promises not only to beneﬁt the hospitality industry, but also to act as a statement of who we are as a nation, and the place we wish to hold in the regard of the world. hmm@questex.com Danny Patel (danny.patel@ aahoa.com), c.e.o. of PeachState Hospitality in Warner Robins, Ga., is chairman of AAHOA. http://www.HotelMotel.com

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Hotel & Motel Management - February 4, 2008 Contents Murray, Keltner to Keynote Atlanta Event ABVI Approves Per-room Fee Hike Growth, Guest Loyalty on Lexington’s Plate Perspective Legally Speaking AAHOA Update Marketing Matters Consultant’s Corner On Finance Training Trends HotelWorld Update Trends & Stats Outdoor Furniture Limited-service-hotel-chain Report Energy-management System Provides Link to Savings Upgraded Bedding Program Cost Comes Due Less Hot Water Equals Less-costly Bills Events Learn to Take Advantage of Lower Insurance Costs Brokers Will Remain Unscathed in 2008 Transactions Ad/Edit Index Marketplace Classifieds Checking Out

Hotel & Motel Management - February 4, 2008

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