Hotel & Motel Management - September 15, 2008 - (Page 8)

8 Legal FAQ H&MM September 15, 2008 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition The ins and outs of defending personal injury lawsuits IN THE details Preparing a defense Have a plan in place Risk management necessary Document witnesses By HospitalityLawyer.com H&MM Contributor Q What does an operator need to know about defending a personal injury lawsuit? 1respond to and adequately document alleged claims. The ability of your insurance company, risk management department and counsel to do this is dependent upon them getting accurate and complete information about the claim in a timely manner. Have a department that consists of a person or persons dedicated to risk management Have a plan in place to 2 activities, including responding to claims. Not having one in place can spell disaster when a claim with potentially large exposure arises. When an event occurs that could translate into a claim, notify your risk management department/insurance carrier of the situation as soon as possible. More often than not, the insurability of a claim hinges on timely notice of the claim. Further, the sooner risk management and the carrier know about a claim, the faster they can investigate the matter and determine issues pertaining to liability and exposure. Send all evidence and other important documentation to your risk manager/insurance carrier immediately. Events giving rise to potential claims generally trigger the creation of various materials, such as incident reports, contemporaneous notes taken by employees, videos and photographs. There is little that is worse for an attor- 3 4 ney defending a claim when it is revealed late in the litigation that evidence exists and has never been produced by the operator. You’ve got video? Preserve it! Often claims can be resolved quickly, easily and cheaply if video surveillance of an alleged event that is favorable to the operator can be produced for the claimant or his/her counsel. Further, savvy plaintiffs’ attorneys know that many businesses have video surveillance. If you have witnesses, be sure to take down their information. In the event of an incident that could result in a claim, identify pertinent witnesses and get contact information as well as a general idea of what they observed or heard. 5 6 Consult with competent counsel to determine the appropriateness of getting written witness statements because these documents often are discoverable in litigation. Stick to the basics in incident reports. Unless these reports are being created by an attorney or under the work product doctrine, limit reporting to names, addresses, telephone numbers and a general description of the alleged event as reported by the claimant. Have a lawyer who knows what he or she is doing. Develop a relationship with a local attorney who is in tune with hospitality litigation, someone you can turn to in the event that a claim develops into a lawsuit. Tell your insurer you want your attorney to defend you in a lawsuit. Many, if not most, operators have a fairly sizeable deductible or self-insured retention on their 7 8 general liability claims. This generally enables an operator to exert some control over the selection of counsel in the event of litigation. Don’t let preconceived notions about a claim/claimant prejudice your defense of it. However doubtful you think the claim is, you have the duty to answer requests posed to you accurately, completely and in a timely manner. Avoid creating ancillary issues in litigation—they just get you into trouble. hmm@questex.com 10 9 Special thanks to Christian Stegmaier (cstegmaier@ collinsandlacy.com), member of the Retail/Hospitality Practice Group of Collins & Lacy, P.C., a Columbia, S.C., defense litigation ﬁrm. This information provided is general and educational and not legal advice. For additional information, please visit www.hospitalitylawyer.com. Consultant’s Corner Marketing investments are vital to business growth IN THE details Stop cutting, start selling Create packages Keep current customers Know the competition By John Fareed H&MM Columnist e are dealing with an environment of uncertainty. The credit crisis, housing slump, high gasoline prices and troubled airline industry are working in concert to keep many consumers at home and cause business travelers to take shorter and less-frequent trips. Industry experts warn that the trend could last until 2010. Bottom line—it’s getting tough W bors, friends and family. These out there. But some hoteliers be- when you need more, and you lieve they have found the tool to cannot afford to let fear rule the should be interactive experiences that are memorable and allow combat these problems. day. Here are some thoughts them to learn, feed their senses, It’s called “cost cutting” and to help you avoid the “cut your ﬁnd peace of mind, reconnect can be implemented immediway to proﬁtability” approach. ately, is easily delegated and reIn your attempt to build oc- with loved ones or experience adventure. quires little creativity. cupancy, do not allow promoSeek out innovative, costAs I sit in yet another martional rates to become pervaeffective ways to surprise and keting meeting, listening to exsive. In the past, slashing rates delight the guests ecutives drone on about lost business, You cannot cut or downsize your way to you do have, so that they come back and and how they’ve recommend you to decided to cut the economic success; you have to grow. their families, friends marketing budget, and colleagues. Makabandon their pubing doubly sure that lic relations efforts you’re meeting the wants and and put off the new website has had little effect on the busithey desperately need, it sudness outside of lost income, as it needs of your current guests will seem like a fresh, new approach denly dawns on me: No one in generally seems to provide disthe room sees marketing as part counts to those already coming to most of them. Become intimate with your of the solution. They’ve forgotto our properties. competition. When the pie beten that marketing is an investRather than cutting rates, ment, not an expense. Time craft one-of-a-kind, value-add- comes smaller, the only way to increase your slice is to take and time again, study after ed packages. The key is to crefrom the others. study, history has proven that ate something so unique that To do this, you must know cutting back on marketing dur- it carries bragging rights, if their rates, packages, group dising downward trends only enyou will. It must be more elabcounts et al, as well as have a sures the downward trend conorate, exciting or meaningkeen understanding of their tinues. You’ve got to spend more ful than your guests’ neigh- marketing initiatives in order to ﬁght for a larger piece. Instead of sitting in meetings to ﬁnd more places to cut costs, take the time to re-evaluate your marketing efforts. Spend the energy developing new marketing tools and sharpening your existing tools so they are more effective. Undoubtedly, this will provide much greater returns than cutting costs. You cannot cut or downsize your way to economic success; you have to grow. Growth is the one imperative for any business. For hoteliers, this means new guests. And the only way to get new guests is through marketing. hmm@questex.com John Fareed (fareed@fzkllc.com), a member of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (www.ishc.com), is a partner at Fareed Zapala Koepke, a hospitality marketing consultancy based in Orlando. http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://www.hospitalitylawyer.com http://HospitalityLawyer.com http://www.hospitalitylawyer.com http://www.ishc.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - September 15, 2008

Hotel & Motel Management - September 15, 2008 Contents Microtel, Hawthorn Settle in at Wyndham Is it Black or Red for Green Hotels? New City on the Strip When in Doubt, Purchase some Seashells Legal FAQ Consultant's Corner Sales Clinic On Finance Travel Trends Franchise Law Guest Column Events Cornell Insights HotelWorld Update Trends & Stats Top Hotel Companies Survey Awards Lending Requires Knowledge, Preparation Casegoods Minibars Historian to Keynote Leadership Forum at IH/M&RS Fitness Equipment The Lodging Conference Preview Accent Lighting Awards Vacuums Supplier News Transactions People Ad/Editorial Index Marketplace Classifieds Checking Out

Hotel & Motel Management - September 15, 2008

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