Hospitality Contracts: Core Principles, Risks & Practical Takeaways (Presented by HospitalityLawyer.com)

Stephen Barth | HospitalityLawyer.com®

Stephen Barth, author of Hospitality Law and coauthor of Restaurant Law Basics, is an attorney, the founder of HospitalityLawyer.com, the annual Hospitality Law Conference series, and the Global Travel Risk Summit Series. As a professor at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, University of Houston, he teaches courses in hospitality law and leadership. He is #3 on Global Guru’s Top 30 Hospitality Thought Leaders & Influencers for 2023. In addition to legal and travel risk mitigation insight, Stephen specializes in communicating the importance of Emotional Intelligence in leadership roles; and has provided valuable insight to many companies including The Methodist Hospital System, Wyndham Worldwide, Dine Equity, Business Travel News and Aramark. His fun, fast paced presentations provide practical information and solutions to enhance your personal and professional life.

Greg Duff | Foster Garvey PC

Throughout Greg’s 25+ year career working in the hospitality industry, he has dedicated himself to helping clients solve the range of legal issues associated with operating a modern hospitality operation – from negotiating management and other operational agreements to advising on the myriad of issues associated with sales distribution and online travel.

Greg is Chair of the firm’s national Hospitality, Travel & Tourism practice, which is directed at the variety of matters faced by hospitality and travel industry members, including purchase and sales agreements, management agreements, sales and marketing, distribution, privacy and data security, procurement and technology.

His clients include owners, operators and franchisors of hotels and resorts, airlines, cruise lines, tour operators and restaurants. Greg has served as counsel to many of the hospitality industry’s local, state and national trade associations and trade groups, including the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) and Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP).

Prior to his career in private practice, Greg served in-house legal and business roles with the Westin Hotel Company/Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Homegrocer.com/Webvan Group and Columbia Hospitality. Greg publishes Online Travel Update, a weekly digest offering a global perspective of key trends and issues impacting the hospitality and online travel industries. His Online Travel Update posts appear on Foster Garvey’s Duff on Hospitality Law blog and are syndicated by JD Supra. Since 2019, Greg has been recognized among JD Supra’s Top Authors in its annual Readers’ Choice Awards, and in 2021, he was recognized as the content platform’s #1 Author in the Transportation category.

I. Essentials of enforceable hospitality contracts and key components of validity, including UCC considerations | 12:00pm – 12:20pm

II. Distribution agreements and other real-world hospitality contracts | 12:20pm – 12:40pm

III. Guest–hotel booking contracts and managing expectations through terms & conditions | 12:40pm – 1:00pm

Break | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

IV. Agency principles and third-party risk considerations | 1:10pm – 1:25pm

V. Common pitfalls, breach implications, and proactive risk management strategies | 1:25pm – 1:40pm