Assignment

on
Cases in Hospitality Industry
Course title: Cases & Current issuses
In Hospitality
Submitted to: Tareq Ahmed Khan
Senior Lecturer,
B.T.H.M
Submitted from: Jyotirmoy roy
ID NO:150917171
Batch no: 17th
Programme: BTHM
Submition Date:17/09/2012

Hospitality Industry Liability: Hotels Can Be

Held Liable For Failing To Protect Children
From Adult Movies
In October 2007, a Norwalk, California Superior Court Jury found the Value Lodge Hotel,
liable for involuntarily subjecting an 8 and 9 year old sisters to hard core pornographic
movies.

The guests, a woman from Tennessee and her 8 and 9 year old daughters, checked into the Value
Lodge Hotel. After check in, the woman took a shower and told her daughters to watch
television.
The daughters turned on the TV and came across a pornographic television channel, which was
unprotected and could be accessed just like any other regular television channel or program. The
Mother sued the Hotel for $640,000.
The Jury awarded the Mother $85,000 in damages. The Judge did not allow punitive damages in
this case.
During the trial, the Mothers Attorneys presented testimony from a Hotel Expert, who
commented that in his thirty years experience, he has never seen a family hotel where some
affirmative action was not necessary in order to access adult movies.
The Hotel argued that there was a sign on the television advising guests to notify the front desk
if they did not want the adult movies, but the hotel could not produce a sign as evidence.
After the trial, the Jury said they did not believe the Hotel in fact had a sign or any other
notification in the rooms about the adult movies.

How does this case affect Hotels with adult movies?

The facts of this case are very specific. The Hotels adult movies were not protected in the usual
hotel movie system, which requires the guest to push numerous remote buttons, and pass
through numerous movie / ordering screens. The adult movies at this Hotel were just one of the
regular channels, the same as all of the rest of the television channels.
The Jury felt the Hotel had a duty to protect children from this type of unprotected and simple
access to an adult movie. Remember that all lawsuits start with the neglect or failure of a duty
that is required from one party to another. I think we all would agree that in this specific case, the
Hotel did have a duty to prevent children from viewing adult movies.
What is your duty if you dont have immediate access to adult movies, but a Hotel movie
system (like LodgeNet or On Command) that requires you to select movies and go through
numerous screens and buttons to order a movie?
The Norwalk Superior Court verdict tells us that Hotels do have a duty to protect children from
adult movies. But the Court does not offer any guidance for other adult movie systems that are
currently being used in a majority of Hotels.
I could argue that a LodgeNet or On-Command in room Hotel movie system is adequately
protected, as the movie system requires numerous selection screens, remote button pushing and
ordering screens before a movie can be ordered. There is an automatic defense in common law
known as improper parental supervision, that can be used if a childs parent is present, and the
child gets injured or otherwise harmed. The defense to the childs harm can be that the child
was not properly supervised by the parent who was present. Of course the exact facts of each
case would dictate what the duty of the Hotel was, and what the duty of the parents was, in
those very specific circumstances.
I could also argue that if the Hotel were held liable for what a child sees on a Hotel television,
then it would create a slippery slope for other television situations. For instance, the Animal
Planet channel shows african lions attack and kill a defenseless animal during a nature program.
Children could be harmed by seeing an animal they loved being mauled and eaten by another
animal, so is the Hotel responsible for that situation? Or, how about a Health Channel showing a
real medical operation on a person that shows blood and human body organs? This could also
upset a child. As you can see, there is no simple answer to this question.
And, what about our favorite free movie channels that most Hotels carry like HBO or
Showtime? HBO and Showtime are in the TV line up as regular television channels and often
carry very provocative and sexual oriented programming, but these channels are not protected or
blocked in any way.

So, What Should You Do?

Train your staff to ask guests at check in if they would like any of the movies turned off in the
room. Especially if you see the guest is with children at check in, or the guest is asking for a crib
etc. This includes HBO etc.
1. Post a sign or small placard on the television advising the guest that the hotel has
adult programming, and to call the front desk if they would like those channels
blocked. Include this advisement in your guestroom directory along with all of the
other Hotel, menu and attraction information.
2. Turn off all adult movies to all Hotel rooms. This would require the guest to
specifically call the front desk and request the movies to be turned on, which now
protects you from accusations of negligence. This step will increase your front desk
work load, as they will have to respond to dozens of calls every night asking for
movies. This might also upset the Guest, as it becomes inconvenient to have to call
for movies, so you should consider all of the consequences to having the movies
turned off all of the time.
3. If a Guest calls and informs you they are receiving free movies which they didnt
ask for or pay for, then make sure your staff reacts quickly to turn off the movies.
Dont take a guest complaint of getting free movies lightly. Have maintenance
respond to the guest room to ensure the problem is solved.
4. Regularly check your movie system to ensure it is working properly. Recently I was
staying in a large hotel that was under renovation, and I was receiving all movies,
including adult movies free, as I channel surfed. It was obvious that the movie
system had been compromised as part of the renovation, so all of the pay movies
were being broadcast to rooms without restrictions.

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Restaurant

Owners Need To Obtain Product Liability
And Completed Operations Insurance To
Cover Gluten-Free Menu Items
a growing trend toward gluten-free menu items at Americas restaurants and catered
events is increasing the demand for product liability and completed operations insurance,
designed to protect food-service businesses against lawsuits arising from bad reactions to
food products

So, What Should You Do?

The gluten-free trend is helping many establishments appeal to millions of Americans who are
seeking gluten-free options for a variety of reasons, including gluten sensitivities (claimed by up
to 10 percent of Americans, according to the National Institutes of Health) and celiac disease
(diagnosed in about 1 percent of the U.S. population, or 3 million people). While offering more
options for these customers makes for good public relations, it also opens the door to a new level
of potential liability.
While any restaurant could face a lawsuit arising from alleged food poisoning or food allergies,
those promising gluten-free menu items are at even greater risk of a lawsuit if a customer
should choose these options and still have a reaction. Because there are currently no standards
that define exactly what constitutes gluten-free, some restaurants may be promoting a glutenfree product that is prepared in the same area as foods containing gluten, raising the potential
for cross-contamination. While many people with sensitivities may not have reactions to small
amounts of gluten, others with higher levels of sensitivity could have a severe reaction, raising
the potential for lawsuits.
Thankfully, food service businesses including restaurants, catering businesses, and other food
service providers can protect themselves against the high cost of lawsuits by purchasing a
type of insurance known as product liability and completed operations coverage. This
insurance not only covers lawsuits related to gluten reactions, but also those related to other food

allergies, food poisoning, or other injuries or damages caused by the products a restaurant or
caterer sells.

Hospitality Industry Payment Fraud Risks:

Woman Arrested After Using Stolen Credit
Card With Illegitimate Authorization Code
To Scam Florida Hotels
Police believe the alleged Discover employee was actually Betancourts accomplice, who
gave an illegitimate code to the hotel clerk. According to investigators, codes are sold on the
black market to help crooks override the system.

So, What Should You Do?

According to authorities, 53-year-old Debra Betancourt used an old, stolen Discover credit card
linked to a closed account and a fake Arizona state ID to scam a number of hotels on Miami
Beach. Police say at 11:30 p.m. Monday, Betancourt went to the Alexander Hotel on Collins
Avenue. She informed a hotel employee that she made an online reservation with the stolen
Discover card.
However, Betancourts card was declined for a charge of $4,100. Betancourt got on the phone,
police said, and called someone who she said worked at Discover. The alleged employee gave
the hotel clerk an authorization number, but the hotel would not complete the transaction.
Less than an hour later, at 12:15 a.m., Betancourt headed south and tried the scam again at the
Cadet Hotel on James Avenue. This time, Betancourt got lucky: Her card was approved for 10
nights for a grand total of $10,105. Another hour passed, and the 53-year-old headed even further
south to the Anglers Hotel on Washington Avenue, where she tried to pull the scam for the third
time.
Betancourt once again ran into problems, and called the mystery Discover employee. However,
the card was declined and the hotel manager contacted police. According to authorities,
Betancourt kicked the manager in the groin and took off, but officers caught up with Betancourt
and arrested her.