Look out, hoteliers – a new trend is emerging in the hotel industry. A Singapore-based hotel has just launched its women-only floor of hotel rooms. The rooms, housed behind security doors with limited access, are stocked to the rafters with girly accoutrements. Luxury hotels like the Premier Hotel in Times Square, NY have also begun offering female only floors.  However, this newest offering is also chock full of legal questions. If the rooms are exclusive of men, how long before a discrimination case?

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‘Tis the season – not only for holidays, but for nonrenewal notices. At least one major hotel insurance carrier has sent out its nonrenewal notices, meaning that some of you reading this blog will be shopping for coverage. If you’re not careful, you could find yourself buying what appears to be a great deal, only to find that on the next renewal, the deal evaporates or worse, the company dumps the book of business, leaving you searching once more for hotel insurance coverage.

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Whoever came up with the first point reward system knew that consumers are eager to earn freebies. From airlines to hotel stays, consumers rack up massive quantities of points that can be redeemed for merchandise, free stays/travel, or in some cases cash. It’s a bonus program system that boasts huge participation levels.

The reason these programs work so well is that consumers often forget to use them. In a recent survey of frequent travelers, 47 percent have never redeemed points or rewards earned through airlines and hotels. Since most points systems are set up with definite expiration dates for earned rewards, millions of free comps are being left on the table. Great news for hotels, but what’s it doing for your business reputation?

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Hoteliers have see it all, heard it all, and dealt with it all. It would be hard to find a hotel manager or owner who hasn’t had to ask a guest to leave due to bad habits or behavior. But what happens once you clear the hotel of the bad guest can you breathe that sigh of relief?

If you’re smart, your hotel will have a process in place, and in use, for reporting the incident. It’s a litigious world we live in, and a strong policy, consistently enforced, can go a long way to avoiding or lessening any claims against the hotel.

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Hoteliers whose hotel businesses work with online booking agencies understand all too well the dilemma. Hotel booking sites like Expedia and Hotels.com sell hotel reservations to customers, hand over a discounted price to the hotels, and pocket their profits – all good business. But the dilemma arises when the booking companies go to pay taxes on the hotel rooms they’ve sold. And that’s where the local and state governments are getting involved.

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