bob braun
Artificial Intelligence Is Checking Into Your Hotel – Are You Ready?
Bob Braun | September 17, 2024
by Robert Braun, Co-Chair, JMBM Cybersecurity and Privacy Group; Senior Member, JMBM Global Hospitality Group Even though artificial intelligence has been a part of our lexicon for more than seventy years, artificial intelligence remains the latest bright shiny thing. Businesses large and small feel compelled to incorporate artificial intelligence into their company descriptions even with a limited understanding of what artificial intelligence is, or how it could help their business. Hotels and hotel companies are no different; just take a look at the online newsletters and announcements hitting your mailbox; it’s a rare day that a hot...
To Brand or Not to Brand
Robert Braun | February 22, 2024
by Robert Braun, Co-Chair, JMBM Cybersecurity and Privacy Group; Senior Member, JMBM Global Hospitality Group While some companies in some industries have a tendency to consolidate and eliminate brands, the hotel industry is different. Most of the leading hotel companies with brands, such as Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Hyatt, and Accor, regularly acquire or create new brands or flags. Today, Marriott has 30 flags, Hilton has 22, IHG has 14, Hyatt has 29, and Accor has 40, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. With so many flags to choose from, it’s easy to overlook another choice – no brand at all. While picking a brand is an obvious ...
Hotel Data Security Update: Time Is Short – Reporting Your Data Breach
Jim Butler | July 31, 2023
By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group® This month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced new rules requiring companies who experience a cybersecurity attack to publicly disclose the impact of the attack within four days. Hotel companies whose securities are registered with the SEC should take note of these regulations and develop a robust incident response plan. Bob Braun, senior member of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® and Co-Chair of the Firm’s Cybersecurity & Privacy Group, outlines the new regulations below. Time is Short – Reporting your Data Breach by Bob Braun, Hotel Lawyer Over the pa...
Data Privacy Alert: Who’s Responsible for Personal Data at a Hotel?
Bob Braun | March 21, 2023
By Jim Butler, Robert Braun One of the most valuable assets of a hotel brand is information – detailed personal information about guests at their hotels, participants in their loyalty programs, and visitors to their websites. This information allows hotel brands to focus on creating guest loyalty, acquiring potential guests, engaging in effective marketing, expanding market share, and creating properties and services that entice and satisfy hotel guests. Because of this, hotel brands have long contended that they “own” hotel guest data and have unencumbered rights to use it, without respect to the interests of hotel owners and even t...
JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® Announces 5th Edition of The HMA & Franchise Agreement Handbook
Jim Butler | January 23, 2023
The Global Hospitality Group® of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP (JMBM) is pleased to announce publication of the 5th edition of The HMA & Franchise Agreement Handbook, a guide for hotel owners, developers, investors and operators considering a hotel management agreement (HMA) or franchise agreement, or dealing with the challenges of termination of one. Co-authored by JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® Chairman, Jim Butler, senior Group member Robert E. Braun and Mark S. Adams, the 5th edition of The Handbook includes an updated section on why long-term management and franchise agreements may now be terminable, with...
Why Hotels Need “Visibility” to Avoid Data Privacy Liability
Jim Butler | March 9, 2022
By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group® The rules around data privacy and cybersecurity are constantly evolving. In order to protect themselves from liability, hotel owners should pay attention to ongoing legal developments and learn more about their own data infrastructure. Bob Braun, senior member of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® and Co-Chair of the Firm’s Cybersecurity & Privacy Group, explains why hotels need to understand exactly what data they hold, where it is stored and who has access to it. Facing the Knowledge Gap: Why Hotels Need “Visibility” to Avoid Data Privacy Liability by Bob Braun, Hotel ...
Hotel Data Security: Challenges to Address in 2022
Bob Braun | January 3, 2022
By Jim Butler, Bob Braun Like virtually all industries, the hotel industry continues to be challenged by cybersecurity concerns. As we approach 2022, hotel owners and operators need to address some basic issues that impact the security of their systems and their guests. Wi-Fi. Providing wireless internet to guests has become a “must-do” for hotels – it’s not too much of an overstatement to say that a potential guest won’t stay at a hotel that doesn’t provide free Wi-Fi. But hotel Wi-Fi systems, particularly those in public areas, have long been a soft underbelly of cybersecurity. In the past 10 days, TechCrunch+ reported...
Hotel Lawyer: 5 Tips for Your Next Hotel Management Agreement (HMA)
Bob Braun | June 14, 2021
By Jim Butler, Bob Braun Is it time to re-think your management agreement? As the hospitality industry moves toward recovery, many hotel owners are re-evaluating the management of their properties. A good manager can bring great value to a property; a poor manager can reduce its value. Some studies have concluded that a good management agreement – one that provides for meaningful accountability, transparency and performance – can add or subtract 50% to the value of a hotel. The next normal will likely require rethinking how to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of operations, rather than simply riding post-recession...
