The legal environment of the hotel industry is constantly evolving. Given the specific events and circumstances of the hospitality industry, industry professionals should review the laws, policies and regulations of the industry – and beyond – paying particular attention to social, political, environmental and human needs as well as their responsibilities and obligations. Recent years have been marked by COVID-19 concerns and efforts to maintain a new normal, recover and return to a new normal. According to this author, things will not return to what they were before COVID-19, and the operational and legal environment will adapt to a changing environment in all aspects of the business. Hospitality Law: Managing Legal Issues in the Hospitality Industry, fifth edition, takes an applied approach to the study of hospitality law with its touchstone for compliance and prevention. The book is highly educational and contains many interactive exercises and real-life cases that help students focus on the practical application of hospitality laws and model their decision-making process to avoid any liability. As a result, this book seems different from others on the market because the included legal information has been carefully selected to help students understand how to do the right thing, that is, it is not a complete book about laws. U.S.-based organizations should support these hiring efforts by helping potential employees obtain work visas. These efforts have never been easier and are becoming increasingly difficult in a COVID-19 legal environment. The global pandemic has affected border crossings and immigration.

Restrictions on international travel, etc. have hampered global hiring efforts. The question of recruitment, that is, does it make sense to hire an international candidate rather than a citizen who is authorized to work? One of the responses from the hosting industry has been the lack of qualified candidates. Each industry has its own ethical issues, including the hospitality industry. Hotel companies may not seem unethical, but they have sometimes proven to be less than hospitable. In addition, traditional business disciplines, i.e. accounting, finance, marketing, management and management information systems, and business law, are proposed and applied to hotel industry scenarios. Hospitality law courses cover topics such as labor law, franchising, risk management and insurance, and more. Hospitality law textbooks and/or programs organize legal topics under headings that may include prevention, government, hospitality operations, contract law, personnel law, and the legal responsibilities of hotel operators (Adapted from Barth and Barber, 2017). One of the pressing issues facing hospitality companies (and graduates of the hospitality and business program) is hiring. Given the number of layoffs, layoffs and business closures since the beginning of the pandemic, most employee-related lawsuits focus on what was promised to former employees, questions asked during the selection process, and the basis for hiring decisions. It is important for employers to keep these issues in mind when putting employees back to work.

As a former director of the hospitality industry and now a professor, I remember hearing legal language like doing “due diligence” and “necessary and appropriate” about empowering legislation for things like concession operations in national parks. Currently, we hear about “apparent agency” in franchise and rental scenarios, etc. In particular, it is a limited framework, and few lawyers` television will provide additional context. Most professors in the hospitality industry are not lawyers (some are), but our role in this important area must raise awareness of issues, policies and laws, as well as the potential operational and liability implications. Therefore, we focus on continuously monitoring the changing legal landscape of the hospitality industry. For example, the AHLA effort reviewed meetings and events, lists to check indoor air quality, as well as safe stay signs and vaccination pamphlets. Safe Stay program efforts also included training courses and the creation of an advisory board focused on employee and guest health, employee safety, cleaning and disinfecting of products and protocols, and included the creation of an improved industry-wide hotel and guest cleaning checklist. The AHLA reacted quickly to the crisis and also included, as is the norm, a disclaimer.

A course in business or hospitality law will not turn managers into legal experts. Managers consider when it is necessary and appropriate to include legal representation and input in the planning and operation of residential businesses. As the hotel industry has grown and matured, its business processes and practices have become more sophisticated and therefore more complicated.