Check-in - March 2022

We are delighted to share the March 2022 edition of Check-In, Bird & Bird's quarterly newsletter for hotel, hospitality & leisure businesses.

The newsletter focuses on hot topics and legal developments impacting on various aspects of the sector around the globe. In this edition we continue two of our regular features: Employment Corner, where Partner Alison Dixon and Associate Stephanie Creed share a summary of the latest employment law updates for hotel, hospitality & leisure businesses; and Construction Columns, where Partner Andrea Chao looks into the various trends, opportunities and challenges facing the construction and development of hotels.

We are also delighted to include an interview with Alberto Llompart, General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer of Iberostar Hoteles y Apartamentos, who shares his thoughts on the digital future of hotels, the impact of the pandemic and more.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in these articles, or visit our webpage for more information about Bird & Bird's Hotels, Hospitality & Leisure team.

• Employment Corner
• Construction Columns
• Industry Spotlight
• Corporate
• Intellectual Property
• News & Events

Employment Corner

Welcome to Employment Corner!

In each edition of Check-In we will explore the latest developments in Employment law and their importance to the Hotel, Hospitality & Leisure sector. In this edition, we will look at:

• Right to work in the UK: The transition to digital checks
• The great resignation: Stemming the tide and retaining talent
• The HR agenda for 2022: What is on the horizon?
• Duty on employer to provide suitable PPE to be extended to workers from 6 April 2022
• Legal updates (including changes to NMW, NICs and statutory pay rates, as well as the new social and healthcare levy)
• Case law (including analysis of the Smith v Pimlico Plumbers decision on holiday pay)
• Launch of Bird & Bird’s Employment Law Zone App 2.0

Read the full article here

Construction Columns

Welcome to Construction Columns!

In each edition of Check-In, we will touch upon a range of construction-related topics to help improve the success of your construction projects. This time, we will look at how collaborative building contracts can help you with achieving your goal.

Read the full article here

Industry Spotlight

Interview with Alberto Llompart of Iberostar Hoteles y Apartamentos

Many thanks to Alberto (General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer), who joined Bird & Bird Partner Isidro del Moral to share some fascinating insights into Iberostar’s sustainability objectives, as well as his thoughts on the digital future of hotels and impact of the pandemic.

Read the full interview here

Corporate

Ten tips for hotel M&A in 2022

The hotel M&A market is back, but some dynamics have shifted. In this article, we share ten tips for those contemplating hotel M&A in 2022.

Read the full article here

Intellectual Property

Harnessing the power of your hotel brand

There are huge opportunities to harness the power of brands in the Hotel, Hospitality & Leisure industry. An effective and tailored IP strategy plays a crucial role in maximising and realising those opportunities in a dynamic market, striving to achieve consumer loyalty & brand recognition. So what’s the most effective strategy?

Read the full article here

News & Events

Meet the team at this year’s International Hospitality Investment Forum in Berlin

Members of our international Hotels, Hospitality & Leisure team are looking forward to attending the IHIF in May. Karen Friebe will be chairing a panel session on “investing in hybrid hospitality”, where she will speak with hospitality investment pros about their alternative investment exposure. They will discuss which asset classes are at the forefront of the hospitality property market, how investment portfolios are changing to incorporate an ESG ethos, and the most assured routes to investment for new players.

We hope to see you there!

Russia – Ukraine crisis: Aftershocks in travel and hospitality

Franchising partner and head of our international Retail & Consumer group, Graeme Payne, recently spoke to Boutique Hotel News about what the war in Ukraine means for the travel and hospitality industry, and the importance of repeating due diligence on Russian business partners. On one hand this could enable a brand to withdraw from Russia, saving reputation and avoiding a contractual claim. On the other hand it could reaffirm that they are dealing with a business which is disconnected from the Putin regime and therefore innocent.

Read the full article here

Hustle and tussle: We discuss positive changes in the hotel sector on the New Tricks Podcast

Karen Friebe recently joined New Tricks – a podcast from NewDog PR - to discuss the positive changes the hotel sector has seen during the pandemic, and the imminent growth in M&A as companies prepare for a regional sell off.

Listen to the podcast here

What’s in store for the London hotel market? Catch up on our recent webinar

In our latest webinar with HVS, EP Business in Hospitality and AlixPartners, we explored the future of the London hotel market. Our panel of experts shared their views on the shape of recovery, how different channels might behave, and what London hoteliers and investors should be doing to take advantage of the recovery.

Watch the webinar here

We were delighted to join the Energy & Environment Alliance Summit

The inaugural conference of the Energy & Environment Alliance – which is dedicated to investment and innovation in net zero carbon and ESG leadership for hotels – has a threefold mission: to review considerations critical to strategic CAPEX and OPEX decisions; to facilitate access to equity and debt capital; and to instigate action from investors, lenders, experts and asset managers.

Karen Friebe moderated the Governance session, which focused on transparency and risk. The panel comprised experts from Norlake Hospitality, Village Hotels, Yotel and Kempinski, who outlined their own organisations’ achievements and plans with regard to ESG and shared insights on how, as in-house lawyers, they are helping to embed ESG within their organisations, working alongside their operational colleagues and senior management. All of the panellists emphasised the importance of getting buy-in as well as strong direction and support from the top of the organisation, and discussed the challenges in keeping up with the ever-changing legal and regulatory landscape.