Check-In - April 2024

We are delighted to share the April 2024 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. This edition includes the latest in our series of podcast interviews with inspirational women in hospitality, as well as updates on sustainability topics, employment law in the UK, and much more. 

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

In this newsletter:

• Podcast: Inspirational Women in Hospitality
  
• Employment Corner
  
• Construction Columns
  
• Intellectual Property
  
• Sustainability
  
• News & Events

Podcast: Inspirational Women in Hospitality

Spotlight on the Wellness Industry

In the latest episode in our series of interviews with inspirational women in hospitality, Head of Bird & Bird’s Hotels, Hospitality & Leisure group, Karen Friebe, speaks with Partner, Emma Green, who started her career with Bird & Bird as a trainee and now leads our international Wellness group. Emma shares her perspective on how the industry has changed since setting up the group almost 10 years ago, highlighting some examples of the diverse areas of support we provide to businesses in this sector. Emma and Karen also discuss wellness tourism and how hotels are embracing this, for example through their sleep, food & beverage and fitness offerings. Finally, Emma reflects on her own career development, and gives three top tips for young women embarking on a similar path.

Listen to the podcast here

Finding Your Mentor and Balancing the Personal with the Professional

In this episode of our inspirational women in hospitality podcast, Head of Bird & Bird’s Hotels, Hospitality & Leisure group, Karen Friebe, speaks with Sophie Perret, who has recently been appointed as Managing Director at HVS, where she has worked for 20 years. Sophie speaks about her career journey and the enjoyment of working with an increasingly wide pool of stakeholders, including hotel owners, investors and operators. She also shares her perspective on the challenges of balancing personal life expectations with professional aspirations, and the benefits of flexible working post-pandemic.

Listen to the podcast here

Employment Corner

Welcome to Employment Corner!

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

• Labour’s proposed changes to “worker” status and unfair dismissal law.
• New holiday pay rules.
• Employment law changes from 6 April 2024, including changes to paternity leave, unpaid carer’s leave, redundancy protection and right to request flexible working.

Read the full article here

Construction Columns

Pre-market Engagement is Key to the Successful Construction of Hotels

In Construction Columns we showcase solutions within the construction industry that hotel & leisure projects can benefit from.

In this edition, we will look at how engaging with potential contractors and suppliers before formally contracting with them, can help you to select the right parties and increase the chance of successfully constructing your hotel.

Read the full article here

Intellectual Property

Have you Checked-In Your IP? Top Tips to Protect Your Brands (Part 1)

Brand identity and protection has never been more important for the hotels and hospitality industry in the post-pandemic tourism surge. Intellectual property rights are not just a mere box-ticking exercise – they are a necessary and crucial business asset.

There are several reasons why you should consider your IP protection from the early stages of business planning. In this article we share our top tips for building a strong IP strategy. Look out for Part 2 in the next edition of Check-In, where we'll be exploring the next step in protecting your brand.

Read the full article here, and download a copy of our brochure - Hotels, Hospitality & Leisure - Protecting Your IP Rights - here.

Sustainability

New EU Directive on Environmental Advertising impacts the Way Hotels Communicate their Sustainability Credentials

The EU recently published a new Directive (EU) 2024/825 to empower consumers in respect of the green transition, by providing better protection against unfair practices and better information. The Directive sets 27 September 2026 as the date on which member states must apply the new rules.

This new Directive introduces strict rules for certain types of environmental advertising and will have a significant impact on the way hotels communicate their sustainability credentials with consumers. Any current communication that is still available on the market on 27 September 2026 must also comply with the new rules.

Read the full article here

Why are Corporate PPAs Important for Hotels?

Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) are becoming increasingly prominent for global businesses, driven largely by their environmental and economic advantages. They are particularly useful for businesses which are high consumers of energy, such as hotel chains, where heating, lighting and refrigeration are significant energy demands both at site-level and in the supply chain. This is because they allow such businesses to purchase power on a long-term basis, directly from renewable energy generators without having to physically exist in the same location.

Overall, PPAs are an important tool for businesses in the hotel sector in order to reduce energy costs, increase sustainability and attract and retain a growing number of environmentally-conscious consumers. The longer-term nature of these PPAs also provides more cost predictability and by securing an energy supply for an extended period, brands can plan for future growth and expansion more easily.

Visit our Corporate PPA Hub here

News & Events

Meet our Team in Berlin!

Are you going to the International Hospitality Investment Forum in Berlin? Say hello to our team (Karen Friebe, James Salford, Matthew Vance, James Fowler, Charlie White, Conchita Sainz, Elie Kaufman, David Dederick) at stand 64!

Come along to Tuesday’s Enhancing Operating Agreements panel session to hear Karen Friebe and industry experts exploring the critical dynamics of the relations between stakeholders, and how innovative operating agreements can drive value.

We’re looking forward to seeing you there.

20th Anniversary Webinar: Unlocking the Potential of the Hotel Sector

Tuesday 21 May, 9.00 - 10.30 BST

In June 2020 the Bird & Bird Hotels, Hospitality & Leisure team, together with our friends at HVS, AlixPartners and EP Business in Hospitality, embarked on the first of what was to become a series of webinars.

Four years later and our 20th webinar together returns to our original theme of Unlocking the Potential of the Hotel Sector on Tuesday 21 May, 9am-10.30am. Our guest speaker will be Kate Nicholls OBE, the celebrated CEO of UK Hospitality, who will share her views of where the UK hospitality sector is heading. This will be followed by a series of short contributions from a number of hotel sector luminaries and a panel session involving the four host organisations.

RSVP here

Our Food & Beverage Team Celebrates Legal 500 EMEA Rankings

We are delighted that our Food & Beverage teams in Belgium, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Spain have been recognised in a variety of categories in the newly released Legal 500 EMEA directory. This includes Band 1 rankings in Belgium and Italy for "Industry Focus: Food".

Many thanks to all of our clients for their support and for taking the time to provide feedback on their experience of working with us.