The hospitality industry is always working to leverage technology to improve the customer experience. The industry’s embrace of new technology is seen at each step of the hotel booking process, from researching hotel options using online review sites such as TripAdvisor, to booking a reservation using an online travel agency such as Expedia, to using the hotel operator’s mobile app to check into a hotel before you even arrive.  

At each step, guests provide a variety of personal information, from their address and phone number to individual room preferences, but many consumers have limited knowledge of how their personal data is stored, used, analyzed or shared. Even where guests agree to terms of service when providing personal data, those terms are often voluminous and difficult to understand. With society’s increasing reliance on technology comes the constant risk of data breaches and theft of personal data.

To address these concerns, the European Union recently implemented a new regulation known as General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The GDPR, which became effective on May 25, 2018, seeks to empower consumers by requiring companies to offer greater transparency in how they collect, store, process and share their customers’ personal data. 

In their latest article for the New York Law Journal, Todd E. Soloway, Chair of Pryor Cashman’s Hotel + Hospitality Group, Partner Bryan Mohler and Associate Jason Mencher examine the implications of the GDPR on the various players in the hospitality industry, including owners, operators, brands and management companies; address who may be liable in the event of GDPR violations; and offer advice on how companies in the hospitality industry can ensure GDPR compliance and better oversee the management of personal data.

Click here to read the full article.

More About Pryor Cashman’s Hotel + Hospitality Group

Led by Todd Soloway, Pryor Cashman’s Hotel + Hospitality Group provides meticulous, responsive, personal attention with the added strength and support of a full-service firm. We are advisors who help clients define key business goals, develop strategies to optimize value and assemble teams to get deals done. Representing owners, operators, private equity shops, lenders and family offices in the U.S. and abroad, our seasoned hospitality litigators are on the cutting edge of the industry’s most impactful issues.

Learn more about our experience here.