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    [title] => Cybersecurity: Proactive Practices to Reduce Risk 
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    [seo_url] => cybersecurity-proactive-practices-to-reduce-risk
    [body] => 
With every reservation and every check-in, hotels collect consumers' personal information. 
 
Data may be collected at multiple points, including a hotel's website and app. 
 
The data is not only useful in ensuring a smooth and pleasant stay for guests, but also for marketing and loyalty programs that keep customers coming back. 
 
Over time, the amount of data collected by a single hotel is significant, and the amount of data collected by a hotel chain can be enormous. This article discusses cybersecurity measures that hotels can put in place to protect data, as well as policies and cybersecurity training designed to keep information security an ongoing priority for hotel staff.
 
 
The Basics of Data Protection 
 
The industry standard for protecting personal information is the implementation and maintenance of appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the personal information. Such reasonable security measures can be outsourced or handled by an internal team of cybersecurity professionals. Good data hygiene also requires solid policies and procedures applicable to employees and contractors as part of an information security management system (ISMS), along with at least annual training on those policies and procedures. 
 
There are several standards for creating an ISMS, such as ISO/IEC 27001 and NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0. These frameworks address cybersecurity risks and associated security controls and can be certified by a third-party auditor. A larger hotel chain with significant resources may also maintain a 24 hours by 7 days a week (24by7) "eyes on glass" security operations center (SOC)-picture a roomful of workers closely watching computer screens to monitor all system and network events to identify security incidents. Even with these reasonable security measures in place, however, no company is immune from a security incident.
 
Security Incidents
 
A "security incident" consists of an event or events that amount to the accidental or unauthorized access, disclosure, destruction, loss or alteration of data. The definition also encompasses violations of company policies or procedures. Most security incidents are not nefarious at the outset, but are instead mistakes made by employees or contractors, such as sharing login credentials with a co-worker. This type of incident is easily handled with a new set of credentials and additional training for the offender. 
 
Make no mistake, though-hotels are also targets for nefarious actors whose actions can affect the bottom line. And it only takes one instance of an employee clicking on a hyperlink to activate ransomware that encrypts company data and leaves it without the encryption key to decipher it. In tandem with the encryption, the bad actor will likely exfiltrate that data and threaten to place it on the dark web. During this incident, the company will have lost the capability to receive reservations, track current hotel guests, process payments and continue marketing efforts. 
 
Additionally, the company may need to notify U.S. and foreign residents per state and foreign breach notification laws, and possibly provide credit monitoring to each affected individual, at approximately $250 per person. The situation can be exacerbated exponentially by attackers' carefully planned timing (e.g., the incident occurring at 5:30 p.m. on Friday of a long holiday weekend). This is not a low probability scenario, and yes, hotels-large and small-are targets. Will you be prepared?
 
Proactive Preparation is Key
 
Implement an Incident Response Plan:Being prepared starts with an incident response plan (IRP). There are several plans to choose from, with the core concepts being: prepare for the incident, monitor and identify the incident, contain the incident, eradicate the incident, fully recover from the incident and then fold the lessons learned back into the preparation for the next incident. As part of this process, the hotel should determine its recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO). RPO is used to determine how often system backups are taken; if the hotel has a recent enough backup and can recover from that backup, it can potentially avoid paying a ransom to recover the data. RTO is how long the systems can be unavailable without causing significant damage to the hotel's business operations. Full recovery from backups should be tested annually to avoid discovering during an incident that the backups contain corrupted data.
 
Identify the Incident Response Team:A significant portion of the IRP is the identification of the incident response team (IRT) members. Critical team members will likely include the company's information security team, customer support, public relations, legal (internal and outside counsel), product engineers, network engineers, communications team and sales. After the IRP and IRT are in place, it is time for an incident tabletop exercise. A tabletop exercise will provide an incident scenario for testing the effectiveness of the IRP, and will also provide a training experience for the IRT under the stress and pressure of a simulated incident. For maximum effectiveness, the tabletop exercise can be created and run by a third party. The hotel may also choose to run a separate tabletop exercise for the C-suite executives to give them experience in making the type of critical-and sometimes bet-the-company-decisions that may arise during an incident, such as whether to pay the ransom.
 
Be Proactive if Outsourcing:Smaller hotels that do not have the resources to create and maintain an IRP and IRT can outsource these tasks, but advance preparation is helpful. If the IRT is formed from in-house workers, the company will likely have the data forensic resources it needs to contain and eradicate an incident. If, on the other hand, the company does not have sufficient technical resources in-house, vetting and retaining technical forensic sources should optimally be done in advance of, rather than during the stress and chaos of, an incident. 
 
Consider Cyber Insurance:Companies may also want to consider cyber insurance. In doing so, it's important to understand the role that the insurance provider will play during an incident. Will the provider provide forensic help? Will the provider provide a ransom negotiator (i.e., skilled professionals that can help slow down the pace of ransom demands and allow the company to investigate other options, such as recovering data from backups)? Will the insurance provider contact the FBI or Secret Service for help? 
 
Both are valuable resources in combating ransomware crime. The perpetrator may already be on the radar of the FBI or Secret Service, and they may be able to provide valuable insight on what to expect next. If the hotel is experiencing business email compromise (BEC) instead of a ransomware attack, the FBI may be able to stop the transfer of funds or claw them back. The company should also consider whether paying a ransom and complying with notification requests could result in financial distress, or even bankruptcy, which cyber insurance can help offset.
 
Data Retention Schedule:In addition to being prepared for an incident, a hotel can also minimize the fallout from exfiltrated data by minimizing the amount of data it stores. Why store data from 2 million individuals when half of that data is stale? Such data minimization would cut the notification costs in half. Implement a data retention schedule, and regularly monitor it.
 
Address Vendor Practices:Separate and apart from the company's own practices, the security of vendors is key; a significant number of incidents occur at the vendor level. The company is responsible for vendors that process its data. To strengthen overall data hygiene, properly vet vendors, and consider requiring a data protection agreement between the company and its vendors detailing the vendor's security and data processing obligations.
 
Information Security Policies and Training Are Critical
 
It is estimated that more than 80% of data breaches result from human error. With the average office worker receiving more than 100 emails each workday, this should come as no surprise. Each communication has the potential to result in a data breach: An employee could mistakenly share information with an unintended person or someone not authorized to receive it. Or an employee could unknowingly click a link that opens the door to a malware infection. Effective policies and training are critical to minimize these risks as part of a hotel's cybersecurity program. 
 
Policies
 
An effective guiding principle for a hotel cybersecurity policy is to keep only data that has current value and limit access to that data. To put this principle into practice, draft the cybersecurity policy in a clear manner that can be understood by all employees. Each employee plays a role in maintaining cybersecurity; after reviewing the policy, employees should understand specifically what their role is. An employee involved in preparing sales presentations that contain proprietary information should know what steps must be taken to protect that information and ensure it reaches only the intended audience. Similarly, an employee responsible for processing payroll should understand what controls are in place to ensure that sensitive employee banking information is confined to a very limited audience. 
 
The policy should describe in a thorough manner what steps must be taken to safeguard the storage and transmittal of sensitive data. Overly technical policies can create confusion, particularly among staff who handle sensitive data but do not have technical backgrounds; writing in plain language for a broad audience is important.
 
It is critical to create a culture that promotes cybersecurity as an ongoing priority, understanding that not all employees will regularly consult the policy. This can be accomplished in various ways, for example, by requiring employees to change their passwords regularly, incorporating log-in screen reminders or regular internal email communications emphasizing the importance of cybersecurity, conducting spot audits at random intervals to review employee compliance with the policy, and/or implementing a program that sends simulated phishing emails to employees to test their compliance. In combination, these approaches should send the message that the hotel treats cybersecurity as a priority, and employees need to as well.
 
Policies should also set out the potential consequences for failure to comply. For example, if company policy is to only transmit personal information through an encrypted third-party data site, any deviation from that practice – ill-intentioned or otherwise – should result in a consequence. While the goal is to prevent incidents from occurring in the first instance, being clear about potential consequences underscores the importance of thoughtful compliance and manages employee expectations. 
 
Training
 
Once the policy is drafted, educate employees. Not all employees are aware of the scope of cybersecurity risks or think that their role has a connection to cybersecurity. But the reality is, if an employee has a hotel email address or has access to the hotel's information network, they play a key role in cybersecurity. Ignorance is not bliss, and uneducated employees materially increase the risk of a serious incident. 
 
The significant risk cyberattacks can present should be clearly demonstrated to employees. Highlighting recent examples of attacks in the hotel industry and their consequences can show employees that cybersecurity needs to become an ingrained behavior for all workers. 
 
Additionally, cybersecurity is constantly changing-including the tools available to companies to protect information, as well as the methods undertaken by bad actors to try to breach company systems. Training programs should be regularly reviewed and continually modernized to keep pace with developments in the field. 
 
Individualized training and accountability is also important. Effective training requires documented verification that each employee has reviewed the policy and understands what is required of their specific role. If an employee's access to information is limited to a hotel email address, and they do not otherwise come into contact with sensitive data, they should understand exactly what risks are presented through that email address and how to effectively mitigate those risks. Another employee who regularly processes guests' credit card and personal information implicates a broader set of cybersecurity concerns, and their training should reflect that. While there are common behaviors that can be beneficial to information security in all roles, hotels should be thoughtful about offering specialized training to those employees who regularly interface with more sensitive data. 
 
Conclusion
 
Leveraging data effectively can create an incredible competitive advantage, allowing a company to identify and respond to commercial trends in real time and optimize targeted marketing, with a commensurate boost to revenue. While hotels can avail themselves of these benefits, they must also ensure that the data collected is safeguarded to avoid the potentially devastating effect of data incidents. Legal counsel well-versed in these issues can assist in those efforts.
 
    [summary] => Hotel operators work tirelessly to keep their clientele's information safe. The ever-changing laws relating to cybersecurity coupled with constantly evolving technology can make it difficult to keep up with best practices. This article discusses cybersecurity measures that hotel operators can put in place to protect their guests' data. 
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    [created_on] => 2023-10-17 21:23:33
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    [title] => What is a Luxury Hotel by Today's Standards?
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Historically, the idea of "luxury" in the travel and hospitality space has typically been associated with all the pleasures of staying at five-star hotels such as the Ritz Carlton’s or Four Seasons’ of the world, who are widely popularized and known for offering the most posh travel experiences. 
 
The value was originally found in the creation of ease and feeling of complete and utter relaxation, highlighted by pampering and ultra upscale amenities. 
 
As some may still find this ideal to hold true, over the past few years, we in the hospitality space, have seen a significant shift in the industry that has transformed and redefined what "luxury" now means in today’s standards for the current travel consumer.
 
What is Luxury? 
 
 
The dictionary defines the word "luxury" as a state of great comfort and extravagant living. What that means for the travel and hospitality industry, is the idea of offering extravagant and sometimes over-the-top accommodations, married with creating the ultimate level of relaxation and comfort for guests while they are traveling. Traditionally, there has been a very materialistic approach to what defines luxury for the discerning traveler, with the expectation that these experiences should mirror the living situation found in the homes of the uber rich. Upscale guestrooms, top-tier amenities, exceptional fine dining, high-end spas and treatment options, along with other material offerings have become standard across the luxury hospitality space. 
 
Luxury services for hospitality have traditionally been associated with notable five-star brands that offer an exceptionally high level of quality, comfort, and exclusivity. The idea that the average consumer could not afford this level of service created even more demand and excitement, as guests are willing to pay a high price tag for the limited nature of the product. This idea of luxury was designed to appeal to people who are willing to pay extra for these exclusive experiences that are truly special by nature - as not everyone can afford to appreciate it. 
 
Although the luxury traveler still enjoys the comforts and exclusivity associated with staying in a high-end property, the expectations and wants from their stay have begun to shift away from high-end accommodations with well-known brands and instead to prioritizing unique and meaningful experiences. 
 
The Shift in Market - Luxury Redefined for the Modern Traveler  
 
The most discerning travelers are less focused on luxury through materialistic offerings. There has been a significant shift in the market for a new emerging thought process and perception that has allowed additional brands who were not specifically categorized in this luxury space before to now enter. 
 
Luxury travel is no longer solely defined by extraordinary physical spaces and exclusive material offerings. Today’s luxury travelers yearn for unique experiences that are immersive, allowing them to gain a deeper understanding and sense-of-place in a more hands-on and interactive way. Sightline Hospitality is a great example of a company that is paving the way with multiple ownership groups in this newly defined view of luxury. Although Sightline Hospitality isn’t known to be a "luxury operator," in traditional terms, the third-party management company committed to truly living the lifestyle of this newfound definition for "new luxury" travel. Consumers are not looking for only the high-end leisure offerings, but are also interested in unique, out of the ordinary experiences – and are willing to pay a higher price for it. 
 
This altered landscape has brought about a new definition of luxury travel, one that goes past upscale guestrooms and fine dining and focuses on the intangible elements of unforgettable moments. Luxury is getting transformed and redefined from physical spaces and material offerings into experiential travel and Sightline Hospitality’s vast portfolio of unique, independent hotels are now fitting the bill on what is considered luxury. Focused on highlighting the culture of each property and using each property to create a sense of place, the San Francisco-based company’s executive team and creative trailblazers are inspired to push the limits of possibility to deliver individualized solutions and big-ideas that embody the individuality of each property that also serves the needs and earnest curiosity of guests. 
 
Sightline has recognized the value of highlighting the specific DNA of each property and encourages out-of-the-box thinking, innovative ideas and experiences to meet the evolving demands of luxury travelers. Calistoga’s original wellness resort, Dr. Wilkinson’s Backyard Resort & Mineral Springs known for its quirky nature and mud baths, evo Hotel’s evo campus featuring world-class amenities such as a bouldering gym (Bouldering Project), a skate park (All Together Skate), and even a large 100,000 square foot evo retail store, and Celebrity chef Todd English’s culinary offerings and adult-friendly entertainment at The English Hotel, are great examples of this, as they are not what a typical 5-star hotel would offer, but are now nontraditional luxury products that satisfy the modern luxury traveler’s new desires for extraordinary and memorable experiences.
 
 
 Mud Bath at Dr. Wilkinson’s Backyard Resort & Mineral Springs (Credit Katie Newburn)
 
Materialism, No More. It Is All About the Experiences
 
Connectivity has become key with discerning travelers. Whether it is a desire for personal growth, genuine connections, or experiential learning, luxury travelers are increasingly in search of unique opportunities to connect with destinations-and the people and culture amongst them-on a deeper, more authentic level. This has been seen through the rise of the "experience economy." The experiential value of one’s trip has been shown to be held to a higher regard than cost attributed to it – and the luxury traveler is willing to spend more for those experiences that they deem truly one-of-a-kind and special. 
 
One experience that has reigned supreme for discerning travelers has been activities that are cultural-focused. Cultural immersions have become a cornerstone of what luxury travel is today. Guests aren’t just looking for a comfortable place to stay while visiting an area, instead, travelers are looking for hospitality stays that offer more. Hotels are expected to act as an integral part of the communities and reflect the local culture in which they reside. From hosting wine tastings in Napa Valley to catching one of San Francisco’s Cable Cars or offering surfing lessons in Waikiki’s crystal-clear waters, Sightline Hospitality’s diverse portfolio focuses on the essential experiences that welcome guests not solely to their room, but into the fabric of the local community and culture. 
 
The focus on highlighting and celebrating each property’s individuality brings together people, places, and possibilities - which in return, will ultimately create soulful stays that make a lasting impression on visitors long after their departure. This cultural immersion can include a number of aspects, but one that reigns true time after time is incredible culinary experiences. Food is the heart and soul of a destination and allows travelers to really learn about traditions through tasting and learning about authentic dishes. Having culinary offerings at a property can bring guests a fresh perspective and deep connection and understanding of the place they are visiting. 
 
But, culinary is not the only way to bring this feeling; offering opportunities to further connect with the local community through volunteer work or educational experiences like Sightline Hospitality’s International House Hotel’s striking second floor MAGDALENA Gallery and the nation’s largest BANKSY mural – sharing the rich history of New Orleans – can also bring this sense of cultural appreciation. 
 
Another experience that stands out for luxury travelers that hotels can incorporate in their programming are personalized experiences. As every traveler is different, one size does not fit all, therefore tailor-made itineraries are imperative with a luxury expert to create customized experiences that cater to every guest’s unique interests. This will ultimately make that once-in-a-lifetime trip that travelers are yearning for with this new definition of what luxury properties are. Hospitality is all about building these deep connections with guests. This customizable offer will create big moments that truly resonate with the luxury traveler and, as a result, will make them want to come back to stay year after year. 
 
Luxury Hotels in Today’s Standards 
 
Luxury is no longer defined solely as materialistic offerings, but rather unique and authentic experiences. The expectations and desires of discerning travelers will continue to redefine and evolve what luxury travel is, however, the importance of unique and extraordinary experiences will continue to be a strong focal point for hotels to offer travelers for years to come.
 
 Main Image: The English Hotel - InRoom Bar Cart
 
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HOTEL EXECUTIVE
☰
✕


HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW

MARCH FOCUS: Hotel Human Resources

 

How the Economic Recession has Changed HR Management in Lodging

By Miranda Kitterlin-Lynch, Ph.D. Associate Professor & Coca-Cola Endowed Professor, Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, FIU | March 2012

Over the years, the lodging industry has seen its share of tough times. However challenging, the fantastic men and women who carry the torch of hospitality in this field have always found a way to adapt. Most recently, this adaptation has been toward the economic recession, which had an impact on all levels of operations, but perhaps most drastically affected Human Resources departments. Those that emerged from this difficult climate without losing their shirts have come to find what we are calling a “new norm” - one that can be summarized simply by “doing more with less” - and preparing to do more with less from here on out.

The lodging industry is no stranger to the fickle whims of the economic climate. The catastrophic events that we have come to know as the “great recession” forced many businesses into triage mode, and those who would weather the recessionary storm were left with the dizzying task of doing more with less. More work had to be done with less employees, more advertising had to be done with less money in the budget, and more thinking had to occur outside the box, so as not to lose the box itself to the bank. Human Resources departments, despite being arguably the most impacted by downsizing, rose to this challenge by implementing what is now considered to be the “new norm” of doing business.

One strategy being employed by Human Resources professionals in lodging companies is simple: hire smart workers. Having been forced to reduce staffing levels in the past, lodging properties now recognize the need to make each position count. That means hiring the right talent—those individuals who are up to the challenges the work presents, and those who are open to cross-training and change when needed. This is not merely applicable to line-level employees, but is particularly germane to management. Additionally, working in a company that has been forced to tighten its belt means doing more motivating with less incentive costs. Management must find “easy on the wallet” ways to motivate and reward their employees.

Doing more with less inevitably involves asking both management and staff to take on additional tasks and assignments. Properties are often quick to respond to an undesirable economic climate by reducing or eliminating training and development. However, forward thinking Human Resources professionals know that without training and development, a company's existing employees are not as qualified to assume the added responsibilities required to ride out the economic tempest. The long-term payoff for quality work performed by appropriately trained individuals will prove to outweigh the temporary costs of training and development. Now more than ever, HR departments are emphasizing the importance of quality performance. Properties are being forced to become less tolerant of employees who do not have both “hard skills” and “people skills”. Management and staff in all areas are being rated as A, B, or C players - the understanding being that they can no longer afford to retain any “C” level performers, and that those who perform at a “C” must be coached to at least a B level, or respectfully dismissed from the company. Simply adding more work to a dwindling population of staff who lack the necessary knowledge and skills is not a sustainable model.

Realizing this need to retain and employ training and development initiatives, Human Resources departments are modifying their programs to be more cost effective during difficult times. This includes amendments to existing programs to incorporate more innovative approaches, such as the use of technology and/or senior employee mentors. For example, some educational methods, such as watching corporate training videos, or taking employment-training tests, might occur off-property via the Internet. Other efforts include the evaluation of existing training programs through the use of secret shoppers and the analysis of consumer feedback to monitor success and ensure alignment with company goals. To further complicate this difficult task, Human Resources departments must also ensure that the holders of the company purse strings understand the importance of training programs in relation to decreased turnover and increased productivity, satisfaction, morale, and overall company success.

Due to the drastic change in the landscape of the economy, Human Resource departments in lodging are not simply using technological advances to reduce costs associated with training, they are also turning to technology in an attempt to improve the speed and efficiency of the hiring process. Systems (like Gallup) are being adopted that are capable of bringing candidates all the way through the hiring process from application to objective screening to generating offer letters. There is still a human aspect, of course, but the administrative responsibility can be minimized to the click of a button, versus multiple hours of employment coordination. With this increasing dependence on technology comes the recognition of the urgent need to replace old technology with more efficient programs (new Human Resources Information Systems, for example) as upgrades can offer vast long-term savings. Compared to other departments in lodging properties, more than 50 percent of new product implementations are seen in the area of Human Resources.

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Except as otherwise expressly permitted by HotelExecutive, any access or attempt to access other areas of HotelExecutive computer system or other information contained on the system for any purposes is strictly prohibited. You agree that you will not use any robot, spider, other automatic device, or manual process to "screen scrape," monitor, "mine," or copy the Web pages on HotelExecutive or the Content contained therein without HotelExecutive's prior, express, and written permission. You will not spam or send unsolicited e-mail to any other user of HotelExecutive for any reason. You agree that you will not use any device, software or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of HotelExecutive. You agree that you will not take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on HotelExecutive's infrastructure.

Additional Use Restrictions

You shall not post, transmit, e-mail, re-transmit or store material on or through any of the services provided by HotelExecutive (the "Services") which, in the sole judgment of HotelExecutive: (i) is in violation of any local, state, federal or non-United States law or regulation, (ii) is threatening, obscene, indecent, defamatory or that otherwise could adversely affect any individual, group or entity (collectively, "Persons") or (iii) violates the rights of any person, including rights protected by copyright, trade secret, patent or other intellectual property or similar laws or regulations including, but not limited to, the installation or distribution of "pirated" or other unauthorized photos or software products that are not appropriately licensed for use by you. You shall be responsible for determining what laws or regulations are applicable to its use of the Services. In addition, you may only use the Services in a manner that, in HotelExecutive's sole judgment, is consistent with the purposes of such Services. If you are unsure of whether any contemplated use or action is permitted, please contact HotelExecutive at editor@HotelExecutive By way of example, and not limitation, the following uses described below of the Services are expressly prohibited:

A. upload, post, e-mail or otherwise transmit any information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages or other materials (collectively, "Content") that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, sexually intolerant or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;

B. impersonate any person or entity, including, but not limited to, a Company official, forum leader, guide or host, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;

C. forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any Content transmitted through the Services or develop restricted or password-only access pages, or hidden pages or images (those not linked to from another accessible page);

D. upload, post, e-mail or otherwise transmit any Content that you do not have a right to transmit under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements;

E. upload, post, e-mail or otherwise transmit any Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party;

F. upload, post, e-mail or otherwise transmit any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes" or any other form of solicitation;

G. upload, post, e-mail or otherwise transmit any material that contains software viruses, worms or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;

H. interfere with or disrupt the Services or servers or networks connected to the Services, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Services;

I. intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, including, but not limited to, regulations promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any rules of any national or other securities exchange, including, without limitation, the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ, and any regulations having the force of law;

J. 'stalk' or otherwise harass another user of HotelExecutive or Company employee or official;

K. promote or provide instructional information about illegal activities, promote physical harm or injury against any group or individual, or promote any act of cruelty to animals. This may include, but is not limited to, providing instructions on how to assemble bombs, grenades and other weapons, and creating "Crush" sites; and

L. effecting security breaches or disruptions of Internet communication. Security breaches include, but are not limited to, accessing data of which you are not an intended recipient or logging into a server or account that you are not expressly authorized to access.

M. advertising to, or soliciting any user of HotelExecutive to buy or sell any products or services through the unauthorized or impermissible use of the Services. You may not transmit any junk email or chain letters to other users. If you breach this Agreement and send unsolicited bulk email, instant messages or other unauthorized commercial communications of any kind through the Services, you acknowledge that you will have caused substantial harm to HotelExecutive, but that the amount of such harm would be extremely difficult to ascertain. As a reasonable estimation of such harm, you agree to pay HotelExecutive $500 for each such unsolicited email or other unauthorized commercial communication you send to each user through the Services.

2. DISCLAIMER WARRANTY

HotelExecutive, including all software, functions, materials, and information is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. HotelExecutive disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including, but not limited to, warranties of non-infringement and implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, title, merchantability of computer programs, data accuracy, system integration, and informational Content. HotelExecutive does not warrant or make any representations regarding the operation of HotelExecutive, the use, validity, accuracy or reliability of, or the results of the use of the materials on HotelExecutive or any other sites linked to HotelExecutive. The materials of HotelExecutive may be out of date, and HotelExecutive makes no commitment to update the materials at HotelExecutive. HotelExecutive does not and cannot guarantee or warrant that the files available for downloading from HotelExecutive, if any, will be free from infection, viruses, worms, Trojan horses, or other code that manifest contaminating or destructive properties. HotelExecutive does not warrant that HotelExecutive, software, materials, products, or services will be uninterrupted or error-free or that any defects in HotelExecutive, software, materials, products, or services will be corrected.

3. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

In no event will HotelExecutive, its suppliers or other third parties mentioned at or in HotelExecutive be liable for any damages, including, without limitation direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages, damages resulting from lost profits, lost data or business interruption arising out of relating to the use, inability to use, or resulting from the use of HotelExecutive, any web sites linked to HotelExecutive, the materials, software or other information contained in any or all such sites, whether based on warranty, contracts, statutes, regulations, tort (including but not limited to, negligence) or any other legal theory and whether or not advised of the possibility of such damages. If your use of the materials or information from HotelExecutive results in the need for servicing, repair or correction of equipment or data, you assume all costs thereof.

4. REVISIONS TO THIS AGREEMENT

HotelExecutive may revise this Agreement at any time without notice by updating this posting. By using HotelExecutive you agree to be bound by any such revisions and should therefore periodically visit HotelExecutive and page to determine the then current Terms of Access and Use conditions of use to which you are bound.

5. TRANSMISSIONS

Any idea you transmit to or post on HotelExecutive by any means will be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary and may be disseminated or used by HotelExecutive or its affiliates for any purpose whatsoever, including, but not limited to, developing and marketing products. You are prohibited from posting or transmitting to or from HotelExecutive any unlawful, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic, profane material or any other material, including but not limited to any material that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under both domestic and international law.

6. YOUR WARRANTIES

You warrant to HotelExecutive that:

You are the sole owner of all rights in the materials posted or uploaded by you (including all related copyrights) or that you have the absolute right to license their use as provided in this section. While you will retain ownership of the copyright in the materials posted or uploaded by you, you agree that all materials posted or uploaded by you shall become part of a database, and that HotelExecutive will own the compilation copyright in that database. In addition, you hereby grant HotelExecutive a perpetual, worldwide, irrevocable license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, publicly perform, publically display and distribute such materials, and portions of such materials and any derivative works created from such materials, in print, electronic and other media, by any means now known or developed in the future. We may sublicense all of our rights and licenses or assign them to third parties. Neither HotelExecutive nor any third party using the materials in accordance with this section will be obligated to pay you any royalties or other compensation for use of the materials.

You will comply with these Terms of Access and Use including, without limitation, the USE RESTRICTIONS set out in Section 3 above;

You agree to indemnify and hold HotelExecutive harmless from any claim or damages (including any legal fees in relation to same) made by a third party in respect of any matter in relation to or arising from your use and/or membership arising from any breach or suspected breach of these Terms of Access and Use by you or your violation of any law or the rights of any third party.

7. ACTIONS WE MAY TAKE AT OUR SOLE DISCRETION

HotelExecutive may take any or all of the following actions at our sole discretion:

Remove any member profile (including photographs) or other material that, in our sole discretion may be inappropriate or we suspect to be illegal, subject us to liability or which may violate these Terms of Access and Use or where required to do so by law;

Issue members with verbal or written warnings and may take such further action as we deem appropriate if such warnings are not heeded;

Suspend or terminate a member's access to the members's area of HotelExecutive or a member's account without notice at any time;

Inform the appropriate authorities and provide them with information regarding any suspected illegal activity; or bring legal action against a member or other user of HotelExecutive in relation to any breach of these Terms of Access and Use or any illegal or suspected illegal activity.

8. GOOD SAMARITAN CONTENT AND COMPLAINT PROCEDURES POLICY

A. Policy

We have provided opportunities for you to contribute Content to our Site. It is our policy, however, not to allow any Content which may constitute intellectual property infringement; violations of federal, state, or local law; obscene or defamatory material, or may otherwise be unacceptable or inappropriate. Upon learning of such Content, we will attempt, and you hereby give HotelExecutive the right, to delete, edit, remove, disable, change, or restrict access to or the availability of the Content, which in our sole discretion, is otherwise unacceptable or objectionable. We may or may not notify you about what action we take with respect to the disputed Content. The provisions of this section are intended to implement this policy but are not in any way intended to impose a contractual obligation upon us to undertake, or refrain from undertaking, any particular course of conduct.

B. Complaint Procedures

If you believe that another user or other third party has posted Content which violates this policy or specifically the USE RESTRICTIONS in Section 3 above, you may notify HotelExecutive via e-mail at editor@HotelExecutive . In order to allow HotelExecutive to respond effectively, please provide HotelExecutive with as much information as possible in your correspondence, including: (1) the nature of the right infringed or violated (including any applicable registration numbers of the federally-registered intellectual property allegedly infringed), if applicable, or the unacceptable or inappropriate Content; (2) all facts which lead you to believe that a right has been violated or infringed, if applicable; (3) the precise location where the offending Content is located; (4) any grounds to believe that the party or user which posted the Content was not authorized to do so or did not have a valid defense (including the defense of fair use), if applicable; (5) if known, the identity of the party or user who posted the infringing, offending, or inappropriate Content; and (6) in the case of alleged copyright infringement claims, information sufficient to identify the work and your claims to ownership.

C. Indemnification/Waiver of Certain Rights

By contacting HotelExecutive and complaining of an alleged violation, you agree that the substance of your complaint shall constitute a representation made under the pains and penalties of perjury pursuant to the laws of the State of California. In addition, you agree, at your own expense, to defend and indemnify HotelExecutive and hold HotelExecutive harmless against all claims which may be asserted against HotelExecutive, and all losses incurred, as a result of your complaint and/or our response to it.

D. Waiver of Claims and Remedies

We expect all users of our Site to take responsibility for their own actions and cannot and do not assume liability for any acts of third parties which take place at our Site. By utilizing the Good Samaritan procedures set forth herein, you waive any and all claims or remedies which you might otherwise be able to assert against hotelexecutive under any theory of law (including, but not limited to, intellectual property laws) that arise out of or relate in any way to the content at hotelexecutive or our response, or failure to respond, to a complaint.

E. Investigation/Liability Limitation

You agree that we have the right, but not the obligation, to investigate any complaint received. By reserving this right, we do not undertake any responsibility in fact to investigate complaints or to remove, edit, disable or restrict access to or the availability of Content. We will not act on complaints that we believe, in our sole discretion, to be deficient, incomplete, or otherwise questionable. If you believe that Content remains on HotelExecutive which violates your rights, Your sole and exclusive remedy shall be against the user or other party responsible for said content, not against HotelExecutive. your sole and exclusive remedy against HotelExecutive shall be to terminate your use of HotelExecutive and service.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act Compliance. As set forth in Subsection (b), you must contact our agent if you believe that a work protected by a U.S. Copyright which you own has been posted on our Site without authorization or that our Site, in some material way, contributes to its infringement. It is our policy in appropriate circumstances, if possible, to terminate the access rights of repeat infringers and other users who use HotelExecutive in an inappropriate or objectionable manner.

9. COOPERATION WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT

HotelExecutive reserves the right to fully cooperate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing HotelExecutive to disclose the identity or other information regarding any user or member alleged by any governmental entity to be using HotelExecutive or any Content or materials available in, at, through or in association with HotelExecutive in violation of any law or regulation, or in violation of this Agreement, including, without limitation, the posting of e-mail messages, or publishing or otherwise making available any such materials. By accepting this agreement you waive and hold harmless HotelExecutive from any claims resulting from any action by HotelExecutive during, or as a result of, its investigations, and from any actions taken as a consequence of investigations by either HotelExecutive or law enforcement authorities

10. APPLICABLE LAWS, VENUE, JURISDICTION & MANDATORY ARBITRATION

If any provision(s) of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be contrary to law, then such provision(s) shall be construed, as nearly as possible, to reflect the intentions of the parties with the other provisions remaining in full force and effect. HotelExecutive's failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision unless acknowledged and agreed to by HotelExecutive in writing. The section titles in this Agreement are solely used for the convenience of the parties and have no legal or contractual significance. This Agreement may be assigned in whole or in part by HotelExecutive. This Agreement may not be assigned in any manner by you without the express, prior written permission of HotelExecutive.

Any and all disputes or controversies of any kind, including but not limited to any performance, duty, obligation or liability arising under or related to this Agreement which are not first resolved informally, shall be determined by binding arbitration in San Francisco, California, in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association. The final award in any such arbitration proceeding shall be subject to entry as a judgment by any court or competent jurisdiction, provided that such judgment does not conflict with the terms and provisions hereof. The jurisdiction of the arbiter (or arbiters) with respect to legal matters shall be limited only by the statutory and common law of the State of California and the United States.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, any and all disputes, which the parties cannot informally resolve, regarding the scope of issues or matter with the jurisdiction of the arbitrator, shall be resolved by a separate dispute resolution process whereby HotelExecutive, in its sole discretion shall elect the dispute to be resolved by either (1) a court of competent jurisdiction in the State of California or (2) a panel of three new arbitrators.

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California notwithstanding any conflict of laws provisions. You and HotelExecutive agree that the venue for all legal disputes, controversies, actions of any kind arising under or related to this Agreement shall be San Francisco, California. You and HotelExecutive further agree that in case of any litigation regarding this Agreement, you irrevocably and unconditionally (i) consent to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in the County of San Francisco, California for any litigation or dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement, (ii) agree not to commence any litigation arising out of or relating to this Agreement except in the California Courts, (iii) agree not to plead or claim that such litigation brought therein has been brought in an inconvenient forum, and (iv) agree the California Courts represent the exclusive jurisdiction for all litigation relating to this Agreement.

11. MEMBERSHIP FEES

Hotel Business Review Subscriptions

If you choose to purchase a subscription, member subscription payments can be made in U.S. Dollars, as well as a variety of international currencies. Membership terms are Annual Recurring, and Monthly Recurring. The Annual Recurring subscription is an annual commitment and subscribers will be charged each consecutive billing cycle. Annual Recurring subscriptions can be cancelled after the first billing cycle and within 30-days of the billing date for a full refund. Monthly Recurring subscriptions are ongoing and subscribers will be charged each consecutive monthly billing cycle. Monthly Recurring subscriptions can be cancelled after the first month and within 7 days of the monthly billing cycle for a full refund.

12. PAYMENT AUTHORIZATION

Payment for the services provided to you in, at, through or in association with HotelExecutive may be made by automatic credit card, debit card, direct debit, bankwire or Paypal and other approved payment means offered in, at, through or in association with HotelExecutive, and you hereby authorize HotelExecutive and its agents to transact such payments on your behalf.

You hereby authorize HotelExecutive's Internet Payment Service Provider to charge your credit card to pay for your membership to HotelExecutive. You further authorize HotelExecutive's Internet Payment Service Provider to charge your credit card for any and all purchases of products, services in association with HotelExecutive. You agree to be personally liable for all charges incurred by you in association with your access or other use of any content provided by HotelExecutive or any third party in association with HotelExecutive. You acknowledge and agree that your liability for all such charges shall continue after termination of your access or any type of membership arrangement with HotelExecutive.

In the event that you have chosen to have your membership automatically rebilled, unless and until you notify HotelExecutive that you wish to cancel or terminate your membership to HotelExecutive, you hereby agree and authorize HotelExecutive's Internet Payment Service Provider to automatically renew your membership to HotelExecutive on a continuing basis and to charge your credit card (or other payment means you have selected) to pay for the ongoing cost of your membership. You hereby further authorize HotelExecutive's Internet Payment Service Provider to charge your credit card (or other approved payment means you have selected) for any and all purchases of products, services and entertainment provided to in, at, through or in association with HotelExecutive.

13. PRIVACY POLICY

The following is the Privacy Policy for HotelExecutive

We can be reached via telephone, email, or online at our contact page. When you visit our site we do not log any information regarding your domain or email address. Information Sharing: We do not share user information with any third parties other than via press release distribution as described below.

Hotel Newswire is a newswire service that distributes press releases on behalf of our users. If you decide to submit a press release for distribution through our system we will transmit your entire press release including any personal information therein contained to our media contacts and online distribution points including search engines. This is the only redistribution of your information that we engage in. Your submission of press releases through our system indicates consent with this policy. The information we collect during your registration process is used to notify users about updates to our service and inform users of any special events hosted by Hotel Newswire. This information is not shared with other organizations for commercial or non-commercial purposes.

Cookies: Our system requires the use of cookies to enable the user to log back into our website to access information from the newswire, without having to log in each time using the required username and password.

If you do not want to receive email from us in the future, please let us know by following instructions included in our communication with you. Users who supply us with telephone numbers online may receive telephone contact from us regarding their account, or informing them of new products and services available on the HotelExecutive website. If you do not wish to receive such telephone calls, please edit your account and remove your phone number from your account profile. This can be done from your user account menu.

Ad Servers: We do not partner with or have any relationship with any ad server companies. From time to time, we may use customer information for new uses not previously disclosed in our privacy notice. If our information practices change at any time, we will post the policy changes to our website to notify you of these changes and provide you with the ability to opt out of these new uses. If you are concerned about how your information is used, you should check back at our website periodically.

Upon request we provide site visitors with access to all information (including proprietary information) that we maintain about them. Users can access this information by logging in to their account.

Security: We always use industry-standard encryption technologies while transferring and receiving user data exchanged with our site. We have appropriate security measures in place in our physical facilities to protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of information that we have collected from you on our site. We do not store credit card information in our systems.

If you feel that this site is not following its stated information policy, you may contact us.

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