Events Outside Our Control – How Can Owners And Operators Contractually Control The Consequences?

Keywords: management contract

By definition a force majeure is an event outside the control of the parties. However, the parties to a hotel management contract can seek to control some of the consequences, including the allocation of risks, as between the hotel owner and operator.

At the time of writing (3 October 2014), Hong Kong has endured a week of heightened political tension. Core roads in Central, Admiralty and Wanchai, as well as in other parts of Hong Kong, have been closed to vehicular traffic. Entrances to hotels, shops, restaurants and offices have been impacted. Guests arriving at some hotels may have found themselves needing more than just a nice hotel car from the airport. We have seen some guests receive a police escort. Others have been making creative use of Hong Kong's extensive network of tunnels, bridges and walkways to get to their destination. The old adage, "To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive", would be soft comfort to