Less than 15 years ago, hotels never considered suing a national organization
(or other customer) for canceling a meeting contract or showing up in
insufficient number.
All that has changed. Because of the economics of the hotel business and the
impact of a handful of decided cases, hotels increasingly write into their
contracts with meeting planners specific provisions that state specific
penalties for cancelled meetings or when there is substantial attrition from the
number of rooms reserved for attendance.
CANCELLATION
Liquidated-damage clauses are increasingly becoming the industry standard
when it comes to meetings that outright cancel. Such clauses minimize the
necessity of litigation should there be a cancellation. An ideal cancellation
clause will attempt to protect a substantial portion of the hotel's anticipated
profit in the event of cancellation.
