Hospitality

Kabat Chapman and Ozmer’s hospitality team has extensive experience representing clients in all facets of the hospitality industry. This background allows our team to understand and assist our hospitality clients with the unique issues that impact a 24/7, consumer-facing business where customers are engaged in a myriad of activities including dining, drinking, sleeping, meeting, celebrating, exercising and relaxing. Led by Rob Schnitz, an industry veteran with over 35 years of experience representing hospitality companies, including supporting global operations for Hyatt Hotels Corporation, KCO’s hospitality team recognizes the challenges facing hospitality clients and the business goals that drive the decision-making for stakeholders in the industry including owners, operators, employees, vendors and guests.  In working with our hospitality clients, KCO is dedicated to matching the high level of care those clients provide to their guests.

The firm’s hospitality practice advises on a broad array of hospitality issues including traditional innkeeper laws involving registration, trespass, privacy and disruptive guests. Our lawyers also have significant experience handling sales contract negotiations and disputes, including those involving force majeure and attrition clauses. Additionally, KCO has a long history of defending its hospitality clients against employment and guest-related discrimination claims, as well as in class, collective and representative actions covering the full panoply of federal and state law claims. On the wage and hour side, KCO has handled class, collective, representative, and individual claims covering ranging from overtime, minimum wage, off-the-clock and misclassification violations, meal and rest period claims, wage statement claims and banquet gratuity claims. On the commercial side, we have handled class actions involving mandatory resort and related fees and gratuities. Our experienced lawyers also advise on many other legal issues that can confront hospitality organizations such as: joint employer liability, ADA accessibility, employee training, safety and security practices, union organizing and management agreement disputes. In addition, our lawyers have represented clients in premises liability cases brought by guests.

Due to our decades of experience working with the hospitality industry, our clients know they can rely upon KCO for practical and effective advice and guidance whether it involves an urgent time-sensitive matter or a complex business decision or transaction. KCO lawyers are also focused on preventative guidance and regularly assist clients in developing employment policies and manuals, and optimal guest service-related practices, as well as conducting wage-hour audits and advising on terminations and RIFs.

For more information about KCO’s Hospitality Practice please contact Rob Schnitz, the head of KCO’s Hospitality Practice, at rschnitz@kcozlaw.com or (312) 896-7653.

Representative Matters

• Obtained voluntary dismissal, with prejudice and without payment, of all claims in defending global hospitality company and individual employee co-defendants in multi-jurisdictional defamation litigation filed by a high-profile guest who was asked to leave a hotel.
• Obtained summary adjudication as to all California employees of global hospitality company against Private Attorney General action (PAGA) claim asserting failure to properly distribute banquet gratuities.
• Defended global hospitality company in commercial dispute with housekeeping staffing company. Successfully reversed judgment for staffing company and set aside default judgment in excess of $950,000.
• Successfully defended multiple PAGA actions and other class actions in California involving meal and rest breaks, overtime, regular rate, exempt classifications, expense reimbursement, tip pools and gratuities.
• Successfully defended numerous force majeure sales contract termination claims based upon COVID-19, natural disasters and economic distress.
• Represented national hotel company in nation-wide union organizational effort and corporate campaign.
• Prepared amicus brief in federal court on behalf of the American Hotel Lodging Association responding to challenge to exempt status of hotel employees.