Insights Type: Articles

At HSMAI’s recent Sales Executive Roundtable, Greg Duff, Principal and chair of the hospitality, travel and tourism practice at Foster Garvey, delivered a frank, practical look at the legal trends reshaping group contracts and risk management, while also tackling the emerging role of AI in hospitality. From evolving force majeure clauses to the legal pitfalls of AI-generated content, his insights are a wake-up call for sales leaders who want to stay ahead of risk and regulation. 

 1) Force Majeure Is Evolving 

Expect force majeure clauses to continue expanding. Recent events have prompted the inclusion of specific language around government shutdowns, executive orders, and sociopolitical issues that may impact attendee participation. Diverse groups are increasingly requesting clauses that account for controversial legislation in host locations. 

 2) Contract Amendments 

Sales teams often ask if an email exchange can amend a contract. Legally, amendments require signed writings from both parties. While practical realities sometimes lead to email exchanges, Duff emphasized the importance of clarity, authority, and documentation. Phone calls, he warned, are the least reliable. 

 3) Meeting Planner Authority 

A growing concern is whether meeting planners truly have the authority to bind groups to contracts. Duff recommends including clear representations and warranties in agreements to confirm that planners have consulted with their groups and that the group is aware of the contract terms. 

 4) Risk Management Tools 

Duff outlined three key tools: 

• Indemnification: Often contentious, some clients opt to remove it entirely and rely on insurance. 

• Insurance: A practical alternative to indemnity, especially in social contracting. 

• Limitation of Liability: Use caps and exclusions to manage exposure, especially for consequential damages. 

 5) Transparency and Junk Fees 

With increasing regulations around service charges and junk fees, Duff advised aligning with FTC guidelines and local laws. He emphasized the importance of clear disclosures, especially in areas with unique requirements. 

 6) AI in Hospitality 

AI is transforming sales, marketing, and operations. From chatbots to RFP management and upselling, AI offers efficiency and introduces legal risks. Duff cautioned that AI-generated content may not be legally protectable and could inadvertently infringe on existing intellectual property. He also highlighted the importance of human oversight, citing a recent case involving a chatbot that led to a legal dispute over misinformation. 

Other Contractual Considerations 

• Renovation Clauses: Tie them to specific spaces used by the group and exclude routine maintenance. 

• Competitor Clauses: Be specific, avoid vague terms like “tech industry.” 

• Best Rate Guarantees: Define “comparable circumstances” clearly to avoid disputes. 

• Commission Transparency: Full disclosure is essential; hiding commissions is no longer acceptable. 

Thank you to our roundtable partners: Hotelbeds (HBX), Hippo Video, Lotus Marketing, Tambourine, and ZS. This Roundtable was attended by brands and hotel management companies such as Aimbridge Hospitality, Atrium Hospitality, BWH Hotels, Choice Hotels, CoralTree Hospitality, First Hospitality, Hilton Hotels, Hyatt, IHG, Loews Hotel & Co, Marcus Hotels, NCG Hospitality, Outrigger Hospitality Group, Parks Hospitality Group, Peachtree Hospitality Management, Peregrine Hospitality, Superhost Hospitality, Spire Hospitality, Rosewood Hotel Group, TPG Hotels & Resorts.  

HSMAI hosts this unique by-invitation forum annually for executives from ownership groups who specialize in a commercial role at their company. If you are interested in being invited next year, please email info@hsmai.org.

Lerah Foreman, Regional Digital Manager,  Atrium Hospitality, Rising Marketing Leader Council Member 

Marketing does not move the needle on its own, and that idea shaped a thoughtful Rising Marketing Leader Council conversation that I led about how marketers, revenue managers, and sales teams can work in sync rather than in parallel. We began by naming the places where work naturally overlaps, from booking windows that inform campaigns to rates that invite debate to packages that only succeed when both sides design them together. Several voices described two practical buckets for effort, one for initiatives that drive revenue and another for visibility or PR, and the group kept returning to a simple translation rule, revenue brings the data on where and when guests book while marketing humanizes those room nights by describing who the guest is and why the stay matters. 

From there the discussion moved into alignment in daily practice, with weekly commercial calls cited as a helpful forum when they focus on what revenue is trying to move and what story marketing can credibly tell. Trust strengthens when marketing asks first what to target and builds around that guidance rather than launching creative that fills dates already forecasted. Sales belongs at the table as well, since tension around rate is common, and coordinated timing helps avoid discounting for its own sake while still landing groups that fit the hotel’s goals. 

Language and cadence matter, and several people emphasized the value of speaking in numbers and reporting clearly on packages and promotions so a numbers first audience can follow the impact. Portfolio marketers noted a recurring gap when they meet properties monthly and hear about new packages only after launch, which leaves social and paid channels scrambling; earlier invitations and quarterly planning calendars give everyone enough time to line up sell periods and stay dates that match need periods. Practical tools came up often, including a short Monday form that keeps marketing and revenue aligned in under ten minutes and a habit of sitting with pickup reports together so trends in the data can become targeting, pacing, and sell windows that make sense. 

The group acknowledged that marketing KPIs can sound soft to revenue, especially when awareness work is measured by impressions, and several offered a straightforward response, pair awareness tactics with honest expectations, explain decoy offers that draw clicks while nudging guests to the real offer, and, when possible, show ROI or ROAS alongside the on the books views from the systems revenue trusts. Another theme was shared definitions of success, since marketers often count booked revenue that stretches into future months while revenue tracks forecast against budget for the current month; teams are closing the gap by agreeing on mutual KPIs and by using the same dashboards to check whether a campaign actually moved the periods that needed help. 

A final habit tied the conversation together, try ideas, learn quickly, and move on. Teams described a culture of testing local packages, accepting that some will not land, and treating fast learning as progress. When marketing, revenue, and sales approach the work as a united front, the strategy conversations get easier, the plans feel earlier and clearer, and the results are easier to sustain. 

Five Takeaways 

• Overlap is natural: booking windows, rates, and packages are shared ground where collaboration pays off. 

• Ask first, then create: trust grows when marketing begins with revenue’s priorities and builds campaigns to support them. 

• Speak their language: framing results in numbers and tying campaigns to on-the-books performance builds credibility. 

• Plan ahead together: shared calendars, short weekly check-ins, and early invites prevent last-minute “fire drill” campaigns. 

• Fail fast, move on: testing and learning quickly is more valuable than holding on to campaigns that do not deliver. 

Read More: 

• How to Align Marketing with Revenue Management at Your Hotel 

• The Ever-Evolving Roles and Marketing and Revenue Management 

Discussion Questions for Your Team 

• How can hotel marketers and revenue managers better align when one is focused on campaign ROI and visibility while the other is focused on pricing and forecasting demand? 

• What does true collaboration between marketing and revenue management look like in practice and what is holding it back? 

Daniel McGarry, Regional Director of Revenue Management, Stonebridge, Rising Revenue Optimization Leader Council Member 

At a Rising Revenue Optimization Leader Council meeting, I opened our discussion with a simple background. A signal is a meaningful, actionable insight while noise is distraction or a false flag. With so much political and economic uncertainty, even seasoned teams feel that separation is getting harder. So, we asked ourselves: What data do you trust? What data do you ignore? And how do you decide fast enough to matter? 

Breakouts came back with a consistent baseline: start with your own house. Short-term pickup, on-the-books, and YOY internal comps earned the most trust. External context (like STR) still helps, especially when you diversify beyond a single comp set and compare notes with peers, but the group stressed reading it through your market reality. Several leaders cautioned against treating any one dataset as gospel; numbers carry bias if we don’t interrogate why a result looks the way it does. 

One comment that stuck with everyone: “Noise changes based on what you intend to use it for.” The same datapoint can be a signal through one lens and noise through another. That idea threaded through the rest of the hour. 

On tools, the mood was pragmatic. It’s not just “too many tools” versus “too few interpreters,” it’s whether we’re deriving value from what we already own. Some teams are streamlining tech stacks; others are investing in training so people can interpret outputs, not just surface them. There was curiosity about where AI is headed. If an “analyst” layer can sift multiple sources and surface only what matters, speed becomes the differentiator. The group agreed that reacting to your own benchmarks first often wins over chasing competitors. 

A clear theme on strategy was that without KPIs, you can’t tell signal from noise. If you don’t know what you’re optimizing for, nothing is actionable. That clarity also matters when “managing up.” Executives don’t always have time for the full story. They want the two or three things that matter now then habitual follow-up to close the loop once a hypothesis proves out (or doesn’t). Roll-ups can blur the picture and sometimes a portfolio trend looks soft while individual markets are healthy. Knowing when to break the data apart came up as a core leadership skill, as well as how to explain that succinctly. 

We ended with a couple of candid admissions. Many of us have “noisy” reports we tolerate each budget cycle (CRM rollups for whole regions were a repeat offender), and more than one person admitted to over-analyzing now that dashboards are slick and infinite. 

Further Reading 

• Signals vs. Noise: How to Identify the Most Important Trends Before They Impact You
• Information Overload: The Importance of Tracking the Right Metrics
• Why Too Much Information Can Sink Revenue Management Efforts 

Questions for Discussion  

• What data do you always trust when making a decision?
• Have you ever made a bad call following the wrong data?
• What is your personal signal detector—instincts, trends, and tools?
• Does noise get louder when your strategy is unclear?
• FC vs. actuals: is the variance a signal or noise, and how do you define it? 
• Does AI/automation help filter signals, or create more noise? 

Laura Walters, Area Director of Revenue Strategy, Dragonfly Strategists, Rising Revenue Optimization Leader Council Member  

When rising revenue leaders met earlier this year, I led a conversation centered on uncertainty. Travel patterns were shifting in ways that felt unpredictable, and revenue leaders were working to make sense of cancellations, shortened booking windows, and new risks tied to fluctuating policy. 

In breakouts, one group talked about international travelers pulling back from the United States. Cancellations from Canada were a recurring theme, with some reporting up to a 40% decline in demand. Others noted downturns from China, Mexico, and Brazil while seeing stronger bookings from the UK and Europe. The outlook varied, but there was agreement that international business was no longer reliable in the same way it had been. 

Domestic travel was also a focus. RLC members shared how weather disruptions and political sentiment were contributing to shorter booking windows. Some suggested exchange rates could have as much influence on cross border travel as tariffs, with creative responses like discounting to offset the gap for Canadian visitors. 

Government travel added another layer of complexity. Participants reported groups canceling or scaling back blocks, new contract clauses requiring legal review, and questions about whether per diem rates would shift. These changes were driving up costs and making it harder to forecast group business with confidence. 

Many connected the current environment to the early recovery years after Covid. The lesson then still seems relevant: hotels must be scrappy, willing to pivot, and open to new markets when old ones slow down. The group reflected on how quickly strategies that worked for several years can stop working, and how important it is to adjust. 

The conversation closed with a reminder that these issues are ongoing. Tariffs may ease, exchange rates may stabilize, and forecasts may adjust, but uncertainty will remain. Leaders agreed that success this year depends on watching signals closely, responding quickly, and being ready to adapt each day. 

Read more:  

• The Biggest Factors Driving Us Hotel Performance Amid a Period of Uncertainty (CoStar)  

• Are US Tariffs Reshaping the Hospitality Industry (The Hotel Blueprint) 

• 2025 Hotel Industry Outlook Midyear Report   (HB / Choice)  

By Rachel Kremnitzer, Senior Manager – Project & Change Management, Hilton, Rising Revenue Optimization Leader Council  

The hospitality industry is evolving quickly as guest expectations shift, digital tools advance, and economic pressures shape demand. For revenue leaders, success depends on more than adopting new systems. It requires guiding people through change in a way that balances immediate performance with long-term transformation. The following reflections grew out of a recent Rising Leader discussion I facilitated, where participants shared perspectives on navigating change. 

Resistance to new processes, stakeholder complexity, integration challenges, and limited training time are frequent obstacles. Proving ROI can be equally difficult in unpredictable markets. Addressing these barriers calls for intentional communication, clear benefits for each role, and trust in both the data and the process. 

Change management works best when leaders: 

1. Keep messaging concise 

1. Emphasize “what’s in it for me” 

1. Provide training that fits busy schedules 

1. Demonstrate value through pilots and early wins 

1. Align KPIs between commercial and property teams 

1. Balance short- and long-term goals with 30/60/90-day planning 

1. Protect time for learning and adoption of new technology 

Ultimately, revenue transformation succeeds when leaders treat change as a people strategy supported by technology. 

Further Reading 

• A Manager’s Guide to Hotel Change Management 

• The 5 Keys to Successful Change Management in RevOps – The Gunter Group 

Questions for your team:  

• What are the biggest barriers in adopting new revenue tools or systems? 

• How can you ensure both commercial and on-property teams understand and embrace change? 

• How do you balance short-term revenue targets with long-term transformation goals? 

• How has automation or AI impacted your strategy, and how did you manage that change?