Hilton Worldwide Inc. will be banned for two years from creating a luxury "lifestyle" hotel chain under an agreement to settle a corporate-espionage lawsuit.
The settlement stems from a suit filed last year by rival Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, which accused Hilton officials of stealing confidential Starwood documents to develop a new boutique-style chain that would appeal to modern tastes.
Terms of the settlement continue a court order that Hilton cease development of its Denizen lifestyle chain. Now, Hilton can never develop its Denizen lifestyle brand and can't start developing a similar brand for two years. Hilton also must allow a court-appointed monitor to review its marketing and branding materials to make sure they don't benefit from the information obtained from Starwood documents.
The deal also includes an unspecified payment to Starwood, according to the court documents.
The dispute between the two chains shocked the hotel world. Starwood is known for brands such as Sheraton, W and Westin. Hilton is a storied chain with a 90-year history and is now owned by private-equity investors Blackstone Group LP, which purchased the company for $26 billion in 2007.
The allegations had placed a cloud over Hilton, observers said, and taken up considerable time from Chief Executive Chris Nasetta and other managers. "It's important to put this type of situation behind them," said Bjorn Hanson, dean of New York University's Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management.
The lawsuit alleged that Ross Klein and Amar Lalvani, two former Starwood executives who had joined Hilton, took more than 100,000 documents to recreate the success of Starwood's W Hotel. Neither man could be reached for comment; both left Hilton after the suit was filed. Starwood said it discovered Hilton had the documents only after Hilton return them to Starwood. Hilton officials said they returned the documents out of "an abundance of caution.
Hilton's delay in developing a lifestyle hotel came at a convenient time given that new hotel construction is at its lowest level in years. In the future, the two-year delay could become a problem as the industry emerges from the recession, industry observers said Wednesday. It leaves a hole in Hilton's marketing to younger travelers seeking a high dollar hotel option.
Hilton's Mr. Nasetta said in a statement Wednesday that the company is "committed to fair, ethical and robust competition in the marketplace." The hotel chain "regrets the circumstances surrounding the dispute with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and is pleased to bring an end to this prolonged litigation," his statement continued.
The settlement specifies that a criminal complaint from the U.S. attorney for Manhattan continues. A person close to the matter said Hilton has received indication from the U.S. attorney that it does not intend to file charges, although the company continues to cooperate with the investigation.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice declined to comment.
Source : WSJ
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]
Showing posts with label law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label law. Show all posts
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Monday, July 02, 2007
Insurance Mandatory for Travellers
It is now mandatory for all licensed travel and tour agencies to offer travel insurance for local and outbound travel to raise confidence in the travel industry and to protect all travellers.
Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor who announced this said it was necessary to ensure travellers were protected against unforeseen circumstances.
"However, travellers will have the right to refuse such protection," he said, after launching Tahan Insurance Malaysia Bhd's Basic Travel Protection Plan on Monday.
As for how this would be implemented, Tengku Adnan said it was the ministry which provided the licenses for tour and travel agents to operate.
"We will tell them that they have to offer such insurance when existing agents come to renew licenses or when new companies apply for licenses.
"They must offer it, and it is left to the customer to purchase or not. But they must explain that it is available."
Tengku Adnan said the Basic Travel Protection Plan, which had been endorsed by the ministry, provides tour fare protection of up to RM10,000 - apart from basic medical, repatriation, accidental death, permanent disablement and personal liability coverage.
Tour fare protection means the traveller is covered against cancellations and the travel or tour agency closing as a result of financial collapse or default.
The premium is RM15 per person (local and outbound) and the plan also covers inbound travellers at US$15 per person.
So far, 24 travel agencies have signed up to offer the insurance.
The plan would be managed by Pempena Sdn Bhd (100% owned by the Tourism Ministry) and Timeless Vacation Sdn Bhd.
It is underwritten by seven insurance companies including Tahan Insurance.
Tengku Adnan added that as society became more affluent, it was only natural that people took vacations frequently.
"However, there are still many Malaysians out there who are unaware of the importance of travel insurance or simply assume that their existing policy is sufficient," he said.
Tengku Adnan also urged consumers to exercise discretion when buying tour packages as they were companies out there who were out to cheat.
"If the difference in price of a similar package is in the thousands, then there is obviously something wrong," he said, adding that the ministry was compiling a list of unscrupulous companies.
Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Hotels.com sued over Disabled Access
A major online travel company is being sued because it does not allow disabled bookers to search for or book wheelchair-accessible hotel rooms.
The Californian lawsuit seeks to force Hotels.com to change its behaviour but does not seek any damages.
The lawsuit is being taken in the California Supreme Court for Alameda County and claims that Hotels.com breaks the state's civil rights laws, its Disabled Persons Act and its Unfair Competition Law. The case does not rely on the nationwide Americans with Disabilities Act.
The suit claims that disabled-access rooms are treated by the site as an optional 'amenity', a selection which it cannot guarantee is available ahead of the person's arrival and check in at the hotel.
“I want to be able to reserve hotel accommodations online at hotels.com just like anyone else,” said one of the claimants, Bonnie Lewkowicz. “It would be unwise and potentially dangerous for me to rely on a hotel reservation service that does not guarantee the hotel room I am booking is accessible to someone in a wheelchair. Accessibility isn’t a preference for me – it’s a necessity.”
The suit is being taken by two individuals, two non-profit legal groups and a law firm specialising in class actions. It will seek others who have been affected by the issue to join the law suit.
“Disabled travellers are effectively denied access to hotel.com’s discounted rates and convenient side-by-side comparisons of available rooms,” said Victoria Ni of Public Justice, a non-profit public interest law organisation. “As a result, disabled travellers have to spend extra time and money just to secure a workable hotel reservation.”
Accessible hotel rooms generally have wide doorways and halls and grab bars in bathrooms to make them usable for people in wheelchairs.
"Although hotels.com represents on its website that it offers the lowest rates available as well as “the information travellers need to book the perfect trip,” a traveller with a mobility disability, in fact, cannot use hotels.com’s travel reservation services," says the suit. "Hotels.com does not provide information about accessibility features, and it will not guarantee reservations for accessible rooms."
California's Unruh Civil Rights Act demands that any business establishment be accessible if it is conducting business in California. It also depends on the California Disabled Persons Act, which requires any public place to be accessible.
The suit does not rely on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Attempts have been made to apply the ADA to websites with limited success. The Act states that places of public accommodation must be accessible to the disabled. A Florida court ruled in 2002 that websites do not count as places of public accommodation although the issue has been raised again in a lawsuit over the accessibility of retailer Target's website.
To lawsuit: www.publicjustice.net/briefs/hotelscom_complaint_052207.pdf
Source : 4Hoteliers
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]
The Californian lawsuit seeks to force Hotels.com to change its behaviour but does not seek any damages.
The lawsuit is being taken in the California Supreme Court for Alameda County and claims that Hotels.com breaks the state's civil rights laws, its Disabled Persons Act and its Unfair Competition Law. The case does not rely on the nationwide Americans with Disabilities Act.
The suit claims that disabled-access rooms are treated by the site as an optional 'amenity', a selection which it cannot guarantee is available ahead of the person's arrival and check in at the hotel.
“I want to be able to reserve hotel accommodations online at hotels.com just like anyone else,” said one of the claimants, Bonnie Lewkowicz. “It would be unwise and potentially dangerous for me to rely on a hotel reservation service that does not guarantee the hotel room I am booking is accessible to someone in a wheelchair. Accessibility isn’t a preference for me – it’s a necessity.”
The suit is being taken by two individuals, two non-profit legal groups and a law firm specialising in class actions. It will seek others who have been affected by the issue to join the law suit.
“Disabled travellers are effectively denied access to hotel.com’s discounted rates and convenient side-by-side comparisons of available rooms,” said Victoria Ni of Public Justice, a non-profit public interest law organisation. “As a result, disabled travellers have to spend extra time and money just to secure a workable hotel reservation.”
Accessible hotel rooms generally have wide doorways and halls and grab bars in bathrooms to make them usable for people in wheelchairs.
"Although hotels.com represents on its website that it offers the lowest rates available as well as “the information travellers need to book the perfect trip,” a traveller with a mobility disability, in fact, cannot use hotels.com’s travel reservation services," says the suit. "Hotels.com does not provide information about accessibility features, and it will not guarantee reservations for accessible rooms."
California's Unruh Civil Rights Act demands that any business establishment be accessible if it is conducting business in California. It also depends on the California Disabled Persons Act, which requires any public place to be accessible.
The suit does not rely on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Attempts have been made to apply the ADA to websites with limited success. The Act states that places of public accommodation must be accessible to the disabled. A Florida court ruled in 2002 that websites do not count as places of public accommodation although the issue has been raised again in a lawsuit over the accessibility of retailer Target's website.
To lawsuit: www.publicjustice.net/briefs/hotelscom_complaint_052207.pdf
Source : 4Hoteliers
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]
Monday, May 28, 2007
Tightening Tourism Law for Travellers affected by companies that go bust
Travellers affected by companies that go bust – such as in a recent case – will be protected under a proposal to amend the Tourism Industry Act.
 |
»The data will help us plan the amendments to the Act to protect consumers against fraud« DATUK DONALD LIM |
Deputy Minister Datuk Donald Lim said Matta has been given a month to compile the data.
“The data will help us plan the amendments to the Act to protect consumers against fraud,” he told Matta officials at a meeting at the Putra World Trade Centre here on Friday.
Earlier this month, tour company Excellence Holiday Sdn Bhd went bust after two directors allegedly deserted it and caused scores of travellers to lose the money they had paid in advance for several tour packages.
Lim said 336 people had complained to Matta regarding the failed agency.
The losses suffered by the travellers totalled about RM2.4mil.
Matta president Ngiam Foon said the association has made comparative research overseas to find out how the regulations protect consumers.
“We’ve found that Australia, Britain and Hong Kong have provisions to protect consumers while Singapore does not have such regulations,” he said.
Asked how Matta would help the customers affected by the Excellence Holiday debacle, Ngiam said:
“We are talking to suppliers, hoteliers and airlines to come with a plan to help those who had been cheated.
“This is not a promise but we will do our best.”
He added that Matta would propose a fund to help the consumers.
Elaborating on the matter, he said: “Whenever consumers buy a travel package, it would include an extra cost that would go towards the fund.”
“The fund will be used to compensate consumers if any incident, such as the one that happened three weeks ago, were to occur,” added Ngiam.
Related News
- Tenku Adnan to meet Matta reps over cheating agents
- Matta seeks to protect travellers by Mandatory Insurance Coverage
- Happy Ending for Elderly Couple after losing RM20K to Excellence Travel
- Stranded by Excellence, 150 report losses to Matta
- Ministry Awaiting Report from Matta before assiting Travellers
- Matta seeks people affected by Excellence Travel Agency going bust
- Cops go Regional in Hunt for Excellence Holidays Directors
- Excellence Holiday Directors on the Run
- Excellence Holidays causing jeopardy for MATTA
- Travellers won’t get their money back
- Directors of Travel Agency may be blacklisted
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]
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