Cover Story
Fighting for Main Street
Rep. Mark Alford is on the side of small business By Cathleen Draper Before Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) was elected to Congress, he spent nearly three decades connecting with thousands of Missourians and their families through his role as a news anchor. His reporting provided a front-row seat to the issues that matter most to everyday Missourians, as well as the struggles they faced. It was those connections – and his innate talent for using communication to inform and influence – that inspired him to…
Featured
Bait and Sue
Template-driven Americans with Disabilities Act litigation is on the rise, costing hotel owners thousands By Cathleen Draper A crooked accessible parking sign. A ramp with a slope that’s off by a fraction of an inch. Door handles that are difficult to turn. For a growing number of hotel owners across the country, that’s all it takes to…
Beyond the Checkbox
Building an anti-human trafficking strategy that protects staff, guests, and the hotel itself By Cathleen Draper Hotels are meant to be safe havens for guests, but for traffickers, they can be a place of opportunity. Hotels are frequently co-opted for illicit activity, including domestic servitude, sex trafficking, and forced labor. More than 60 percent of sex-trafficking victims…
Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite
As bedbug litigation surges, a successful defense strategy is more than just pest control By Nick Fortuna For decades now, hoteliers have been on guard against litigation involving compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). But more recently, serial plaintiffs and their lawyers have opened up a second front in the battle to separate hoteliers from…
Columns
Is That Worker Actually an Employee?
The classification question every owner assumes is settled By Priya Jariwala The maintenance contractor has been coming to your property every Tuesday for two years. You call him when the HVAC acts up. He shows up for the big jobs, too. You pay him every Friday. He does not get benefits, does not clock in,…