HospitalityEducators.com The #1 Independent Website for Hotel Owners & Managers

November 2011 • Volume IV, Issue 4

In this edition:

• How to Market Alcohol Beverages Legally Using Social Media
• Hey, Buddy, Don’t Gimme a Light!
• Industry Resources: Register for the Hospitality Law Conference

How to Market Alcohol Beverages Legally Using Social Media, by Elizabeth DeConti

Restaurants and bars are marketing food and beverage items using social media more than ever before. Brands use social media sites such as Twitter to engage consumers and generate conversation, and companies make offers to consumers on Facebook and Foursquare to promote brand loyalty. These offers are made to consumers via mobile device, as well as through company web pages with links to the social media sites and related pages or microsites.

Social media advertising is here to stay, and so restaurant operators should familiarize themselves with the additional guidelines and restrictions in play when alcohol beverages are marketed through social media sites. Offering consumers a bucket of beer on Facebook is not the same as offering them a bucket of chicken wings. Read more

Hey, Buddy, Don’t Gimme a Light!, by David Denney

Flaming food and drinks are cool. They look great, draw attention, and even may taste better (though perhaps only psychologically). Old classics such as cherries jubilee, bananas foster, queso flameado and flaming Dr. Pepper are but a few of the flaming items restaurants offer.

But flaming food and drinks are dangerous, and can subject the restaurant to extraordinary liability in the event of an accident. Imagine an order of cherries jubilee, soaked through with brandy, set ablaze at the table and then spilled, knocked or bumped into a guest’s lap. Injuries from such incidents are not uncommon. Read more

Industry Resources

The 2012 Hospitality Law Conference features a dedicated track to explore the latest trends and issues facing food and beverage professionals. These presentations include:

• Menus and Food Labeling: Do Your Health and Environmental Claims Present Liability Risks?
  Restaurants that promote sales with exaggerated health and “green” claims may face liability for misrepresenting their products.  Companies that properly document their claims may minimize their risks of litigation and be better prepared to defend themselves in a court of law (and the court of public opinion).
• "The Last Drink": Determining Intoxication and the Industry Standard of Care
  “But Officer, I only had two drinks!” How often do you think the police hear the intoxicated driver plead that excuse after crashing into something or someone? Join Elizabeth Trendowski and Michael McCabe for this educational seminar on how and what they do when they receive a dram shop case. They will take you from Interrogatories through trial. From standard-of-care issues through causation. Find out what that ‘Last Drink’ really tells them.
• The Best Offense is a Good Defense: Strategies for Preventing and Defending Food, Allergy and Alcohol Claims
  This presentation will focus on developing and enforcing policies and procedures to avoid food and beverage claims, as well as litigation strategies for defending claims that might arise.
• Understanding the 3 Tiers of the Alcohol Industry: The Promotional Perspective

On February 10, don't miss the Food and Beverage Litigation Update by returning presenter Elizabeth DeConti, Attorney with Gray Robinson, and the Hospitality Case Review, by Diana Barber from Georgia State University and Karen Morris from Monroe City College as they summarize the top 100 cases that impacted the hospitality industry in 2011.

Register by January 9, 2012, and save up to $200!

Solutions Store

HospitalityLawyer.com has added 75 restaurant-specific forms to the Solutions Store. Visit the library for resources, such as:

• 10 Essential Clauses for Restaurants and Suppliers Contracts
• Plant and Floral Maintenance Agreement
• Disclosure Statement for Purchaser.

Training

Did you know HospitalityLawyer.com offers Alcohol Server Training? Please click here for more information.