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Hospitality

In hospitality and gaming, opportunities abound — but so do risks. A global team of specialists with powerful data and analytics can help you safeguard against unforeseen events.

For casinos, hotels, and resorts worldwide, the market is as crowded and competitive as ever with companies focused on vying for the attention of new customers and retaining their current customers. Staying abreast of the complex regulatory environment governing the hospitality and gaming industry is critical in today’s marketplace. Staff attraction and retention are a priority and a challenge, while ensuring employee and guest safety are paramount. Cyber-attacks pose a threat to confidential customer data, and negative social media commentary can materially affect an organization’s reputation and brand. Building brand awareness and creating incremental brand value is an increasing priority for the hospitality and gaming industry.

Marsh has a team dedicated to serving the hospitality and gaming industry. Our industry-specific loss control and claims specialists share knowledge and best practices with clients around the world by delivering innovative and insightful solutions. Supported by Marsh’s industry-leading analytics and benchmarking, our specialists identify salient risk trends and develop  loss-control programs to help you anticipate and manage risks.

Marsh’s Hospitality & Gaming Practice can help reduce your total cost of risk, enabling you to make strategic business decisions with confidence — to help your bottom line.

Related insights

The hospitality industry is a broad category made up of dozens of business types. Any operating model that invites members of the public to eat, sleep, or take part in a leisure activity falls under this category, including:

  • Accommodation services: Hotels, luxury resorts, motels, lodges, bed and breakfasts, and inns.
  • Dining and leisure: Restaurants, bars, movie theaters, and spas.
  • Activity-oriented businesses: Golf courses, sailboat rental, bicycle rental, horseback riding, skiing, amusement parks, and indoor water parks.

Due to the distinct risks associated with each of these categories, hospitality businesses can benefit from a unique coverage and risk management strategy designed to protect guests, staff, property, and revenue.

Organizations within the hospitality sector will need coverage similar to standard business policies. This includes traditional areas of risk, such as fire, theft, and vandalism, and property insurance for the physical structure of your business.

However, you’ll also need to consider coverage for the more unique aspects of your business model, including:

  • Business interruptions: Equipment breakdown insurance helps you get up and running as soon as possible in the event that something stops working or if you experience a power outage, storm, or natural disaster. For example, if refrigeration equipment fails and you have to dispose of large quantities of food, this will help you repair systems and replace lost goods as quickly as possible.
  • General liability: This includes areas of risk such as injuries and food contamination that are more likely to happen given the environment of a hospitality business.

Additional considerations should be factored into a comprehensive risk management strategy, including mandatory workers' compensation, liquor-related liabilities, and cybersecurity coverage. Business leaders are advised to assess their operating model to identify core areas of vulnerability.

Dramatic changes in visitor behavior, spending power, and consumer expectations affecting both leisure and business travel are expected to influence the hospitality industry for years to come.

As consumers’ perception of safety and risk continue to fluctuate, there are several other areas of risk for the hospitality sector to contend with, including:

  • Sharing economy: The increased popularity of online lodging marketplaces has led to significant cannibalization. Investments in new amenities and experiential travel opportunities will be essential in recapturing market share.
  • Staffing shortages: Hospitality companies should identify and address wage and worker satisfaction issues to increase employee retention and maintain the level of service customers expect.
  • Guest-facing technology: Technology is expected to be incorporated across operations as a means of enhancing the guest experience. In addition to making updates such as digital keys and room controls, businesses must contend with increased cybersecurity vulnerabilities, including attempts to compromise reservation systems.

At Marsh, our dedicated hospitality specialists can help business leaders analyze industry risks and trends and assess areas of vulnerability. Leveraging our proprietary analytics, we’ll work with you to devise a program that generates the right risk financing and mitigation decisions for your business strategy.

Our people

Andy Huang

Corporate and Commercial Leader

  • Taiwan