Hoteliers to crack down on bogus insurance claims

Hoteliers will today announce a crackdown on exaggerated and fraudulent insurance claims, which they say are pushing costs to the point where some businesses may have to close.

At their annual conference in Kilkenny, the hoteliers will discuss bogus and exaggerated insurance claims, which they say may force some businesses to close.

The Irish Hotels Federation conference will hear cases of insurance premiums hitting €150,000 a year for four-star hotels, spurred on by a number of insurance “shake-downs” carried out by guests.

Stories swapped by hoteliers and owners of other public venues such as pubs and clubs include claims from guests nobody could even remember visiting their premises.

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Joe Dolan of the Bush Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, claims hoteliers have frequently been hit by claims for compensation from members of the same family, following a fight during a family wedding, with the family members claiming the hotel had not protected them from each other.

He said the federation, of which he is president, is calling for a review of the book of quantum – the average valuation of compensation payable for injuries such as a broken ankle.

He said 71 per cent of hoteliers had cited insurance costs as having a negative impact on their businesses, while some said their insurance costs had risen by more than half in the past four years.

‘Compo culture’

“It is not that we don’t accept we have a duty of care,” he said. “But there is a compo culture, even when somebody walks along the street texting on a mobile phone and trips. When that person comes into my premises, even wearing six-inch high heels, I become liable.”

Mr Dolan said he runs “a tight ship” and has 80 CCTV cameras throughout his hotel but has seen his premiums rise by 20 per cent in each of the last four years as the insurance industry deals with rising payouts.

He said that in once case a patron had received €800 because a fly had landed on a slice of Black Forest gateau. “It wasn’t as if the person ever claimed to have eaten the cake, but the insurance paid out rather than go to court. We think the levels of payments are unrealistic compared to other jurisdictions and we want this addressed as a matter of urgency by the Government’s working group on insurance claims”, he said.

Michael Magner of the Vienna Woods Hotel in Cork said his annual insurance premium had risen from €76,000 a year to €134,000, which he said he had “no doubt whatsoever” was linked to insurance claims.

Solicitors’ letters

Mr Magner, who sits on the federation’s newly-established insurance committee, said cases recounted by hoteliers included cases of guests nobody could ever remember being at a function. “The solicitor’s letter is the first you hear of it,” he said.

Hoteliers are also looking at ways of fighting back against those who present at reception to announce they would publish a negative review online if they did not get a discount, sometimes even a free holiday if they could garner evidence of something going wrong.

“Many of us have a no-quibble money back policy and that is as it should be, but we are working with TripAdvisor and other sites to identify those who would exploit us as an industry,” Mr Magner said.

A video of two men splashing water on a floor before slipping on it in a premises owned by hotelier and Supermac's owner Pat McDonagh was recently played on RTE's Late Late Show. The videoCCTV footage and an interview with Mr McDonaghDonough areis availablecan be viewed at herehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUxaihPZfbY http://bit.ly/2lJMD9e.