EVERYTHING OLD is new again. And in this case, everything not so old as well. It was only a year and a half ago that we were collectively stunned by the unprecedented terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. And nothing in the travel, meeting, and hospitality industries will ever be quite the same.

There has been a whole new travel routine to learn: getting boarding passes before going through security; taking off our shoes and sending them through the X-ray machine; limiting the number of carry-on items (and this time they really mean it); not locking checked suitcases. There also has been — or should have been — a whole new routine for holding meetings.

Never Forget

Remember the immediate reaction to September 11? Hotels and meeting planners worked well together to cancel and reschedule immediately affected meetings. In most cases, that was done without any cancellation or attrition fees. But other reactions came to the forefront as well.

For some, there was considerable fuss about what was an “immediately affected meeting.” For all, there was a new appreciation of the often-neglected force majeure clause. The industry also saw a shake-up in the availability of insurance, in premium costs, and in coverage. And last, but not least, there was an important refocusing on a critical aspect of meeting planning: the need to plan for disaster scenarios that we could hardly imagine before September 11.

So what is happening today? As I write, the nation is on high alert for possible terrorist activity. A war against Iraq seems more likely than not. And the East Coast is still digging out from a whopper snowstorm that likely disrupted many a meeting.

Meeting planners must continue to apply the lessons learned after September 11. It is critical for contracts to have well-drafted force majeure clauses (also known as “termination” or “acts of God” clauses) that adequately address today's realities. In other words, they must reasonably allow the termination of commitments without penalty in the event of consequences beyond the control of the parties that make it impractical or inadvisable to go ahead with a meeting.

In this new landscape, planners must also assess their insurance needs, the availability of insurance, the scope of coverage, and the cost of premiums. The insurance industry has been quick to revise policies, limit coverage, and raise premiums. I don't think meeting planners have been as quick to react. For example, if event cancellation insurance is no longer available (or the coverage is inadequate), planners need to rethink their commitments to vendors, suppliers, exhibitors, attendees, and the like — and, if necessary, revise those commitments because they may no longer be able to insure against loss.

Safety, Too

Meeting planners also must make sure that they have adequately planned for the safety of their attendees. Obviously, no one can protect against snowstorms, let alone terrorism. But, meeting planners have to do more than bring the duct tape. They must have plans in place to address the most outrageous contingencies, such as loss or disruption of transportation systems, communication systems, telephones, and computer networks.

The travel, meeting, and hospitality industry is key to our business, our economy, and our lives. We want to see it continue — safely and healthily. So we must learn lessons from the recent past that allow us to plan ahead.

Jed R. Mandel is a partner in the Chicago-based law firm of Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg, where he heads the trade and professional association practice.