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Protecting your hospitality business – 4 tips for your T&Cs
August 27, 2026
Your terms and conditions can be used to great effect in protecting you against potential liability, provided that they are professionally drafted and effectively incorporated into your contractual relationships.
Our commercial law expert, Siobhan Williams, highlights 4 key considerations that you should consider when dealing with contractual relationships:
It is very important for the parties involved in a commercial opportunity and contract have a clear understanding between them as to who is doing what and therefore the parties’ respective obligations. Also, it is important to be as clear as possible with customers and suppliers as to what your and their respective contractual obligations are. This is particularly important when dealing with individual consumers, who benefit from additional legal protection under consumer protection legislation.
When it comes to your customers, your contract should be as clear as possible in relation to what goods and services are being supplied, over what period and for what price. In addition to specifying what you are providing and when, you should be clear about what information or documentation your customers need to provide with you with (and by when) to enable you to be able to fulfil your obligations under the contract.
You should also build in some sort of flexibility so that if things change you can still comply with your obligations.
Your contract should have clearly defined policies and procedures with regards to the payment of deposits, when staged payments will become due, cancellation and also refund policies. You should also set out clearly the consequences of late payment and make sure these are drawn to your customers’ attention. This will help set your customers’ expectations at the outset and hopefully avoid any costly misunderstandings later down the line. Also, your contract should make it clear where you might be incurring fees with any third-parties, and you might want to consider obtaining payment on account for third party costs before you incur them, thus ensuring that you are not left out of pocket.
It is important to note that, where you are dealing with individual consumers, it is required that your terms of business comply with relevant consumer protection legislation.
Where sourcing products or services from third-party suppliers, you should ensure you have proper terms and conditions in place with them so that you can hold them to account if they fail to deliver what they have promised in the way agreed. For example, if the supply of third-party goods and services is time-sensitive, you should make sure that this is clearly set out in the contract, along with what will happen if the supplier fails to meet any agreed deadlines. You should consider whether it is appropriate to include a liquidated damages clause, and also whether the supplier should indemnify you for any losses you incur as a result of any breach of contract by them.
You should ensure that your liability to your own customer is limited, potentially by reference to the price of the goods or services that you are delivering. You may also want to exclude any liability for issues which are outside of your control, and any delay or losses which are caused by the customers’ failures.
If you are contracting on your supplier’s terms, make sure that the supplier’s liability to you is not limited to an unreasonably low level. You will need to ensure that you have recourse to them if you are exposed to liability to your customers.
Professionally, well-drafted terms and conditions of business are essential for protecting your hospitality business from potential risks and disputes. By clearly setting expectations, securing your revenue, holding suppliers to account, and limiting your liability, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of costly outcome if things go wrong.
If you need advice drafting T&Cs for your business, contact one of our expert commercial solicitors using the contact form, or via 02920 829 100 to find out how we can support you and your business.
To speak to one of our experts today, please contact us on 02920 829 100 or by using our Contact Us form for a free initial chat to see how we can help.
