Any revision or changes must be done in writing and must have an initial or signature to be valid or it won't hold up in court. Many of us are not aware of this issue. She also suggested that if a contract has gone through several handwritten changes, a revised contract should be typed to state the changes and resent to the signer. This is a good practice and could avoid any future misunderstanding or misinterpretation. Another important issue to remember is that both meeting planners and hotels should read and review all contracts and changes carefully.
Unilateral mistake can be a trap for the unwary and the mistaken party can be bound to the mistake.
Lisa also stressed on avoiding the vague wording or subjective language that have caused most of the contract disputes. A question was raised regarding the current energy surcharges that have been imposed by several hotels especially in the west coast. Lisa mentioned that a class action lawsuit has been filed against several hotel brands regarding these surcharges. Hotels need to be aware that Groups can refuse to pay for these surcharges if it was not mentioned in the contract since this issue is not enforceable by laws. It's between the hotels and the meeting planners.