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This is Jim Butler, author of www.HotelLawBlog.com and hotel lawyer. Please contact me at Jim Butler at jbutler@jmbm.com or 310.201.3526.

Posted On: February 14, 2008 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Hotel Lawyers Hotel Developers Conference 2008

UNLV-JMBM Hotel Developers Conference™ - March 11-13, 2008
Green Hotel Development, Renovation and Operation

The Business Case for Green Hotels: Practical "How to" Tips from the Trenches
A "Gen 2" Hotel Conference

LAS VEGAS and LOS ANGELES - February 14, 2008 - The UNLV-JMBM Hotel Developers Conference,™ co-sponsored by the Harrah Hotel College at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) and the Global Hospitality Group® at Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro LLP (JMBM), announced the first conference devoted solely to green hotel development, renovation and operation. Current registration suggests more than 500 hotel owners, developers, and lenders will attend the conference, which will take place March 11-13 at the Green Valley Ranch Resort and Spa in Las Vegas.

Continue reading "Hotel Lawyers Hotel Developers Conference 2008" »

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Posted On: February 5, 2008 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Hotel Lawyer -- How to terminate a hotel management agreement when an operator really deserves it!

By Jim Butler, Hotel Lawyer | Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
5 February 2008

Hotel Lawyer on how to terminate a hotel management agreement when an operator really deserves it. The love-hate relationship between hotel owners and operators is as old as the institution of hotel management arrangements (going back to the 1970s). A good hotel operator can add up to 25% to the value of a hotel. A bad one can subtract the same amount or even more. In 20 years of focusing on the hotel industry, and specializing in representing hotel owners, developers and lenders in more than $50 billion of hotel transactions involving more than 1,000 hotels around the world, we have seen a lot of eager owners anxious to sign up with a big hotel brand, thinking that was the end of their worries. Often it is.

Often it is NOT. . .

But hotel owners don't come to hotel lawyers to tell them how happy they are with a hotel operator. They either come to hotel lawyers to get help in signing up a hotel operator, or to complain about the unbearable financial pain caused by the incompetence, dishonesty and arrogance of their hotel operator. Sometimes the complaints are well-grounded and justify the termination of the long-term hotel management agreement, and perhaps even millions of dollars of compensatory and punitive damages. (See for example, the experience of our client in Ritz-Carlton breached contractual and fiduciary duties . . . When will hotel operators "get it"?).

[And for a wealth of related articles, see the "Hotel Management Agreement" topic on Hotel Law Blog.]

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Posted On: February 3, 2008 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Hotel Lawyer -- Latest data points to the future: What's in store?

By Jim Butler, Hotel Lawyer | Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
3 February 2008

Hotel Lawyer reading the Smith Travel Research tea leaves from the ALIS Conference. A few days ago, Mark Lomanno made one of his great presentations at the ALIS (Americas Lodging Investment Summit) Conference to a ballroom packed with most of the 3,100 registered delegates. All were eager to hear the latest data, in order to see where we have been and where we are going. As usual, Mark was kind enough to share his latest slides. You don't want to miss this!

My quick "take-away" summary? Last year was a very good year (5.5% RevPAR growth). This year will be good (4.5% RevPAR growth), all things considered, but it will better for some (luxury, mid segment without F&B, top 25 markets) than others, and there are warning clouds on the horizon.

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Posted On: February 1, 2008 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Hotel Lawyer: Ritz-Carlton breached contractual and fiduciary duties under hotel management agreement giving rise to free termination, $10.3 million in damages plus attorneys fees. When will hotel operators "get it"?

By Jim Butler, Hotel Lawyer | Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
1 February 2008

Hotel Lawyer on hotel management agreements and operator breach of duty. It may be an exaggeration to say that "JMBM wrote the book on hotel management agreements," but we certainly know the area and have at least written a few chapters in that book. We have been helping owners, developers and lenders with many hundreds of hotel management agreements over the past 20 years. We have negotiated, re-negotiated, terminated and litigated almost every aspect of them, so the only thing surprising about the latest jury verdict handed down on January 25, 2008 against Marriott International and Ritz-Carlton is that it shows a continuing disconnect of operators who choose to ignore their contractual and fiduciary duties. (Search "Management Agreements" at www.HotelLawBlog.com)

In this case, one of our clients owned the Ritz-Carlton Bali which was managed under a typical long-term, no-cut management contract. A few days ago, after a 3 week trial, a jury sitting less than 10 miles from Ritz-Carlton's home office ruled that the management contract was breached by Marriott International and Ritz-Carlton, giving the owner the right to terminate the contract, awarding $382,304 in compensatory damages, $10 million in punitive damages, plus attorneys fees and costs to the owner. The Wall Street Journal published an article today by Tamara Audi on the case. How does this happen?

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Posted On: February 1, 2008 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Hotel Lawyer with GREEN GEMS from the Los Angeles Hotel Investment Conference

By Jim Butler, Hotel Lawyer | Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
31 January 2008

Hotel Lawyer with GREEN GEMS from the Los Angeles Hotel Investment Conference.

Hotels are going green (really)! And sustainability is the hot issue in the hotel industry.
Although hotels have been the last real estate asset class to embrace sustainability, it looks like things are really changing. At the ALIS conference, recycling trash containers were a welcome sight, and the program featured a full panel on green hotels, a keynote, and lots of mentions about sustainability by many of the speakers.

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