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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.


A Gen 2 Conference . . . and What That Means
Just as hotel prototypes evolve from Generation 1 (or “Gen 1”) to Generation 2 (“Gen 2”) and beyond, hotel conferences on sustainability to date (the “Gen 1” conferences) have typically included only a panel or two on sustainability — and have been limited to covering why the industry should consider going green, or what “green” really means. The UNLV-JMBM conference is the “Gen 2” of hotel conferences on sustainability.

According to hotel lawyer Jim Butler, chairman of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® and author of HotelLawBlog.com, “The debate about Global Warming is over. Government regulations, compelling economics and practical realities are propelling the hotel industry into being green. It is time to move past the Gen-1 basics and into advanced Gen-2 education so that the industry can implement green technologies into the building, renovation and operations of hotels.”

The Hotel Developers Conference™ will provide the “Gen 2” next steps about realities and practicalities. What is the real cost of going green? What do guests expect? What actually works in a hotel? What doesn’t work? How does it get financed? How does it affect valuation? What government regulations and public incentives are kicking in? These are some of the tough questions that will be addressed. (Click here to download the conference program. Download file)

UNLV’s Sponsorship of this Conference
“With one of the premier hotel programs in the world, UNLV is pleased to become this annual event’s signature sponsor,” said Stuart H. Mann, Dean of UNLV’s Harrah Hotel College. “We look forward to working closely with JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® to establish a new platform — with this event and others — that will no doubt spark discussion of important issues, while leading the implementation of cutting-edge innovations and solutions in the hospitality industry. We see this new platform as continuing to provide a regular channel of innovation and creativity.”

World Class Keynote and Speakers
Keynote speaker Daniel C. Esty, Director of the Center for Environmental Law and Policy, Yale University is a leading expert in the relationship between the environment and corporate strategy. His address will draw on information gathered for his recent book Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value and Build Competitive Advantage, explaining how leading-edge companies have successfully incorporated environ-mental thinking into their core business strategies.

Tom Paladino, a recognized leader in the green building industry and president of Paladino & Company, will also give a keynote address, based on his hands-on experience with green development. A significant contributor to the development of the LEED® Green Building Rating System, Paladino has consulted on more than 300 sustainable building projects, including those for major market leaders such as PNC Financial Services, Microsoft, Candela Hotels and The Rand Corporation, among others.

Among the 70 speakers are “green” trailblazers involved in some of the country’s most exciting green projects like the team working on the MGM Mirage Inc.’s 76-acre multi-use development in Las Vegas that is aiming for LEED™ certification from the U.S. Green Building Council: Cindy Ortega and Katarina Tesarova, MGM Mirage, Inc.; and Nellie Reid, LEED AP, Gensler.

Also on the forefront of green hotel development is speaker Marty Collins, CEO of Gatehouse Capital Corp. which is developing the green “W” Hotel at Hollywood & Vine. Gatehouse Capital Corp. is also the conference’s “carbon neutral” sponsor, along with NativeEnergy, which will provide offsets to make The UNLV-JMBM Hotel Developers Conference™ a carbon neutral event. Registrants are encouraged to offset their own travel to and from Las Vegas, and a link is provided on the conference’s website to facilitate the process.

Speaker Thomas J. Corcoran, Jr., current Chairman of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) and Chairman of the Board of FelCor Lodging Trust Inc., the nation’s largest owners of upper-upscale all-suite hotels, will share why the AH&LA and his $3.1 billion hotel REIT are focusing on sustainability issues. Other speakers include Karim Alibhai from Gencom Group, one of the biggest developers and owners of Ritz-Carltons in the U.S.; and John Vanderslice, CEO of Miraval, known for its luxurious, sustainable resorts. Representatives from Carlson, Fairmont, Hilton, InterContinental, Kimpton, Marriott and other operators will share their green building and operational experiences, as will speakers from nationally acclaimed green boutique hotels like Orchard Garden Inn and the Ambrose Group.

About the UNLV-JMBM Hotel Developers Conference™
Call (310) 785-6707 for a full line up of the speakers, to register, or to become an exhibitor or sponsor. The $950 conference registration fee includes attendance to all panels for the full 2 1/2 days, evening receptions, luncheons, and entrance to the exhibitors hall.

About UNLV’s Global Village for INNovation
UNLV recently announced that a $30 million gift was given to the Harrah Hotel College by Harrah’s Entertainment which will allow the university to move forward with plans to develop a far reaching mixed-use academic building and hospitality development project on campus. The project, named Global Village for INNovation, will serve as the launching pad for the world’s preeminent hospitality technology research facility. It will allow both technology providers and hotel operators a central location to test and study evolving technologies and “green” programs in an actual operating hotel and conference center. Global Village for INNovation at UNLV will serve as the nexus for international research that will be conducted at other UNLV Harrah Hotel College satellite campuses. For more information, contact
Dean Stuart Mann
Stuart.mann@unlv.edu

About JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® creates legal and business solutions for hotel owners, developers and lenders. Comprised of more than 50 hotel lawyers, the Group has handled more than $87 billion of hotel transactions around the globe. In the last 5 years alone, the Group has represented clients in more than 100 hotel mixed-use projects. For more information, contact
Jim Butler
(310) 201-3526
jbutler@jmbm.com
www.HotelLawBlog.com

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