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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.

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Posted On: April 28, 2009 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Hospitality Lawyers: Swine Flu's legal implications

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®
Hospitality Lawyers | Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com
28 April 2009

Hospitality Lawyers on Innkeepers' legal duties in dealing with Swine Flu and other infectious diseases. There is a lot of great information available about what Swine Flu is, how it is caused, and precautions people should take to avoid becoming infected. But there is very little guidance so far telling lodging operators what the legal and liability questions that apply to their operations.

That is why I turned to Jim Abrams, a valued senior member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® and former President and CEO of the California Hotel & Lodging Association, for some help.

What are the legal ramifications of refusing guests who may appear ill or who have come from Mexico? What are the liabilities that an employer might face for not training and protecting employees? What practical steps should hoteliers be taking to deal with the outbreak? Here is what Jim told me.

Continue reading " Hospitality Lawyers: Swine Flu's legal implications " »

Posted In: Ask the Hotel Lawyer™

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Posted On: April 27, 2009 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

More information about the World Health Organization "Phase 4" rating on the threat of a flu pandemic

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®
Hospitality Lawyers | Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com
27 April 2009

Hotel Lawyer with more information about the World Health Organization upgrade to "Phase 4" (on a 6 phase system) of the threat of a flu pandemic.

Today I received more reader comments on swine flu blog than I have for a long time. Clearly, blog readers are concerned about the swine flu catching the headlines. And after concern about health and safety issues, the potential implications of a "flu pandemic" are severe for the economy, and particularly, the travel and lodging industry. This was discussed in the article earlier today entitled Swine flu or SARS 2?

One of the bullet points in the cited article noted that the World Health Organization or WHO had increased its rating for the seriousness of this threat by a full notch to "phase 4." In answer to your questions, here's what that means.

Continue reading " More information about the World Health Organization "Phase 4" rating on the threat of a flu pandemic " »

Posted In: Ask the Hotel Lawyer™

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Posted On: April 27, 2009 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Swine flu or SARS 2? Alert from Hotel Lawyers

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®
Hospitality Lawyers | Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com
27 April 2009

Hotel Lawyer with breaking concerns over a flu pandemic. International fears of a flu pandemic rose today as the death toll from swine flu in Mexico rose to 149. Cases have also been reported in the United States, Canada, Spain and New Zealand. What does this mean for the lodging industry and the economy?

Continue reading " Swine flu or SARS 2? Alert from Hotel Lawyers " »

Posted In: Ask the Hotel Lawyer™

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Posted On: April 21, 2009 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Ask the Hotel Lawyer: Investor surveys -- some results that may surprise you!

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®
Hotel Lawyers | Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com
22 April 2009

Hotel Lawyer with the latest PKF Consulting and JMBM survey results.

As I was getting ready to publish JMBM's latest survey, I received an email from our friends at PKF Consulting with their 2009 Hospitality Investment Survey. The results of both surveys are interesting for different reasons. Here they are.

Continue reading " Ask the Hotel Lawyer: Investor surveys -- some results that may surprise you! " »

Posted In: Ask the Hotel Lawyer™

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Posted On: July 27, 2008 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Hospitality Lawyer -- "Can we keep it up?" An increasingly important issue for the hotel industry!

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®
Hotel Lawyers | Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com
27 July 2008

Hospitality Lawyer -- Why we need to maintain the discipline to keep ADRs up! As hotel occupancy rates are tending to soften nationally, the data from Smith Travel Research (STR) tells us that the industry has continued to do well because average daily rates (ADRs) have continued to rise, particularly in the Top 25 markets, and in the market segments that STR calls Luxury, Upper Upscale, Upscale and Midscale without Food & Beverage.

But there is a new threat to industry profits looming on the horizon -- something beyond pestilence, war, recession, and falling airline seat capacity, and this is within our own control if we will just behave rationally. Here's the scoop from www.HotelLawBlog.com.

Continue reading " Hospitality Lawyer -- "Can we keep it up?" An increasingly important issue for the hotel industry! " »

Posted In: Ask the Hotel Lawyer™ , Outlook and Trends

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Posted On: June 21, 2008 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Top picks of hospitality lawyer insights in 2008 are: (1) hotel financing and hotel values in buy-sell transactions, (2) hotel management agreements, and (3) LEED & GREEN hotel development

By Jim Butler, Hotel Lawyer | Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
21 June 2008

Hospitality Attorney's top insights to hotel industry. As we approach the half-way mark in 2008, the hospitality lawyers in JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® thought it would be interesting to determine our readers' "top picks" of all the articles we have posted this year. We could almost say that the top three picks are hotel financing, hotel financing and hotel financing. But here are the top three picks by "Topics" at www.HotelLawBlog.com:

(1) Hotel financing and hotel values in buy-sell transactions

(2) Hotel management agreements

(3) LEED and GREEN hotel development

Continue reading " Top picks of hospitality lawyer insights in 2008 are: (1) hotel financing and hotel values in buy-sell transactions, (2) hotel management agreements, and (3) LEED & GREEN hotel development " »

Posted In: Ask the Hotel Lawyer™ , Green Hotels , Hotel Developers Conference™ , Hotel Finance − Hotel Debt & Hotel Equity , Hotel Management Agreements , Meet the Money® , Outlook and Trends

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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?

Continue reading " 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"? " »

Posted In: Ask the Hotel Lawyer™ , Hotel Management Agreements , Outlook and Trends

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Posted On: January 29, 2008 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Hotel Lawyer: Hotel Investment Conclave. How do you finance your hotel today?

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

Hotel Lawyer Los Angeles Hotel Investment Conference. A year ago today, we predicted that the hotel industry might be acquired through equity-fund driven acquisitions. (Size no longer matters, and Two deals that may change the lodging world forever). Since that time, many REITs and Hilton were gobbled up (Hilton acquisition) before the capital markets all but seized up in August 2007.

Continue reading " Hotel Lawyer: Hotel Investment Conclave. How do you finance your hotel today? " »

Posted In: Ask the Hotel Lawyer™

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Posted On: March 19, 2007 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Helping Owners Strike a Fair Deal: 5 Milestones Marking The Road To Success For Hotel Management Agreements

by Jim Butler and Robert Braun
19 March 2007

In order to consummate any substantial business transaction, there are inevitably some "challenges" to overcome. Hotel management agreements are no exception: in part because of their complexity, and in part because hotel management agreements typically transfer effective control over valuable assets for several decades, and their terms can easily enhance -- or diminish -- the value of hotel by a staggering amount.

Continue reading " Helping Owners Strike a Fair Deal: 5 Milestones Marking The Road To Success For Hotel Management Agreements " »

Posted In: Ask the Hotel Lawyer™ , Hotel Management Agreements , Hotel Mixed-Use

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About the Authors

Jim Butler

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Jim Butler is recognized as one of the top hotel lawyers in the world. He devotes 100% of his practice to hospitality, representing hotel owners, developers and lenders. Jim leads the Global Hospitality Group®—a team of 50 seasoned professionals with more than $60 billion of hotel transactional experience, involving more than 1,000 properties located around the globe.
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Robert Braun

Robert Braun is a partner in JMBM's Corporate Department and a senior member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of 50 seasoned professionals with more than $60 billion of hotel transactional experience, involving more than 1,000 properties located around the globe. Bob represents owners in both transactional and operational issues. He advises clients with respect to business formation, financing, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital financing, joint ventures and strategic partnerships. He has represented hotel owners in the negotiation of several hundred management agreements, as well as spa management and franchise agreements. Bob also advises hotel owners regarding telecommunications, software, internet, e-commerce, data processing and outsourcing agreements. To read Bob's articles, go to www.HotelLawBlog.com and select "Management Agreements." For more information, please contact Bob Braun at 310.785.5331 or rbraun@jmbm.com.

Marta Fernandez

Marta Fernandez is a partner in JMBM's Employment and Labor Department and a senior member of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of 50 seasoned professionals with more than $60 billion of hotel transactional experience, involving more than 1,000 properties located around the globe. As a management labor lawyer with more than 20 years of experience, Marta specializes in representing hospitality industry clients in all aspects of labor and employment including labor-management relations such as union prevention, collective bargaining for single as well as multi-employer bargaining units, neutrality agreements and defense of unfair labor practice charges before the NLRB. She defends employers in administrative and litigation claims, such as employee claims of sexual harassment and discrimination and counsels clients in preventative strategies such as executive training, arbitration enforcement, and policies and procedures. To read Marta's articles, go to www.HotelLawBlog.com and select "Labor & Employment." For more information, please contact Marta Fernandez at 310.201.3534 or at mfernandez@jmbm.com.

Catherine DeBono Holmes

Catherine DeBono Holmes is a partner in JMBM's Corporate Department and a senior member of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of 50 seasoned professionals with more than $60 billion of hotel transactional experience, involving more than 1,000 properties located around the globe. Cathy assists hotel clients with hotel management and franchise agreements, purchase and sale transactions, and condo hotel regime structuring. She has taken hotel owners through complex RFP processes involving all the major hotel brands. She has significant expertise in condo hotels and advises clients in the specific business and legal aspects of condo hotel regime structuring and documentation, including CC&Rs, HOA docs, unit management agreements, shared facilities agreements, rental management agreement programs and securities compliance matters (structuring, documentation and training). To access Cathy's articles on www.HotelLawBlog.com, click on the topics "Condo Hotels" or "Green Hotels" For more information, please contact Cathy Holmes at 310.201.3553 or cholmes@jmbm.com.

Guy Maisnik

Guy Maisnik is a partner in JMBM's Real Estate Department and a senior member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of 50 seasoned professionals with more than $60 billion of hotel transactional experience, involving more than 1,000 properties located around the globe. Guy's deep and broad transactional practice includes complex real estate finance and venture capital transactions, including project finance, commercial finance, leveraged leasing and real estate acquisitions. He assists clients with development, leasing and disposition, loan portfolio acquisitions, loan and debt restructure, workouts and real estate exchanges. Go to www.HotelLawBlog.com for current information in these areas. For more information, please contact Guy Maisnik at 310.201.3588 or mgm@jmbm.com.

David Sudeck

David Sudeck is of Counsel in JMBM's Real Estate Department and a senior member of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of 50 seasoned professionals with more than $60 billion of hotel transactional experience, involving more than 1,000 properties located around the globe. David has significant experience in the vacation ownership arena, focusing on the formation and registration of condominiums, timeshares and fractional interest regimes. He negotiates hotel, spa and restaurant management agreements, and assists client in the development, acquisition, sale and leasing of hotels, golf courses and restaurants. For David's take on current issues in the timeshare arena, go to www.HotelLawBlog.com and click on the topic, "Timeshare." For more information, please contact David Sudeck at 310.201.3518 or dsudeck @jmbm.com.

Robert Kaplan

Robert Kaplan is a partner in JMBM's Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Restructurings Group and a senior member of the Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of 50 seasoned professionals with more than $60 billion of hotel transactional experience, involving more than 1,000 properties located around the globe. Bob represents lenders, special servicers, hard money lenders, community banks, national banking associations, distressed debt investors, and equity investors, positioning them for the best possible outcome by acting expeditiously to preserve value and increase cash flow. His industry experience and his knowledge of the current capital markets -- where distressed assets often include complex deal structures and securitized loans -- allows him to bring creative and effective strategies to the table. When aggressive litigation is the best strategy, he is a vigorous and effective advocate for his clients. Bob represented the securitized lender in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed by the Clift Hotel in San Francisco, and in the subsequent negotiations and successful sale of the loan to a third party. The lender -- acting by and through GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corporation as special servicer -- was the holder of a $60 million loan secured by a Deed of Trust on the Clift Hotel. He has also served as counsel to CapMark, J.E. Robert Company, Inc., AMRESCO Management Inc. and Midland Loan Servicer in their capacity as special servicers on troubled hotel loans in CMBS pools. For more information, contact Robert Kaplan at 415.984.9673 or rkaplan@jmbm.com.

Martin Orlick

Martin Orlick is a partner in JMBM's Real Estate Department and a senior member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of 50 seasoned professionals with more than $60 billion of hotel transactional experience, involving more than 1,000 properties located around the globe. Marty specializes in representing hospitality industry clients in Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance and defense. He has represented more than 300 businesses in ADA issues, many of them hotels and restaurants, as well as hotel mixed-use properties. Marty is a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) and a frequent speaker on the ADA and other topics. To read Marty's articles, go to www.HotelLawBlog.com and select "ADA." For more information, please contact Marty Orlick at 415.984.9667 or morlick@jmbm.com.

James Abrams

James Abrams is Of Counsel at JMBM and is a senior member of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of 50 seasoned professionals with more than $60 billion of hotel transactional experience, involving more than 1,000 properties located around the globe. Jim has served the hospitality industry for 40 years and specializes in lodging and hospitality law and in representing and advising trade associations and other non-profit entities. Jim has significant experience in government affairs at the national level, the state level – including the California Legislature and scores of state agencies – and with local governments and agencies. He has authored successful ballot measures and scores of bills for his clients. Jim served as the President and CEO of the California Hotel & Lodging Association from January 1, 1991 through December 31, 2008 and is currently an adjunct professor in the Hospitality Industry Management Program at the University of San Francisco. He is a frequent speaker and writer on all aspects of the law relating to the lodging and hospitality industries, and he is the author of the book Laws Pertaining to the California Innkeeper, which is published by the California Hotel & Lodging Association. To read Jim’s articles, go to www.HotelLawBlog.com. For more information, please contact Jim Abrams at (415) 398-8080 or jabrams@jmbm.com.

Global Hospitality Group®
1900 Avenue of the Stars
7th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Direct: (310) 201-3526
Direct Fax: (310) 712-8526
E-mail: jbutler@jmbm.com

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Ask The Hotel Lawyer ™

Ask the Hotel Lawyer™ is a quarterly column that I write for JMBM's Global Hospitality Advisor®. If you have a question you would like to submit to Ask the Hotel Lawyer™ please use the comments box below. While your question may not be of sufficient general interest for the column, I will try to respond to you individually if you leave your contact information below. Jim Butler.