Hotel Attorney on Hotel Cap Rates. What's happening to hotel cap rates, values and financing?
Hotel Attorney at Meet the Money® -- Report on Major Hotel Transactions by Suzanne Mellen of HVS
Hotel Attorney with Hotel Financing Experts at Meet the Money® 2008
Hotel Attorney on Hotel Management Agreements. How to get the right hotel operator: part 1
Hotel Attorney on Hotel Management Agreements. How to get the right hotel operator: part 2
Hotel Attorney on Hotel Management Agreements. How to get the right hotel operator: part 3
Hotel Lawyer -- How to terminate a hotel management agreement when an operator really deserves it!
Hospitality Lawyer on the Hotel of Tomorrow
JMBM's Hospitality Attorneys with case studies of the compelling economics of Green Hotel Development by Gary Golla of SERA
Hotel Lawyer: How to build, operate and finance GREEN hotels now.
Hotel Lawyers -- featured subjects and articles
JMBM's SAVE™ Program
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.
By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®
Hotel Lawyers | Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com
5 January 2009
To say the least, the last year has been a very "interesting" one. Here are our picks for "The Best from HotelLawBlog.com" from 2008. There are some classic pieces here!
Continue reading "The Best from the Blog -- Hotel Lawyers" »
By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®
Hotel Lawyers | Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com
1 December 2008
Hospitality Lawyer with insights on "What you CAN do NOW" . . . before the pending Employee Free Choice Act is adopted and the unions come calling. Today we are going to talk about a monumentally important event facing the hotel industry, that is almost certain to happen with Barack Obama's election. It is something that will affect virtually every hotel in the United States, and there is probably a very limited window of a few months that you can do something that will have a long lasting benefit for your hotel. But you have to act very soon.
By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®
Hotel Lawyers | Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com
6 November 2008
Hospitality Lawyer: The EFCA: Why you must act NOW to win the hearts, minds & loyalty of your workforce.
By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®
Hotel Lawyers | Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com
12 August 2008
Hospitality Lawyer with the 3 most important issues facing the hospitality industry today and what you can do about them. Formed in 1910 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the American Hotel & Lodging Association is the sole national association representing all sectors and stakeholders in the lodging industry. For almost 100 years, AH&LA has been the leading voice for the hotel industry, providing national advocacy on Capitol Hill -- a comprehensive federal governmental affairs program covering legislative and regulatory issues for the lodging industry. (see www.ahla.com)
AH&LA has a lot on its agenda, but when I caught up with AH&LA Chairman, Tom Corcoran, he identified 3 of the most important issues to the hospitality industry and asked that we really focus our attention. Here they are . . .
By Jim Butler, Hotel Lawyer | Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com 17 April 2007
Hotel Lawyer with landmark labor and employment decision from the California Supreme Court on wage and hour issues. Wage and hour claims are serious matters for employers, because they typically involve class actions with lots of current (and former employees), and the claims can cover a long period of time. They are also particularly bad for the hospitality industry becasue so many employees are nominally "exempt" employees--managers or assistant managers--by their titles, but not under California legal standards. (See prior postings on www.HotelLawBlog.com under the Topic of "Labor & Employment" such as New law on who is a "supervisor" can even the playing field for employers a bit.)
By Jim Butler, Hotel Lawyer | Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
3 January 2007
Hotel Lawyer -- Top Picks of 2006. Yes, 2006 has been a record year for many in the hospitality industry, and for the hotel lawyers at Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro LLP. As we have already given our Outlook for 2007, we thought it might be interesting to look back on our Top Pick articles from 2006 from www.HotelLawBlog.com.
The Top Picks articles are organized by the major TOPICS on the Blog. We generally tried to select just the top two or three articles for each TOPIC. It was a major struggle to decide where to make the cutoff. If you want more information on a particular TOPIC, you can go to www.HotelLawBlog.com, and search for all articles on that TOPIC. To do that, just scroll down the right hand side, and below the (free) subscription and RSS Feed buttons is the Browse search engine that enables you to sort by TOPIC (or date, or key words, etc.).
Here they are . . .
Continue reading "Hotel Lawyer -- Top Picks for 2006" »
By Jim Butler, Hotel Lawyer | Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
14 November 2006
Hotel Lawyer on hotel labor and employment issues. Yesterday, I discussed the record jury verdict against Unite Here in the Sutter Health case where a Superior Court jury in rural Placer County California found Unite Here guilty of "fraud, malice or oppression." The jury hit the union with a $17.3 million verdict for intentionally and maliciously acting to harm the business of the Sutter Health not-for-profit hospitals and birthing clinics. As usual, I looked to Marta Fernandez, my hotel labor attorney partner, for insight and guidance. Yesterday, she gave us 9 points to think about as to the significance of the case -- what it all means. But she saved some real gems for today's short blast. Here they are.
Continue reading "Hotel Labor & Employment Lawyer Report -- Sutter Health Implications Part II" »
By Jim Butler, Hotel Lawyer | Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
13 November 2006
Hotel Lawyer on hotel labor and employment issues. On July 21, 2006, a Superior Court jury in rural Placer County California -- where you still expect jurors to know the value of a dollar -- found Unite Here guilty of "fraud, malice or oppression." This time, Unite Here -- the union that represents hotel and hospitality workers -- was caught red handed in its typical outrageous behavior. And it got slapped ... but good. The jury hit the union with a $17.3 million (actually $17,292,850) verdict for intentionally and maliciously acting to harm the business of the Sutter Health not-for-profit hospitals and birthing clinics. This is one of the biggest verdicts ever awarded against a labor union in the United States. As usual, I looked to Marta Fernandez, my hotel labor attorney partner, for insight and guidance.
Marta says, "This case is another very important one for all employers. It is right up there with Oakwood and Cintas. It is both educational as to the 'hard ball' tactics Unite Here regularly employs, shows the union's true colors, and demonstrates that when employers will stand up to outrageous union threats and behavior, they finally may be vindicated and justified." Listen to this story! If you are an employer, it will warm your heart. If you are a callow union boss, it should give you second thought.
By Jim Butler, Hotel Lawyer | Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
31 October 2006
Hotel Lawyer on labor and employment developments. It has now been several years since Unite Here targeted the hospitality industry with its organizing efforts. Their tactics have been extremely aggressive. At a macro level, the unions have poured resources into political campaigns across the country and are not shy about calling in favors from those they help elect. And of course, in 2006, we saw the fruits of a huge effort to time union contract expirations to hit at the same time in order to maximize leverage (see my earlier postings about the union campaign). At a micro level, the unions have also stepped up their pressure -- buying 5 or 6 shares of stock and playing havoc with public companies (for example, trying to sabotage the CNL public offering), creating web sites to "educate" investors about target companies (with abusive and damaging stories about bad management, poor investment returns) and to generally embarrass and financially harm employers and their management. Fortunately, for employers, there have recently been significant wins in the ongoing struggle (such as the Oakwood Healthcare case) and one of those deserves mention today.
By Jim Butler, Hotel Lawyer | Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
5 October 2006
Quick settlement with the union.
The Beverly Hilton hotel is expected to announce today (October 5, 2006) that it has signed a three year contract with Unite Here, according to Alana Semuels, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer. Both sides are claiming victory with the announcement of a quick resolution, along with increased wages, maintaining the current health benefits and a commitment to hire more African Americans. But beyond that, what is the significance of this settlement for others who may be sitting on the other side of the table, facing the union soon--whether in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Honolulu, Toronto or elsewhere?
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 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 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 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 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 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 is a partner in JMBM's Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Restructurings Group and a senior member of the Global Hospitality Group(r) -- 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 is a partner in JMBM's Real Estate Department and a senior
member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group(r) -- 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
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
