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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.

Outlook and Trends

Posted On: February 4, 2009 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Hotel lawyers' on "State Of The Hotel Industry" -- Sound Bites from hotel industry leaders at the ALIS conference

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

Hotel Lawyers at "The conference of doom and gloom"

The ALIS conference this year was as glum as I can recall. You would have to go back to 1991 and 1992 at the old UCLA and NYU conferences to find a similar mood. Compared to the record attendance of more than 3,200 at last year's ALIS conference, the attendance of 1,700 was a good showing, but obviously reflected a lot of cutbacks.

Continue reading " Hotel lawyers' on "State Of The Hotel Industry" -- Sound Bites from hotel industry leaders at the ALIS conference " »

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Posted On: February 2, 2009 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Latest insights from JMBM's Hotel Attorneys and PKF Consulting on what lies ahead for the hotel industry . . .

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

Hotel Lawyers with the pulse of the hotel industry from ALIS. Mark Woodworth of PKF Consulting shared his latest analysis of the hotel industry with us, as well as his slides from the ALIS conference. The picture is not pretty. Mark says, that if you're waiting for the recovery, the key word is "PROTRACTED." Here are the details.

Continue reading " Latest insights from JMBM's Hotel Attorneys and PKF Consulting on what lies ahead for the hotel industry . . . " »

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Posted On: January 15, 2009 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Hotel Lawyers in JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® Add Industry Leader

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

Jim Abrams brings decades of hotel experience and relationships to the team

Jim Abrams, a hotel industry leader and former CH&LA President, has joined JMBM's Global Hospitality Group®. In addition to bringing decades of hotel experience and relationships to the team, he looks forward to contributing to the Group's work on hotel management agreements, labor union and employment issues, and ADA issues, as well as expanding the Group's capabilities in legislative and regulatory affairs.

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Posted On: December 31, 2008 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Hotel Lawyers: What have we learned from "The Crash of 2008"? There are no shortcuts for due diligence!

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

Hotel Lawyers on lessons from The Crash of 2008.

2008 will go down as a terrible year in many regards. Global economies have come to the precipice of disaster. The Dow had its worst year since 1931 -- down 34% for the year, representing the loss of more than $7 trillion in wealth. Many trillions more evaporated from the value of both residential and commercial real estate. Consumer confidence is at its lowest point since they began keeping records. The unthinkable has happened with the fallen pillars of Bear Stearns, Lehman, Merrill Lynch, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and AIG. Even GE couldn't sell its commercial paper until the Fed stepped in to buy it. And then there is Bernard Madoff who bilked some of the most sophisticated investors in the world out an estimated $50 billion.

What was wrong with the mortgage mess, CMBS meltdown and Madoff?

Continue reading " Hotel Lawyers: What have we learned from "The Crash of 2008"? There are no shortcuts for due diligence! " »

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Posted On: December 17, 2008 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

"Out of the Panic and into Opportunities of a Lifetime"

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

"Out of the Panic and into Opportunities of a Lifetime" Is Theme for the
19th Annual Meet the Money® Conference

Hotel Financing Summit Set for May 5-7, 2009

LOS ANGELES, Calif., December 16, 2008--With the recent announcement of a full-blown recession, officials of Meet the Money®, the annual hotel financing summit, today announced the theme for its 2009 conference: "Out of the Panic and into Opportunities of a Lifetime." The 19th annual event will be held May 5-7, 2009, at the Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel near LAX in California.

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Posted On: November 19, 2008 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Hotel Lawyer: The "Great De-leveraging," a "financial panic" and unprecedented opportunities coming our way. Do you see them? Are you ready?

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

Hospitality Lawyer with updated thoughts from the latest commercial real estate finance program in San Francisco.

Many of my friends in the hotel industry are in denial. Others are consumed with the daily drama of the unfolding financial panic. I am excited that we are about to see some of the greatest financial opportunities of our lifetime.

Here are some thoughts that I presented yesterday as keynote speaker at the 6th Annual Bay Area Income Property Lending Conference.

Continue reading " Hotel Lawyer: The "Great De-leveraging," a "financial panic" and unprecedented opportunities coming our way. Do you see them? Are you ready? " »

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

Hospitality Lawyer: The 5 biggest misconceptions about Condo Hotels

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

Hospitality Lawyer on Condo Hotels. Do they work? Are they viable? What are the 5 biggest misconceptions about Condo Hotels?

"Condo Hotels" -- they are a subject the media "loves to hate." Everyone has an opinion about them -- whether they know anything about them or not. JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® has worked on more than 100 hotel mixed-use projects in the last 5 years alone, most of them involving condo hotels or hotel condos. Funny. Almost all the ones JMBM's hotel lawyers work on really "work" and don't make the headlines.

So with all the critical (and often uninformed) press lately, it was really great to see Brent Howie of Provident Hotels & Resorts -- one of the 30-year veterans of the condo hotel industry -- write a "no nonsense" article de-bunking the 5 biggest myths about condo hotels. I thought I would share it with you and lend our endorsement to its theme (and to the kind of support Brent gives these projects). Brent Howie can be reached at 727-726-4770 or bhowie@prov.com.

Continue reading " Hospitality Lawyer: The 5 biggest misconceptions about Condo Hotels " »

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Posted On: October 13, 2008 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Hospitality Attorney on the current financial "Turbulence" and forced partial nationalization of 9 U.S. banks.

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

Hospitality Lawyer with the latest update on the Financial Crisis or "Turbulence."

A few days ago, some were calling the Dow's 2,400 point collapse in 8 days a "crash" but others insisted that a "crash" requires a drop of 20% or more in a single day or two days. Therefore, they call the recent collapse in stock indexes a "cascading crash" or a "slow motion crash." It was pretty fast for most of us, with a 1,000 point swing between high and low on Friday (October 10) -- the first time that has happened in its 12-year history.

Continue reading " Hospitality Attorney on the current financial "Turbulence" and forced partial nationalization of 9 U.S. banks. " »

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Posted On: October 8, 2008 by the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

Hospitality Lawyer in Miami at the HHOA Inaugural Convention. What energy! What focus! ¡Que Fabuloso!

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

Hospitality Lawyer at the Hispanic Hotel Owners Association Inaugural Conference in Miami, Florida. WOW! Tonight was the opening of the Inaugrual Annual Conference for the HHOA founded by Angela Gonzalez-Rowe. (See Hispanic Hotel Owners Association (HHOA) and Angela Gonzalez-Rowe talk with Hospitality Lawyer about HHOA's exciting developments) This is a serious group of hotel investors, a focused gateway for the Hispanic community's involvement in hotels, and a demographic segment that absolutely commands respect.

Continue reading " Hospitality Lawyer in Miami at the HHOA Inaugural Convention. What energy! What focus! ¡Que Fabuloso! " »

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

Hospitality Lawyer: $700 billion bailout bill is now law! Warren Buffett insights on (1) Why the Bailout Bill had to pass, (2) The key to making the bailout work, and (3) How the Treasury can make a profit.

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

Hospitality Lawyer with insights from Warren Buffett on the Financial Crisis that has created an "economic Pearl Harbor." After the Senate passed the Bailout Bill, he talked about what it takes to win the war of Financial Recovery. Buffett's common-sense insights on the $700 billion financial system rescue package are great. Let's hope our Government listens to the compelling logic of how to make this bailout work . . . and how we will all make out better.

I hope the U.S. Treasury and Congress are listening . . .


Continue reading " Hospitality Lawyer: $700 billion bailout bill is now law! Warren Buffett insights on (1) Why the Bailout Bill had to pass, (2) The key to making the bailout work, and (3) How the Treasury can make a profit. " »

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