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JMBM Hotel Lawyers Announce First Green Hotel Development Conference

Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
27 July 2007
Hotel Lawyer on GREEN hotel development. Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro LLP (JMBM) announced today that The Hotel Developers Conference™ 2008 will focus entirely on green hotel development and renovation. Presented by the 50-lawyer team of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® this green hotel “summit” is co-sponsored by the University of Las Vegas (UNLV) and the Los Angeles Chapter of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). More than 450 hospitality industry leaders are expected to attend, March 12-13, 2008, at the Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa in Las Vegas, Nevada.

As we have said here on www.HotelLawBlog.com before: “Don’t wait for the GREEN. It is here”


Cost premiums are falling. Payback is fast.

“It seems like only yesterday that sustainable hotel development represented a 10-20% cost premium, which was largely unaffordable to most developers,” says hotel lawyer Jim Butler, chairman of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® and author or www.HotelLawBlog.com. “Today the premium cost for green-certification can be as low as 1-2%, and developers can expect economic payback of that premium in as little as 12-24 months.”

Hotel developers cannot afford to miss the GREEN.

Focusing on why hotel developers can’t afford NOT to build green, the revolutionary conference will present leading experts in the green development world – from environmentally conscious architects to seasoned green builders – all centered on how to “grow” a project from the ground up, renovate an existing structure from the top down, stay on budget, and operate efficiently. Panels on the hard facts of financing and property management are just two of the innovative topics hotel developers can expect. (See It’s dangerous NOT to be “green”)

Hotel industry is behind the curve on GREEN.

“Because hotel developers represent the last real estate food group to understand the compelling economics of green development, this conference will offer a ‘Green Hotels 101’ education all the way through the ‘post graduate’ work of continuing sustainability,” says Butler, author of the well-respected www.HotelLawBlog.com. “And we’re not just going to talk the talk without walking the walk either. We intend to make the entire conference itself completely carbon-neutral.”

Speakers and content.

Already signed up as a keynote speaker is David Gottfried, founder of the U.S. Green Building Council with over 10,000 member organizations, and the World Green Building Council, now 10 countries strong and growing. The author of Greed to Green, an inspirational account of his 20-year journey as a successful real estate developer to a pioneer of the green building movement, Gottfried, took on the $3 trillion global building industry in the 1980s and pushed it to embrace sustainability.

“I’m more of a pragmatic, business-oriented hotel advisor and lawyer than a tree hugger, but it’s clear to me that 2007 marks the ‘tipping point’ of the green movement,” says Butler. “If hotel developers don’t start surfing on this green wave, they’re going to drown in lost opportunity – besides, there’s an added premium. Building green is simply the right thing to do.”

The Hotel Developers Conference™.
Sponsored by JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group®, The Hotel Developers Conference™ covers the full spectrum of hotel/resort development as well as hotel mixed-use, including condo hotels and hotel condos. By dedicating the 2008 conference to green development, the Global Hospitality Group®, which has helped clients with more than $87 billion in hospitality transactions, hopes to encourage hotel owners, developers and lenders to launch green initiatives into future and existing hotel projects.

This is Jim Butler, author of www.HotelLawBlog.com and hotel lawyer, signing off. We’ve done more than $87 billion of hotel transactions and more than 100 hotel mixed-used deals in the last 5 years alone. Who’s your hotel lawyer?
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Our Perspective. We represent developers, owners and lenders. We have helped our clients as business and legal advisors on more than $125 billion of hotel transactions, involving more than 4,700 properties all over the world. For more information, please contact Jim Butler at jbutler@jmbm.com or 310.201.3526.

Jim Butler is one of the top hotel lawyers in the world. GOOGLE “hotel lawyer” or “hotel mixed-use” or “condo hotel lawyer” and you will see why.

Jim devotes 100% of his practice to hospitality, representing hotel owners, developers and lenders. Jim leads JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® — a team of 50 seasoned professionals with more than $87 billion of hotel transactional experience, involving more than 3,900 properties located around the globe. In the last 5 years alone, Jim and his team have assisted clients with more than 100 hotel mixed-use projects, all of which have involved at least some residential, and many have also involved significant spa, restaurant, retail, office, sports, and entertainment components — frequently integrated with energizing lifestyle elements.

Jim and his team are more than “just” great hotel lawyers. They are also hospitality consultants and business advisors. They are deal makers. They can help find the right operator or capital provider. They know who to call and how to reach them. They are a major gateway of hotel finance, facilitating the flow of capital with their legal skill, hospitality industry knowledge and ability to find the right “fit” for all parts of the capital stack. Because they are part of the very fabric of the hotel industry, they are able to help clients identify key business goals, assemble the right team, strategize the approach to optimize value and then get the deal done.

Jim is frequently quoted as an expert on hotel issues by national and industry publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Forbes, BusinessWeek, and Hotel Business. A frequent author and speaker, Jim’s books, articles and many expert panel presentations cover topics reflecting his practice, including hotel and hotel-mixed-use investment and development, negotiating, re-negotiating or terminating hotel management agreements, acquisition and sale of hospitality properties, hotel finance, complex joint venture and entity structure matters, workouts, as well as many operating and strategic issues.

Jim Butler is a Founding Partner of Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro LLP and he is Chairman of the firm’s Global Hospitality Group®. If you would like to discuss any hospitality or condo hotel matters, Jim would like to hear from you. Contact him at jbutler@jmbm.com or 310.201.3526. For his views on current industry issues, visit www.HotelLawBlog.com.

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