Articles Posted in Meet the Money®

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The 32nd edition of Meet the Money® national hotel finance and investment conference was held May 5-7 at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott. Some of the insightful presentations included observations on the current economy, insurance and investment advice tailored for hospitality, boutique hotel investment patterns, the Lodging Industry Investment Council’s Top 10, and the state of the hospitality industry in 2025.

To download these presentations, please go to www.hotellawyer.com where you will find these under the RESOURCE CENTER tab of the website, and then scroll down and select “Hotel Industry Publications.”

Navigating Uncertainty & Volatility: Daniel Lesser, Co-Founder, President, CEO of LW Hospitality Advisors examines the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the U.S. Hotel Industry in 2025.

State of the US Hotel Industry Unpacking Key Performance Drivers: Michael Stathokostopoulos, Senior Director of Hospitality Analytics of CoStar Group provides an overview of the current state of the US hotel industry, focusing on key factors that impact performance. It examines trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the sector.

LIIC Top Ten: Mike Cahill, CHA – CEO and Founder of HREC Investment Advisors presents the 2025 Lodging Industry Investment Counsel (LIIC) Top Ten which reveals the challenges and investment trends identified through an annual survey of LIIC members.

Unlocking Value: Strategic Equity Structuring to Maximize ROI: Kyle Yantz, Senior Manager of CohnReznick LLP explores strategic equity structuring techniques to maximize return on investment (ROI). It highlights key approaches to unlocking value in various market conditions.

Lodging Performance Outlook: Our Outlook of Performance and Headwinds to Consider: Luigi Major, Managing Director, Advisory of HVS gives an update on hotel performance, valuation metrics and construction costs for 2025.

Economic Update: Paul Single, Senior Economist, Senior Portfolio Manager, Managing Director of City National Rochdale gives an overview of current economy and shares CNR’s economic outlook.

About Meet the Money®

For over 30 years, Meet the Money® has created an energetic environment to forge relationships, negotiate deals, and gain an in-depth understanding of hotel investment and finance. Our national hotel conference attracts heavy hitters and offers an opportunity for productive, one-on-one networking with them.

Picture of Jim Butler

This is Jim Butler, author of www.HotelLawBlog.com and founding partner of JMBM and JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group®. We provide business and legal advice to hotel owners, developers, independent operators, and investors. This advice covers critical hotel issues such as hotel purchase, sale, development, financing, franchise, management, ADA, and IP matters. We also have compelling experience in hotel litigation, union avoidance and union negotiations, and cybersecurity & data privacy.

JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® has been involved in more than $125 billion of hotel transactions and more than 4,700 hotel properties located around the globe. Contact me at +1-310-201-3526 or jbutler@jmbm.com to discuss how we can help.

How can we help? Brochure Credentials Photo Gallery

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Today at JMBM’s Meet the Money® national hotel finance conference, The Lodging Industry Investment Council (“LIIC”) released its much-anticipated LIIC Top Ten – the 2025 update of its an annual survey of investment sentiment survey.

LIIC — The lodging industry think tank

For the past 20 years, the members of the hotel industry’s preeminent think tank, “LIIC – The Lodging Industry Investment Council,” are annually surveyed to develop a list of the major hotel investment opportunities and challenges for the coming year. This exhaustive survey results in the LIIC Top Ten, a highly regarded profile of investment sentiment and attitudes for the lodging industry for the forthcoming 12 months. Altogether, the members of LIIC represent direct acquisition and disposition control of well over $60 billion of lodging real estate.

The hospitality industry’s leading influential investors, lenders, corporate real estate executives, REITs, public hotel companies, brokers and significant lodging equity sources are represented on the Council. LIIC serves as the leading industry think tank for the lodging real estate business.

Mike Cahill, LIIC co-chairman, produced this year’s survey. Mr. Cahill is CEO and Founder of HREC – Hospitality Real Estate Counselors, a leading international hotel and casino brokerage and advisory firm (24 offices nationwide) specializing in lodging property sales, debt financing and consulting. George Davis and Olivia Brenner, Associates in HREC’s Denver office, assisted throughout the process.

LIIC Top Ten

  1. Hotel Property Investment – Cautiously optimistic, business as usual; yet clouded by uncertainty of eventual impact of Trump Administration
  2. Greatest Four Threats to Your Hotel Investment
  3. Hotel Cap Rates and Transactions Market
  4. Hotel Debt Situation Improving
  5. Investors Still Want to Purchase Hotels
  6. What Do Lodging Investors Want?
  7. Hotel Buyers Finding Suitable Product
  8. Where to Buy a hotel
  9. Impact of Trump Tariffs
  10. Hotel Guestroom Demand

You can download the full presentation here.

About Meet the Money®

For over 30 years, Meet the Money® has created an energetic environment to forge relationships, negotiate deals, and gain an in-depth understanding of hotel investment and finance. Our national hotel conference attracts heavy hitters and offers an opportunity for productive, one-on-one networking with them

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Today at Meet the Money® 2025, Ben Rafter announced that Hotel Equities and Springboard Hospitality formed a strategic merger in which Ben will serve as the new chief executive officer of the combined company, effective May 1, 2025.

“I expect that Ben’s experience both growing companies and generating hotel revenues will be a huge asset for Hotel Equities,” said David Sudeck, Co-Chair of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group. “Ben will bring Springboard’s entrepreneurial approach and independent hotel management expertise to Hotel Equities, which is known for its strength as a leading branded hotel operator. We congratulate Ben on this new role and look forward to seeing all that he will accomplish.”

Read the full Hotel Equity and Springboard press release.

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Los Angeles, CA, May 5, 2025 – Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP (JMBM) proudly announces that David Sudeck has been named as Co-Chair of the Firm’s Global Hospitality Group®, effective immediately. Jim Butler, the group’s Chair, and Guy Maisnik, its Vice Chair, will celebrate the promotion and congratulate David on the formal acknowledgement at Meet the Money® on May 5, 2025.

David brings two decades of experience in hospitality law, real estate, and business transactions to this leadership role. He has been with JMBM for 17 years and has played an integral part in the success and growth of the Global Hospitality Group®. His extensive experience includes hotel, resort, golf and spa management agreements, franchise agreements, and finance agreements (with a special focus on construction financing, C-PACE financing, and EB-5 financing). His background as a broker and developer has provided him with a unique perspective that blends technical legal excellence with practical, real-world business acumen.

“I have spent years working alongside the senior leadership team, and I deeply appreciate the opportunity to continue building on the strong foundation that Jim Butler and Guy Maisnik have established over the years,” Sudeck said.

“David has tremendous energy and is a great people connector,” Butler said. “His leadership, industry knowledge, and technical skills will ensure that we continue to provide top-tier service to our clients.”

Maisnik added, “This new position for David recognizes the contributions and leadership David has been providing for clients and the industry for many years.”

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Meet the Money® is the gateway to hotel finance and investment opportunities. It is now less than one month away. In this interview, Jim Butler speaks about why this conference is is a must-attend event for hoteliers. [CLIC] Live show.

 

Picture of Jim Butler

This is Jim Butler, author of www.HotelLawBlog.com and founding partner of JMBM and JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group®. We provide business and legal advice to hotel owners, developers, independent operators, and investors. This advice covers critical hotel issues such as hotel purchase, sale, development, financing, franchise, management, ADA, and IP matters. We also have compelling experience in hotel litigation, union avoidance and union negotiations, and cybersecurity & data privacy.

JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® has been involved in more than $125 billion of hotel transactions and more than 4,700 hotel properties located around the globe. Contact me at +1-310-201-3526 or jbutler@jmbm.com to discuss how we can help.

How can we help? Brochure Credentials Photo Gallery

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24 May 2024
See how JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® can help you.

JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group®  hosted the 31st edition of Meet the Money® national hotel conference on May 6-8, 2024. Alongside exciting networking opportunities and insightful discussion panels, the conference featured several special presentations interpreting the latest data and industry sector highlights. In the third and final part of this blog series, we highlight the special presentations given by Troy Flanagan, Ariela Kiradjian, Jackie Collins and Paul Single.

AHLA Update 2024

Troy Flanagan, Executive Vice President of External Government Affairs and Industry Relations for the American Hotel & Lodging Association, kicked off the final day of presentations by sharing AHLA’s report on the state of the industry for 2024.

Troy discussed the results from this year’s report and what it means for the year ahead for hotels. He also provided an update on key issues impacting hotels and hotel investors being considered by the government at the federal, state and local levels.

The full presentation can be downloaded here.

IMG_4030-scaled

Boutique Hotel Transaction Patterns

Ariela Kiradjian, Co-Founder, Partner & COO of the Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association, continued the day of special presentations by exploring the dynamic investment landscape of independent boutique hotels. CONTINUE READING →

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22 May 2024
See how JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® can help you.

JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group®  hosted the 31st edition of Meet the Money® national hotel conference on May 6-8, 2024. Alongside exciting networking opportunities and insightful discussion panels, the conference featured several special presentations interpreting the latest data and industry sector highlights. In Part 2 of this blog series, we highlight the special presentations given by Daniel Lesser and Michael Cahill.

U.S. Lodging Industry H1 2024

Daniel H. Lesser, Co-Founder, President, & CEO of LW Hospitality Advisors, continued the first day of presentations by examining the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the U.S. Hotel Industry in 2024.

Daniel explained that robust revenues, limited new supply, and significant capital inflows continue to fuel the U.S. hotel industry’s extraordinary performance in the post-COVID era. However, cracks may be beginning to emerge with March 2024 RevPAR declining on a year-over year basis for the first time since February 2021. Group business demand, which was a laggard to rebound, is now healthy, while corporate individual travel maintains modest positive momentum.  While leisure demand continues to thrive, the segment is challenged with many Americans traveling abroad coupled with a slow return of inbound overseas visitors particularly from Asia. During the near-term, moderate U.S. RevPAR growth is expected while operating expenses are projected to rise at a rate greater than inflation.

Fundamentals of select urban markets including Boston and New York rival pre-pandemic levels while other downtown cores including Chicago and San Francisco have runway to recovery. Finally, numerous hotels including many that are physically and/or functionally obsolete are being acquired for conversion and/or redevelopment to affordable, migrant, student, or supportive housing which represent a reduction in supply. Assets with deferred brand mandated property improvement plans (PIP) are under pressure to complete them in a costly environment. Combined with $195 billion in hotel loans maturing during the next three years, and/or rising technical defaults resulting from failing to meet debt service coverage ratios, property owners will be compelled to inject fresh capital which may require deal restructuring or an outright asset sale. During the latter half of this year, price discovery and value clarity will gain traction, transaction activity will increase, and hotels will remain a darling asset class, particularly during a sticky inflation environment.

The full presentation can be downloaded here.

CONTINUE READING →

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20 May 2024
See how JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® can help you.

JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® recently hosted the 31st edition of Meet the Money® national hotel conference. Alongside exciting networking opportunities and insightful discussion panels, the conference featured several special presentations interpreting the latest data and industry sector highlights.

Rising Above Rates: Successful Deal Strategies in a Cash Constrained Market

Jonathan Falik of JF Capital Advisors and Guy Maisnik, Vice Chair of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group, kicked things off by moderating a panel of industry experts discussing innovative approaches for hotel developers and investors to make deals happen.

The “Rising Above Rates” bootcamp at Meet the Money took a deep dive into the current interest rate, transaction, and financing environment and the challenges faced by owners, borrowers and lenders. The panel and the session addressed way to capitalize deals and make them happen in a challenging environment including the use of CPACE, debt fund financing, and ground lease structures. A spirited presentation amongst 5 experienced industry professionals surfaced a lot of useful ideas and insights into making deals happen today.

The full presentation can be downloaded here.

MGM-Panel-scaled

Lodging Performance Outlook 2024

Luigi Major, MAI, a Managing Director of HVS Americas, led Tuesday’s special presentations with an update on hotel performance, valuation metrics and construction costs for 2024.

Luigi explained that nationwide hotel RevPAR performance remains relatively steady in 2024. Hotel values decreased 16% from 2021 peak amidst higher cost of debt and lower transaction volume, and construction costs remain elevated resulting in a slowdown in new hotel supply.

The full presentation can be downloaded here. CONTINUE READING →

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9 May 2024
See how JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® can help you.

The 31st edition of Meet the Money® 2024 national hotel finance and investment conference was held May 6-8 at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott. Some of the insightful presentations included observations on the current economy, insurance and investment advice tailored for hospitality, boutique hotel investment patterns, the Lodging Industry Investment Council’s Top 10, and the state of the hospitality industry in 2024.

To download these free presentations, please go to www.hotellawyer.com, click on the RESOURCE CENTER tab of the website, and then scroll down and select “Hotel Industry Publications.”

Or you can just click here to get the following presentations from the Meet the Money® conference: CONTINUE READING →

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8 May 2024
See how JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® can help you.

Today at JMBM’s Meet the Money® national hotel finance conference, The Lodging Industry Investment Council (“LIIC”) released its much-anticipated LIIC Top Ten – the 2024 update of its an annual survey of investment sentiment survey.

LIIC — The lodging industry think tank

The members of LIIC represent the acquisition and disposition control of more than $60  billion in lodging real estate. LIIC members comprise some of the hospitality industry`s most influential investors, lenders, corporate real estate executives, REITs, public hotel companies, brokers, and advisors.

For almost 20 years, LIIC has prepared an annual survey of it members to identify their top concerns and issues affecting hotel investment. This survey results in the “LIIC Top Ten” – a highly-regarded profile of investment sentiment and attitudes for the lodging industry for the forthcoming 12 months.

This year`s survey was compiled by LIIC`s co-chairman, Michael Cahill. Mr. Cahill is president and founder of HREC – Hospitality Real Estate Counselors, a leading national hotel and casino advisory and brokerage firm specializing in lodging property sales, debt refinancing, consulting, and litigation support.

LIIC serves as the leading industry think tank servicing the hospitality business.

 

LIIC Top Ten

This year’s LIIC identified and provided insight on these ten elements affecting hotel investment. They are listed in reverse order of importance to the LIIC members. Click here to download the 2024 LIIC Top Ten full presentation.

  1. Hotel Guestroom Demand
  2. New Hotel Development
  3. Where NOT to Buy a Hotel, and Where to Buy a Hotel
  4. Hotel Buyers Struggling to Find Product
  5. What Do Lodging Investors Want
  6. Impact of Inflation
  7. Impact of Hotel Debt
  8. Hotel Cap Rates and Transactions Market
  9. Greatest Four Threats to Your Hotel Investment
  10. Hotel Property Investment

Overall, the report trended toward cautious optimism, especially for the recovery of corporate travel and lender activity.

You can download the full presentation here.

 

About Meet the Money®

For over 30 years, Meet the Money® has created an energetic environment to forge relationships, negotiate deals, and gain an in-depth understanding of hotel investment and finance. Our national hotel conference attracts heavy hitters and offers an opportunity for productive, one-on-one networking with them.

Picture of Jim Butler

This is Jim Butler, author of www.HotelLawBlog.com and founding partner of JMBM and JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group®. We provide business and legal advice to hotel owners, developers, independent operators, and investors. This advice covers critical hotel issues such as hotel purchase, sale, development, financing, franchise, management, ADA, and IP matters. We also have compelling experience in hotel litigation, union avoidance and union negotiations, and cybersecurity & data privacy.

JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® has been involved in more than $125 billion of hotel transactions and more than 4,700 hotel properties located around the globe. Contact me at +1-310-201-3526 or jbutler@jmbm.com to discuss how we can help.

How can we help? Brochure Credentials Photo Gallery

 

Contact Information
Jim Butler, Chairman
Global Hospitality Group®
Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP
(310) 201-3526 • jbutler@jmbm.com
www.HotelLawyer.com

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