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22 February 2010

Under the Bush Administration, the Department of Justice issued proposed modifications to the ADA regulations that would increase the obligations of certain commercial property owners and operators under the ADA Accessibility Guidelines and include time share developments within the definition of “public accommodations.” These amendments, if passed in their current proposed form, may impose significant burden on an industry that cannot realistically comply with certain operating requirements meant to ensure accessibility within the transient hospitality world. This at a time when time share is already hurting.

After President Obama was elected, the proposed modifications were placed on hold. We expect that before the modifications to the ADA are passed, the Department of Justice will issue a Notice of Proposed Rule Making and open another comment period. This may occur soon, so you should get and stay informed about the proposed modifications now before you need to comply with new burdensome regulations.

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24 November 2008

Even the ARDA Conference in Washington, DC last week reflected the gloomy financial crisis when our timeshare guru, David Sudeck, was there. The usually ebullient crowds were more subdued than normal. In fact, one gentleman in the elevator commented that he considered wearing a noose rather than a tie around his neck at the conference. Ironically, the demand for all flavors of timeshare, fractional, vacation ownership and clubs seems remarkably resilient given the current situation, but the wholesale absence of financing does present some serious problems.

If you missed David’s last report (See Hotel and Timeshare Lawyer insights on special implications of “the downturn” for Vacation Ownership), this is the critical follow-up on how vacation ownership developers can protect themselves.

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10 November 2008

Hospitality Lawyer — What does the Financial Crisis mean for vacation ownership projects?
As you may have read in a previous article or press release, David Sudeck recently joined JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group as a hotel lawyer to head up our timeshare and vacation ownership practice. He is a real veteran on the team for these issues. (See “Hotel & Timeshare Lawyer Joins JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® team“).

David has started writing and posting his own series of articles on vacation ownership. You can access these timeshare and vacation resources under the “Timeshare” TOPIC — one of the tabs at the top — at www.HotelLawBlog.com. You can also just go to https://hotellaw.jmbm.com/timeshare/.

Vacation ownership products (including timeshares, fractional interests, and private residence clubs) have an increasingly important role in the development and repositioning of hotels and resorts, but as the Financial Crisis has gone global, there are some special implications for the industry which David writes about in this timely article.

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28 October 2008

Hospitality Lawyer with the fundamentals of vacation ownership. Vacation ownership, timeshare, fractional and clubs have increasingly important roles in hotel and resort development, and repositioning, but as the Panic of 2008 has gone global, we may also find ourselves addressing these projects in workouts, receiverships and bankruptcies. It’s time for all of us to dust off the cobwebs and be sure we understand this critical component of our industry.

The hotel lawyers at JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® are fortunate to have David Sudeck heading up the timeshare and vacation resort practice for us. He is a real veteran on the team for these issues. (See “Hotel & Timeshare Lawyer Joins JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® team“).

So given these interesting times, I asked David if he would put together a series of articles on a spectrum of timeshare topics and he readily agreed. Here is the first in David’s “Vacation Ownership 101” series. You will also be able to access timeshare and vacation resources under the “Timeshare” TOPIC — one of the tabs at the top — at www.HotelLawBlog.com. You can also just go to https://hotellaw.jmbm.com/timeshare/.

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