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1. The ADA Compliance and Defense Guide — free download

2. Hotel Lawyer on HMAs: “The shrinking terms of hotel management agreements”

3. Hotel Financing 2015: JMBM’s “preferred” EB-5 construction financing program for top developers and projects

4. The “new breed” of condominium hotels — Key to financing new hotel development? Selling condo hotels as “securities” under new SEC Rule 506(c) . .

5. Los Angeles is the new magnet for real estate investment

6. FAQs on “service animal” requirements of the ADA. What every hotelier needs to know. Why Uber was sued over service animals.

7. Why this may be the time to buy or sell a hotel management company

8. Hotel development & EB-5 financing: Why you don’t want to form your own regional center

9. Hotel Liability for Guest Information — What you need to know and how to avoid liability.

10. Hotel Franchise Lawyer: 8 things to negotiate in your next franchise agreement

11. Hotel Lawyer: The 5 questions every owner should ask before selecting a hotel brand

12. Hotel Franchise Lawyer: Hotel Franchise Agreements and the 5 biggest mistakes a hotel owner can make

13. Hotel Lawyer with insights on "How to get a great hotel operator"

14. The importance of Comfort Letters in financing franchised hotels

15. Hotel Lawyer: Something everyone buying or building a golf course should know . . .

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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.

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01 August 2017
Click here for the latest articles on EB-5 Financing.

This article is an updated version of the one that was originally published on HotelLawBlog.com on 05 December 2014.

 
JMBM’s EB-5 construction financing program terms
for top developers
by
Jim Butler, Hotel & EB-5 Finance Lawyer
EB-5 financing comes in many colors and shapes

JMBM believes that for most developers, EB-5 financing is best structured as mezzanine debt or preferred equity, to optimize the total amount of financing and reduce the cost of the capital stack. Normally, senior construction debt (secured by a first priority lien) will be significantly cheaper than EB-5 money, but senior lenders (particularly if the subject project is a hotel) rarely lend more than 50% to 55% of the total cost of construction. Most of our clients like to use this cheap senior debt and then add some low-cost EB-5 mezzanine debt on top of it to get total loan-to-cost ratios up to 80% or more.

We also find that the structure outlined above is popular with the most experienced and reliable regional centers in the business (many of whom we have worked with). JMBM has closed more than $1.5 billion of EB-5 financing and has developed an expertise in structuring the EB-5 financing to address our client’s needs and goals. The highlights of the current market terms for this financing are described below.

JMBM is sourcing low-cost mezzanine capital for new construction through EB-5 financing for its top developer-clients.

To qualify for this program, the borrower must be an experienced developer with a superb track record, a superior reputation and a great project. If you do not meet those threshold requirements, then you don’t need to read any further, because this program likely is not suitable for you.

If you might benefit from mezzanine financing with an all-in cost to you of approximately 7% to 8% per annum, then you may want to consider JMBM’s “preferred” EB-5 financing program, which is summarized below. CONTINUE READING →

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01 August 2017
Click here for the latest articles on EB-5 Financing.

This article is an updated version of the one that was originally published approximately three years ago on HotelLawBlog.com on 14 August 2014.
FAQs: Essentials of EB-5
construction financing for developers
by
Jim Butler, Hotel & EB-5 Finance Lawyer
Below are some of the most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and answers regarding EB-5 funding for developers (click the link for answer, or scroll down)

1What is EB-5?
2Why is there so much interest in EB-5 financing?
3Is EB-5 funding available for new construction?
4Can I use EB-5 funding to buy an existing project?
5Is there any limitation on the kind of project funded with EB-5?
6How much does EB-5 money cost?
7How do I know if EB-5 will work for me and my project?
8What is a regional center and do I need one?
9Why is getting the “right” regional center so critical?
10Should I form my own regional center?
11What is a TEA?
12How much money can I raise?
13What are the 6 biggest mistakes developers make with EB-5?
14What does JMBM do to help developers with EB-5 financing?

FAQs (with answers)

1.               What is EB-5?
EB-5 is a provision in the United States immigration laws. It is the fifth “Employment Based” immigration provision providing expedited visa processing (hence “EB-5”). The program is a win-win-win arrangement, giving wealthy immigrants the opportunity to earn a “fast-track” to US citizenship if they make a minimum investment of $500,000, and create a minimum of at least 10 new jobs in the United States. In return, communities get the benefit of economic stimulation created by this investment and the new jobs. And developers get a valuable source of financing for new projects that is otherwise more difficult to obtain and more expensive from other sources.

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2.               Why is there so much interest in EB-5 financing?

In the last 5 years, EB-5 financing has become extremely popular in development circles for financing projects in the United States, and it is being widely used by mainstream, institutional players including government entities such as port authorities, major hotel brands like Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton, and some of the largest owners of hotels and restaurants. EB-5 financing has provided low-cost, non-recourse, 5 to 7 year term financing for the development and construction of new projects and offers a number of advantages to developers. For the past few years, the demand for EB-5 funding has exceeded the 10,000 annual visas available to raise such capital from immigrant investors and/or the capacity of the fund raising channels (mostly regional centers and marketing agents).

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3.               Is EB-5 funding available for new construction?

Generally, YES. CONTINUE READING →

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29 July 2017
Click here for the latest articles on EB-5 Financing.

This article is an updated version of the one that was originally published on HotelLawBlog.com on 08 May 2017.
More than $1.5 billion of
EB-5 construction financing closed for JMBM clients
by
Jim Butler, Hotel & EB-5 Finance Lawyer
EB-5 is a proven means of financing for development projects.

EB-5 financing is an important and viable source of construction financing for hotels, hotel enhanced mixed-use, and other development projects. Eight years ago, when JMBM started helping hotel developers with EB-5 financing, many worried about whether this is a legitimate and reliable financing source.

Now, after billions of dollars of development have been funded with EB-5, this type of financing is regarded as mainstream. It is used by many institutional players, including government entities such as port authorities, major hotel brands like Marriott and Hilton, and some of America’s most successful and respected companies, such as Great Wolf Resorts, the Related Companies and Silverstein Properties.

As an active source of EB-5 funding for select developers, JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® team has been busy too. We caught up with Jim Butler and David Sudeck for an update on recent developments in this area as summarized in the Q & A below.

Q: How much EB-5 financing has JMBM provided to its clients?

By mid-2017, the JMBM Team has closed more than $1.5 billion in EB-5 financing for our clients’ development projects, and we sourced more than half of that amount.

Over the last 8 years, we have worked on more than 100 EB-5 projects, primarily representing developers in securing and closing their EB-5 financing projects all over the country; this includes high profile locations in California, Florida, New York, and Texas, but also in more bread-and-butter locations including Georgia, Nebraska and Maryland. CONTINUE READING →

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25 July 2017
Click here for the latest articles on EB-5 Financing. 

The article below was updated in July 2017 based upon an earlier version which appeared on HotelLawBlog.com.

The EB-5 immigrant investor visa program has provided billions of dollars of affordable construction financing for a wide variety of projects ranging from high tech and alternate energy to traditional types of commercial real estate.

Over the last decade, EB-5 investors have overwhelmingly chosen real estate projects, particularly those with hotel, multifamily, senior living, and mixed-use components. While the enabling legislation for the program does not limit the type of project financed, it does require that at least 10 new jobs be created in the United States for each investor seeking a visa.

This article discusses why hotels are consistently among the investments most favored for EB-5 financing, and why they are likely to remain so for some time to come.
Are hotels still the darling of EB-5 financing?
by
Jim Butler, Hotel & EB-5 Finance Lawyer
As EB-5 financing has become an important part of new development and construction financing over the past 5 to 10 years, EB-5 investors and EB-5 lenders have shown a strong preference for hotel projects. Here are some of the reasons that hotels continue to be the “darling” of EB-5 financing: CONTINUE READING →

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20 July 2017
Click here for the latest articles on EB-5 Financing. 

The article below is updated as of July 2017. It first appeared on HotelLawBlog.com on 8 May 2017.

 

EB-5 generates billions of dollars of affordable construction financing for developments located in the United States that create new jobs for US citizens. JMBM’s EB-5 financing group has closed more than $1.5 billion of EB-5 financing for our clients’ development projects, and we sourced more than half of that amount.

Although there are many exciting success stories, we see developers frequently blundering into a small number of easily avoided mistakes, which can be very costly. So here is our short list of the mistakes and tips to avoid them.

 
Tips to avoid the 6 most common
mistakes developers make with EB-5
by
Jim Butler, Hotel & EB-5 Finance Lawyer
There are a number of mistakes developers often make with EB-5 financing. Here are a few tips to avoid 6 of the most common mistakes: CONTINUE READING →

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19 July 2017

Click here for the latest articles on Data Technology, Privacy & Security.

Hotels rely on third-party vendors to help run their properties efficiently, and often must give them access to sensitive guest data. This leaves hotels vulnerable to cyber attacks; they’re only as secure as their vendors are, and may find themselves directly liable for a data breach.  My partner Bob Braun, senior member of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® and co-chair of JMBM’s Cybersecurity and Privacy Group, discusses recent hotel cybersecurity breaches and how hotel owners can protect themselves.
Hotel data breaches
It’s not you, it’s your “friends”
by
Robert E. Braun
July was another notable month for hotel data breaches – on a single day, several well-known hotel brands and managers, including Four Seasons, Trump Hotels, Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos and Loews Hotels all announced that customer data may have been compromised as a result of a security failure. Each of the incidents is related to Sabre Hospitality Solutions’ credit card data breach in its SynXis hotel-reservations system, which Sabre first announced in a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 17. Based on Sabre’s investigation, Sabre announced that the breach was contained to “a limited subset of hotel reservations,” but the incident did allow an unauthorized party to access cardholder names, payment card numbers, card expiration dates, card security codes for some, and, in some cases, guest name, email, phone number and address.

Moreover, the duration of the breach was long quite long. Sabre’s investigation determined that the unauthorized party first obtained access to payment card and other reservation information on August 10, 2016, and the last access to payment card information was on March 9, 2017. The hackers had potential access for seven months.

CONTINUE READING →

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15 May 2017

Meet the Money®2017 wrapped up last week at the Hyatt Regency LAX, and looks to be one of our most successful years yet! More than 350 hotel industry leaders gathered to hear from 130+ speakers who gave their expert perspectives on the current hospitality market, the national and global economy, and where trends might take us as we move towards 2018.

The conference will return May 7-9, 2018–Watch www.MeetTheMoney.com for program and registration information.

In the meantime, you can download all the presentations the conference completed last week from the RESOURCE CENTER at www.Hotel.Lawyer.com, or individual presentations as listed below:

 2017 LIIC Top Ten. Mike Cahill, CEO and Founder of Hospitality Real Estate Counselors (HREC) rounds up LIIC’s annual member survey results. What markets should you avoid? Where are we in the hotel real estate cycle? Challenges and trends are identified in the LIIC Top Ten for the current year.

Hotels Values & Cap Rates. Suzanne Mellen, Senior Managing Director of HVS, provides valuable data on historical hotel sales from 2006-2017 (total dollar volume and price per key), hotel transaction volume (year-over-year and by quarter), most active markets for the past 3 years, hottest urban markets, most notable sales, and what is happening to hotel cap rates. CONTINUE READING →

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10 May 2017

Hotel Real Estate: Forecasting Clear Skies with Some Clouds and Slightly Cooling Temperatures

For well over a decade, 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 $40 billion of lodging real estate.

Members are highly active and have the pulse of the market, with 45% of LIIC hotel investors having successfully purchased a hotel in the last 12 months and an additional 16% having made offers but not been the winner.  Moreover, 76% plan to sell a hotel over the next 24 months.

The hospitality industry’s most influential investors, lenders, corporate real estate executives, REIT’s, 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 business (www.liic.org).

Mike Cahill, LIIC co-chairman, produced this year’s survey (www.mikecahill.com).  Mr. Cahill is CEO and Founder of HREC – Hospitality Real Estate Counselors, a leading international hotel and casino brokerage and advisory firm (16 offices nationwide) specializing in lodging property sales, debt financing, consulting, appraisals and litigation support (www.hrec.com).  Nate Shartar and Alexander Cammarata, Associates in HREC’s Denver office, assisted throughout the process.

2017 Top Ten LIIC Survey Results

  1. Hotel Real Estate: Forecasting Clear Skies with Some Clouds and Slightly Cooling Temperatures: Overall, the 2017 LIIC Survey is more positive than 2016 and starkly different than the peak year survey in 2015.  Responses reveal a calmness, compared with wide spread nervousness in April 2016.  Chinese investment is expected (36%) to slow slightly and Brexit’s impact on US hotels is considered slight.  Private Equity followed by Listed REITs are predicted to dominate the purchase of Upscale to Luxury hotels; while, Regional Owner/Operators are projected to dominate the purchase of Economy to Upper Midscale hotels.
  2. Movement in the Hotel Real Estate Cycle?: Most investors (68%) believe we are still in the extra innings of the current cycle which began in 2009; however, an astute, highly intelligent minority (32%) believe we have begun a new cycle.  Projections for the US economy are positive, with 60% forecasting GDP growth averaging greater than 2% over the next 24 months.
  3. Asset Pricing Bid/Ask Settles, Values Flat to Maybe Increasing: Over the next 12 months, 54% project that lodging real estate values will be flat in comparison to 2016.  However, a sizable group (36%) forecast a slight increase in values (up to 5%).  Favorite investment target, Upper Upscale lodging properties.
  4. 2017’s Greatest Threats to Hotel Investment?: The top three threats on the horizon:
    • New Lodging Supply: 90% of LIIC members cited new hotel supply as the current and dominant top investment concern.  Hypocritically, 81% are building new lodging assets.
    • Increasing Interest Rates: With interest rates increasing gradually up to 100bps over the next 24 months, sellers need to understand the impact on asset pricing for hotels they are looking to sell.
    • Government Mandated Minimum Wage Increases: Investors (28%; down from last year) are threatened by government mandated minimum wage increases and the corresponding impact on hotel operating costs (74% anticipate a gradual negative impact over the next five years).
  5. Hotel Transaction Market Continues Slight Cooling: 52% of responders forecast the total dollar volume of U.S. hotel transactions in calendar 2017 will be down relative to year-end 2016 and 22% believe volume will be flat.  Similarly, 46% believe the number of assets sold to be down; while, 32% anticipate the number of assets sold to be flat.
  6. Hotel Debt Available, Yet Less Favorable: Hotel investors are “debt leery” causing 56% to seek refinancing of existing debt over the coming year even though 52% believe the optimum refinance window closed in the last six months.  Owners have more concern with interest rate increases on senior debt than lender’s available leverage percentages.
  7. Lodging Development Marches Along: Investor attitude stays positive on the concept of building new lodging properties.  As to developing hotels, 66% of LIIC responds “yes, if you are selective about product and markets”.  Respondents are putting their money behind their votes, with 81% of relevant LIIC members having new hotels actively under development.
  8. Want to Buy a Hotel?  Quantity and Quality:  Quantity:  42% of investors believe that a “below average quantity” of hotels are available for purchase closely followed by 44% at “average quantity.”  Quality (desirability to purchase):  52% believe the quality is average and 28% suggest negatively “slightly worse than 2016”.
  9. Markets NOT to Invest in?:  LIIC members were asked which of the top 25 markets they “would not consider buying a hotel” in: Houston, TX (64%), Nashville, TN (32%), Detroit, MI (28%), New York, NY (28%), St. Louis, MO-IL (28%)Sleeper – where to buy?  New Orleans! Not one vote against recorded.
  10. Marriott and Starwood Merger?  If you own a Starwood branded hotel, 36% surprisingly believe the value of Starwood lodging investments have increased specifically due to the merger.  On the other hand, the primary concern (22%) stressing hotel owners is decreasing negotiating leverage with Mega Marriott going forward.

CONTINUE READING →

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05 May 2017

Click here for the latest articles on EB-5 Financing.

EB-5 extended through September 30

Just after noon on Friday, May 5, 2017, President Donald Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017. The new law approves $1.1 trillion in Federal appropriations through September 30, 2017.

One of the provisions of the bill extends the EB-5 Regional Center program without change through the same date.

Although the Consolidated Appropriations Act did not change any provisions of the EB-5 program, we expect further Congressional and regulatory efforts in the very near future.

As we said yesterday,

Industry leaders view this extension of the program as the necessary threshold to achieve a long-term legislative solution to the issues that have been raised about the EB-5 program before any regulatory changes are implemented and before the next sunset date of September 30, 2017.

We expect all stakeholders in the EB-5 business to be pushing very hard toward this end.

CONTINUE READING →

Published on:

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04 May 2017

Click here for the latest articles on EB-5 Financing. 

We are getting a lot of calls from our developer clients and friends asking about the status of the EB-5 Regional Center authorization that was about to sunset on May 5, 2017, along with appropriations for the Federal Government.

A “clean extension” for EB-5

Early on Monday morning, May 1, 2017, the House Appropriations Committee approved a $1.1 trillion budget to fund the government through September 30, 2017. That proposed bill includes a “clean extension “(i.e. no amendments) to the EB-5 Regional Center program through the same period.

On May 3, the House passed the spending bill, and on May 4, the Senate gave its approval. The bill now goes to President Trump who is expected to sign the new budget into law.

If expectations are met, the government shut down will be avoided and the EB-5 Regional Center Program will continue without interruption. CONTINUE READING →

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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