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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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Meet the Money® 2014

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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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07 May 2015

Meet the Money® 2015 – Information, deals, reflection, and celebration
Conference presentations now available

JMBM’s Meet the Money® 2015, held at the Sheraton LAX in Los Angeles, wrapped up its 25th national hotel finance and investment conference this week. The hotel lawyers in JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group were fortunate to celebrate such a significant milestone (25 years!) at a time when the hotel industry is breaking all-time records – RevPar, Occupancy, Rooms Sold, Room Revenue, Transaction Value, you name it.

Hotel fundamentals are strong, interest rates rate are low, demand is strong, and hotel investors are happy! There was general consensus that the good times will continue for at least another year or two, and some think it could last even longer. It was truly a great pleasure to hear about all of the profitable and creative deals that are going on.

While everyone acknowledged that it’s a great time to be in the hotel industry, there was plenty of healthy reflection about lessons learned from the Great Recession as well as discussion about preparing for the inevitable downside of the current cycle.  Our speakers – a Who’s Who of the hotel world – represented an experienced and disciplined approach to hotel finance and investment.

You can read more about the conference in the column written by Stefani C. O’Connor in Hotel Business: With Eye to Horizon, Industry Optimism Remains at Meet the Money Conference.

Select Presentations Now Available for Free Download

We are pleased to share with you some of the presentations from the conference. To view a list of presentations, go to Hotel Industry Presentations on HotelLawyer.com.

Individual presentations include: CONTINUE READING →

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05 May 2015

The 2015 LIIC Top Ten: Hotel Investors Bask in Rare & Glorious Sunshine

Each year at Meet the Money® – the national hotel finance and investment conference, Mike Cahill announces the “LIIC Top Ten” – a profile of investment sentiment and attitudes for the hotel industry that is gathered through an annual survey of the Lodging Industry Investment Council (LIIC). LIIC is the hotel industry think tank whose members own or operate billions of dollars of hotel investments and involves all aspects of the industry. In fact, 60% of LIIC hotel owners successfully purchased a hotel in the last 12 months, and 47% currently have additional acquisitions under a purchase and sale contract.

Along with Mike Cahill of Hospitality Real Estate Advisors (HREC) and Sean Hennessey of Lodging Investment Advisors, I am pleased to be one of the co-chairs of LIIC. I am grateful to Mike Cahill for analyzing the survey results which result in the annual LIIC Top Ten.

Mike reported that the 2015 survey resulted in the most positive outlook of the hotel industry for the foreseeable future, since the LIIC surveys began!  Yes, there are concerns – the interest rate environment, the strength of the dollar, new supply among others – but for now, expectations are being met or exceeded, and LIIC members expect more of the same in the near future.

Appropriately titled, “Carpe Diem: Hotel Investors Bask in Rare & Glorious Sunshine,” you can click here to see Mike’s presentation. You will find it interesting. CONTINUE READING →

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28 April 2015

Meet the Money® 2015 Spotlight

Rich Clark, Managing Director of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Rich Clark, Managing Director of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

The Hotel Law Blog is highlighting some of our Meet the Money® 2015 sponsors as the national hotel finance and investment conference approaches. In the Q&A below,, describes how the risk management company approaches the unique needs of hospitality companies.

You can hear from Rich and 100 other speakers at Meet the Money® 2015, coming up May 4-6 in Los Angeles. The window of opportunity for hotel deals and development is wide open, and the 25th year of our conference will help you make the right choices and meet the right people to add value to your deals in 2015 and beyond. Register now at www.MeetTheMoney.com.

Jim Butler: Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from? How did you get into the insurance business and hospitality. When did you join AJ Gallagher and come to your present position? What are responsibilities at AJ Gallagher now?

Rich Clark: I am originally from Nashville, Tennessee, and started in the insurance business out of college as an underwriter with an insurance carrier. I moved to the broker side five years later to a firm in Memphis, and moved to Houston in 1985 with a national broker. Two years later, with a group of guys from New York, I opened a new brokerage firm with offices in New York, Hartford, Irvine and Houston. We sold this company to Arthur J. Gallagher in 2001, which is when I joined.

I began specializing exclusively in hospitality in 1992—three of my hospitality clients have been with me for more than 20 years. In late 2001, we launched the Real Estate and Hospitality practice for Gallagher. We later decided to create a separate hospitality practice due to the big differences in hospitality from the other asset classes within real estate. I am the National Practice Leader for Gallagher Hospitality, and a part of the newly formed Global Hospitality Practice. I remain involved in the real estate practice, and am also a Regional Director for the Gallagher Property Insurance Practice.

Jim: Tell us about some of your current or recent engagements. Who are you working with and what are you doing? How are you and your team spending your time? CONTINUE READING →

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27 April 2015

Meet the Money® 2015 Spotlight

Rob Palleschi, Global Head Full, Service Brands of Hilton Worldwide

Rob Palleschi, Global Head Full,  Service Brands of Hilton Worldwide

The Hotel Law Blog is highlighting some of our Meet the Money® 2015 sponsors as the national hotel finance and investment conference approaches. In the Q&A below, Rob Palleschi, Global Head, Full Service Brands of Hilton Worldwide, discusses how he got started in the hospitality industry, and what the global brand is expecting in 2015.

You can hear from Rob and 100 other speakers at Meet the Money® 2015, coming up May 4-6 in Los Angeles. The window of opportunity for hotel deals and development is wide open, and the 25th year of our conference will help you make the right choices and meet the right people to add value to your deals in 2015 and beyond. Register now at www.MeetTheMoney.com.

Jim Butler: Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into the hospitality business? What are responsibilities at Hilton now?

Rob Palleschi: I started working in the hotel business in high school, at the front desk and as a night auditor. Later, I went to Johnson & Wales University for Hotel/Restaurant Management…and here I am. I’ve been in the hospitality industry for over 25 years, and I currently oversee all aspects of Hilton Worldwide’s flagship brands and a portfolio of over 550 hotels through the world. I’ve also overseen the DoubleTree brand in the past, strategizing development, implementation, and enforcement of brand standards. CONTINUE READING →

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30 March 2015

Meet the Money® National Hotel Finance & Investment Conference
May 4-6, 2015 in Los Angeles


The window of opportunity is open – choosing the right deals

LOS ANGELES–Meet the Money® 2015 will mark the 25th year that hotel owners, operators, developers, consultants, investors, brands, lenders and other capital providers convene in Los Angeles to explore opportunities for hotel development and deals.

“Industry fundamentals are strong, interest rates are low, debt and equity are flowing, and overseas investors are lining up to invest in hotels,” said Jim Butler, Chairman of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group®. “The window of opportunity is wide open. The challenge now is to choose the right deals for you and your company.”

Meet the Money® 2015 will include presentations on how developers are using new financing sources, such as crowd funding and EB-5 financing, as part of the capital stack for new projects. Industry experts will share up-to-the minute information on valuation, buying, selling, repositioning, and financing hotels.

This year, Meet the Money® will offer a new Monday afternoon session—the Resort Development Workshop: Mixed Use and Shared Ownership. Hosted by Platinum Sponsor Interval International and the Global Hospitality Group®, the Resort Development Workshop will explore mixed-use and shared ownership with industry experts across a diverse mix of disciplines, focusing on the business models and opportunities for hoteliers, developers and investors. CONTINUE READING →

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12 February 2015

Succession planning for the family-owned hospitality business: protecting your family and your business

The hospitality industry has been kind to families over the centuries, providing a good living for many, and significant wealth for others.

Whether your family owns a hotel management company or hotels — involved with one or two small properties or a large chain of hotels — the responsibilities of your family-owned business are as profound as the advantages.

Ensuring that the business continues to operate and provide for the family and others whose livelihood depends on it after one’s retirement or death is important. It is one of the critical responsibilities of the founders and senior management of the family-owned hotel business. Will family members want to keep running the business, and be prepared to do so? Will they want to sell the business? Keep the business and hire outside management?

Providing for continuity and certainty

Business detests uncertainty. It has a bad effect on all concerned, including business partners, employees, customers, vendors and other stakeholders. Succession planning helps eliminate unnecessary disruptions and uncertainties.

Recently, I was interviewed  by Brendan Manley, a contributor to STR’s Hotel News Now, about this issue.  In his article, Brendan made the point that “The timeline for a change in succession also is critical, because hotels are a 24/7 concern that require constant care and attention. Operators might hope for a quick, clean change in ownership in the event of an owner’s death, while grieving family members might desire a gradual change. Striking a balance between those two attitudes is yet another delicate tightrope one must walk.”

Addressing these kinds of difficult issues in advance, in a succession plan, is difficult to do. But many closely-held business owners embrace the responsibility and get help from experts who can walk them through various scenarios and outcomes.

CONTINUE READING →

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03 February, 2015
Click here for the latest articles on ADA Compliance & Defense.

New Resource: The ADA Compliance and Defense Guide

Download your free copy now!

The Global Hospitality Group® of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP (JMBM) is pleased to announce the latest publication in our We Wrote the Book™ series : The ADA Compliance and Defense Guide, a practical handbook for owners and operators of hotels, restaurants, golf courses, spas and sports facilities, banks and other financial institutions, retail stores, shopping centers, theaters, sports arenas, and other places of “public accommodation,” as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Co-authored by JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® Chairman, Jim Butler, and JMBM’s ADA Compliance and Defense Group Chairman, Martin H. “Marty” Orlick, the Guide reflects the complexities and ever-expanding requirements of the ADA. For a limited time, it is available for free download at www.HotelLawyer.com as described below.

About The ADA Compliance and Defense Guide, Understanding, preventing and defending claims and enforcement actions under the ADA

It will not surprise U.S. hotel owners and operators to learn that that business owners and operators in the U.S. have been subjected to more than 20,000 ADA civil lawsuits and DOJ enforcement actions since the ADA was enacted in 1991 – and most of those lawsuits were filed in the last 5 years. JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® provides practical ADA compliance and defense advice for owners and operators. This book is an example and was written specifically to help owners and operators understand the challenges they face, encourage preventative compliance, and to prepare to defend ADA lawsuits.

Written in plain language, the Guide includes information on requirements for accessible websites, service animals, pool lifts, auxiliary aids, and the importance of developing company-wide ADA policies and procedures. Through numerous case studies, the Guide also addresses Department of Justice investigations and private plaintiff litigation. CONTINUE READING →

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28 January 2015

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

This article was first published by EB5Investors.com on January 28, 2015.

 

Polis Bill Reform EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program

With the regional center program set to expire in September 2015, the EB-5 industry has been given new life in the form of the American Entrepreneurship and Investment Act of 2015. The Act was introduced today by Congressmen Jared Polis (CO-02) and Mark Amodei (NV-02), and is a follow-up to last year’s bill of the same name. The bill would make the regional center program permanent and allow for continued job creation and a more reliable stream of foreign capital.

“Our nation has always been at its strongest when we attracted the best and brightest minds to help build and invest in our economy,” said Rep. Polis. “The EB-5 visa program is an important tool that brings innovation and investment to the United States, and this bipartisan bill will improve and make permanent the program so that foreign investment and talent will continue to flow into our businesses, and strengthen our economy.”

“This bi-partisan, pro-investment, pro-growth and pro-jobs bill is one piece of the legislative solution to reform legal immigration,” said Rep. Amodei. “As stated in Article I, Section 8, Clause 4 of the Constitution, ‘The Congress shall have power to… establish a uniform rule of naturalization.’ That is a responsibility we owe the country to take seriously.”

The legislation makes several much-needed improvements, most notably making the regional center program permanent. It also creates new designations for Targeted Employment Areas, and leaves those designations up to the state’s discretion. CONTINUE READING →

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11 January 2015

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

 

JMBM is a Platinum Sponsor of the EB-5 Investors Conference in Las Vegas on January 17, 2015 and will moderate and talk about EB-5 for hotel development

JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® is pleased to be a Platinum sponsor of the upcoming EB-5 Investors Conference at the Wynn Encore Resort in Las Vegas on January 17, 2015. This is one of the premier conferences on this subject in the entire United States.

Partner, Jonathan Bloch and I will moderate and participate in a panel on Hotel Development – Jonathan as a speaker, and myself as a moderator. In addition, JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® Vice Chairman, Guy Maisnik and Partner, David Sudeck will be attending to meet with potential clients and friend to help explore this opportunity.

Our panel on EB-5 for Hotel Development will be from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm on Saturday, January 17, 2015. We hope you will join us for our session and reach out to us if you would like to get together to explore the EB-5 financing opportunity. We are able to help qualified premier developers source low-cost EB-5 financing for their project.

Why EB-5 and this Conference?

EB-5 financing is being used widely by some of the largest owners of hotels and restaurants, and we will be discussing how developers are taking advantage of this capital. EB-5 financing has provided developers with low-cost, non-recourse, five to six year financing for construction and development of new projects.

Whether you are new to EB-5 financing or have used it in the past, this one-day conference has something for everyone. CONTINUE READING →

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01 January 2015

Click here for the latest articles on ADA Compliance & Defense.

ADA Issues on Websites: Department of Justice Poised to Adopt Accessible Website Standards

Since at least 2000, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has been advocating standardized website development and content to promote access to blind and low vision internet users.  In 2013, the DOJ withdrew its proposed Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM) which would have established standardized internet protocols by adopting the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.

In 2006, we reported on the landmark case National Federation of the Blind v. Target Corporation, regarding “cyber accessibility” (a term we coined). Target was the first case in which any court ruled that the ADA applied to a retail website. With limited exception, the few courts that had addressed the subject uniformly held that the ADA only applied to brick and mortar architectural barriers, not to internet retail channels (Access Now, Inc. v. Southwest Airlines.)

Target argued that it complied with the ADA because its retail stores were fully compliant and that its website channel was not covered by the ADA standards.  The Court disagreed.  Plaintiffs’ class certification motion was granted.  Target paid a hefty sum and implemented WCAG standards to make its website accessible to blind and low vision customers.  The Target decision was followed with Rendon v. Valleycrest Productions Ltd.  Since Target, the DOJ and other agencies have imposed accessibility requirements for web content and services in Consent Decrees and Settlement Agreements with such industry leaders as Amazon.com, Netflix, H&R Block, Hilton International and others.

Website standards are imminent

The DOJ’s issuance of website standards is not a matter of “if”, but “when.” The regulations will “establish requirements for making goods, services, facilities, privileges, accommodations, or advantages” offered by state and local government agencies and businesses via the Internet, “specifically at sites on the World Wide Web,” accessible to persons with disabilities.

On November 25, 2014, the DOJ Civil Rights Division issued its Advance Notice of Proposed Rule Making entitled “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability: Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities and Public Accommodations.”  These revised regulations, when adopted, will implement web site development standards which the DOJ has been working on for nearly a decade. 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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