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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.

Published on:

20 March 2012

Hotel Lawyer: Are you thinking about negotiating a new hotel management agreement? Here are 10 things to consider about making your process smoother and more successful.

It seems like hotel management agreements are on everyone’s mind these days. Development is coming back. Many owners of existing property are repositioning their hotel properties. And old management agreements continue to expire or occasionally are terminated.

In any event, we have been getting a lot of calls lately to help owners, developers, investors (and some lenders who have become owners) negotiate new hotel management agreements. One of the first questions usually raised is how the process of negotiating a management agreement works, with all the different parties involved, usually in different parts of the country (or the world).

So my partner Bob Braun and I decided to share the process we usually use with clients to streamline the process. Let us know if you have any thoughts or insights on this.

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Published on:

16 March 2012

ADA Defense Lawyer: What does the ADA pool lift compliance extension of May 15 mean for you?

First, let’s be clear that all compliance dates have NOT been extended!

Extended deadline for pool lifts is May 15

Responding to concerns expressed by the hotel, pool and spa manufacturing industries, and those of a number of U.S. Congressmen, on March 15, the White House plunged into the swimming pool access controversy by issuing a 60-day an extension to implement the 2010 ADA Standards for pool lifts. As a result of this action, the new deadline for installing pool lifts is May 21, 2012, but that too may change.

March 15 deadline remains for all other provisions of new ADA Standards

The March 15, 2012 compliance date remains in effect for all other provisions of the 2010 Standards. The Department of Justice will soon publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking giving the public 15 days to express their views. We expect the hotel and pool and spa industries will take a much more active role in the public comment process than they did when the 2010 Standards were initially open for comment.

Events have been moving very fast when the official government position changes 180 degrees in less than 24 hours. And that his what has happened. So my ADA expert partner, Marty Orlick, and I thought it might be helpful to explain what is going on, and what it likely means to you.

Here it is . . .

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Published on:

15 March 2012

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

ADA Defense Lawyer with latest update on pool lift compliance date!

Yesterday, March 14, the Department of Justice declared that it was taking a hard line on the March 15 ADA pool lift compliance date refused any extension of the compliance deadline.

Today, in a significant turnabout, Attorney General Eric Holder signed a final rule extending the compliance deadline on ADA pool lift for 60 days until May 15, 2012.

Official statement from DOJ

Here is the official statement from the Department of Justice ADA website (www.ada.gov):

On Thursday, March 15, 2012, Attorney General Eric Holder signed a final rule extending the date for compliance with sections 242 and 1009 of the 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design as it relates to the provision of accessible entry and exit to existing swimming pools, wading pools, and spas for a period of 60 days after the publication of the rule in the Federal Register. On that same day, the Attorney General also signed a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking(NPRM) seeking public comment on whether a longer period of time would be appropriate to allow pool owners and operators to meet their compliance obligations. Specifically, the NPRM proposes a 180-day extension of the deadline. Comments on the NPRM will be accepted for 15 days after publication in the Federal Register.

Immediate 60-day Extension of Compliance Date for Existing Pools

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Published on:

13 March 2012

Hotel investment through buying hotel notes As the economy and hotel fundamentals continue to improve, hotel note purchase opportunities will be one of the most attractive hotel investments for savvy investors.

My partner and Vice Chair of our Global Hospitality Group®, Guy Maisnik, has been working a lot on note purchases lately, and I asked him to share some insights with us, which he graciously consented to do with his article today.

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Published on:

06 March 2012

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

As you should know by now if you are following developments on the Americans with Disabilities Act (or ADA), the most sweeping changes to the ADA in 20 years become effective on March 15, 2012.

It seems that almost every day there is some new development or interpretation of the new rules. For an up-to-date summary of some key provisions, please see articles listed at the end of this posting.

A number of us in the hotel industry have been visiting the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division to get clarification on the recent DOJ guidance on “fixed” pool lifts.

Congressmen intervene with DOJ on pool lift issues

Last week, two prominent Congressmen, Mike Mulvaney and Todd Rokita, jumped into the fray with a letter to DOJ (see below) acknowledging its important efforts to provide swimming pool access to the disabled community. Here are a few highlights from the letter and the full text is below.

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Published on:

25 February 2012

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

Hotel ADA defense and compliance lawyer

It is always a good feeling when someone you respect pays you a nice compliment. That’s what happened yesterday when GlobeSt.com gave JMBM’s ADA Compliance and Defense Lawyers quite an acknowledgement. Miriam Lamey covers the hotel sector for GlobeSt.com.

Last week Miriam called me for an interview to go over some of the subject Marty Orlick and I have been writing about recently to help the hotel industry understand the meaning and importance of new ADA regulations which will go into effect March 15, 2012. I put her in touch with Marty and here is the interview that GlobeSt.com ran on February 24, 2012.
Hotels Handle Pool Lift Regulations
from GlobeST.com February 24, 2012
by
Miriam Lamey

SAN FRANCISCO-The Department of Justice gave March 15 as the deadline for all hotel properties to install pool lifts for disabled guests who could not otherwise use the facilities independently. According to the DOJ, these lifts must be fixed, well-maintained, and exclusive to each pool.

Recently, Martin H. Orlilck, an Americans with Disabilities defense lawyer, sat down with GlobeSt.com’s Miriam Lamey to discuss the impending deadline and how the hotel industry has and will respond to the requirements.

A question and answer session follows:

CONTINUE READING →

Published on:

24 February 2012

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

You have certainly heard about the new rules going into effect on March 15 under the Americans with Disabilities Act or “ADA.” Here is some straight talk about WHY you should act now, and WHAT you should do.

5 REASONS YOU SHOULD ACT NOW!

  1. March 15, 2012 is the effective date for the most sweeping changes to the ADA in 20 years.
  2. These changes directly affect every hotel owner and operator in the United States.
  3. Experts expect that a tidal wave of private lawsuits and DOJ enforcement actions will start on March 16, 2012, and that it will dwarf the 12,000 lawsuits filed over the past five or six years under the original ADA.
  4. Owners and operators are each jointly and severally liable for violations of the ADA, and they will likely both be sued. Most ADA claims are not covered by insurance, but most management agreements will require owners to pay or indemnify operators for such claims.
  5. It is much cheaper to prevent lawsuits than to fight them. You can pay a little now to avoid the problem, or you can pay a lot more later to deal with it.

Why act now? It is the law. It is the right thing to do. It is much more cost-effective to prevent lawsuits that to fight them.

If you wait and get sued or investigated by the DOJ, in addition to the cost of making the property fully compliant, you may get hit with fines, plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees and costs. Some states, like California, also can award damages. And the DOJ can fine hotels up to $55,000 for the first ADA offense and $110,000 for each subsequent offense.

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Published on:

22 February 2012

Hotel Lawyer with “Potential Indicators of Terrorist Activities Related to Hotels and Motels.”

Hoteliers, I have 3 questions for you:

  1. Do you know the red flags of suspicious activity that may indicate a terrorist is staying at your hotel?
  2. Do you know what to do when you see these red flags?
  3. Do you know what the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) say about these matters?

Recently, the FBI and the BJA set up a joint regional intelligence center, a hotline, and published a Release with some tips specifically for hotels and motels. Here are the highlights from the Release, as well as a link to download the full text.

CONTINUE READING →

Published on:

8 February 2012

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

Hotel ADA defense and compliance lawyer

As everyone scrambles to meet the March 15, 2012 deadline for complying with the new ADA Standards, the mandatory pool lift requirement is getting a lot of attention. Here is the latest from my partner, Marty Orlick, head of our ADA defense and compliance team.

What the DOJ says about portable pool lifts
and the new ADA Standards

by
Martin H. Orlick, Esq. | ADA Compliance and Defense Lawyer

A hotel client called this morning to tell me that they were about to place an order for a large number of portable pool lifts to comply with the 2010 ADA Standards, and asked whether they should take the plunge and buy them.

Without a doubt, the most frequently asked question by our hospitality clients these days is: “What do we need to do to comply with the March 15, 2012 mandatory ADA pool lift requirements?” The second most frequently asked question is: “Our pool lift vendor assures us that its portable pool lift meets all ADA requirements and is “certified” as ADA compliant? Can we rely on that representation?” If you are confused about what the new law requires, you have plenty of company.

The new ADA Standards effective March 15, 2012

The 2010 ADA Standards for pool access have significantly changed the requirements for municipal and private pools by requiring, for the first time, that they be equipped with independently useable pool lifts during all operating hours. Since the DOJ announced its intention to require lifts in nearly all pools, the hotel industry and others have opposed or sought clarification of this provision.

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Published on:

7 February 2012

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

ADA defense and compliance lawyer with some tips for owners and operators of GOLF COURSES. Golf courses are one type of “public accommodation” (along with hotels, restaurants, retail stores and the like) specifically targeted by the new ADA Standards that become effective March 15, 2012.

The new ADA Standards, discussed below, represent a a big change in the legal standard applicable to golf facilities. If you have not analyzed this yet, you may be very surprised. If you have not conducted an accessibility survey of your course and implemented a compliance plan, time is running out.

We predict that “advocacy groups” and the Department of Justice will be very aggressive in enforcing the new ADA Standards and looking to make a few examples for all to notice. You don’t want to be an example!

So, here are some interesting details of how the new ADA standards will apply to golf courses, from ADA defense and compliance Lawyer, Marty Orlick, my partner who heads our ADA practice. Marty and his team are not “Johnny Come Latelys” to this area. They have more than 20 years’ experience in counseling clients on ADA compliance and have defended about 500 ADA lawsuits. So they really understand the practical nitty-gritty of what is important and what is not.

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