Hotel Law Blog

Published on: June 5, 2011

Hotel Lawyer in New York with pre-NYU industry forecast: Sunny with occasional clouds and NO storms on the horizon

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

05 June 2011

Flying en route from LA to New York for the NYU Hospitality Industry Investment Conference yesterday, I exchanged some emails with Michael Murray of the Mortgage Bankers Association. (I am a big fan of wi-fi on aircraft — no more downtime on those long flights!) He wanted my take on what’s ahead for the hotel industry and asked me the kind of questions that bankers ask — the ones that help you gauge risk and reward.

I told Mike that my view, whether cruising at 35,000 feet or with feet planted firmly on the ground, is clear: sunny skies ahead, with occasional clouds (and light showers), but no storms on the horizon as far as we can see.

Hotel industry fundamentals are improving, there is little new supply and there is virtually unlimited equity on the sidelines. Hotel values increased 10% to 15% in 2010 and prices are trending upward.

Here is how I see it now. I will let you know if anything I hear at NYU in the next couple days changes my view …

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Published on: June 1, 2011

Hotel Lawyer with the Executive Roundtable results.

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

01 June 2011

Debt is returning, equity is out looking, and we’ve passed the bottom of the trough. Why now is the time to purchase a hotel.

We promised to let you know when Hotel Business® published its coverage of its 2011 Executive Roundtable–Capital Ideas: Financing Solutions For Opportunistic Dealmakers that took place on May 2, 2011 in Los Angeles prior to Meet the Money®. The current issue of Hotel Business® just hit my mail box and the articles covering the Executive Roundtable and Meet the Money® provide some thoughtful reading.

If you do not know why now is the time to invest in a hotel, you will want to read these articles!

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Published on: May 23, 2011

ADA Defense & Compliance Lawyer: How to quickly lose business. (no ADA-compliant reservation system)

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

23 May 2011

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

ADA Defense & Compliance Lawyer: ADA reservation system requirements

As we have reported in the Hotel Law Blog, the US Department of Justice has revised the regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for the first time in nearly 20 years. While the revisions to the ADA Regulations include broad changes in many areas, today’s blog focuses on the changes to Reservation Policies.

JMBM hotel and timeshare lawyer, David Sudeck informs us that the Department of Justice has received so many complaints concerning failed reservations, that the DOJ felt it necessary to include the changes to the law. Most of the complaints involve individuals who have reserved an accessible hotel room only to find upon check-in that the room they reserved was either not available or not accessible.

The changes to the reservation policies will go into effect on March 15, 2012 to allow properties time to comply with the new requirements. To understand the requirements, read on.

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Published on: May 19, 2011

Hotel Lawyer: Latest perspective on the hotel industry from Smith Travel

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

19 May 2011

Hotel Lawyer with fresh perspectives on the hotel industry from Smith Travel. When the hotel lawyers of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® hosted their 21st annual hotel conference recently, Jan Freitag of Smith Travel Research gave a very interesting update and some fresh perspectives on the hotel industry, including:

A different perspective on the impact of gas prices on lodging demand (compare PKF’s views
What’s happening with transient and group occupancy and ADR
Where RevPAR recovery is strongest. And weakest.
How luxury is leading the industry out of the recession
What lies ahead – forecast

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Published on: May 17, 2011

Hospitality Lawyers with PKF and Mark Woodworth’s Lodging Overview

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

17 May 2011

Hospitality Lawyers on the State of the Hotel Industry.

Mark Woodworth of PKF is one of my favorite industry experts when it comes to getting meaningful information and helpful forecasts. He lived up the highest expectations at JMBM’s recent Meet the Money® conference.

Here is his slide presentation where Mark addressed a lot of critical questions we all want the answers for, including:

Where are we in the hotel cycle?
What’s happening with corporate profits, job growth and lodging demand?
What’s the effect of the housing problem?
What is the forecast? (Good and getting better)
What’s the impact of oil prices on lodging demand?

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Published on: May 13, 2011

Hotel Lawyers’ updates on capital and debt markets for hotels, transaction sales data and financings

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

16 May 2011

Hotel Lawyers’ updates on capital and debt markets for hotels, transaction sales data and financings

David Loeb from RW Baird always provides such interesting hotel data. In his excellent presentation at Meet the Money®, he gave us the latest industry data showing:

How REITs have dominated the transaction market (more than 80% of the transactions year-to-date in 2011)
What’s happening in the debt markets now with yields going below 9%
How hotel stock investments have fared compared to other investments
What is happening with IPOs and IPO pipeline

And when you are studying his presentation slides, don’t stop at what looks like the end, because he has great stuff in his “Appendix: Transaction Tables.” As David said, think of this this as a “free bonus” with detailed information on:

Selected hotel sales data
Loan details on originations and refinancings
Equity raises

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Published on: May 13, 2011

Hotel Lawyer updates on hotel cap rates, values and transactions

By JMBM Global Hospitality Group®

13 May 2011

Hotel Lawyer with updates on hotel cap rates, values and transactions from JMBM’s Meet the Money® 2011

Hotel cap rates, hotel values and hotel transaction data are some of the most sought after information as transactions gain momentum in 2011. Fortunately, Suzanne Mellen of HVS is a real expert on these issues and she gave a wonderful presentation on all this at Meet the Money® last week. Here it is for those who missed it.

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Published on: May 10, 2011

Hotel Lawyer with nuggets from JMBM’s Meet the Money® 2011

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

10 May 2011

Hotel Lawyer with nuggets from JMBM’s Meet the Money® 2011

For all of our industry friends — whether or not you were able to attend Meet the Money® 2011 in Los Angeles last week — we will be posting on the Hotel Law Blog some of the invaluable information delivered by industry thought leaders at the conference. In the coming days and weeks, look for PowerPoint presentations, summaries of panel discussions and, of course, commentary. But today, we will whet your appetite with some sound bites — nuggets of insight, analysis and humor — from some of the best minds in the industry.

Who is financing?
When do we hit the peak?
Are market values running ahead of fundamentals?
How do you price deals today?

These are some of the questions that continued to surface through various panel discussions and hallway conversations during the conference. For some pertinent nuggets, read on.

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Published on: May 4, 2011

JMBM’s Meet the Money® in the Wall Street Journal today!

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

Hotel Lawyers at Meet the Money®. It was nice to wake up this morning to find JMBM’s hotel finance conference in a Wall Street Journal blog article by Kris Hudson, along with quotes from conference speakers Marty Collins of Gathouse Capital, Jan Freitag of Smith Travel Research, Robert Alter of Sunstone Hotel Investors, and Greg Mount of Richfield Hospitality.

We will be sharing some of the great information presented at the conference over the coming days, but if you missed this article, please take a look!

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Published on: May 4, 2011

Hotel industry think tank’s top 10 challenges for 2011

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

5 May 2011

Hotel Lawyer from Meet the Money® – Hotel industry think tank’s top 10 challenges for 2011
I am privileged to be one of the co-chairs of the Lodging Industry Investment Council (LIIC) along with Mike Cahill and Sean Hennessey. LIIC is the hotel industry “think tank” whose membership owns or operates many billions of hotel investments, and involves all aspects of the industry.

LIIC surveys its membership each year and first releases the results — The LIIC Top 10 — at JMBM’s annual Meet the Money® conference. Mike Cahill, president and founder of HREC – Hospitality Real Estate Counselors (www.hrec.com) compiled the survey and delivered its results to the 350 participants at the conference.

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Jim Butler

Jim Butler is recognized as one of the top hotel lawyers in the world. He devotes 100% of his practice to hospitality, representing hotel owners, developers and lenders. Jim leads JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® — a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion.
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Robert Braun

Robert Braun is a partner in JMBM's Corporate Department and a senior member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion. Bob represents owners in both transactional and operational issues. He advises clients with respect to business formation, financing, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital financing, joint ventures and strategic partnerships. He has represented hotel owners in the negotiation of several hundred management agreements, as well as spa management and franchise agreements. Bob also advises hotel owners regarding telecommunications, software, internet, e-commerce, data processing and outsourcing agreements. To read Bob's articles, go to www.HotelLawBlog.com and select "Management Agreements." For more information, please contact Bob Braun at 310.785.5331 or rbraun@jmbm.com.

Marta Fernandez

Marta Fernandez is a partner in JMBM's Employment and Labor Department and a senior member of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion. As a management labor lawyer with more than 20 years of experience, Marta specializes in representing hospitality industry clients in all aspects of labor and employment including labor-management relations such as union prevention, collective bargaining for single as well as multi-employer bargaining units, neutrality agreements and defense of unfair labor practice charges before the NLRB. She defends employers in administrative and litigation claims, such as employee claims of sexual harassment and discrimination and counsels clients in preventative strategies such as executive training, arbitration enforcement, and policies and procedures. To read Marta's articles, go to www.HotelLawBlog.com and select "Labor & Employment." For more information, please contact Marta Fernandez at 310.201.3534 or at mfernandez@jmbm.com.

Guy Maisnik

Guy Maisnik is a partner in JMBM's Real Estate Department and a senior member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion. Guy's deep and broad transactional practice includes complex real estate finance and venture capital transactions, including project finance, commercial finance, leveraged leasing and real estate acquisitions. He assists clients with development, leasing and disposition, loan portfolio acquisitions, loan and debt restructure, workouts and real estate exchanges. Go to www.HotelLawBlog.com for current information in these areas. For more information, please contact Guy Maisnik at 310.201.3588 or mgm@jmbm.com.

David Sudeck

David Sudeck is a Partner in JMBM's Real Estate Department and a senior member of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion. David has significant experience in the vacation ownership arena, focusing on the formation and registration of condominiums, timeshares and fractional interest regimes. He negotiates hotel, spa and restaurant management agreements, and assists client in the development, acquisition, sale and leasing of hotels, golf courses and restaurants. For David's take on current issues in the timeshare arena, go to www.HotelLawBlog.com and click on the topic, "Timeshare." For more information, please contact David Sudeck at 310.201.3518 or dsudeck @jmbm.com.

Robert Kaplan

Robert Kaplan is a partner in JMBM's Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Restructurings Group and a senior member of the Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion. Bob represents lenders, special servicers, hard money lenders, community banks, national banking associations, distressed debt investors, and equity investors, positioning them for the best possible outcome by acting expeditiously to preserve value and increase cash flow. His industry experience and his knowledge of the current capital markets -- where distressed assets often include complex deal structures and securitized loans -- allows him to bring creative and effective strategies to the table. When aggressive litigation is the best strategy, he is a vigorous and effective advocate for his clients. Bob represented the securitized lender in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed by the Clift Hotel in San Francisco, and in the subsequent negotiations and successful sale of the loan to a third party. The lender -- acting by and through GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corporation as special servicer -- was the holder of a $60 million loan secured by a Deed of Trust on the Clift Hotel. He has also served as counsel to CapMark, J.E. Robert Company, Inc., AMRESCO Management Inc. and Midland Loan Servicer in their capacity as special servicers on troubled hotel loans in CMBS pools. For more information, contact Robert Kaplan at 415.984.9673 or rkaplan@jmbm.com.

Martin Orlick

Martin Orlick is a partner in JMBM's Real Estate Department and a senior member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion. Marty specializes in representing hospitality industry clients in Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance and defense. He has represented more than 500 businesses in ADA issues, many of them hotels and restaurants, as well as hotel mixed-use properties. Marty is a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) and a frequent speaker on the ADA and other topics. To read Marty's articles, go to www.HotelLawBlog.comand select "ADA." For more information, please contact Marty Orlick at 415.984.9667 or morlick@jmbm.com.

Scott Brink

Scott Brink is a senior member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® and a partner in JMBM's Labor & Employment Law Department. Scott is a management labor lawyer with more than two decades of experience representing employers in all aspects of labor relations and employment law including union prevention, collective bargaining negotiations, defense of unfair labor practice charges before the NLRB, wrongful discharge litigation, individual and class action employment discrimination and wage-and-hour claims, sexual-harassment litigation, arbitrations, personnel policies, California wage and hour law, and employee discipline and discharge. An experienced trial attorney, Scott has litigated a number of high-profile and complex cases involving a wide range of labor and employment law matters. For more information, contact Scott Brink at RSB@jmbm.com or 310.785.5365.

Travis Gemoets

Travis Gemoets is an experienced trial attorney and represents management in all facets of labor and employment law, including wage/hour class actions, claims of discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, trade secrets and unfair competition, union/management relations and workplace violence. He is a member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group(r), in which capacity he negotiates union contracts and resolves labor disputes throughout the country, defends class action claims, develops strategies for the mass onboarding and separation of employees, and recommends proactive changes to employers' policies and practices in order to minimize potential liability risks. Reach him at 310.785.5387 or tgemoets@jmbm.com.

Mark S. Adams

Mark S. Adams is an experienced trial lawyer and a member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® and Chinese Investment Group™. He focuses his practice on business litigation including contracts, corporate and partnership disputes, and hospitality disputes and litigation. On behalf of hotel and resort owners, Mark has successfully litigated the termination of long-term, no-cut, hotel management agreements, franchise agreements, fiduciary duty issues, investor-owner disputes, TOT assessments, and more. He has wide-ranging trial experience in a variety of commercial disputes, including complex multi-party litigation and class actions. He has tried numerous cases in state courts, federal courts, and in domestic and international arbitrations, and is a frequent author and speaker on trial practice. Mark's trial wins have been covered by Forbes, Reuters, and other publications. He has obtained two of California's annual 50 largest jury verdicts in the same year. Mark has taken or defended nearly 1,000 depositions throughout North America, Europe and the Middle East. He has been quoted as an expert on noncompete agreements in the Wall Street Journal. For more information, contact Mark at 949. 623.7230 or markadams@jmbm.com.

Bennett Young

Bennett Young is a partner in JMBM's Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Restructurings Group and a senior member of the Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion. His clients include lenders, financial institutions, secured and unsecured creditors, distressed investment funds, businesses, receivers, special servicers and creditors' committees. Ben represented the owner of a partially completed multi-billion dollar resort property in the restructuring of its finances and has represented lenders to hotels and casinos. For more information, contact Ben Young at 415.984.9626 or byoung@jmbm.com

Sheri Bonstelle

Sheri Bonstelle is a partner in JMBM's Government, Land Use, Environment and Energy Department, and a member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group®. She represents owners and developers in land use, zoning, environmental, litigation and construction matters. She manages all aspects of the entitlement process, including representing clients before local and state agencies, commissions and councils. Sheri also represents clients in a variety of land use and real estate litigation matters in state and federal courts, including cases arising under CEQA and other environmental laws. Her hotel experience includes handling the adaptive reuse of an historic office building as a luxury boutique hotel. For more information, please contact Sheri Bonstelle at 310.712.6847 or SBonstelle@jmbm.com.

Kevin McDonnell

Kevin McDonnell is a partner in JMBM's Government, Land Use, Environment and Energy Department, and a member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group®. Kevin represents developers and owners of hotels in a broad range of land use and zoning issues including entitlements, code enforcement, easements and parking requirements, as well as related Parcel Map and Tract Map subdivision issues. His hospitality experience includes hotels, condo-hotels and mixed-use projects. A registered Civil Engineer and Structural Engineer in California, and a former building official for the City of Los Angeles, Kevin brings unique experience and insight in Zoning and Building Code applications and Code Enforcement issues. For more information, please contact Kevin McDonnell at 310.201.3590 or kkm@jmbm.com.

Jamie Ogden

Jamie Ogden is a tax lawyer at Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP. He advises individuals and businesses on a range of tax planning, tax controversy and estate planning matters. Jamie’s experience includes all tax aspects with respect to the hospitality industry, including acquisitions and dispositions (including Section 1031 exchanges), financing and management agreements. He also serves as lead tax counsel on M&A transactions, financing, internal corporate restructurings and deferred compensation matters. Jamie also works frequently with litigators on the tax aspects of litigation, judgments and settlements. Jamie has extensive experience with foreign compliance matters, including each variation of the IRS amnesty programs. In addition to his experience in private practice, Jamie also brings several years of service from both state and federal government. For more information, contact Jamie at JOgden@jmbm.com or 310.201.3510.

Jay Thompson

Jay Thompson has extensive experience representing private companies, business owners, family offices and investors in mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital transactions and private securities offerings. Jay serves as general counsel to many of his clients, their management, and board of directors, helping to shape and execute their business strategies, facilitate growth and liquidity, as well as to advise them on day-to-day legal and other strategic issues. He is known for his practical approach to business issues. Contact Jay at JThompson@jmbm.com or 949.623.7258

Marianne Martin

Marianne Martin has nearly fifteen years of experience advising clients on a variety of commercial, financing, bankruptcy, restructuring and M&A matters, with a particular niche dealing with distressed and/or turnaround situations. Her clients frequently include private equity and hedge funds, independent sponsors, family offices, public and private corporations, financial institutions and banks, healthcare-related companies, municipalities and venture capital funds. She has represented clients in various capacities, including as borrowers/debtors, lenders, acquirers, and agents/trustees in negotiating and documenting complex commercial transactions, out-of-court restructuring transactions and advising on purchasing considerations in secondary market debt transactions. Contact Marianne at MMartin@jmbm.com or 310.201.3531

Trevor Countryman

Trevor Countryman is an associate in the firm's Real Estate Department. He advises clients in all aspects of real estate transactions including property acquisitions and dispositions, financing, leasing, development and construction. Trevor's clients range from large funds to individual developers and opportunistic investors, engaged in deals involving office, retail, multi-family, single-family, mixed-use and hotel properties. Contact Trevor Countryman at 310.201.3546 or TCountryman@jmbm.com.

Vanessa Han

Vanessa Han is an associate in JMBM's Corporate group. Vanessa can be reached at VHan@jmbm.com or 310.785.5383

Vince Farhat

Vince Farhat is Chair of JMBM's White Collar Defense and Investigations practice. Vince has extensive jury trial experience and focuses his practice on representing companies and individuals in criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions by government enforcement agencies, as well as complex federal litigation. He also advises companies in connection with complex and sensitive internal investigations. Prior to joining JMBM, Vince served as an assistant United States attorney in the Major Frauds Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. Contact Vince Farhat at 310.785.5382 or VFarhat@jmbm.com.

Sarah G. Hartman

Sarah G. Hartman is a partner in JMBM's Litigation Group and a member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion. Sarah is an experienced litigator who advises and represents clients through all aspects of litigation, from inception through trial and appeal. She advises and represents clients in the hospitality industry, including the termination of hotel management agreements and franchise agreements. Sarah also advises and represents clients on women's health technology issues, intellectual property matters, and complex commercial disputes, including breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, breach of contract, unfair competition, products liability, employment litigation, class action defense, false advertising and other complex financial disputes. Contact Sarah Hartman at 949.623.7243 or SGHartman@jmbm.com.

Michael H. Strub, Jr.

Michael H. Strub, Jr. is a partner in JMBM's Litigation Group and a member of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® -- a team of seasoned professionals who have helped clients around the world with more than 4,700 hospitality properties worth more than $125 billion. He is a highly skilled trial and appellate attorney who has handled high-stakes, complex commercial and business cases for 30 years including disputes arising out of hotel construction, lending, and bankruptcy. In addition, he has represented plaintiffs and defendants in business and commercial disputes in a variety of areas. Contact Michael H. Strub, Jr. at 949.623.7233 or MStrub@jmbm.com.

Ask the Hotel Lawyer™ is a quarterly column that I write for JMBM's Global Hospitality Advisor®. If you have a question you would like to submit to Ask the Hotel Lawyer™ please use the comments box below. While your question may not be of sufficient general interest for the column, I will try to respond to you individually if you leave your contact information below.
Jim Butler.

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