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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:

3 October 2008

Hospitality Lawyer with insights from Warren Buffett on the Financial Crisis that has created an “economic Pearl Harbor.” After the Senate passed the Bailout Bill, he talked about what it takes to win the war of Financial Recovery. Buffett’s common-sense insights on the $700 billion financial system rescue package are great. Let’s hope our Government listens to the compelling logic of how to make this bailout work . . . and how we will all make out better.

I hope the U.S. Treasury and Congress are listening . . .

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Published on:

01 October 2008

Hospitality Lawyers at JMBM don’t create economic cycles or events like the Panic of 2008, but we often help our clients and friends find the fortune-making deals or put a tourniquet on life threatening hemorrhaging for owners, developers, investors and lenders.

These times remind this hotel lawyer of some time-tested wisdom. Hetty Green, one of the world’s most successful investors who lived in the 19th century said, “Next to my children I love a good panic more than anything else.” And why would those words be relevant today? That is the penultimate question today at www.HotelLawBlog.com.

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Published on:

28 September 2008

The Lodging Conference 2008 at the Arizona Biltmore. What impact will the “Panic of 2008” have on the hotel industry? Here’s the take by one Hospitality Lawyer.

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Published on:

28 September 2008

Hotel Lawyer: The Bailout Bill looks certain to pass. Hospitality Lawyer muses what it means to the world’s economy and the hospitality industry. . .

As of 7 pm, Sunday, September 28, 2008, it appears that all contingents have approved the largest financial bailout in U.S. history — a historic $7 billion which is more than the entire budget for 2009. Here is an early take on this situation from www.HotelLawBlog.com.

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Published on:

28 September 2008

The Panic of 2008 and the $700 billion “bailout” — now called TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) — are events of historic proportion. As one Hospitality Lawyer, here’s my take.

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Published on:

25 September 2008

Hospitality Lawyer in Phoenix. The Lodging Conference 2008. Where are we now? Where are we going?

Let’s face it. Last week was essentially a financial panic in the United States — particularly in New York City. The biggest danger to pedestrians was investment bankers jumping out of windows or defaulting on their Rolls Royce payments. New York City’s financial crisis has rocked the world and the hospitality industry along with it. Here is the latest . . .

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Published on:

Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
20 September 2008
Hospitality Lawyer: Big changes proposed to the ADA look to be very expensive and cause lots of litigation.

The Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA was enacted by Congress almost 18 years ago in 1990 and is the “law of the land.” Few would argue with the basic purpose of the ADA, to make “places of public accommodation” accessible to those with disabilities. But now, the Department of Justice (or DOJ), which administers this law, is proposing new ADA Rules that have caught many in the hospitality industry napping. It’s a good thing the smart people at the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) are wide awake and have proposed the DOJ make revisions that address the realities of the industry. But what the final rules will look like is unknown.

Our hotel lawyers have great experience in defending ADA claims, and we have covered quite a bit of important ground about the ADA here on www.HotelLawBlog.com (see https://hotellaw.jmbm.com/ada/), with some important tips on avoiding costly liabilities from experienced veterans who have defended more than 200 ADA cases. Once again, it’s time to put the ADA on your watchlist of issues that can affect you, your guests and your business. When the new rules go into affect you will want to be ready to draw up your game plan. Because you won’t believe what they want to do with ADA.

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Published on:

14 September 2008


Hospitality Lawyer with an index of articles on Green Hotel Development and more

The hotel lawyers at JMBM receive many calls from hotel owners and hotel developers looking to build LEED-certified hotels and to operate their hotels more sustainably. We increasingly see developers selecting their entire development and management team based on “green” hotel development experience. It is critical for the architects and consultants, but why shouldn’t you have a team where everyone understands what the focus is? Why should you be paying for on-the-job training instead of getting helpful input from each contributing member?

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Published on:

12 September 2008

Green Hotel Lawyer: “The Compelling Hard Case for Green Hotel Development ” is published by Cornell Hospitality Quarterly.

JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® has a long history of supporting green hotel development. We believe that sustainability is not only the responsible, but also the financially smartest approach to hotel development and renovation.

We are very proud to announce that the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly has just published our most recent contribution on this subject, entitled: The Compelling Hard Case for Green Hotel Development.” Here is the download link to a FREE copy of the article.

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Published on:

11 September 2008

Hospitality Lawyer in Italy. Lessons from History: When will we ever learn?

Lana and I are enjoying a brief Italian vacation in the Umbria region of Italy. Today we took a tour of the ancient city-state of Gubbio. I think there are some lessons here that are worth remembering. Disclaimer: This post isn’t about hotel law, so you hard core readers can go ahead and click on whatever is listed next on your RSS feed. The rest of you might be interested in why I am thinking about salt, window and chimney taxes.

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