Hotel Law Blog

Published on: November 6, 2006

Condo Hotel Lawyer: The “Splits” — One size does not fit all

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
6 November 2006
Condo Hotel Lawyer on customizing the “Splits” for your project. As hospitality lawyers and business advisors, my partners and I spend a lot of time with our hotel developer clients determining the appropriate “splits” for their condo hotel projects. How to split — or divide — revenues earned from renting a condo unit between the unit owner, the hotel operator, and other stakeholders, is critical to a condo hotel’s success. So let’s look at some of the considerations.

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Published on: November 2, 2006

Hospitality Lawyer — Landmark ADA case could provide relief for California hotels.

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
2 November 2006
Hotel Lawyer on ADA developments affecting hospitality. On October 26, 2006, the California state Court of Appeal ruled that disabled plaintiffs suing for damages under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act (Unruh Act), must prove intentional discrimination in order to recover the $4,000 minimum damages per offense” that makes this kind of litigation so lucrative to plaintiffs and their lawyers.

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Published on: October 31, 2006

Hotel Labor & Employment — Unite Here goes too far. Class action suit by employees for invasion of privacy provides critical limits on union organizing activities.

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
31 October 2006
Hotel Lawyer on labor and employment developments. It has now been several years since Unite Here targeted the hospitality industry with its organizing efforts. Their tactics have been extremely aggressive. At a macro level, the unions have poured resources into political campaigns across the country and are not shy about calling in favors from those they help elect. And of course, in 2006, we saw the fruits of a huge effort to time union contract expirations to hit at the same time in order to maximize leverage (see my earlier postings about the union campaign). At a micro level, the unions have also stepped up their pressure — buying 5 or 6 shares of stock and playing havoc with public companies (for example, trying to sabotage the CNL public offering), creating web sites to “educate” investors about target companies (with abusive and damaging stories about bad management, poor investment returns) and to generally embarrass and financially harm employers and their management. Fortunately, for employers, there have recently been significant wins in the ongoing struggle (such as the Oakwood Healthcare case) and one of those deserves mention today.

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Published on: October 28, 2006

Hospitality Lawyer — What does “spa” mean? Where does the word “spa” come from?

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
28 October 2006
Spas have become one of the hottest amenities for hotels and hotel mixed-use projects. JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® has worked on enough spa agreements, spa financings and spa management agreements, however, I had never stopped to think about what the word “spa” means or where the word came from. But while celebrating the 25th anniversary of founding Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro, I was with the other Founders of the Firm at the Four Seasons George V in Paris, and I learned one interesting story on the meaning and origin of the word that now describes such an important part of our industry. I thought you might like to know it too.

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Published on: October 26, 2006

Hospitality Lawyer — Mexico gets hotter as baby boomers approach retirement

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
26 October 2006
Hotel mixed-use is catching on in developing markets — particularly Mexico, as I mentioned in a recent posting about Donald Trump building the $200 million Trump Ocean Resort in Baja, Mexico. (See “Mexico is white hot“) Some recent statistics confirm that Trump is on to something. More and more Americans are buying or considering second-homes in Mexico, with important implications for the hotel industry.

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Published on: October 20, 2006

Hospitality Lawyer — Good times now, but are those speed bumps ahead for the hotel industry?

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
20 October 2006
Is it too good to be true? PricewaterhouseCoopers forecasts a 25.9 percent growth in lodging RevPAR for the three-year period ending in 2006. The forecast is based on Smith Travel Research’s reported 7.8 percent RevPAR increase in 2004 and 8.4 percent increase in 2005 combined with PricewaterhouseCoopers’ forecast of 7.7 percent RevPAR increase in 2006. This marks the largest three-year increase since 1982. But are there speed bumps ahead?

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Published on: October 20, 2006

Las Vegas hotel mixed-use development — Waldorf=Astoria Residences

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
20 October 2006
Yesterday, I said that hotel mixed-use developers should pay attention to two breaking news items. One was Barry Sternlicht’s “1” Hotel and Residences. The other is Hilton’s plans announced October 18, 2006 to add Waldorf=Astoria branded Residences to the top of the Conrad Hotel Las Vegas. Both of these announcements emphasize the importance of brands in the hotel industry and creation of two high end brands by industry power houses in two very different ways. Sternlicht is creating a fresh, new eco-friendly brand from scratch. Hilton is seeking to build its brand from the base of an internationally recognized icon.

But beyond all that, why is this significant?

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Published on: October 19, 2006

Hotel Mixed Use development gets a big boost from Barry Sternlicht’s “1” Hotel and Residences brand and Waldorf=Astoria Residences in Las Vegas

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
19 October 2006
Hotel mixed use developers should pay attention to two lead items today which I noticed in Hotel-Online and Hotel Business. Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital has announced 5 new hotel mixed-use developments — launching a new hotel brand called “1” Hotel and Residences. At the same time, Hilton announced the Waldorf=Astoria branded Residences for its big hotel mixed-use project in Las Vegas. What are these developments about and what potential significance do they have?

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Published on: October 18, 2006

Hospitality Lawyer — Hotels in China, India and Mexico are capturing the imagination and resources of the hotel industry

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
18 October 2006
At the Arizona Hotel Conference in Phoenix a few weeks ago, I was struck by how it seemed that talk of hotel development in China, India, Mexico and Europe dominated so many conversations and conference presentations. Is this the beginning of new era of hotel development outside the U.S.?

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Published on: October 12, 2006

Hospitality Law: Hotel spas — Illegal practice of medicine?

By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group®

Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
12 October 2006
Is your hotel spa practicing medicine without a license?

Mixing a spa with a hotel is not new. Spas are one of the fastest growing hotel amenities, and according to the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers study, approximately 40 percent of luxury and upper-upscale lodging projects under development in the US have spa facilities and services, compared to 27 percent of existing luxury and upper-upscale hotels that have spa facilities and services. But spa proliferation and consumer demands pose new legal problems for the owners and operators of spas and affiliated hotels or other properties.

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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.

Wei Deng

Wei Deng is General Counsel of Bosen American Capital, Inc. where in addition to his legal duties, he is responsible for sourcing, evaluating and proposing United States investment opportunities to the company. Wei was previously with JMBM, where he focused on transactional and litigation matters.

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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