LAS VEGAS and LOS ANGELES | The University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) and Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro LLP (JMBM) today announced co-sponsorship of the only hotel summit designed to provide senior executives with a comprehensive program that examines both the compelling economic benefits and some of the daunting practical challenges of a specific topic confronting the hospitality industry. The annual summit will again focus on bringing together the hotel industry’s top leaders and its most experienced developers. This year’s key topic will emphasize economics, current case studies, costly mistakes, brilliant successes, financing and valuation issues, consumer trends and offer a “how-to” (or “how not to”) approach relating to GREEN HOTEL DEVELOPMENT.

Attracting internationally recognized keynotes —Daniel C. Esty, Yale University professor and co-author of Green to Gold, as well as David Gottfried, a developer for 20 years who then founded the U.S. Green Building Council, and wrote Greed to Green — the conference will cover topics that include:

• What does it mean to go GREEN? Who's doing it? Why
• The hard economics of GREEN building. Sticks and carrots.
• Case studies: From boutique to mainstream- CityCenter, Gaia, Orchard.
• Demystifying LEED. LEED in the trenches. Beyond LEED.
• How to use GREEN design, technology and materials to operate a sustainable hotel.
• Men in Black Unveil “The GREEN Hotel of Tomorrow”.
• Practical advice from industry leaders and GREEN pioneers.
• Financing green hotels.

This must-attend, carbon neutral event kicks off with a grand welcoming reception and networking event at 6 pm on Tuesday, March 11, 2008. It is co-sponsored by UNLV’s internationally recognized Harrah Hotel College and the 50-lawyer team of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group®. The Nevada Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is also supporting this event as a co-host. The Conference will be held on March 11-13, 2008, at the Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa in Las Vegas, Nevada.

For more information, to register or to participate in sponsoring the conference or being an exhibitor, go to: www.jmbm.com/thdc.

UNLV-JMBM CO-SPONSORSHIP OF THE PLATFORM.

Stuart H. Mann, Dean of UNLV’s Harrah Hotel College said, “With one of the premier hotel programs in the world, UNLV is pleased to become this annual event’s signature sponsor.” He also said that “UNLV looks forward to working closely with JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® to establish a new platform (with this event and others) that will no doubt spark discussion of important issues, while leading the implementation of cutting-edge innovations and solutions in the hospitality industry. We see this new platform as continuing to provide a regular channel of innovation and creativity.”

Dean Mann sees the UNLV-JMBM platform as a natural extension of UNLV’s mission, and opens new opportunities for its faculty and students, keeping them involved and relevant, helping connect students with practical work experience and job opportunities in one of the most exciting hotel markets in the world, and continually renewing and revitalizing innovation for the hotel industry.”

Jim Butler, hotel lawyer, author of www.HotelLawBlog.com and chairman of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group®, said “We are extremely pleased to be working with Dean Mann and his UNLV team. As a service to the hotel industry, the hotel lawyers at JMBM have been presenting annual hotel conferences for almost 18 years. We share UNLV’s focus on industry service, pragmatism and innovation. With that common vision, we look forward to UNLV’s co-sponsorship helping us take this platform to a whole new level.”

"I'm more of a pragmatic, business-oriented hotel advisor and lawyer than a tree hugger, but it's clear to me that 2007 marks the 'tipping point' of the green movement," said Butler. "If hotel developers don't start surfing on this green wave, they could drown in lost opportunity."