While it may have been the least productive year for Congress in history, at least in terms of passing laws – fewer than 60 of which made it through the House and Senate and were signed by President Barack Obama, state lawmakers across the US were busy getting more than 40,000 bills passed including ones that tackle everything from drones to minimum wage to food stamp benefits.
Hotel investors suddenly seem to be buying or building more golf courses. With the right expectations and circumstances, golf courses can make sense -- particularly as an amenity for hotels, residential development and other real estate. But as more hospitality clients look at golf courses, it seems appropriate to consider the drivers of this renewed interest, and some of the similarities golf courses share with other hospitality investments such as hotels. And finally, we want to look at some of the big factors that make golf courses very different from other hospitality investments, so you can avoid some unnecessary pitfalls.
These are getting to be pretty exciting times to be in the hotel business. Hotel industry fundamentals have continued to improve since the Great Recession and none of the experts see a particular event or reason that fundamentals will stall. Although occupancy growth rate is slowing in some sectors, ADR growth generally continues to drive greater profits to the bottom line.
Hotels serve large numbers of people of all socio-economic groups, races, genders and interests and we are often at the center of the action. As I mentioned two weeks ago, our changing times means embracing open discussion, preparing contingency plans and working with to properly handle those changing needs in changing times.
In many hotel management companies, September and October mark the beginning of the budgeting process for the next year. But before you start your budgeting, you might be well served to review and update your Strategic Plan.
Hotel Lawyer on technology challenges to your proprietary and sensitive corporate information. The continuing advances of technology continue to present a double edged sword. On the one edge are tremendous cost savings, efficiencies and power to manage information. On the other edge are daunting issues of information security and privacy.
One of the first decisions in the hotel development or acquisition process can have a lasting impact on the success of the project: whether the property should be branded, and whether that brand should manage the property. The hotel's brand will be a defining part of the profitability, image and value of the hotel, and there may be no other decision which has a greater effect on the future of the property. Similarly, the management of a hotel can enhance the value of the brand, protect the owner, or detract from the value of the hotel -- by as much as a 50% swing.
As we reported in our 27 March 2013 blog, a New York Appellate Division court made it possible for the owners of the Eden Roc Renaissance hotel in Miami Beach to oust Marriott as its operator -- despite the long-term hotel management contract between the two, which would have lasted another 43 years. (See "Marriott loses appeal in Eden Roc case: Why all long-term hotel management agreements are now terminable.")
Under a New York Appellate Division court decision issued March 26, 2013, virtually all hotel management agreements are now terminable at will by owners. And this result will obtain even against the Marriott-style management agreements that seek to avoid an "agency" characterization of the owner-operator relationship.
Is an LOI legally binding? The general rule: look to the language of the LOI to determine if the parties intend to be bound to all or some portions of the LOI. Most litigation regarding the enforceability of LOIs arises because the parties did not clearly reflect their intention concerning enforceability. This is particularly so if the LOI contains the material provisions of a contemplated transaction and there is no unequivocal expression of the intent of the parties to the contrary.
For the parents of young children and hotel-resort owners, 2012 was a good year, not a great year, but a good one for hotel waterpark resorts. Twenty-one (21) waterparks opened in the USA during 2012 compared to 27 in 2011, 20 in 2010 and the record high of 40 in 2007. While money is just beginning to loosen up for families and hotel developers, new hotel construction is still rather flat, but resort acquisitions and expansions are rising.
The ULI program held on February 20, 2013 in JMBM's Los Angeles offices was a great success. The program title says it all -- "Back to the Future: The Renaissance of Hotel-Retail Mixed-Use." As one might expect for a ULI event on a timely topic like this, there was a capacity crowd, sharing of the latest "technology" in adding hotels to shopping centers, and a veteran team of presenters.
This article, based on findings from an analysis of over 500 management contracts collected by HVS as well as a review of publications on the topic, provides an overview of typical terms for a hotel management contract and examines historical trends observed in the industry. The article is not meant to provide trend information on what is happening in any particular hotel management contracts currently being negotiated but analyzes aggregated data for contracts written during the past three decates in the United States.
ADA litigation claims have skyrocketed. Since January 2005, 16,530 ADA lawsuits -- lawsuits alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") -- have been filed in federal courts across the country. Even more have been filed in state courts. In this article, two senior members of our Global Hospitality Group® talk about a new law passed in California with the goal of reducing abusive ADA litigation.
A recent court decision points to a critical difference between the way revenue generated by golf courses and revenue generated by hotels is viewed in a bankruptcy scenario. My partner, Ben Young, reports how one lender found out that the cash flow generated from the green fees of a bankrupt golf course was not part of the lender's collateral. Veteran workout specialists will be reminded of the old "rents versus accounts" issue on hotel revenues that was finally resolved by an amendment to the Bankruptcy Code.
Hotel ADA Defense & Compliance Lawyer with some tips on what you should do now.January 31, 2013 is fast approaching and once again our phones are ringing off the hook and the emails are streaming in. Our hospitality clients want to know the latest being taken by the Department of Justice ("DOJ") on the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for pool lifts at pools and spas at hotels, resorts, country clubs, golf and tennis facilities and other places of "public accommodation."
Hotel Lawyer on the spike in reflagging hotels. It's often good news for us when the business section of a major newspaper explains what is going on in the hotel sector. (And nice, too, when the paper includes a quote by yours truly.) The topic? How and why hotel owners reflag properties. The reason for the story: the Great Recession has changed just about everything.
My partner Robert Braun advises hotel owners in a wide range of operational issues, including information management. Because of the ubiquitous use of credit cards by hotel guests during a stay, as well as the growing demand for WiFi availability, hotels have been increasingly targeted by identity thieves. In his article below, Bob explains how hotels' liability for this new type of guest security has grown and what hotels can do to protect their guests' identities.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 certainly sparked fierce debate about government regulation, consumer choice, innovation and entrepreneurship. The Durbin Amendment, a last-minute addition to the Dodd-Frank Act, drastically lowers swipe fees - the fee charged to merchants every time a customer pays with plastic - on debit cards issued by big banks, cutting into the banks' revenue while, presumably, lowering costs for merchants and therefore consumers. The reduction in fees was significant: the Amendment reduced fees to 24 cents from a previous average of 43 cents, according to a Federal Reserve Board report.
There is nothing more important to the value and financial success of your hotel than selecting the right operator, and getting a management agreement with reasonable terms. At a recent meeting in Los Angeles, my partner and Hotel Lawyer Robert E. Braun of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® moderated a panel of hotel industry leaders on some of the key issues owners should consider in selecting a new hotel operator.