General Management Opinion Articles

February 4, 2015

Can lawyers destroy TripAdvisor?

Nota bene: After opening the month by discussing the imaginary situation where SEO is no longer a significant factor in web search as well as alluding to the potential drawbacks that negative reviews on third-party sites like TripAdvisor in another article, it seems appropriate to end the month by talking about another hypothetical situation. Again, it may be true or it may be false, but what's really important is that it gets you thinking!

By Larry Mogelonsky, Partner, Hotel Mogel Consulting Limited

United States

Opinion Article

September 18, 2014

FAQs on Service Animal Requirements of the ADA. What Every Hotelier Needs to Know. Why Uber was Sued

The recent Uber lawsuit | On September 9, 2014, Uber Technologies was sued in Federal Court in San Francisco for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California's Unruh Act. The suit arose from the claim that UberX drivers refused to allow blind riders to bring their guide dogs. For a copy of the complaint, click here to see Natl Federation of the Blind v. Uber Technologies. This is just the latest in a long history of complaints or enforcement actions involving the legal requirements concerning "service animals" under the ADA and corresponding state laws such as California's Unruh Act.

By Jim Butler, Partner & Co-Chair Hospitality Practice, Blank Rome LLP, Blank Rome

United States

Opinion Article

September 11, 2014

Calculating Damage Awards in Hotel Management Agreement Terminations | By: Jan A. deRoos Ph.D. and Scott Berman

When a hotel management agreement is terminated without the consent of the manager, the law clearly allows the manager to recover damages (from the owner) as a result of the termination. In most cases, the owners and managers resolve their issues without litigation. For the substantial number that cannot agree and thus must be adjudicated, the courts have supported solid estimates of forgone fees for determining damage awards, based on careful, defensible calculations of the hotel's performance during the prospective contractual period.

By Jan deRoos, Associate Professor and HVS Professor of Hotel Finance and Real Estate, CHR

United States

Opinion Article

September 3, 2014

Hotel Management Companies and Equity Contributions: Benefits and Risks

Hotel financing takes different forms based on the capital requirements of the developer and the availability of alternative financing sources. These factors vary with the economic climate. Typically, hotel developers attempt to finance new hotel construction projects with a combination of debt and equity. Within these two general categories of capital, various sources may be required to fund the project. This article investigates the benefits and risks of seeking equity participation from hotel management companies.

By Hans Detlefsen, Managing Director of HVS Global Hospitality Services, HVS

United States

Opinion Article

August 28, 2014

Selecting A Hotel Management Company: A Decision Worth Millions

After accounting for differences in branding, location, property age and condition, market size, and property type, do different management companies still produce significantly different results? This article shows that the answer is: YES.

By Hans Detlefsen, Managing Director of HVS Global Hospitality Services, HVS

United States

Opinion Article

August 17, 2014

Securities broker-dealer registration requirements and hiring U.S. and Non-U.S. brokers

How EB-5 Regional Centers and Sponsors Can Evaluate Broker-Dealer, Investment Company and Investment Adviser Registration Requirements under U.S. Securities Laws

By Catherine DeBono Holmes and Victor Shum, Esq.

Opinion Article

June 25, 2014

Hotel Lawyer looking at the EB-5 program

Over the past 5 years, JMBM's team has helped clients with more than 40 EB-5 projects all over the U.S. The program is more popular than ever and the standards continue to rise for sponsors who want to advantage of this funding technique.

By Jim Butler, Partner & Co-Chair Hospitality Practice, Blank Rome LLP, Blank Rome

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Tambourine

Ad Guide

The next-gen metrics that move hotel P&L

Hotel tech has changed what's possible – and measurable. RevPAR and ADR aren't enough; discover the metrics that really matter.

Mews

Opinion Article

March 10, 2014

Comfort Letters - Comfort for Whom?

If you are buying, building or refinancing a hotel, you'll almost certainly be looking to a bank or other lender to finance the hotel, and when you do, you'll need to negotiate dozens of documents, some long, some short, but all of them necessary to get your loan. In other articles, we have talked about the importance of subordination, non-disturbance and attornment agreements (SNDAs). SNDAs are used in the context of a hotel management agreement (HMA) -- usually only long-term branded HMAs -- to define the rights of lenders vis a vis the hotel operator in the event of the owner's/borrower's loan default, breach of the HMA, foreclosure by the lender or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.

By Robert Braun, Partner, Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell, LLP, JMM

Opinion Article

March 5, 2014

"Chain" versus "Independent" - A View from an Operator of Independent Hotels

In recent years, the topic of "brand versus independent" has become increasingly popular. Every industry conference has a panel titled the same, numerous articles - and blogs - are being written on the topic by every publication, HotelNewsNow recently launched a newsletter dedicated to independent hotels, the inaugural Independent Lodging Congress took place in Philadelphia in late 2013 focused on gathering the owners and operators of independent hotels, and if that were not enough, numerous high profile "de-flagging" lawsuits have certainly highlighted the topic. While it is hard to attribute the peaking interest on this topic to only a few things, clearly owners are questioning the cost/benefit of a chain affiliation, internet distribution and marketing have dramatically leveled the playing field over the past 10 years, customer loyalty is not what it used to be and consumer preferences are certainly evolving.

By Alex Cabanas, CEO, Pyramid Global Hospitality

United States

Opinion Article

February 10, 2014

Interviewing Omer Kaddouri - Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rotana

Omer Z. Kaddouri was the Executive Vice President and the Chief Operating Officer of Rotana at the time of this interview. Now, he has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Rotana. Omer is an energetic and a demanding boss. He takes pride in the fact that he is fair and a people manager. Born to an Iraqi father and a British mother, Omer Kaddouri grew up in the Middle East and learned Arabic in his youth. His mixed family exposed him to various cultures which gave him a great advantage throughout his career, and he is proud of it.

By Dr. Lily Lin, Author of "Interviewing Successful Hotel Managers", Lin & Pavelson B.V.

Opinion Article

February 1, 2014

Eternal rival

Old England did a successful publicity stunt. London is strutting about on the radio waves and in the gazettes boasting first place as world tourism capital with 16 million international visitors, ahead of Paris, Bangkok and New York. TYPO3SEARCH_begin CONTENT ELEMENT, uid:72857/text [begin] Text: [begin]

By Georges Panayotis, President & Founder of MKG Group & Hospitality ON, Hospitality ON

Paris, France

Opinion Article

January 27, 2014

5 Things to Keep in Mind When You Look for a Hotel Operator

As the economy and the hotel industry fundamentals continue to improve, hotel values have recovered to pre-recession levels in many of the top 35 hotel markets, the number of hotel transactions has jumped and new capital is pouring into hotels. This new capital -- whether focused on new, ground-up development, or the purchase of neglected assets with a view to deep renovation and rebranding -- is increasingly seeking new brands and management for their hotels. We have not seen this many people looking for a great operator and a fair hotel management agreement in many years!

By Robert Braun, Partner, Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell, LLP, JMM

Opinion Article

January 6, 2014

Buying Or Building A Golf Course, Due Diligence Is Key

Golf courses are back in popularity -- for play, purchase and sale, and development. Whatever your involvement, you will likely find today's article by my partner Guy Maisnik to be interesting and helpful in avoiding unnecessary losses.

By Guy Maisnik, Partner, Vice Chair, Global Hospitality Group®, JMM

Opinion Article

January 3, 2014

Keeping Track of Changes in Hospitality Law

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.

By John Hogan, CHA CHMS CHE CHO

Opinion Article

December 17, 2013

Warning for hotel investors considering golf courses: Golf courses are different! They have different risks and require different skill sets

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.

By Jim Butler, Partner & Co-Chair Hospitality Practice, Blank Rome LLP, Blank Rome

Ad Guide

The next-gen metrics that move hotel P&L

Hotel tech has changed what's possible – and measurable. RevPAR and ADR aren't enough; discover the metrics that really matter.

Mews

Opinion Article

December 9, 2013

Hotel Lawyer: Surge of activity creates new management agreement opportunities

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.

By Jim Butler, Partner & Co-Chair Hospitality Practice, Blank Rome LLP, Blank Rome

United States

Opinion Article

August 16, 2013

“The Times They Are a-Changin'” (again) Part 2 of 2

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.

By John Hogan, CHA CHMS CHE CHO

Opinion Article

August 12, 2013

Rethink Your Strategy Before It Rethinks You

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.

The Hotel Solutions Partnership

Opinion Article

April 15, 2013

How To Protect Your Proprietary Information From Employees

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.

By Jim Butler, Partner & Co-Chair Hospitality Practice, Blank Rome LLP, Blank Rome

Opinion Article

April 2, 2013

To Brand or Not To Brand (your hotel)

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.

By Robert Braun, Partner, Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell, LLP, JMM

United States