Be aware of and work with the Law; do not be afraid of it

There is a segment on Real Estate Transactions that covers a wide range of topics not usually found in many industry conferences. Discussions planned include:

1. Joint Ventures
2. Property tax appeals and approaches in different kinds of markets
3. Restructuring Equity and Debt in Challenging Economic Periods

There are additional sessions for people who are either looking for a refresher or an overview of certain operational reports and their meaning:

1. Key Business Terms and Concepts in Hotel Agreements
2. Fully grasping the range of Hotel Valuation Methodologies and Investment Analysis
3. Understanding Hotel Financial Statements and Pro Formas and how the differences are resolved (including key reports and operational metrics)

In Operations, there is a substantial range of topics in both Food & Beverage and Lodging Activity and Profit Centers

1. Health Care Reform and What are the Next Steps for Hotel Owners and Managers
2. Understanding Federal Menu Labeling Requirements in the future
3. Addressing Investor Questions and Concerns relating to Liquor Licensing
4. Negotiating and Using Distributions Agreements and Systems
5. Working with the relatively new service and amenities in Spas, including Compliance Issues, Operational Practices and dealing with Spa Claims
6. Addressing the Problems in Non-Compliance relating to tipped employees and Tip Credit Statutes
7. New ADA Accessibility laws now in effect
8. Privacy and IT responsibility with 3^rd Party Sites

As mentioned earlier, the market place continues to see large numbers of legal claims that use time, staff and financial resources. Many of these are in Human Resources and/or other areas in Risk Management and Loss Prevention.

Sessions scheduled here include:

1. Dealing with Hospitality Immigration Issues
2. Understanding the Benefits and Concerns in Seasonal Staff, Contractors and other contingent staff
3. Investigations in Hospitality and How to Deal with the,
4. Wage and Hour Court Cases
5. Understanding Arbitration
6. Dealing with complex property claims
7. Insurance Litigation trends
8. Addressing safety in Spas, Workout Area and Pools
9. Understanding Insurance for Business Interruption and Lessons Learned from the past 5 years
10. Dealing with your staff and the impact of Social Media

One of the best segments that is always enjoyed by participants are the Hospitality Law Case reviews that are shared. These usually include Food & Beverage Liability cases, Franchise disputes and resolutions and how to avoid negative publicity and liability by learning what "not to do."

I have attended and participated in literally hundreds of programs in my career to date. I offer Four Key Benefits to attending this particular conference:

1. This is an independent symposium, not organized or branded by a specific hospitality company. This independence, as coordinated by HospitalityLawyer.com founder, Stephen Barth, clearly avoids the restraints that the branded meetings must address.
2. Attendees receive current and detailed information on urgent concerns in the hospitality industry including franchising, legislation, premises liability, financial options, as well as changes in employment and management contracts.
3. Sessions are led by hospitality industry counsel, hospitality faculty and business leaders that are personally involved in the every day and long term components of the business.
4. This is an intimate conference, with attendance aimed at no more than 400. This allows excellent opportunities for one-on-one discussions, Q&A sessions that are meaningful, networking and real world scenarios. The participation of a limited number of hospitality law faculty and students adds to the blend of activity.